Pioneer Corporation today announced 1-14-09 that it will cease to manufacture its LaserDisc (LD) players upon completing the production of a total of approximately 3,000 more players. In 1980, Pioneer introduced its first consumer LD player. The company has seen worldwide sales of its LD players reach more than 9.5 million units to date in a market that saw worldwide sales top 16.8 million devices. However, under the market environment in which new media such as DVD and Blu-ray discs now dominate, it has become difficult for Pioneer to procure the parts required to produce LD players. The final models produced by Pioneer are the DVL-919 (DVD/LD compatible player), CLD-R5 (LD/CD player), DVK-900 (DVD/LD karaoke system), and DVL-K88 (DVD/LD compatible karaoke player).
This sucks because I love my LaserDisc player. I wonder if I should replace my current model with the DVL-919 while I can. Oh well. Sucks to be me 🙁