LaserDisc Player for Capture to PC

[Akai-Shuichi]

I know that the quality of a LD is pretty dependent on the player, but does that also hold true for capturing it to a PC?

I plan to capture via composite in the HuffYUV codec to my PC, but do not yet have a player and was really not wanting to break the bank on one. So just wondering if I could go for a cheaper industrial model and get decent output or not.

Thanks

[Arnold_Layne]

How many discs do you need to transfer? If only a couple discs, then some members here might able to do it for you, myself included.

[orsetto]

If you only need a few discs transferred, and someone on this forum with a top-tier player offers to take the project on for you, that would likely yield much nicer results than you could obtain with some random cheap player off Craigs List.

The industrial LD players are huge, built like battleships, and fun to play with, but they don't always make the best source for digital capture. It depends on the discs to some degree: if they have a lot of grit or dropouts the industrial players may do nothing to conceal them. And problems can arise if you have very recent discs with fancier audio options: the industrial players can't read the newer PCM or AC3/DTS . OTOH, they are often the cheapest players available if you're on a budget and don't have many discs to transfer (I picked up a Sony LDP-2000 for $40 a few years back).

Video output of the LDP-2000 is remarkably grainy, more so than the consumer Sony or Pioneer models that died on me long ago. But I really only needed it for 2 or 3 rare titles that I couldn't replace with newer better dvd releases, and even those were not worth the effort and expense of hunting down a still-functional Panasonic or higher-end Pioneer to dub from. The Sony LDP-2000 is common, dirt cheap, and usually rock reliable compared to several high-strung quirky consumer models I had owned in the past. Unlike those, the LDP-2000 plows thru any disc you can throw at it with no annoying freezes or hiccups. Maybe not the ultimate in picture quality, but steady reliable non-fussy playback was my priority.

Sony LDP-2000: