The dreaded CLV Laserdisc smear (1 Viewer)

[jim.vaccaro]

I have two Pioneer LD players, a CLD-D704 and a CLD-D703. I'm quite happy with the video quality they display on my 43" Sony CRT RP HDTV, except for one thing: these players show "smearing" with CLV discs. Some scenes/discs are worse than others, some are barely noticeable, but it bothers me.

Is there any way to reduce/eliminate the smear? Failing that, are there any reputable players that cost under $300 that don't exhibit the smear?

 

[greg_t]

I don't think there is a way to eliminate it. It seems to be an issue with those players, many of which share that same design, such as the cld79, cld99, etc. I bought an X9 that does not have the smear but it costs well more than $300.

 

[Philip Hamm]

Try turning off all the "Video Noise Reduction" which these players have.

 

[jim.vaccaro]

Philip: Thanks, but I always keep the DVNR off. The smear seems to affect many Pioneer players, even those without DNVR. I played around with a LD-V8000 which had the smear problem, too.

greg_t: I was afraid of that. I love my laserdiscs, but not enough to shell out $2500 on an X9. I'm wondering if a cheaper Denon or Panasonic player might work, though.

 

[Johnson_R]

jim i was wondering will you be willing to sell one of your Pioneer LD Players? I have a Sony LD player that plays both sides and while it is a good player, i need one from Pioneer that will play some of my discs the sony does not play.

 

[greg_t]

You might check to see if the Panasonic LX900 had the smear issue. I have always read good things about the player. The only issue is that panasonic no longer makes new parts for it.

 

[jim.vaccaro]

Johnson_R: Well, maybe...but not right now. The D703 is the backup player, if I ever get my hands on CLD-97 or 99 then I'd sell it. The D704 is my main player, still going strong at 11 years old. What model is your Sony? I've heard not so good things about Sonys in general, but I'm curious.

greg_t: Thanks, I'll research the Pannys. I thought at least one of their players was a D704 clone, but I might be wrong.

 

[Philip Hamm]

No Panasonic was ever a Pioneer clone. Many non-Pioneer brands (Yamaha, RCA, Mitsubishi, Macintosh, etc) were Pioneer clones, but Panasonic, Phillips, and Sony all manufactured their own players with varying results. I think Panasonic was the only other OEM whose players were rebadged (Some Denons, the Runco LJR-II).

 

[ChristopherDAC]

It's my belief that this phenomenon is caused by the high-frequency compensation circuit, which is turned on for only the first 3 minutes of a CAV disc, but for the whole runtime of a CLV disc. The phenomenon only becomes noticable on players like the 704 because of their otherwise high video quality; a player with a lower-grade picture would conceal the fault. The only real solution is to boost the HF pickup from the disc, which means a better MTF of the optical system, which in turn means a red-laser pickup: either a tube, although the disadvantages and rarity of tube players make this a hard choice to justify, or a red diode.
Red diode means either the old Pioneer CLD-1010, which is close to top-of-the-line for a 1987 player, or a MUSE player. I think there were a few high-dollar American models [the RUNCO LJR-II?] based on MUSE chassis, but for the kind of prices they fetch you're better off with an older SONY MUSE unit [~$800 I guess] and trying to AC-3 mod it.

 

[jim.vaccaro]

That's interesting, ChristopherDAC. Shame there isn't a way to disable this high frequency compensation circuit. You mentioned that you own the Mitsu clone of the 704 in another thread, so I guess you have the same problem I do. I suppose I'll have to learn to ignore it for now.