I was so “into” LD in the 90s that I still have a sealed, NIB Realistic-branded (made by Nippon Pioneer) player with a Sept. 1990 build date stashed away! I had amassed a collection of about 450 titles and bought it in around ‘94 at “clearance” pricing to hedge my bets against obsolescence, but never even opened the box because I ended up divesting of my LDs with the advent of DVD. By that time it was obvious that DVDs would replace LDs, and the newest players were starting to get cost-cut with wimpier spindle motors, flimsier disc drawers, weaker sled steppers and gears, and decreased quality laser heads; my 80s-early 90s Pioneer players were about twice as heavy as the stuff that was sold in the mid-90s.)
In very sharp contrast to the arguments that vinyl is superior to CDs, there’s absolutely no argument (other than silly nostalgia, which is irrational) to prefer LDs to DVDs. The discs are big, heavy, and often imbalanced (which causes a lot of mechanical noise during playback, as they spin MUCH faster than CDs), and are very susceptible to becoming unplayable due to “laser rot”, so even buying a pristine, sealed disc is a gamble (remember, the discs haven’t been made in about 20 years at this point, which is more than enough time to deteriorate even if sealed and stored in an optimal environment).
The video (recorded analog) quality is frankly piss-poor by today’s standards, and the optimal recording format (constant angular velocity) allowed only 60 minutes per side, so longer titles were spread across multiple discs. Audio could be encoded either digitally or analog (frequency-modulated similar to the way video tapes were recorded); the digital audio quality was actually the best attribute of LDs, and in fact LD players could actually do a better job with CD playback than most dedicated CD players at the time (owing largely to the very robust transport mechs loafing along when playing lightweight CDs, resulting in fewer read errors/“jitter”), and lots of audiophiles used the players exclusively as dedicated CD transports back in the day.
(I’m keeping the NIB player for the time-being in case I ever run across a nice Dragon’s Lair with a dead player at a bargain basement selling price, as its transport mech is a drop-in replacement. Also, it’s is a nice example of the kind of heavy-duty Japanese electronics quality that hasn’t existed in at least 25 years and probably can’t be obtained today at any price.)
A long-winded way of saying that LDs were cool tech when new, but offer absolutely no advantages at all in the 21st century, and really aren’t worth the effort (unless you are EXTREMELY bored and have a surplus of storage space for the discs, which are the same size as LPs but twice the thickness and probably 3x the mass). Not only do the discs degrade even when stored properly, but the remaining functional players are essentially unserviceable ticking time-bombs just biding their time until their unobtanium laser heads give up the ghost (which happens far more quickly than in a CD or DVD player, especially with Sony units).
If you are really committed though, good luck and have fun! Just know that using LDs in the 2020s is about as rational as installing an 8-track player in a new car!
Crofton, MD
Leduc, AB
lol
