Mystery Laserdisc player

[ArthurDent]

Hello,

I call this a mystery player because several searches on various search engines (incl. Google) and even the manufacturer's websites amazingly returned no results at all! That's odd because even the most obscure of components can be found on the internet, so I was a bit baffled by its complete lack of reference material...

It's a Teac combination Video CD/CD/laserdisc karaoke player, manufactured in Japan in April 1997, the model is LV-5500KC "version 2 Video CD/CD/laserdisc" and features AC3 Dolby and RF out. (no S-video or RGB). It has a clever single drawer ejection system where the smaller CD drawer is actually embedded in the bigger laserdisc drawer and has two separate eject buttons for either drawer.

I tested the device and the Video CD/CD portion works flawlessly, but sadly, I do not own actual laserdiscs so I can't test the laserdisc operation itself (but since the two share a single laser diode sled assembly, I imagine it also works fine). Sadly the remote control unit didn't come with the player, and i very much doubt i'll ever find it.

I acquired it after a friend of mine was asked to clean-up an abandoned condo where the previous owners left all their expensive furniture and electronic equipment, and they were of japanese origin, so perhaps a clue to the fact that the device might have been for the japanese market only. It's a rather hefty machine and its front bezel and top cover are a rather garish brushed bronze/copper color... :P

If anyone happen to have any reference to that player, I would be most grateful if you could direct me to a web link for it. Perhaps I could find an user's manual to comprehend its operation and various functions and specs.

Many thanks in advance

Robert

[percival007]

Any chance of some piccies?

Externals and internals?

[ArthurDent]

Yes, certainly. Here's the front end. I'm sorry I won't be able to post pictures of its innards right now because I'm about to go on a trip in the US for a few days.



The front panel's ugly color has a name... I was told thias color was quite popular in the early to late 80's and was called "champagne". Dang! Doesn't look like any champagne I ever drank!

It's fully operational in the audio department, but I don't have and laserdiscs so I can't test the video section. So right now, it could act as a large and cumbersome CD player.

I'll try to post more images in the next few weeks.

Robert

[Steerpike]

Originally Posted by ArthurDent

(no S-video or RGB).

That is no disadvantage: Laservision stores the video on disc in composite format, so there is nothing to be gained from splitting the composite to Y/C or RGB inside the player, as opposed to in the TV set.

It has a clever single drawer ejection system where the smaller CD drawer is actually embedded in the bigger laserdisc drawer and has two separate eject buttons for either drawer.

That was a 'feature' of several Pioneer models. Maybe this is a badge engineered Pioneer.