cheapest LD player with an s-video out

[drewson99]

anybody know?

ebay has 'em but the only ones with the s-video out are running almost $300. that kinda sucks pricewise.

[Marco33]

I picked one up at a pawn shop for $20. Can't tell if it's the disks or the player that's bad cause the picture is worse that anything. I'd give it to you for free but the shipping would kill ya.

[BJ_M]

since the picture on a laser disk is stored in composite format -- many laser disk players look better with comp out , unless they have a really good comb filter - which many dont .

[drewson99]

how about this issue: I just got a nice Pioneer LD player with composite out. I have about 20 LD and I have checked a few of them. they all look dynamite, I actually don't need the s-video now that i have seen the quality.

BUT...

one LD in particular looks like sh*t. it is a bit "overexposed" and there is a bit of graininess (like VHS) although the edges are still sharp (like a LD/DVD)

also, the sound is really low, so low that I need to crank the volume to over half power just to hear okay which introduces a bit of white noise.

do LDs go bad? WTF?

[jantxn]

Yes they do go bad. I have about 100 dating back to the early 80's and about 1/3 to 1/2 have some degree of "laser Rot" ranging from slight to severe. The low sound may also be caused by a disc with CX noise reduction system that lacks the encoding to tell the player to switch to CX automatically. Look on the jacket for the CX logo. You may have to switch it manually.

[BJ_M]

yes - pretty well all laser disks are going bad due to something called "laser rot" .. sound is not ussually as affected though - and what you might have a just a bad disk (defects) (svideo will not help any) ..

it was not planned this way but is happening ..

Q. What do you mean by laser rot and defects?

A. Some common Laserdisc problems include excessive dropout and laser rot. Dropout is when the video signal is missing for a split second. This manifests itself as a small white line or dot on the screen. Dropout is present on all video formats. However, Laserdiscs are hard to manufacture. Any malformed pit or pinhole in the aluminum layer can cause dropout. Therefore, most discs are likely to have at least one incident of dropout. Luckily, dropouts in Laserdiscs can simply be caused by a dirty disc. Make sure your discs are clean before complaining about dropout.

Laser Rot is a more serious problem. Laser Rot is when the aluminum layer of the Laserdisc begins to oxidize. This changes the reflectivity of the disc. Laser Rot manifests itself as many colored lines on the screen. Contrary to the name, Laser Rot is not caused by the laser. Laserdiscs are doubled sided. Each side is manufactured separately and is glued together. Laser Rot is caused by improper sealing of the two sides of the Laserdisc. Keeping your disc in a humid environment can speed the process of Laser Rot. Also, some manufacturers' discs are more likely to rot than others. Note: Like dropout, Laser Rot is not unique to Laserdiscs. Laser Rot can affect other discs that use aluminum such as CD's and DVD's.

Q. What does Laser Rot look like?

A. You cannot determine if a Laserdisc has Laser Rot by looking at the disc surface with the naked eye. Instead, play the Laserdisc in your player. The picture should be filled with multi-colored snow. The following screenshot illustrates how a Laserdisc with mild Laser Rot looks like: