Laserdisc player

A Laserdisc player is an electro-mechanical device designed to play video (analog) and audio (analog or digital) stored on Laserdisc. Laserdisc was the first optical disc format marketed to consumers; it was introduced by MCA DiscoVision in 1978.

From 1978 until 1984, all Laserdisc player models read discs by using a helium–neon laser tube. In 1984, Pioneer Corporation introduced the first consumer player with a solid-state laser diode. This model, the Pioneer LD-700, was also the first Laserdisc player with a front-loading disc bay instead of a top-loading one. Pioneer became the market leader in Laserdisc technology.

In the 1990s, Pioneer and others produced a small number of a high-definition video player models, which employed multiple sub-Nyquist sampling encoding (MUSE) technology.

In 1996, Pioneer distributed their first DVD player in Japan: A combination Laserdisc/DVD player, model DVL-9.

Pioneer announced the end of Laserdisc player production in January 2009. The last models Pioneer produced were the DVL-919 (an LD/DVD player), CLD-R5 (an LD/CD player), DVK-900 (an LD/DVD karaoke system), and DVL-K88 (an LD/DVD karaoke player).

The earliest players employed gas helium–neon laser tubes to read discs and had a red-orange light with a wavelength of 628 nm, while later solid-state players used infrared semiconductor laser diodes with a wavelength of 780 nm. Many Pioneer Model-III (DiscoVision PR-7820), VP-1000, LD-1100, LD-660 and PR-8210s are still in good working order. Both the Magnavox Magnavision and the Pioneer LD players used the same model of laser tube. Optical hobbyists have been known to cannibalize the laser tube machines. From 1978 to 1984, all Laserdisc players, either industrial or consumer, used Helium-Neon laser tubes.

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