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Sony LDP-1500

Thanks to Hartmut Hackl for the picture.

This is a PAL laser disc player that was not used in any laser disc games from the factory.  Using the Laser Ace Conversion Card, this player can be used in Euro / Atari Dragon's Lair and the Euro / Atari Space Ace.  For more information on which games it will work with, see the Laser Ace home page.

The LD player must be set to 9600 baud rate for proper communication with the PCB.  The dip switch settings for the Sony LDP-1500 are:  1-down, 2-down, 3-down, 4-up.  For info on the Command Set, check the Sony Command Set page.
The laserdisc player can be controlled mainly by an external computer with an RS-232C interface. The player are designed to play Analogue soundtrack Laservision discs only and are not compatible with NTSC or PAL Laserdiscs and CD Videos with digital PCM soundtracks. If in doubt look out for discs with a CX noise reduction logo as this is only used on analogue soundtracks.

In addition to computer control the LDP-3600D (and probably others in the series) can be controlled with the optional RM-2001 remote control unit.

The factory preset data format is as follows :

  • Asynchronous mode
  • 8 bits character length
  • 1200 bps baud rate (adjustable via selector on back of unit between 1200, 2400, 4800, 9600 bps)
  • No parity check
  • Least significant bit first (1 bit stop bit)
Due to my lack of programming skills I simply created batch files which sent the requisite character to the serial port.
For example:    play.bat ==>    echo ":"  >com2
In the table below you will find the majority of the command codes for basic operation of a Lasermax machine.
 
COMMAND CHARACTER
Chapter Inquiry v
Chapter Mode i
Clear All V
Resume the mode prior to Still a
CX Noise Reduction On n
CX Noise Reduction Off o
Open the disc compartment *
Fast Forward ;
Frame Advance +
Frame Mode U
Frame Reverse ,
Forward Scan >
Forward Skip  -
Forward Slow <
Variable forward play =
Index On P
Index Off Q
Memorize the current location Z
Locate the memorized location [
Set mark position s
Menu B
Start-up spindle motor b
Stop spindle motor c
Audio mute on $
Audio Mute off %
Play :
Repeat D
Rewind K
Reverse Play J
Scan in reverse N
Reverse skip .
Slow reverse play L
Variable reverse play M
Still O
Stop ?