VP-1000A

Pioneer's very first consumer LaserDisc player. To this day, there remains a mystique about this player. Like the LD-660 player, it either favors CLV or CAV discs, rarely both. It also uses a step tangential circuit which applies additional gain in the time-base correction system at fixed points in the laser slider path. This can produce uneven picture results in some eccentric discs. The tangential correction is accomplished with the use of a 2^nd pivoting mirror. This same pickup assembly concept pictured here on the right was utilized on all gas tube units manufactured by Pioneer until the introduction of the Laser Diode pickup system. Pioneer continued to use the tangential mirror correction concept through the first two Laser Diode players, the LD-700 & LD-900 before moving to an "orbital floating" lens assembly on the CLD-909.

The A variant, included several enhanced features and hardware modifications. The unit included an upgraded power supply, which was less prone to fires and premature failure. CLV playback on "less than perfect" discs was enhanced. The slider pickup assembly received a beefed up unit, including a total of five tangential incremental steps, two more than the original unit. Also improved were search times on chapter encoded discs. None of the units can perform a Time based search on CLV discs.

Upon startup, the player begins playback at the point defined by the players inner limit setting. This can cause some problems on older CLV titles where the player will refuse to play the beginning of a side. Upon encountering an end of side code, the player enters "Repeat" and searches back to the beginning of the disc. The functionality of AutoStop is enabled by turning the frame display on. With the display off, the code is ignored, allowing the proper playback of Frenzy Side 5. Of course, that also makes playing the "MysteryDisc" titles very annoying.

The VP-1000A offered the best analog audio reproduction of any LaserDisc player produced. The sound is smooth, dynamic and coherent. Treble is crystal clear without being edgy or bright. The base is deep and powerful with good impact. The addition of the Pioneer CX decoder further enhances the listenability of the unit.

Advantages	Disadvantages
632nm HeNe Laser Can ignores Auto Picture stop Excellent audio reproduction Will play MCA Code GM discs in "free-form" mode	Step tangential time-base correction