User:Megapixie/Laserdisc
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The LaserDisc (LD) is a home video disc format, and was the first commercial optical disc storage medium. Initially marketed as Discovision in 1978, the technology was licensed and sold as Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Videodisc, Laservision, Disco-Vision, DiscoVision, and MCA DiscoVision until Pioneer Electronics purchased the majority stake in the format and marketed it as LaserDisc in 1983.
Media type | Analogue Optical disc |
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Encoding | Pulse modulated FM signal. NTSC or PAL video and audio. |
Capacity | 60 minutes per side CLV 30 minutes per side CAV |
Read mechanism | 780 nm wavelength semiconductor laser |
Standard | IEC 856/IEC 857 [1] |
Developed by | Philips & MCA, later Pioneer |
Usage | Home video Data Storage |
While the format itself produced a consistently higher quality image than its rivals, the VHS and Betamax systems, it was poorly received in North America. In Europe and Australia, it also remained largely an obscure format. It was, however, much more popular in Japan and in the more affluent regions of South East Asia, such as Hong Kong and Singapore. Laserdisc was the prevalent rental video medium in Hong Kong during the 1990s.
The technology and concepts provided with the Laserdisc would become the forerunner to Compact Discs and DVDs.