Laserdisc: An Introduction

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Laserdisc seems to get a lot of retro cred these days. It gets featured as a technical oddity, but from today’s perspective, it might seem strange that it didn’t become the de-facto standard. Boasting many of the same features as the modern DVD, you would think it couldn’t possibly have received the cold reception it did. In this series of videos, we’ll find out why.
Here's a link to the entire playlist on Laserdisc:
• The Story of Laserdisc
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/ technologyconnections
The image of the film strip with analog audio only is in the public domain. I forgot to add that as an image credit on-screen.
Some sources!
The 1958 date appears to come from Gregg's on recollection. These sources suggest as such, anyway: (thanks to Today I Found Out for curating these links, though as you'll see in the next video their assessment of the Laserdisc situation isn't quite that nuanced)
www.blamld.com/DiscoVision/Las...
www.thoughtco.com/david-gregg...
aaand... some of the patent sources
www.google.com/patents/US3430966
www.google.com/patents/US3350503
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[@bakonfreek]

Funny, I learned about Laserdisc in 4th grade as well, but I learned about it thanks to our friend Strong Bad.

[@mountkilimanjaro2982]

Who learned about laserdiscs from Regular Show?

[@Madness832]

I had an LD player back in the 90's. And I had acquired a big pile of DiscoVision titles. But a majority of them were unwatchable, largely due to speckling. Finally, I later found that the quality control in the early MCA pressing plants was close-to-nill. So, many discs were pressed w/ dirt, dust & even dead bugs inside!

[@turnipstudios5432]

I’m here because of regular show

[@anumberninelarge1391]

I’m here from regular show

[@dannosaur7]

That machine sounds like it's about to take off when it spins the disc up!

[@williammcguire130]

LaserDisc took 15 years to find its niche as a high end media format for film collectors and then in just a few years DVD came along and filled EVERY niche.

[@wolfmobile3693]

As a kid of the 70s, I saw all of these events happen from start to finish. I know why each lost to VHS and how DVD finally dethroned it. But when you tell the story, make sure you mention the VCD (Video CD), the short lived format that came after VHS but before DVDs.

[@BoterBug]

Magnavox starts spinning up; me, wide-eyed:

[@worldcomicsreview354]

I remember hearing about Laserdisc in around 1996 and thinking it was the new thing that was going to replace VHS, my mind was blown when I later found out they were pretty much the same age!

[@allissondiego1989]

Sir, you are allowed to join the sacred club of old technology:

[@ChrisEveleyTheReal]

First time I saw a Laserdisc was when I visited the country's largest audio/video store (Akers Mic in Oslo) and went downstairs... as soon as I came down the stairs I saw a 60+ inch back projection TV, huge Dolby Surround system hooked up, and the psychiatric ward hallway scene from Terminator 2 playing from Laserdisc. My 12-year old self was blown away by the awesomeness and how real the gunshots sounded compared to anything else I'd seen before (apart from real gunshots, that is).

[@TechnologyConnections]

Ooh, a typo! I better point that out in the comments!

[@Ralph-yn3gr]

Both that VCR and Laserdisc player are two of the sexiest pieces of technology I've ever seen and I need them in my life.

[@lucianodinino]

That old player spinning up is crazy to listen to.

[@GeomancerHT]

Watching "older" videos now, shows how much you have improved, and you were already at a top level, keep it with the good work!!!

[@GallantChaos]

These videos never cease to impress me with their entertainment value and thoroughness.

[@jgallantyt]

If he keeps making videos like this and doesn't have 500k subs by year's end I will have lost faith in KZbin.

[@stevenpani]

I remember seeing laserdiscs in Sears when I was a little boy. My family never owned laserdiscs because they were too expensive. When I was in college, the campus library actually had laserdiscs. I got to watch Zeferelli's Romeo & Juliet and Fiddler On The Roof on laserdisc.

[@MountVesuvius]

My parents came home with a LD player around 1990/91. I think a local electronics store was demoing one and they were impressed. We were confused about the black bars (letterboxing) and why it stopped halfway through so we took it back. They sold us a dual-sided player and informed us about lettterbox vs. pan&scan. After I got accustomed to letterbox I couldn't go back to pan&scan and the quality was so much better than VHS. We rented LaserDiscs pretty much exclusively after that. After I moved out I bought a used one for myself. I think I finally sold it around 2003/04.