FAQ:Tools

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What is ldplayer?

ldplayer is an optional utility that simply plays the audio and video from laserdisc CHD files. It behaves much like a real laserdisc player - you can pause, fast forward, rewind, and all the rest.

How do I use ldplayer?

First off, you build it the same way you build MAME, but add TARGET=ldplayer as a final option on the command line. mingw32-make TARGET=ldplayer on Windows, for example.

Secondly, while ldplayer uses the same default inipath as MAME, it looks for ldplayer.ini instead of mame.ini. To preserve your video and other options, make a copy of your mame.ini file named ldplayer.ini.

Next, go to your MAME ROMs folder and make a copy of cubeqst.zip (the ROMs for Cube Quest). Rename them as pr8210.zip.

Finally, run ldplayer like this: ldplayer pr8210 -rompath=c:\path\to\pr8210.zip;c:\path\to\chd\to\play

Note that the first path is the full path to the pr8210.zip file and the second is the full path to the laserdisc CHD file you wish to play. There is a semicolon - ; - between them.

Once ldplayer is running, you can hit Tab like usual and check out Inputs (this game) to see the controls. Space is the Play/Pause button, for instance. Note that some laserdiscs (notably Cube Quest) have 30 seconds or more of nothing at the start, so you either need to be patient or use fast-forward to start seeing video.