Okay, I've just bought a Laserdisc Player from Ebay for the grand sum of £10.88.

It plays both PAL and NTSC. It was made in 1990 so it'll play CLV CAV CDV etcetera... It's got Digital Audio out but I don't know if it's 5.1 channel - I'm not that bothered about Surround Sound to tell you the truth...

Anyway, the problem is, that it wasn't until I bought it, that I realised that it MAY not come with a remote control. I can't buy a replacement infrared control because the original remote was "wired". It's an industrial unit that was primarily designed for presentations...

I've emailed the seller but he hasn't responded yet.

Now, I've searched for HOURS today, first finding a user manual for the thing (which I found) and then once I found the part-code of the remote, I went searching for that. I can't find it anywhere...

The player only has two buttons on the front: Play and Stop.

Will I be able to get past menus on Laserdiscs without being able to select specific chapters? Will I just be able to press play and it will play the menu for a little while and then progress???

I'm not bothered about being unable to fast-forward or whatever. I've purchased it so that I can link it up to a DVD Recorder and archive some Laserdiscs. I just hope that I can get past the menus.

There is a ray of hope.

The player has an RS-232 serial port which I could connect to my PC with an RS-232 to USB cable. The problem here though, is that I can't find any software which would act as a "virtual" remote control.

There are some mega-expensive remote controls with RS-232 ports on, like Philip's Pronto, but I'm not paying £200.00 for a bloody remote control when the player only cost me eleven quid.

It's been many years since I used Laser Disc.

If I'm not mistaken though mate, Laser Discs didn't have menu's in the same way that DVD's do where they sit there until PLAY is pressed... I think you hit play and the film (or whatever) starts up...

I could be wrong though.

On another point, the output won't be 5.1... if it is surround it will probably be Pro Logic.

Maybe some other better qualified 'Tech-Heads' will help you more, but thats what I reckon

Sounds like a good deal anyhoo

RocknRollisalive said:

I hope you're right!

Here's a picture of the thing...



The seller says it's in good working order but also mentions that "no leads" are included. I just didn't realise that the remote was a wired unit which actually plugs in.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/...RK:MEWN:IT



It's sort of stormtrooper-grey, isn't it? I can imagine this being used by Darth Vader to watch movies on the Death Star.

This page: http://www.laserdiscarchi..._vp380.htm says that it originally cost £1,395 when it was first sold in 1990. I have no idea why it was so expensive, or how I've got it so cheaply. Maybe it does something I'm not aware of.