80s WI: Laserdiscs become the dominant format?

Lets say that by 1984-85 the dominant home video format isnt VHS or Beta but laserdiscs? Would this make much of an impact on the entertainment business? Would we see blank laserdiscs that could be recorded on (AFAIK there were none)? Would dvd's come out sooner and be more accepted by the mainstream quicker?
 
That would be a big boost for the Criterion Collection, since there are some titles from that Collection that are only avaliable on LaserDisc.

Other than that, if you want a model for success for LD, try Japan.
 

burmafrd

Banned
Speaking as someone who had Laserdiscs (still do) in the early 80s this touches a nerve. LD had such superior picture and sound it was ridiculous. But Pioneer and Phillips never made a real push on marketing, and the recording part was not either. HAD a recorder come out by 1984, and with more and better marketing, the format could very well have taken off.
Considering how long it was before DVD's came out, recording Laserdiscs could have been very big. And with its much greater size, as the technology matured, you would have been able to put multiple movies on each disc. Recording as well.
 
Lets say that by 1984-85 the dominant home video format isnt VHS or Beta but laserdiscs? Would this make much of an impact on the entertainment business? Would we see blank laserdiscs that could be recorded on (AFAIK there were none)?

I think that's the problem. In the early days, being able to record TV programs and watch them later was a main reason for buying a video recorder. Buying or renting pre-recorded tapes became more popular sometime later. So in order for laserdiscs to become more dominent you need to get recordable versions available earlier. Note that DVDs didn't face this issue as people were willing to buy DVD players but continue to use tape for recording.

Cheers,
Nigel.
 
I think that's the problem. In the early days, being able to record TV programs and watch them later was a main reason for buying a video recorder. Buying or renting pre-recorded tapes became more popular sometime later. So in order for laserdiscs to become more dominent you need to get recordable versions available earlier. Note that DVDs didn't face this issue as people were willing to buy DVD players but continue to use tape for recording.

Cheers,
Nigel.

I think being able to record program was a big problem with video discs. Also, I think there should be a way to record and reuse discs like you can with tape with some sort of RW format. I have a friend on Audiokarma, another forum I'm on, it is a place where electronics enthusiasts (I'm intro electronics and an amateur radio operator), stereo buffs, and old TV/radio tinkerers gather, he has both the laser disc and the old RCA CED disc that used a regular stylus to play their videodisc format. The bad thing with the latter is that you can wear out those discs. I think for it to take off with recording, let alone reusing the same discs, it would have to be laser format much like the CD's and DVD's we have now.
 
wasn't it also rather expensive to invest in LD equipment and movies? If the cost is a lot more than VHS, that's a factor that needs to be addressed before you can have LD become dominant....
 
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