Laserdisc Player question please help....

[rolan]

Hi there, I got a kenwood laserdisc player randomly from a shop (no remote or anything), it says on the back that its an NTSC player but its got a UK plug and having looked at the manual online it was apparently sold in the UK and Australia as an NTSC machine in a pal territory...

Anyway, I recently bought a brand new PAL disc to play it on and the machine failed to play it, is it likely that the machine is broken or that it just doesnt play PAL discs?

I could just be doing something wrong as I've never had a laserdisc before and dont have a remote but simply pressing play or skipping chapters isn't doing anything at all.

thanks in advance

[DreamcastRIP]

Another LaserDisc player owner!

It's obviously a bit difficult to provide a definitive answer to your query without knowing the model number of your Kenwood unit.

However, this fantastic website features a detailed and exhaustive database on pretty much all LaserDisc players (both in the UK and elsewhere) which should help you out. It certainly helped me decide on which LaserDisc player to buy when I purchased mine a couple of years ago.

http://www.laserdiscarchive.co.uk/laser ... e_page.htm

[Matt_B]

I'm the proud owner of a Pioneer CLD-S315 since 1996.

If it's an NTSC player it won't play PAL discs at all; the formats are quite radically different so not picking up chapter markings or getting any pictures shouldn't be a surprise.

So long as it sounds like it's spinning up, you might want to see if you can scavenge an NTSC disc to test it with before you give up.

A lot of PAL players will also play NTSC discs, for what it's worth. Since there were relatively few PAL releases that was pretty much a necessity.

[rolan]

It does sound like its up to something alright so will try it when i get hold of an ntsc disc, still find it bizarre they sold an ntsc player in pal land back in the days when no one had compatible tvs lol. Yeah that site says its an ntsc player but as it didnt say it couldnt play pal i gabe it a go. Hope it works in ntsc as frankly i dont want the expense of having to pay the post for an ebay machine. Ive always been oddly excited by the format but never saw a machine at a good price before.

[DreamcastRIP]

If it is an NTSC-only player then it's far from being a disaster. Just check out the tonnes of NTSC LaserDisc movies on eBay for sale within the UK to see what I mean.

Also, it's sometimes the case that the NTSC version of a movie has a superior quality soundtrack to the PAL release, i.e. many PAL movies only had a digital audio track whereas NTSC movies commonly also featured the lovely, rich sounding analogue soundtrack too.

None of that highly digitally compressed audio you get on DVDs which, relatively speaking, sounds flat due to its lack of frequency range. Such LaserDisc movies have a noticeably superior raw analogue audio track that dumps all over DVD from a great height. Great stuff!

[rolan]

It works with ntsc discs thankfully although not having a remote probably prevents me from selecting an audio track, unless there is something im missing its a kenwood player, ebay is a bit of a killer post wise but is the only option i can think of to get discs from lol.

[Lorfarius]

Some of them have a switch on the back to change region. Had a look?

[oldtimer]

i own one of the first commercial UK laser disc players (PHILIPS LASERVISION) and also a HITACHI CED Player, so i always love to hear about anyone else who has an interest in these amazing machines .

[rolan]

I dont think it has a switch and didnt notice one, unfortunately and its so huge I dont really want to give myself a hernia disconnecting it to double check lol, they are awesome but really,really expensive to get movies for due to the bloody postage i love the look on peoples faces when i show them the discs though lol.

[oldtimer]

i just love my laser disc playesr so .... RETROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[Sokurah]

I also have a Laserdisc player - a Pioneer one (don't remember the model).
I bought it around 1990 and it's region-fixed so it plays both NTSC and PAL discs.
I think I have about 150 discs for it, but I haven't used it for at least 10 years.

[oldtimer]

just picked up two laserdisc players on ebay today, £32 for both .... untested as per auction, but ive just collected them and they both work fine, one is an old pioneer and the other one is a Setron, no remotes and very scruffy but both work.

[rocky1980]

just picked up two laserdisc players on ebay today, £32 for both .... untested as per auction, but ive just collected them and they both work fine, one is an old pioneer and the other one is a Setron, no remotes and very scruffy but both work.

Lucky mate, I was watching a nice one back in Jan all tested with PAL / NTSC switch remote the works.... £150........ Oh well one day

[oldtimer]

there are plenty about at good prices as long as you are not too picky on condition and make/model...
ive bought half a dozen over the last year or two ,none over £50 ,

[rocky1980]

Will keep looking, need one that plays both NTSC and PAL discs plus one with a remote would be good