Just bought a rarer laserdisc earlier from someone that tested it on his Pioneer DVL-919. He said the disc has some scratches on it but his player had no issues playing it. Is the Panasonic LX-900 comparable to the Pioneer Dvl-919 at all? I'm not just talking about picture quality but should my LX-900 have no issues playing the same laserdisc if his Pioneer Dvl-919 played it completely fine? As many of you know on this forum I've had issues with my LX-H670 playing movies that my LX-900 plays flawlessly. I believe the LX-900 has something built into it like a feature to reduce video and audio interference issues on it. That or something is completely wrong with my LX-H670. Typically it's sides Side B when the laser reads on top of the disc that causes these interference issues on a select few of my discs. It might do it on side A occasionally but I honestly forget at this moment in time.

https://www.avsforum.com/threads/laserd ... ns.295156/

Apparently even though the DVL-919 has dvd capabilities it's laserdisc quality is subpar from what this one reviewer claims. He says it produces a weaker quality picture than 703/704 and on the same topic it says my lx-900 has a better picture quality than 703/704. So I really lucked out finding this player especially since seller made claims of it being brand new. I believe he or she is telling the truth. Haven't had any issues with the player. Even tho the Pioneer DVL-919 might have subpar video quality that's only a small part of my question. It's the playback that I want to know more about. Does the DVL-919 read the disc through scratches better than my lx-900 or lx-h670 or will the answer to that question only be known once the disc is in my possession which could be 3-4 weeks from now with how ridiculously slow shipping has been lately. All I've ever seen is people talk positively about my lx-900 and while I agree it gives off a great picture it will always bother me that it cuts a very small percentage of the right screen off. Is there a reason it does that or is it defective on every revision of this model? My version of the lx-900 is the 1995 revision. Great picture quality from this player but it makes no sense to me why it cuts a small percentage of the screen off. In some ways that makes me like my LX-h670 more but my lx-h670 is a little weaker in video quality and has issues reading through scratches or warped discs as many of you know.

All LD players are designed to be compatible with all LDs (as listed compatible). If one player plays a disc slightly better than another...thats LD. The 919 and the LX-900 are nothing alike but they should both play the same discs because they are both Laserdisc players and the same is true of the LD-W1, the CLD-99, the DVL-700, the S201, and the Laseractive, and every other player.

Scratches have to be pretty severe to affect LD playback. That laser can see through a surprising about of #%*!

I've owned both the DVL-919 and the LX-900.

Picture wise it's no question, the 900 wins. The 919 isn't much better than a CLD-60x player. I'd say the only advantages the 919 has over the LX-900 is it having a stock AC-3 RF output and the ability to access individual fields rather than frames during frame step.

As far as playing flawed discs, I don't think either is any better. The only players that have any advantages in flawed discs in my understanding are the later dedicated LD only players like the LD-S2, HLD-X9, HLD-X0 due to their better lasers and clamping mechanisms built specifically for LD rather than for LD and CD. Of course, this is only from me reading about them and not actually seeing them in action.

Anecdotal testing by Substance seemed to indicate that the X-0, despite internet conventional wisdom, actually had a harder time playing junk discs rather that having the ability to see through rot.

Which makes sense. Nobody ever made a player for playing rotten disc. When players were being made the solution to a rotten disc was to replace the disc. Nobody was buying a $5500 player to play garbage...

Interesting point you make there zeta, I can also back this up by mentioning that my X9 also absolutely refuses to play several chapters of a certain still sealed when purchased Japanese LD, meanwhile my CLD-D925 & 2950 both manage to plough through the same tracks with much less fuss!

Makes you wonder. Red laser sounds great on paper, but mastering wasn't geared towards red lasers. Track pitch is a range and manufacturers could go smaller, but at some point you start introducing noise for the infrared players.

It doesn’t matter which laser you have, if the servos are not properly adjusted any unit will not play a disc. I have some discs I use to test players and every unit plays and stops playing the disc at varying degree, it’s the electronics around the laser along with the laser. I could take three of the same model, perform calibrations, and they will perform differently. When you have a good performing player just enjoy it.