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Pioneer LaserDisc / DVD thread - Page 3

post #61 of 903
3/22/11 at 8:51pm
WHY play an AC-3 LD with analog audio? Seriously what's the point? If you're going to play analog then AC-3 is NOT needed...
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post #62 of 903
3/23/11 at 4:24am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zenyatto View Post

WHY play an AC-3 LD with analog audio? Seriously what's the point? If you're going to play analog then AC-3 is NOT needed...


I don't own an AC-3 RF demodulator, so I for one can not decode an RF DD LaserDisk. I don't own a single DD laserdisk, so that is not an issue for me. Two channel analog or digital audio is fine for me. Trouble is on a DD LaserDisk, there is no analog content recorded on the second analog channel!
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post #63 of 903
3/25/11 at 2:48pm
I have a Denon LA-3500 with the same mod from MSB. AC-3 to my Sony surround processor to multi channel out on receiver makes Dolby Digital sound great.

Quote:
Originally Posted by denvertrakker View Post

That's the well-known MSB Technology AC3 conversion. IIRC, the pot is a trimmer for carrier level.

MSB built Runco's laserdisc players. They're still in business making DACs and such.
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post #64 of 903
3/26/11 at 8:31am
Thread Starter 
i just got a Kenwood LVD-820R that has a 5v DC 30mA output marked "to RF modulator". Anybody know what that's about? Sounds like their version of an AC3 port, but I don't want to get too excited .
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post #65 of 903
3/26/11 at 9:35am
Quote:
Originally Posted by toyfreaks View Post

i just got a Kenwood LVD-820R that has a 5v DC 30mA output marked "to RF modulator". Anybody know what that's about? Sounds like their version of an AC3 port, but I don't want to get too excited .

It sounds like you already started lighting 4th of July firecrackers
Hello computers...
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post #66 of 903
3/26/11 at 11:07am
According to laserdiscarchive.co.uk the Kenwood LVD-820R was manufactured in 1992. AC-3 first came-up in 1995 which means the champagne goes back to the shelf! You have to love computers they show you the way to San José!
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post #67 of 903
3/26/11 at 11:29am
Quote:
Originally Posted by toyfreaks View Post

i just got a Kenwood LVD-820R that has a 5v DC 30mA output marked "to RF modulator". Anybody know what that's about? Sounds like their version of an AC3 port, but I don't want to get too excited .

Key word is "modulator", not "demodulator". That player likely didn't have an onboard RF output to go to a regular TV antenna input, but had provisions for a separate unit with power fed by the player.
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post #68 of 903
3/26/11 at 11:57am
You had to tune those old TV's to CH 3 or CH 4 to watch the Kenwood LVD-820R LD player after the RF output modulator connection to the TV.
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post #69 of 903
3/26/11 at 5:58pm
The Pioneer CLD-3070 has the last Pioneer unit with the RF Modulator on it and that was in the late 80's. For those that don't know, if it has the 3/4 switch or just check if the output jack is a threaded screw for TV coax cable then you'll know it is TV RF. Dolby Digital or AC-3 is NOT modulated inside the LD player. It is in a modulated form when recorded on the LD and the player simply passes it out. So the unit will just say modulated output.

Kurtis
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post #70 of 903
3/27/11 at 7:55am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kurtis Bahr View Post
if it has the 3/4 switch or just check if the output jack is a threaded screw for TV coax cable then you'll know it is TV RF
The photo from the auction listing only shows the left side. I see standard RCA composite outputs, S-Video and digital optical. There is no 3/4 switch and the "To RF Modulator" output looks like a 4 or 6-pin connector.



You can tell its special, cuz they put it in its own little white box.
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post #71 of 903
3/27/11 at 11:34am
Quote:
Originally Posted by toyfreaks View Post

The photo from the auction listing only shows the left side. I see standard RCA composite outputs, S-Video and digital optical. There is no 3/4 switch and the "To RF Modulator" output looks like a 4 or 6-pin connector.



You can tell its special, cuz they put it in its own little white box.

NOTED
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post #72 of 903
3/27/11 at 2:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by toyfreaks View Post

The photo from the auction listing only shows the left side. I see standard RCA composite outputs, S-Video and digital optical. There is no 3/4 switch and the "To RF Modulator" output looks like a 4 or 6-pin connector.

You can tell its special, cuz they put it in its own little white box.

In this design they have you send the proper signals to an external box to make the channel 3/4 output. This was done as generating the signal inside the player produces extra RF noise not wanted.

Kurtis
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post #73 of 903
3/28/11 at 9:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zenyatto View Post

WHY play an AC-3 LD with analog audio? Seriously what's the point? If you're going to play analog then AC-3 is NOT needed...

Some AC-3 discs have an alternate audio track, such as commentary, on the L/1 Analog channel. A very few (Tenchi Muyo In Love) have an alternate language track on that channel.
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post #74 of 903
3/30/11 at 4:18am
IMHO, since pro logic II came about, I find it much improved watching 2ch PCM decoded with PLII than an early 384kbps DD signal.
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post #75 of 903
3/30/11 at 12:38pm
Not sure if this is the right spot... but can anyone tell me the exact dimensions of a LD Sleeve?

I'm looking to buy some off ebay and frame them as decoration for my home theater room. Would a regular LP display frame work?

Thanks!
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post #76 of 903
3/30/11 at 12:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by minimal111 View Post

Not sure if this is the right spot... but can anyone tell me the exact dimensions of a LD Sleeve?

I'm looking to buy some off ebay and frame them as decoration for my home theater room. Would a regular LP display frame work?

Thanks!

Vinyl and LDs have the same 12" diameter. I believe one can be swapped for another. LDs are a little thicker and heavier.
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post #77 of 903
3/30/11 at 2:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by EJ View Post
Vinyl and LDs have the same 12" diameter. I believe one can be swapped for another. LDs are a little thicker and heavier.
Thanks!
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post #78 of 903
3/30/11 at 8:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sheer Lunacy View Post

Some AC-3 discs have an alternate audio track, such as commentary, on the L/1 Analog channel. A very few (Tenchi Muyo In Love) have an alternate language track on that channel.

You are missing the [point]
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post #79 of 903
4/23/11 at 3:32pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom Monahan View Post
I have a dumb question to ask. When you get an AC-3 mod do the L/R analog outputs no longer work? My cld-97 that recently had this mod only outputs sound from the right speaker only when using the analog L/R outs. Is this normal?

Thanks,
Tom
Ok. So I had to send the cld-97 back to Kurtis to get the audio problem fixed. He fixed it and sent it back to me. I opened it up today and the drawer opens and closes but will NOT play LD's or CD's so it needs to be sent back again. Of the 5 LD players I purchased this last year, only my mint LD-W1 arrived in perfect working order. The only one that shipped in it's original box by the way.

Laserdisc is dead to me. It has been nothing but a money pit. Put a fork in it I'm done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Screw nostalgia and buy more blu-ray's.

Tom
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post #80 of 903
4/23/11 at 7:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom Monahan View Post
Ok. So I had to send the cld-97 back to Kurtis to get the audio problem fixed. He fixed it and sent it back to me. I opened it up today and the drawer opens and closes but will NOT play LD's or CD's so it needs to be sent back again. Of the 5 LD players I purchased this last year, only my mint LD-W1 arrived in perfect working order. The only one that shipped in it's original box by the way.

Laserdisc is dead to me. It has been nothing but a money pit. Put a fork in it I'm done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Screw nostalgia and buy more blu-ray's.

Tom
You've just had a run of bad luck.
For every story of someone purchasing several players with defects, there are a half dozen stories of folks who have picked up multiple working players for peanuts in the past year.
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post #81 of 903
4/24/11 at 12:37pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by SaxCatz View Post

there are a half dozen stories of folks who have picked up multiple working players for peanuts in the past year.

Story #1: In exchange for the favor of evaluating his collection, a guy gave me a non-working Pioneer LD-W1. The optics carriage was crushing a disc somebody left in it. When removed and re-greased, it worked fine. I had an LD-W1 for the cost of gas and my opinion.

Story #2: Just last week, I bought a Pioneer CLD-702 for $75 from the original owner. Not top of the line, and no built-in AC3, but a very nice player with box, docs, remote, even the poly foam wrap. The biggest plus is that it was only shipped once (as very expensive retail merchandise) and the owner kept it clean.

Story #3: I found a guy selling a DVL 909 on CraigList. He lived further than I wanted to drive, so he met me half way and cut the price to $100. My favorite machine so far ...so clean and quiet and fast.

I have a lot better luck with stuff that was not been shipped. The best scenario is buying from an original owner ...if they have a realistic idea of real market value.
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post #82 of 903
4/24/11 at 1:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by SaxCatz View Post

You've just had a run of bad luck.
For every story of someone purchasing several players with defects, there are a half dozen stories of folks who have picked up multiple working players for peanuts in the past year.

I have bad luck but not that bad. LD players are well known for shipping problems. One out of six is a pretty crappy success rate IMO. I have been in to home theater since 1988 and have bought and sold a ton of equiptment. LD is the only a/v component that I have had with multiple non cosmetic type shipping damage.

If money were no object, I would take my sledge hammer and beat the **** out it.
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post #83 of 903
4/24/11 at 1:45pm
I have an issue with my Pio DVL-909 LaserDisc player (bought new in 1996). It plays both sides of a laserdisc and DVDs with the following problem:

Recently, the DVL-909 has started to make a loud grinding noise when I first insert a laserdisc - then the noise get better to an almost acceptable level after about 3-5 minutes but the noise level is still above a normal level. AT the end of Sie A the player will automatically begin playing Side B except it will stall and stop after about a minute. If I manually flip the Laserdisc from Side A to Side B, the disc will play fine except for the loud grinding noise at the beginning like on side A.

What could be causing the problem?

My DVD tray plays flawlessly.

Thanks in advance for any assistance.
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post #84 of 903
4/24/11 at 2:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by lman12 View Post

I have an issue with my Pio DVL-909 LaserDisc player (bought new in 1996). It plays both sides of a laserdisc and DVDs with the following problem:

Recently, the DVL-909 has started to make a loud grinding noise when I first insert a laserdisc - then the noise get better to an almost acceptable level after about 3-5 minutes but the noise level is still above a normal level. AT the end of Sie A the player will automatically begin playing Side B except it will stall and stop after about a minute. If I manually flip the Laserdisc from Side A to Side B, the disc will play fine except for the loud grinding noise at the beginning like on side A.

What could be causing the problem?

My DVD tray plays flawlessly.
Thanks in advance for any assistance.

To me it sounds like a spindle motor. The slipping grip rings are not an issue with this model and would only happen at LD start. The sound is worst for the first 3 to 5 minutes as that is where the LD is also spending the fastest.

CD's and DVD's spin much slower. Another good test would be if you had any of the older 5 inch CDV's as the spindle motor makes a lot noise as those spin fast.

Kurtis
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post #85 of 903
4/24/11 at 2:35pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by lman12 View Post

I have an issue with my Pio DVL-909 LaserDisc player (bought new in 1996). It plays both sides of a laserdisc and DVDs with the following problem:

Recently, the DVL-909 has started to make a loud grinding noise when I first insert a laserdisc - then the noise get better to an almost acceptable level after about 3-5 minutes but the noise level is still above a normal level. AT the end of Sie A the player will automatically begin playing Side B except it will stall and stop after about a minute. If I manually flip the Laserdisc from Side A to Side B, the disc will play fine except for the loud grinding noise at the beginning like on side A.

What could be causing the problem?

My DVD tray plays flawlessly.

Thanks in advance for any assistance.

If it needs repair, I would suggest sending it to Kurtis. I can't say enough good things about him.

Tom
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post #86 of 903
4/26/11 at 10:54am
Kurtis really seems to know his stuff. The dvl is just Ã* medium player by the way.
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post #87 of 903
4/29/11 at 7:21pm
I got a Pioneer CLD S104 player on eBay this past summer for a little over $30. It's perfect for me, considering I'm a beginner LD collector. And plus with the money situation, it was perfect! I have about 20 or 30 LD's so far with another one arriving soon (Rebel Without A Cause). I use my LD player on a 19" Element LCD HDTV and it looks pretty good. However I hooked it up one day to my old RCA 13" CRT and it looks crisp and clear compared to my HDTV. The colors looked plain and bland on my LCD but was very colorful on my CRT, which I'm sure thats the case on ALL current model HDTVs. The only reason why I have my LD player hooked up to my flat screen is mainly so that I can cut off the top and bottom portions of the picture (if the movie is in widescreen mode). I'm curious as to how the LD player will look on our old 40-42"(not sure on the size) Magnavox CRT Projection TV. That might be something I'll do this weekend!
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post #88 of 903
4/29/11 at 10:29pm
Assuming the CRT projection set is still in good order making good pictures from other sources, you should get good results. LCD colour rendition has advanced by leaps & bounds, but you need to calibrate the input the LD player is hooked to for best performance. Black & white levels, colour & tint will likely be considerably different from those for digital broadcast & component sources.

Of course, any image will look sharper on a small screen (or, rather, at a greater number of screen heights). A given number of lines of resolution occupying a smaller visual space gives the same result as a larger number of lines in a given space.
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post #89 of 903
4/30/11 at 8:29am
I have a Pioneer 406 that doesn't play discs. I put the LD in, player makes a little groaning sound, then the tray opens out.Any easy fix for this?
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post #90 of 903
4/30/11 at 12:43pm
Could it be a belt problem? It sounds as though the disc isn't clamping properly, or maybe the tray isn't lowering correctly.
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