Oh man. I didn't know about this.




I think Pioneer was looking at how to make the LD-870 uglier and came up with the CLD-V2400.

Nice contributions everyone.
I'm pleased to see some of the more 80s looking players with their busier fronts included; was worried this would be a S-1 landslide.

Also knew this would happen:

Actually I like that quite a lot, and would say it's more of a Pontiac grille/nose.

Finest: http://www.laserdiscarchive.co.uk/laser ... dp-525.htm, with a nod to Sony's MDP-999 and Pioneer's LD-660.

Ugliest: Panasonic LX-H670 for resembling a cheap VCR.
runners up: Pioneer CLD-V2800 (really all the barcode models), and Pioneer CLD-D502 which again looks cheap.
There are a few more ugly oddities out there but some meat is best left on the bone for other users.

I really like the LD-W1. It’s fairly handsome but plain. It’s in the using where it’s nice. The action on the drawers is butter. I like anything where there is a fold down panel and the drawer is behind that. Of course it has the best Pioneer LD remote ever as well.

Alfas are widely considered some of the most beautiful cars in history so this is a strange reference.

I like that the A-100 is painted...I don’t have a lot else nice to say about it. The design is a mystery, along with at least a half dozen other aspects of the player.

The CLD-909 gets an honorable mention from me. I like the multi-colored LEDs that are used across the front. It looks pretty cool with the lights off. The 8-bit Atari-esque onscreen text is a nice touch as well.

Nice, that 850D looks ever sexier to me though.

One of the worst looking higher end units is the LD-S9 I own.

for whatever reason, the LD-850D is exceedingly rare in the U.S. despite probably being the most "Affordable" model in that 1988 lineup.

indeed, both the 1030 and 3030 appear to outnumber it in production runs like a zillion-to-one...

Most likely because it was either never released officially for the US market or maybe this is a pre-production brochure? I purchased my CLD-3030 brand new back in ‘88 and this is the first I heard of this model considering I researched the hell out these players prior to my purchase.

You're right, it does look more like Pontiac GTO grille. I saw one of the new Alfa Romeos on the road the other day, so it was fresh on my mind.



That's true. I guess it goes to show everyone has different tastes. I knew a guy in college who hated the look of wood grain.

It’s not really the right shape though. Alfa grills are pointed at the bottom.

quite possibly similar to the apparent fate of PIONEER's VH-930SD.

their first and only S-VHS VCR, -AFAIK- seemingly near-unobtanium in the U.S.
despite getting full VIDEO MAGAZINE publicity in 1989.

a pretty mediocre deck, -especially for around $1500.00USD MSRP-
when stood against it's contemporary S-VHS competition at similar price points,
such as JVC's $1600.00 HR-S8000U and MITSUBISHI's $1700.00 HS-U80;

Oh my word that Mitsubishi deck is legit.

ldfan has one of those I saw in a photo of his setup. Very cool indeed.

I saw a boxed HR-S8000U for cheap just outside of driving distance once. I now regret not biting the bullet and heading out for it haha.

Hey, it's not that ugly.

I would have sworn seeing this deck @ a Pioneer retailer that I worked for in and around '89 to '90.

Anyway, it was a deck made by NEC for Pioneer (can't remember the model number of the NEC version). I don't think we sold even one of those units as the bigger names in VHS @ the time was JVC, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Toshiba, Sharp, etc. I always did like the silver footers on that deck as it matched the other Pioneer components very well.




It most certainly is .

Not the best picture over some newer S-VHS decks that came out later but it certainly always had that "wow" factor. Mine was actually a tad defective when I first got it but I eventually got that ironed out. Today, it's just on display for the heck of it but I'll use it soon for a demo tape I need for my job.

though the JVC HR-S8000U is a better performer, my copy finally went fluky on me a year or two ago,
while the Mitsu HS-U80 is still running perfectly to this day.

still and all, i've had the JVC since about 2008, -with many hours put on it by me-
whilst i've only had the MITSUBISHI since about 2014, a one-owner, low use deck
that i haven't really put all that many more hours on since purchase...

ACTUAL UNITS;

Is the top on that JVC faux wood or real wood too? I can't imagine it being real wood.

Nah, that’s 70s Marantz case style wood. Sort of like a vinyl wrap on steel.

didn't know you had an HS-U80 Tasuke, cool!

though i greatly appreciate the vintage-throwback (even for it's time) look and feel of the JVC HR-S8000U,
it was crystal clear, from the moment i first ever laid eyes upon them,
that 1988/1989-era MITSUBISHI VCRs were in my very DNA so far as overall design goes,
and that the Almighty TOTL S-VHS HS-U80 was not only king amongst them,
but amongst virtually all VHS format VCRs of all makes.

i HAD TO HAVE ONE OF MY OWN, and, after years of pining after one, my chance finally arrived in 2014,
a one-owner, freshly-serviced/restored, low-use example, complete with remote, manual,
and a healthy collection of well-cared-for top-brand VHS and S-VHS blanks, all for just under $200.00, IIRC.

as an aside, the very first MITSUBISHI i ever seen, and the first ever drop-dead-gorgeous VCR i had ever come across,
was the HS-U70, the immediate step-down from the U80.

i inadvertently stumbled into it around 2005, in a mobile video rack
set up at the annual ELECTRIC CO-OP meeting my family was regularly attending at the time.

i had happened to have my low-end FUJIFILM point-and-shoot digital camera on hand, so i took photos;