History Platform / LaserDisc

The early years of laserdisc were turbulent, to say the least. For the first few years of the format's existence, a ''name'' could not even be agreed upon by Philips (Dutch electronics giant) and MCA (parent company of Universal Studios), the co-developers of the format. Philips, in charge of player manufacturing under their Magnavox brand, preferred "[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Video Long Play]]," but MCA—handling the software side of things—disc production) called it "[[TotallyRadical DiscoVision]]."\\\

The early years of laserdisc were turbulent, to say the least. For the first few years of the format's existence, a ''name'' could not even be agreed upon by Philips (Dutch electronics giant) and MCA (parent company of Universal Studios), the co-developers of the format. Philips (in charge of player manufacturing under their Magnavox brand) preferred "[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Video Long Play]]," but MCA (in charge of disc production) called it "[[TotallyRadical DiscoVision]]."\\\

Disc production in the early years of the format was plagued with problems. In a stunning example of corporate naiveté, MCA had assumed that manufacturing a laserdisc—a precision object constructed of many stacked, alternating layers of plastic, glue, and aluminum—would be [[IgnoranceIsBliss hardly more complex than pressing vinyl records,]] allowing for a handsome profit margin on each disc sold. [=DiscoVision=] discs were made (largely by hand) in a facility that was not equipped with [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleanroom clean rooms]], and [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong was the former site of a furniture factory.]] Needless to say, the quality of early laserdiscs was horrendous, with return rates exceeding 90 percent. MCA's profit margins on [=DiscoVision=] titles [[RichesToRags evaporated practically overnight]]. Corporate panic ensued, and [[DamageControl retail prices were raised]] in an ultimately-futile attempt to cut their losses.\\\

Both companies were pushing the envelope incredibly far for what was, after all, a [[TheSeventies '70s]] consumer product, and making too many critical mistakes along the way. The end result was technological chaos. [[GoneHorriblyWrong Magnavox's players largely could not play MCA's discs]]; when they did, the image onscreen was often covered with snow and distortion, and the audio was usually filled with static. This was in spite of the fact that, at the last minute before launch, playing time per disc was [[LastDitchMove temporarily slashed]] from two hours to just 50 minutes, making them (supposedly) [[DestructiveSaviour much easier to manufacture and play back]]. (The ensuing side effect––that all early [=DiscoVision=] movies had to span across two or ''three'' laserdiscs instead of being contained on just one––[[IDidWhatIHadToDo added insult to injury]] for those unfortunate early adopters, and helped to drain MCA's coffers even further.) To this day, watching an old [=DiscoVision=] laserdisc is a fraught experience because [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness you simply have no idea what you will see or hear; if the disc will even start up at all; or how long it will keep playing]] if it actually ''does'' start.\\\

Both companies were pushing the envelope too far for what was, after all, a [[TheSeventies '70s]] consumer product, and making too many critical mistakes along the way. The end result was technological chaos. [[GoneHorriblyWrong Magnavox's players largely could not play MCA's discs]]; when they did, the image onscreen was often covered with snow and distortion, and the audio was usually filled with static. This was in spite of the fact that, at the last minute before launch, playing time per disc was [[LastDitchMove temporarily slashed]] from two hours to just 50 minutes, making them (supposedly) [[DestructiveSaviour much easier to manufacture and play back]]. (The ensuing side effect––that all early [=DiscoVision=] movies had to span across two or ''three'' laserdiscs instead of being contained on just one––[[IDidWhatIHadToDo added insult to injury]] for those unfortunate early adopters, and helped to drain MCA's coffers even further.) To this day, watching an old [=DiscoVision=] laserdisc is a fraught experience because [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness you simply have no idea what you will see or hear; if the disc will even start up at all; or how long it will keep playing]] if it actually ''does'' start.\\\

Barely out of the gate, laserdisc had essentially shot itself in the foot at a critical time in history, just as home video was finally becoming a reality for the average consumer. As laserdisc stumbled through its first years on the market, most consumers brought video cassette recorders into their homes instead. The entire [=DiscoVision=] debacle ensured that videotapes, not videodiscs, would be the standard format for home video entertainment during the [[TheEighties '80s]] and [[TheNineties '90s]]. As the seventies came to a close, the laserdisc format itself was practically dead, less than two years after its debut.

The format was envisioned as a high-tech audiovisual successor to LP records, and though the two formats ended up having almost nothing in common, laserdisc still bears a few vestigial similarities: physically, it's a 12" diameter disc with two sides, stored inside a cardboard jacket. A laserdisc side can last up to 60 minutes. ''All'' laserdiscs are double-sided, though one side may be blank if the program is under an hour long.

The early years of laserdisc were turbulent, to say the least. For the first few years of the format's existence, a ''name'' could not even be agreed upon by MCA (parent company of Universal Studios) and Philips, the co-developers of the format. MCA (in charge of disc production) called it "[[TotallyRadical DiscoVision]]," but Philips (in charge of player manufacturing under their Magnavox brand) preferred "[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Video Long Play]]."\\\

Barely out of the gate, laserdisc had essentially shot itself in the foot at a critical time in history, just as home video was finally becoming a reality for the average consumer. The entire [=DiscoVision=] debacle ensured that videotapes, not videodiscs, would be the standard format for home video entertainment during the [[TheEighties '80s]] and [[TheNineties '90s]]. As the seventies came to a close, the laserdisc format itself was practically dead after less than two years on the market.

Both companies were pushing the envelope too far for what was, after all, a [[TheSeventies '70s]] consumer product, and making too many critical mistakes along the way. The end result was technological chaos. [[GoneHorriblyWrong Magnavox's players largely could not play MCA's discs]]; when they did, the image onscreen was often covered with snow and distortion, and the audio was usually filled with static. This was in spite of the fact that, at the last minute before launch, playing time per disc was temporarily slashed from two hours to just 50 minutes, making them (supposedly) [[DestructiveSaviour much easier to manufacture and play back]]. (The ensuing side effect––that all early [=DiscoVision=] movies had to span across two or ''three'' laserdiscs instead of being contained on just one––[[IDidWhatIHadToDo added insult to injury]] for those unfortunate early adopters, and helped to drain MCA's coffers even further.) To this day, watching an old [=DiscoVision=] laserdisc is a fraught experience because [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness you simply have no idea what you will see or hear; if the disc will even start up at all; or how long it will keep playing]] if it actually ''does'' start.\\\

Both companies were pushing the envelope too hard for what was, after all, a [[TheSeventies '70s]] consumer product, and making too many critical mistakes along the way. The end result was technological chaos. [[GoneHorriblyWrong Magnavox's players largely could not play MCA's discs]]; when they did, the image onscreen was often covered with snow and distortion, and the audio was usually filled with static. This was in spite of the fact that, at the last minute before launch, playing time per disc was temporarily slashed from two hours to just 50 minutes, making them (supposedly) [[DestructiveSaviour much easier to manufacture and play back]]. (The ensuing side effect––that all early [=DiscoVision=] movies had to span across two or ''three'' laserdiscs instead of being contained on just one––[[IDidWhatIHadToDo added insult to injury]] for those unfortunate early adopters, and helped to drain MCA's coffers even further.) To this day, watching an old [=DiscoVision=] laserdisc is a fraught experience because [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness you simply have no idea what you will see or hear; if the disc will even start up at all; or how long it will keep playing]] if it actually ''does'' start.\\\

Laserdisc had essentially shot itself in the foot at a critical time in history, just as home video was finally becoming a reality for the average consumer. The entire [=DiscoVision=] debacle ensured that videotapes, not videodiscs, would be the standard format for home video entertainment during the [[TheEighties '80s]] and [[TheNineties '90s]]. As the seventies came to a close, the laserdisc format itself was practically dead after less than two years on the market.

Both companies were pushing the envelope too hard for what was, after all, a [[TheSeventies '70s]] consumer product, and the end result was technological chaos. [[GoneHorriblyWrong Magnavox's players largely could not play MCA's discs]]; when they did, the image onscreen was covered with snow and distortion, and the audio was filled with static. This was in spite of the fact that, at the last minute before launch, playing time per disc was temporarily slashed from two hours to just 50 minutes, making them (supposedly) [[DestructiveSaviour much easier to manufacture and play back]]. (The ensuing side effect––that all early [=DiscoVision=] movies had to span across two or ''three'' laserdiscs instead of being contained on just one––[[IDidWhatIHadToDo added insult to injury]] for those unfortunate early adopters, and helped to drain MCA's coffers even further.) To this day, watching an old [=DiscoVision=] laserdisc is a fraught experience because [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness you simply have no idea what you will see or hear; if the disc will even start up at all; or how long it will keep playing]] if it actually ''does'' start.\\\

The format was envisioned as a high-tech audiovisual successor to LP records, and though the two formats ended up having almost nothing in common, laserdisc still bears a few vestigial similarities: physically, it's a 12" diameter disc with two sides, stored inside a cardboard sleeve. A laserdisc side can last up to 60 minutes. ''All'' laserdiscs are double-sided, though one side may be blank if the program is under an hour long.

The early years of laserdisc were turbulent, to say the least. For the first few years of the format's existence, a ''name'' could not even be agreed upon by MCA (parent company of Universal Studios) and Philips, the co-developers of the format. MCA (in charge of disc production) called it "[[TotallyRadical DiscoVision]]," but Philips (in charge of player manufacturing) preferred "[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Video Long Play]]."\\\

Meanwhile, Philips was having its own problems with player manufacturing. The machines had a nasty habit of overheating, sometimes to the point of [[LavaPit melting the disc inside]]. Worst of all, Philips was calibrating each player [[BotheringByTheBook strictly by the book]], without any regard for the [[ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem wild quality variations]] of MCA's early laserdiscs. (''Truly'' worst of all was a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRAufdE73P0 laserdisc informercial]] produced by Philips during this era, which devoted an alarming amount of screen time to Creator/LeonardNimoy inexplicably talking to a rock.) \\\

[[GoneHorriblyWrong Philips' players largely could not play MCA's discs]]; when they did, the image onscreen was covered with snow and distortion, and the audio was filled with static. This was in spite of the fact that, at the last minute before launch, playing time per disc was temporarily slashed from two hours to just 50 minutes, making them (supposedly) [[DestructiveSaviour much easier to manufacture and play back]]. (The ensuing side effect––that all early [=DiscoVision=] movies had to span across two or ''three'' laserdiscs instead of being contained on just one––[[IDidWhatIHadToDo added insult to injury]] for those unfortunate early adopters, and helped to drain MCA's coffers even further.) To this day, watching an old [=DiscoVision=] laserdisc is a fraught experience because [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness you simply have no idea what you will see or hear; if the disc will even start up at all; or how long it will keep playing]] if it actually ''does'' start.

The audio capabilities of laserdisc also trade blows with DVD, with excellent-quality soundtracks available on most titles released during the 90s, often transferred directly from theatrical sound mixes at full resolution. (UsefulNotes/{{DVD}}s by default use a lossy compression scheme, and often have inferior sound mixes designed for the home.) [=LaserDisc=] data could be burned onto the disc in two different ways, Constant Angular Velocity (CAV) and Constant Linear Velocity (CLV). On CAV discs[[note]]Which have 30 minutes per side, and are also known as "standard play".[[/note]], once around the disc was one frame of image. The advantage of CAV was that freeze-framing, scanning forward and backward, etc., could be done by a simple mechanical variation of the motor speed. The disadvantage was that it wasted space; the data recorded towards the outside of the disc was spread out relative to the data close to the center. CLV discs[[note]]Which have 60 minutes per side. Also known as "extended play", these are the discs used for most movies.[[/note]], by contrast, wasted no space, but showing the picture while pausing, fast-forwarding, and such required mildly complicated math on the fly. Cheap [=LaserDisc=] players couldn't do it. Those that could were referred to as having "the chip". Note that one physical disc could have CLV data on one side and CAV data on the other. ''Film/TheFugitive'' has the first side encoded CAV, and the other two sides are CLV. Thus, if you had a cheap LD player, you could freeze-frame the movie only on the first side.

Laserdiscs are strictly playback-only, but a vast library of program material became available during its 23-year lifespan. The final retail laserdisc releases came out in 2001, with industrial-only releases (mostly for [[KaraokeBox Japanese karaoke venues]]) winding down the following year.

The format is strictly playback-only, but a vast library of program material was released on laserdisc during its 23-year lifespan. The final retail laserdisc releases came out in 2001, with industrial-only releases (mostly for [[KaraokeBox Japanese karaoke venues]]) winding down the following year.

By today's standards, a laserdisc resembles a UsefulNotes/CompactDisc the size of a 12" vinyl record, even though laserdiscs hit the market several years before [=CD=]s. It would therefore be more accurate to describe a [=CD=]'s appearance as that of a miniaturized laserdisc, and indeed, the Compact Disc was often nicknamed "audio laserdisc" in the early days of both formats.

[[GoneHorriblyWrong Philips' players largely could not play MCA's discs]]; when they did, the image onscreen was covered with snow and distortion, and the audio was filled with static. This was in spite of the fact that, at the last minute before launch, playing time per disc was temporarily slashed from two hours to just 50 minutes, making them (supposedly) [[DestructiveSaviour much easier to manufacture and play back]]. (The ensuing side effect––that all early [=DiscoVision=] movies had to span across two or ''three'' laserdiscs instead of being contained on just one––[[CruelToBeKind added insult to injury]] for those unfortunate early adopters, and helped to drain MCA's coffers even further.) To this day, watching an old [=DiscoVision=] laserdisc is a fraught experience because [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness you simply have no idea what you will see or hear; if the disc will even start up at all; or how long it will keep playing]] if it actually ''does'' start.

Disc production in the early years of the format was plagued with problems. In a stunning example of corporate naiveté, MCA had assumed that manufacturing a laserdisc—a precision object constructed of many stacked, alternating layers of plastic, glue, and aluminum—would be [[IgnoranceIsBliss hardly more complex than pressing vinyl records,]] allowing for a handsome profit margin on each disc sold. [=DiscoVision=] discs were made (largely by hand) in a facility that was not equipped with [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleanroom clean rooms]], and [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong was the former site of a furniture factory.]] Needless to say, the quality of early laserdiscs was horrendous, with return rates exceeding 90 percent. MCA's profit margins on [=DiscoVision=] titles [[RichesToRags evaporated practically overnight]]. Corporate panic ensued, and [[ResistanceIsFutile retail prices were raised]] in an ultimately-futile attempt to cut their losses.\\\

Meanwhile, Philips was having its own problems with player manufacturing. The machines had a nasty habit of overheating, sometimes to the point of [[LavaPit melting the disc inside]]. Worst of all, Philips was calibrating each player strictly by the book, without any regard for the wild quality variations of MCA's early laserdiscs. (''Truly'' worst of all was a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRAufdE73P0 laserdisc informercial]] produced by Philips during this era, which devoted an alarming amount of screen time to Creator/LeonardNimoy inexplicably talking to a rock.) \\\

Philips' players largely could not play MCA's discs; when they did, the image onscreen was covered with snow and distortion, and the audio was filled with static. This was in spite of the fact that, at the last minute before launch, playing time per disc was temporarily slashed from two hours to just 50 minutes, making them (supposedly) [[DestructiveSaviour much easier to manufacture and play back]]. (The ensuing side effect––that all early [=DiscoVision=] movies had to span across two or ''three'' laserdiscs instead of being contained on just one––[[CruelToBeKind added insult to injury]] for those unfortunate early adopters, and helped to drain MCA's coffers even further.) To this day, watching an old [=DiscoVision=] laserdisc is a fraught experience because [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness you simply have no idea what you will see or hear; if the disc will even start up at all; or how long it will keep playing]] if it actually ''does'' start.

Because of their disastrous experience with [=DiscoVision=], MCA lost a fortune and was eager to be rid of the format. In 1980, Pioneer Electronics bought out [=DiscoVision=]'s rights and patents, and subsequently renamed it "[=LaserVision=]," with the format introduced in Japan in 1981. (Had Pioneer not stepped in, laserdisc as a format would have assuredly ceased to exist after 1980.) Although they would later use "[=LaserDisc=]"[[note]]This specific spelling[[/note]] as a brand name, [=LaserVision=] was the official name of the format until the early 1990s, when Pioneer finally began to use "[=LaserDisc=]" as the format's official name.\\\

Philips' players largely could not play MCA's discs; when they did, the image onscreen was covered with snow and distortion, and the audio was filled with static. This was in spite of the fact that, at the last minute before launch, playing time per disc was temporarily slashed from two hours to just 50 minutes, making them (supposedly) much easier to manufacture and play back. (The ensuing side effect––that all early [=DiscoVision=] movies had to span across two or ''three'' laserdiscs instead of being contained on just one––added insult to injury for those unfortunate early adopters, and helped to drain MCA's coffers even further.) To this day, watching an old [=DiscoVision=] laserdisc is a fraught experience because [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness you simply have no idea what you will see or hear; if the disc will even start up at all; or how long it will keep playing]] if it actually ''does'' start.

Meanwhile, Philips was having its own problems with player manufacturing. The machines had a nasty habit of overheating, sometimes to the point of ''melting the disc'' inside. Worst of all, Philips was calibrating each player strictly by the book, without any regard for the wild quality variations of MCA's early laserdiscs. (''Truly'' worst of all was a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRAufdE73P0 laserdisc informercial]] produced by Philips during this era, which devoted an alarming amount of screen time to Creator/LeonardNimoy inexplicably talking to a rock.) \\\

The format is strictly playback-only, but a vast library of program material was released on laserdisc during its 23-year lifespan. The final retail laserdisc releases came out in 2001, with industrial-only releases (mostly for [[KaraokeBox commercial karaoke machines]]) winding down the following year.

The format is strictly playback-only, but a vast library of program material was released on laserdisc during its 23-year lifespan. The final retail laserdisc releases came out in 2001, with industrial-only releases (as in, small batches of non-movie discs) winding down the following year.

Disc production in the early years of the format was plagued with problems. With typical corporate brash naiveté, MCA had assumed that manufacturing a laserdisc—a precision object constructed of many stacked, alternating layers of plastic, glue, and aluminum—would be [[IgnoranceIsBliss hardly more complex than pressing vinyl records,]] allowing for a handsome profit margin on each disc sold. [=DiscoVision=] discs were made (largely by hand) in a facility that was not equipped with [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleanroom clean rooms]], and [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong was the former site of a furniture factory.]] Needless to say, the quality of early laserdiscs was horrendous, with return rates exceeding 90 percent. MCA's profit margins on [=DiscoVision=] titles evaporated practically overnight. Corporate panic ensued, and retail prices were raised in an ultimately-futile attempt to cut their losses.\\\

[[folder:The disco era]]

Meanwhile, Philips was having its own problems with player manufacturing. The machines had a nasty habit of overheating, sometimes to the point of ''melting the disc'' inside. Worst of all, Philips was calibrating each player strictly by the book, without any regard for the wild quality variations of MCA's early laserdiscs. (''Truly'' worst of all was a laserdisc informercial produced by Philips during this era, which devoted an alarming amount of screen time to Creator/LeonardNimoy inexplicably talking to a rock.) \\\

The format is strictly playback-only, but a vast library of content was released on laserdisc during its 23-year lifespan. The final retail laserdisc releases came out in 2001, with industrial-only releases (as in, non-movies) winding down the following year.

'''[=LaserDisc=]''' is an optical disc format, primarily used for playback of analog video recordings. It was the first laser storage medium to be sold as a consumer product, and is the direct ancestor of formats like [=CD=], [=DVD=], and Blu-ray. The technology first began serious development in [[TheSixties the late 1960s]]; however, it didn't debut as a retail product until December 1978.

'''[=LaserDisc=]''' is an optical disc format, primarily used for playback of analog video recordings. It was the first optical disc format to be sold as a consumer product, and is the direct ancestor of formats like [=CD=], [=DVD=], and Blu-ray. The technology first began serious development in [[TheSixties the late 1960s]]; however, it didn't debut as a retail product until December 1978.

[=LaserDisc=] (originally a trademarked term invented by Pioneer Electronics) is an optical storage medium primarily used for video recordings. It was the first optical disc format to be sold as a consumer product, and is the direct ancestor of formats like [=CD=], [=DVD=], and Blu-ray. The technology first began serious development in [[TheSixties the late 1960s]]; however, it didn't debut as a retail product until December 1978.

By today's standards, a laserdisc resembles a UsefulNotes/CompactDisc the size of a vinyl record album, even though laserdiscs hit the market several years before [=CD=]s. It would therefore be more accurate to describe a [=CD=]'s appearance as that of a miniaturized laserdisc, and indeed, the Compact Disc was often nicknamed "audio laserdisc" in the early days of both formats.

Meanwhile, Philips was having its own problems with player manufacturing. The machines had a nasty habit of overheating, sometimes to the point of ''melting the disc'' inside. Worst of all, Philips was calibrating each player strictly by the book, without any regard for the wild quality variations of MCA's early laserdiscs. (''Truly'' worst of all was an informercial produced by Philips during this era, which devoted an alarming amount of screen time to Creator/LeonardNimoy inexplicably talking to a rock.) \\\

The early years of laserdisc were turbulent, to say the least. For the first few years of the format's existence, a ''name'' could not even be agreed upon by MCA (parent company of Universal Studios) and Philips, the co-developers of the format. MCA (in charge of disc production) called it "[[TotallyRadical DiscoVision]]," but Philips (in charge of player manufacturing) preferred "[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Video Long Play]]."

Disc production in the early years of the format was plagued with problems. Inexplicably, MCA had assumed that manufacturing a laserdisc—a precision object constructed of many stacked, alternating layers of plastic, glue, and aluminum—would be [[IgnoranceIsBliss hardly more complex than pressing vinyl records,]] allowing for a handsome profit margin on each disc sold. [=DiscoVision=] discs were made (largely by hand) in a facility that was not equipped with [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleanroom clean rooms]], and [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong was the former site of a furniture factory.]] Needless to say, the quality of early laserdiscs was horrendous, with return rates exceeding 90 percent. MCA's profit margins on [=DiscoVision=] titles evaporated practically overnight. Corporate panic ensued, and retail prices were raised in an ultimately-futile attempt to cut their losses.

Meanwhile, Philips was having its own problems with player manufacturing. The machines had a nasty habit of overheating, sometimes to the point of ''melting the disc'' inside. Worst of all, Philips was calibrating each player strictly by the book, without any regard for the wild quality variations of MCA's early laserdiscs.

Philips' players largely could not play MCA's discs; when they did, the image onscreen was covered with snow and distortion, and the audio was filled with static. This was in spite of the fact that, at the last minute before launch, playing time per disc was temporarily slashed from two hours to just 50 minutes, making them (supposedly) much easier to manufacture and play back. (The ensuing side effect––that all early [=DiscoVision=] movies had to span across two or ''three'' laserdiscs instead of being contained on just one––added insult to injury for those unfortunate early adopters, and helped to drain MCA's coffers even further.) To this day, watching an old [=DiscoVision=] title is a fraught experience because [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness you simply have no idea what you will see or hear; if the disc will even start up at all; or how long it will keep playing]] if it actually ''does'' start.

Because of their disastrous experience with [=DiscoVision=], MCA lost a fortune and was eager to be rid of the format. In 1980, Pioneer Electronics bought out [=DiscoVision=]'s rights and patents, and subsequently renamed it "[=LaserVision=]," with the format introduced in Japan in 1981. (Had Pioneer not stepped in, laserdisc as a format would have assuredly ceased to exist after 1982.) Although they would later use "[=LaserDisc=]"[[note]]This specific spelling[[/note]] as a brand name, [=LaserVision=] was the official name of the format until the early 1990s, when Pioneer finally began to use "[=LaserDisc=]" as the format's official name.

Despite superior sound and picture quality [=LaserDisc=] never caught on like [[UsefulNotes/{{VCR}} VHS]], but had a 5% market share until it was phased out completely by UsefulNotes/{{DVD}} in the year 2000. It was [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff more popular in Japan]] with 10% of households owning a [=LaserDisc=] player (which weren't discontinued until ''2009''). It was also popular in other wealthier East Asian regions, including Singapore and Hong Kong. Its popularity there was mainly due to the humidity in that part of the world causing mold to grow on magnetic tape, while optical media didn't have that problem. The [=LaserDisc=]'s quality came with some flaws. Storage capacity was quite low, and depending on the format would range from 30 to 60 minutes per side. Any movie that was over two hours would require multiple discs. The size of the disc also required a fairly noisy mechanism. In addition, the type of glue used to attach the two sides together was known to rot away, exposing the reflective layer inside and causing it to oxidize away, slowly turning the discs black and affecting playback and picture quality (this was called "laser rot" back in the day, and became more commonly known as "disc rot" after it was discovered to be possible in later optical disc formats as well). Perhaps more importantly, in the days before Tivo and other DVR devices, the [=LaserDisc=] couldn't tape your favorite shows.[[note]]Recordable, and even rewritable, [=LaserDiscs=] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LaserDisc#Recordable_formats did in fact exist]], but were marketed towards professionals and never achieved any significant penetration into the consumer market. This in addition to the fact that they were ungodly expensive and unaffordable to most people. Plus they can only record ''once'' like a UsefulNotes/{{DVD}}, assuming you're not thinking of DVD-RAM.[[/note]] That plus a steeper retail price for both the player and discs gave the VHS a decisive advantage. That said, in the '80s, the discs were significantly cheaper to buy than VHS tapes, which were largely intended for the rental market, which made [=LaserDisc=] popular with collectors. In the heyday of the medium the difference in quality between LD and VHS was significant enough that when LD aficionados bought a new disc, they would sometimes invite their (non-LD-owning) friends over to watch it at a "[=LaserDisc=] party" (as seen in the ''Series/{{Friends}}'' episode "[[Recap/FriendsS3E17TheOneWithoutTheSkiTrip The One Without The Ski Trip]]"). Dropping prices for VHS tapes eroded LD's advantage when Hollywood began to focus on video sales and studios targeted [=LaserDiscs=] for expensive {{Limited Special Collectors Ultimate Edition}}s aimed at film buffs. Said film buffs also enjoyed the fact that {{letterbox}}ed versions of almost every film[[note]]Only films shot natively in widescreen.
That's a little over half the movies from TheFifties and nearly every movie since then[[/note]] were available on [=LaserDisc=] in TheNineties, thus preserving the widescreen frame the director intended to present, unlike VHS and Beta releases where PanAndScan was everywhere and letterbox was rare.

With the exception of the Japanese ''Hi-Vision'' discs (which could only play on selected players from the same region and required a matching television set), [=LaserDisc=] was an ''uncompressed'' medium. If the disc was made from good master copies, this means that it had a better image than many UsefulNotes/{{DVD}}s (especially early ones), and will almost always have theater-grade sound quality. (UsefulNotes/{{DVD}}s by default use a lossy compression scheme, and often have inferior soundmixes designed for the home.) [=LaserDisc=] data could be burned onto the disc in two different ways, Constant Angular Velocity (CAV) and Constant Linear Velocity (CLV). On CAV discs[[note]]Which have 30 minutes per side, and are also known as "standard play".[[/note]], once around the disc was one frame of image. The advantage of CAV was that freeze-framing, scanning forward and backward, etc., could be done by a simple mechanical variation of the motor speed. The disadvantage was that it wasted space; the data recorded towards the outside of the disc was spread out relative to the data close to the center. CLV discs[[note]]Which have 60 minutes per side. Also known as "extended play", these are the discs used for most movies.[[/note]], by contrast, wasted no space, but showing the picture while pausing, fast-forwarding, and such required mildly complicated math on the fly. Cheap [=LaserDisc=] players couldn't do it. Those that could were referred to as having "the chip". Note that one physical disc could have CLV data on one side and CAV data on the other. ''Film/TheFugitive'' has the first side encoded CAV, and the other two sides are CLV. Thus, if you had a cheap LD player, you could freeze-frame the movie only on the first side.

The [=LaserDisc=] format also [[IncrediblyLamePun "pioneered"]] the practice of DVDBonusContent, such as DVDCommentary which first appeared on Creator/TheCriterionCollection [=LaserDisc=] release of ''Film/KingKong1933'' in 1984. Some of these releases had extra features that can't be found anywhere else, and some are highly sought-after by collectors. The 1993 [=LaserDisc=] boxset of the original ''Franchise/StarWars'' trilogy is still sometimes said to be the best release the series has gotten, since future DVD and UsefulNotes/BluRay releases don't have the unaltered versions of the films or the extensive extras and giant hardcover booklet that came with the set (the masters used for the original unaltered trilogy in the 2006 [=DVDs=] as extras were sourced from these discs).

[=LaserDiscs=] are also perhaps best known among the video game community for being the format used to created well known arcade games such as ''VideoGame/DragonsLair'' and ''VideoGame/SpaceAce'', which pioneered the use of full motion video in video games. There was even a laserdisc-based console system called the "Halcyon", which was discontinued after only two games were released for it: ''VideoGame/ThayersQuest'' and ''NFL Football''. In the mid-1990s, Pioneer released the [=LaserActive=], a game console that was more of a high-end all in one solution that, aside from [=LaserDisc=]-based titles, could also play UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis, UsefulNotes/SegaCD, UsefulNotes/TurboGrafx16, and Turbografx-CD titles; however, two different modules were required to play them. While lasting longer than the Halcyon, the [=LaserActive=] was also short lived with only several games released for it in Japan and North America.

One thing that contributed to the longevity of the [=LaserDisc=] player in Japan was that it was the ''preferred'' media for Karaoke in the country. While the west frowns upon Karaoke and many other countries in Asia switched to the more compact (albeit inferior image-wise) [=VideoCD=] format, Japan stuck to [=LaserDiscs=] until it was finally discontinued in 2009 for no other reason than being an analog format. [=LaserDiscs=] are capable of carrying two distinct audio tracks: an analog stereo track and a digital stream which can pretty much be used for any type of audio. In the west, this was usually used for 5.1 Dolby Surround on premium releases and sometimes Spanish SAP or Descriptive Video Service (DVS) in stereo PCM, but in Japan, Karaoke discs used them as PCM stereo tracks that carried a minus-one version of the song to be sung along to. The ability to store PCM audio tracks also allowed for the creation of "CD Video" discs in the west that either featured a full-length movie with a digital audio track or combined a CD single in Redbook audio with a small analog video track featuring either a music video or an excerpt from a concert recording. While ambitious, the format only lasted four years due to [[MisaimedMarketing its inability to find a clear audience]]; more on that can be found on the UsefulNotes/CompactDisc's own page.

The [=LaserDisc's=] popularity in Japan meant that it was the preferred home video format for anime, especially [[OriginalVideoAnimation OVAs]]. This carried over to anime's nascent popularity in the West in the '80s and '90s. A lot of localized anime was released in the format, and the U.S. and Japan using the same NTSC TV system meant that [[OccidentalOtaku dedicated fans]] could import Japanese discs and watch them without a converter, provided they were proficient in the Japanese language. [=LaserDisc's=] ability to create clean freeze frames that low-end VHS machines lacked also allowed screen captures to circulate around the early internet. This feature also became an invaluable asset for early {{fansub}}bing groups: because editing on videotape, even for something as simple as adding captions, had to be done frame-by-frame, the clean freeze-frames provided by [=LaserDisc=] players made it easy to cue up each shot, with the lack of surface degradation on [=LaserDiscs=] making it easy to re-use the same disc again and again without worrying about losing picture quality along the way (provided that laser rot hadn't set in yet). What's more, the high video quality on [=LaserDisc=] releases heavily minimized the amount of generation loss sustained on the final, fansubbed VHS tape, allowing for much sharper-looking releases than tape-to-tape edits. While the writing quality of said subs... ''[[SpiceUpTheSubtitles varied]]'', to say the least... the fact that they were around at all is hugely indebted towards the flexibility [=LaserDisc=] players gave to amateur video editors.

Disc production in the early years of the format was plagued with problems. Inexplicably, MCA had assumed that manufacturing a laserdisc—a complicated, precision object constructed of many stacked, alternating layers of plastic, glue, and aluminum—would be [[IgnoranceIsBliss similar to pressing vinyl records,]] allowing for a handsome profit margin on each disc sold. [=DiscoVision=] discs were made (largely by hand) in a facility that was not equipped with [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleanroom clean rooms]], and [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong was the former site of a furniture factory.]] Needless to say, the quality of early laserdiscs was horrendous, with return rates exceeding 90 percent. MCA's profit margins on [=DiscoVision=] titles evaporated practically overnight. Corporate panic ensued, and retail prices were raised in an ultimately-futile attempt to cut their losses.

[=LaserDisc=] (originally a trademarked term invented by Pioneer Electronics) is an optical recording medium primarily used for video recordings. In fact it was the first optical recording device to be made publicly available. The technology first began serious development in [[TheSixties the late 1960s]]; however, it didn't debut as a retail product until December 1978.

Disc production in the early years of the format was plagued with problems. Inexplicably, MCA had assumed that manufacturing a laserdisc——a complicated, precision object constructed of many stacked, alternating layers of plastic, glue, and aluminum——would be [[IgnoranceIsBliss similar to pressing vinyl records,]] allowing for a handsome profit margin on each disc sold. [=DiscoVision=] discs were made (largely by hand) in a facility that was not equipped with [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleanroom clean rooms]], and [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong was the former site of a furniture factory.]] Needless to say, the quality of early laserdiscs was horrendous, with return rates exceeding 90 percent. MCA's profit margins on [=DiscoVision=] titles evaporated practically overnight. Corporate panic ensued, and retail prices were raised in an ultimately-futile attempt to cut their losses.

Disc production in the early years of the format was plagued with problems. MCA had assumed that manufacturing a laserdisc would be [[IgnoranceIsBliss similar to pressing vinyl records,]] allowing for a handsome profit margin on each disc sold. [=DiscoVision=] discs were made (largely by hand) in a facility that was not equipped with [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleanroom clean rooms]], and [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong was the former site of a furniture factory.]] Needless to say, the quality of early laserdiscs was horrendous, with return rates exceeding 90 percent. MCA's profit margins on [=DiscoVision=] titles evaporated practically overnight. Corporate panic ensued, and retail prices were raised in an ultimately-futile attempt to cut their losses.

The early years of [=LaserDisc=] were turbulent, to say the least. For the first few years of the format's existence, a ''name'' could not even be agreed upon by MCA (parent company of Universal Studios) and Philips, the co-developers of the format. MCA (in charge of disc production) called it "[[TotallyRadical DiscoVision]]," but Philips (in charge of player manufacturing) preferred "[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Video Long Play]]."

Disc production in the early years of the format was plagued with problems. MCA had assumed that manufacturing a laserdisc would be [[IgnoranceIsBliss similar to pressing vinyl records,]] allowing for a handsome profit margin on each disc sold. [=DiscoVision=] discs were made (largely by hand) in a facility that was not equipped with clean rooms, and [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong was the former site of a furniture factory.]] Needless to say, the quality of early laserdiscs was horrendous, with return rates exceeding 90%. MCA's profit margins on [=DiscoVision=] titles evaporated practically overnight. Corporate panic ensued, and retail prices were raised in an ultimately-futile attempt to cut their losses.

[=LaserDisc=] (originally a trademarked term invented by Pioneer Electronics) is an optical recording medium primarily used for video recordings. In fact it was the first optical recording device to be made publicly available. The technology first began development in TheFifties; however, it didn't debut until 1978. The disc resembled a UsefulNotes/CompactDisc the size of a vinyl record album. The similar appearance is because it was a precursor to CD.

Disc production in the early years of the format was plagued with problems. MCA had assumed that manufacturing a laserdisc would be [[IgnoranceIsBliss similar to pressing vinyl records,]] allowing for a handsome profit margin on each disc sold. [=DiscoVision=] discs were made (largely by hand) in a facility that was not equipped with clean rooms, [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong and had been the former site of a furniture factory.]] Needless to say, the quality of early laserdiscs was horrendous, with return rates exceeding 90%. MCA's profit margins on [=DiscoVision=] titles evaporated practically overnight. Corporate panic ensued, and retail prices were raised in an ultimately-futile attempt to cut their losses.

The early years of [=LaserDisc=] were turbulent, to say the least. For the first few years of the format's existence, a ''name'' could not even be agreed upon by MCA (parent company of Universal Studios) and Philips, the co-developers of the format. MCA (in charge of disc production) called it "[=DiscoVision=]," but Philips (in charge of player manufacturing) preferred "Video Long Play."