Читать книгу The Dodo Collection - Steve Stack - Страница 15

Laserdiscs

They were the future, they really were.

But now the future has arrived they are nowhere to be seen.

Laserdiscs hit the market in the late ’70s, offering a high-quality alternative to VHS and Betamax video cassettes. A forerunner to both the CD and DVD, they were much larger than those formats – just a little bit smaller than a 12” record – were double-sided, and contained analogue data, rather than digital.

Picture quality was better than video, but discs and players were a lot more expensive so, in the UK at least, sales were restricted to early adopters and show-offs with loads of cash to piss away on fancy gadgets. There was a better take up in the US, and the format was a success in the Far East, particularly in Japan.

As the technology improved, the discs were able to carry and process digital image data as well as additional audio tracks. The first director’s commentary was on a laserdisc, an idea that DVDs made their own nearly 20 years later.

Ultimately, they just didn’t catch on over here. VHS tapes dominated the market and there simply wasn’t the range of titles available, or the enthusiasm from retailers, to give laserdiscs the kickstart they needed. It didn’t help that longer films had to be spread over two or more discs, and in the end they were consigned to the cupboard marked ‘Nice Idea, Wrong Time’.

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