LaserDisc

LaserDisc
	A LaserDisc held
Media type	Optical disc
Encoding	NTSC, PAL, MUSE, HD‑MAC, PALplus
Capacity	60/64 minutes on CLV; 30/36 minutes on CAV; (NTSC/PAL, per side);
Read mechanism	780 nm laser diode (early players used He‍–‍Ne laser)
Standard	LaserVision
Developed by	MCA; Philips; Pioneer;
Dimensions	Common: 300 mm (11.8 in); Less common: 200 mm (7.9 in), 120 mm (4.7 in);
Usage	Home video
Extended to	CD; DVD; LV-ROM;
Released	December 11, 1978 (as DiscoVision)
Discontinued	September 21, 2001 (films); July 2009 (production)

LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. It was developed by Philips, Pioneer, and the movie studio MCA. The format was initially marketed in the United States in 1978 under the name DiscoVision, a brand used by MCA. As Pioneer took a greater role in its development and promotion, the format was rebranded LaserVision. While the LaserDisc brand originally referred specifically to Pioneer's line of players, the term gradually came to be used generically to refer to the format as a whole, making it a genericized trademark. The discs typically have a diameter of 300 millimeters (11.8 in), similar in size to the 12-inch (305 mm) phonograph record. Unlike most later optical disc formats, LaserDisc is not fully digital; it stores an analog video signal.

Many titles featured CD-quality digital audio, and LaserDisc was the first home video format to support surround sound. Its 425 to 440 horizontal lines of resolution was nearly double that of consumer competing consumer videotape formats, VHS and Betamax, and approaching the resolution later achieved by DVDs. Despite these advantages, the format failed to achieve widespread adoption in North America or Europe, primarily due to the high cost of players and their inability to record.

In contrast, LaserDisc was significantly more popular in Japan and in wealthier regions of Southeast Asia, including Singapore, and Malaysia, and it became the dominant rental video format in Hong Kong during the 1990s.^[3] Its superior audiovisual quality made it a favorite among videophiles and film enthusiasts throughout its lifespan.^[4]

The technologies and concepts developed for LaserDisc laid the groundwork for subsequent optical media formats, including the compact disc (CD) and DVD. LaserDisc player production ended in July 2009 with Pioneer's exit from the market.

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