Laserdisc capture - general thread

[Jetrell Fo]

Happycube's software is still a work in progress and finding a decent way to digitize the rf signal can be tricky. I was using a hacked hauppauge card if I remember correctly. The results were sometimes great and sometimes bad. The HDD space required for going this route is immense and needs a hdd with at least 7200 rpm to write the raw rf fast enough.

IMO, going with a good capture card and capturing the composite output is still the way to go at the moment. I use the theater750hd pcie card. It seems to do tbc correction as well which greatly improves the quality of the picture. Problem is, most people get a bsod while using the card and i've only ever gotten it to work in win7. I stupidly upgraded to win10 and can't even use the thing now. I'll probably have to build a separate pc with win7 just to use it again.

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/wind...d9076880e9

[FrankT]

Does anyone here have a MUSE player they can capture well from?

[Arian]

I’m still yet to acquire my own Laserdisc player, which is good because I haven’t gotten the wrong one, but bad because my perspective on the best player is constantly changing.

The HLD models have MUSE and are highly regarded among video and audiophiles as the ones with the best playback in the industry. However, the DVL models have Component output, which I hear is superior to S-Video. [I’m not 100% on the truthfulness of this, but still.]

So what do you guys think? Money is not much of a factor as I’m saving up to get the true master player. Of course, I’d love to save some money in the end, but not enough to compromise quality.

Any input is welcome and appreciated.

[zoidberg]

At this point in time a good player is a working player. A lot of the spare parts are no longer available from Pioneer, many are having to buy 'junk' players for parts. MUSE players in particular are difficult to repair these days due to lack of spares. Many of the older generation players are better in this respect as they were built like tanks and are considered very reliable.
As for video outputs laserdisc is encoded as composite video, generally the comb filters within the players are considered crude compared to the comb filters in most recent capture cards. So unless you have one of the few players with an exceptional comb filter then the composite out is the way to go.

[BusterD]

The HLD models have MUSE and are highly regarded among video and audiophiles as the ones with the best playback in the industry. However, the DVL models have Component output, which I hear is superior to S-Video. [I’m not 100% on the truthfulness of this, but still.]

The DVLs only output via component for DVDs, unfortunately.

[BusterD]

At this point in time a good player is a working player. A lot of the spare parts are no longer available from Pioneer, many are having to buy 'junk' players for parts. MUSE players in particular are difficult to repair these days due to lack of spares. Many of the older generation players are better in this respect as they were built like tanks and are considered very reliable.
As for video outputs laserdisc is encoded as composite video, generally the comb filters within the players are considered crude compared to the comb filters in most recent capture cards. So unless you have one of the few players with an exceptional comb filter then the composite out is the way to go.

Indeed, perhaps a player without S-Video output would be the way to go, as most players with S-Video won't have "pure composite", though - their composite output will use the separated Y/C mixed back in to composite. IIRC, the X0 (BNC out only) has pure composite, and someone on OT said that the X9 does as well, but I'm not entirely convinced on that one as it's the player I use, and the composite still has some of the weird quirks of the player's comb filter, like the cross-hatch/dotcrawl patterns during ghosting.

[poita]

If you want to capture LD at the best possible quality, then capture the RF directly and then decode it in software.
I'm capturing via a dedicated board which feeds to a Nano FPGA board, and interfaces to the computer via USB3.
This gives better quality than capturing via an X0 and capture cards. You need really fast drives and a solid USB3 interface for it to work reliably.
It captures the signal with 16bit precision, and is then decoded offline in software.
Most players can be modified to work with it, but you will want to calibrate them as well as possible (grab an oscilloscope and a service manual) to get as good a tracking as possible to get a clean RF signal.

[poita]

I’m still yet to acquire my own Laserdisc player, which is good because I haven’t gotten the wrong one, but bad because my perspective on the best player is constantly changing.

The HLD models have MUSE and are highly regarded among video and audiophiles as the ones with the best playback in the industry. However, the DVL models have Component output, which I hear is superior to S-Video. [I’m not 100% on the truthfulness of this, but still.]

So what do you guys think? Money is not much of a factor as I’m saving up to get the true master player. Of course, I’d love to save some money in the end, but not enough to compromise quality.

Any input is welcome and appreciated.

If you want the best player for watching LDs, and money is no object, and you only need NTSC, then get the Pioneer X0 player.
If money is an issue, then get a Pioneer X1 or S2, both are very close in quality to the X0.

If you want to capture LDs, then get something else, and capture from the RF pickup, it doesn't need to be a fantastic player, it just needs to track well.

No laserdisc player has component output for LD playback, and if it did, it would be awful anyway.
What is encoded on the laserdisc is a composite (not component) video signal, the best players have a very clean composite output, that you can run through a good comb-filter/scaler (such as a Crystalio II) to get them looking good on current HDTVs.
For MUSE playback, there are only a few players, like the X0 and the X9 and a few others, but you will also need a MUSE decoder, and the MUSE discs are outrageous money. You could buy a 35mm print for less than some of the MUSE prices!

[captainsolo]

If you want to capture LD at the best possible quality, then capture the RF directly and then decode it in software.
I'm capturing via a dedicated board which feeds to a Nano FPGA board, and interfaces to the computer via USB3.
This gives better quality than capturing via an X0 and capture cards. You need really fast drives and a solid USB3 interface for it to work reliably.
It captures the signal with 16bit precision, and is then decoded offline in software.
Most players can be modified to work with it, but you will want to calibrate them as well as possible (grab an oscilloscope and a service manual) to get as good a tracking as possible to get a clean RF signal.

I MUST TRY THIS!
This sounds like what some on the lddb forum have tried to do with decoding the actual signal itself. I need to get my player aligned as it's having some reading issues otherwise it's the best player I've ever seen performance wise.

To everybody else:
So if you're looking for best sleeper affordable player get a Panasonic LX-900. You have to get a later model without the first one's issues but it is smear free, noise free, and has great digital and analog sound while being ac3 moddable. It obliterates every other player I've ever tried in picture quality; from the Pioneer D700 series to the late model DVLs to old industrial players. There's tons of tech player comparisons in the lddb forums. Another supposed great one is the Pioneer 3080 IIRC. I still have my trusty D702 for backup and while not perfect it still works well and is an above average unit. The DVLs are great technically and very reliable but have built in DNR that has to be specially modded out and some CLV smearing.

[schorman]

If you want to capture LD at the best possible quality, then capture the RF directly and then decode it in software.
I'm capturing via a dedicated board which feeds to a Nano FPGA board, and interfaces to the computer via USB3.
This gives better quality than capturing via an X0 and capture cards. You need really fast drives and a solid USB3 interface for it to work reliably.
It captures the signal with 16bit precision, and is then decoded offline in software.
Most players can be modified to work with it, but you will want to calibrate them as well as possible (grab an oscilloscope and a service manual) to get as good a tracking as possible to get a clean RF signal.

Is that the Domesday Duplicator Board? If so, do you have an easily accessible parts list? I'm dying to make one, but I'm not sure it would work with my limited soldering skills.