IamLegend

Did not know it was still alive at all...did have some personal fond memories of laser in the old days of lore....except for all the getting up to change the CAV disc lol.


From Home Theatre Magazine

Pioneer Discontinues Laserdisc Players
By Mark Fleischmann January 15, 2009 — Announcing the death of a format can be tricky business. After all, a lot of them live on in our hearts, minds, racks, and libraries—and at least one "dead" format, the LP, never really died. But if the manufacture of hardware is a major criterion, then the laserdisc format has died. Pioneer has discontinued its last three laserdisc player models, according to a brief announcement in Akihabara News.

Originally known as DiscoVision and LaserVision, the 12-inch optical videodisc format was developed by MCA and Philips. The first consumer player wore the Magnavox logo, though Pioneer eventually became the format's champion, giving it the proprietary name LaserDisc, which became the generic format name laserdisc.

Laserdisc output an analog NTSC signal, and is therefore as obsolete as the doomed analog broadcast standard. It was never a high-def format. There were two subformats, the higher-quality CAV, which held 30 minutes per side, and the more capacious and prevalent CLV, which held an hour per side. Two-hour, two-sided discs in CLV became the norm. Most discs were released with audio in a pretty decent two-channel FM-carrier format, which carried matrixed Dolby Surround, and was eventually upgraded to PCM digital. This allowed LD/CD combi players to be marketed. In the format's waning years, Dolby Digital and DTS were added.

The laserdisc won a three-way format war with two other major disc formats, both of which, incredibly, were stylus-read like an LP. CED was invented and promoted by RCA, then an independent company, and the loss of the format war—along with tens of millions of dollars—was a major factor in turning RCA from an independent company to a TV brand that got passed around like a shopping bag. There was also a VHD format from JVC, which also went nowhere, but did so less expensively. Laserdisc won because consumers perceived greater performance and value in an optical-disc format.

There was a time when having a laserdisc player and library was synonymous with being a videophile. Considering the alternatives, it was the best choice. Its more than 400 lines of horizontal resolution were better than either VHS or Beta, at 250 each, and also beat the 300 lines of broadcast TV. There was a Super VHS format boasting more than 400 lines, but it recorded only the brightness signal at that resolution, and the color signal at lower resolution, so it looked smeary compared to laserdisc.

Laserdisc was doomed when DVD made its debut. The smaller disc was—well, smaller, and it offered better resolution (even though standard-def) and accommodated Dolby Digital and DTS from day one. Even now, the DVD shows signs of holding on in the face of competition from the genuinely superior Blu-ray, which supports HD, lossless surround, and other good stuff. But no one knows how long it will take for DVD to go the way of laserdisc.

Anyway, goodbye, laserdisc. I'll always associate you with evenings spent with passionate movie-loving friends. Thanks for the memories

NoirFan

That's awesome.

hasslein

Laserdisc SE packaging still reigns supreme.

BullGooseLoony

I didn't realize they were still making laserdisc players, let alone releasing laserdiscs. I figured that would have ended around 2005 or so.

tylergfoster

Awesome. A couple of weeks ago VHS died. Hilarious that LD outlived it, kinda.

Dan Average

Well, the actual discs haven't been made since 2002. Pioneer kept the players in production long after software support dried up -- mainly for existing owners who wanted to replace their old equipment.

VHS is very much alive, if not exactly flourishing, in some parts of the world (and it's not even really dead in the U.S. -- it's not as if blank tapes are difficult to find). We're probably looking at a decade or two before VHS finally and completely dies out.

Pizza

So, where are these last LD machines being sold?
I loved collecting LDs. There was a real sense of awe and excitement for me in the format. Unlike DVD, every time I landed a new disc I'd watch it immediately. Of course, with titles averaging $35 a pop I didn't buy as many titles. Titles I wanted the most were Superman I & II, Alien, Aliens, Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark. What a thrill it was when they were released. Biggest disappointment: Star Wars. In its initial release, the film was sped up to fit on one disc. My biggest find: The Day the Earth Stood Still. It came in a big box with an authentic autograph from Robert Wise. I found it for half price at whatever FYE called itself back then. Ah, memories.
Thanks LD for the years of fun. Sorry that I now got to dump ya because you're taking up too much space in my life.

Yakuza Bengoshi

Great article.

I was always too poor to get into LDs, but I would have, if I could have.

matome

Wow, I just assumed new LD players went the way of the dodo when the Pioneer DVL919 disappeared a few years ago. I haven't watched one of my LD's in a long time and I know my players are having disc grip issues, but I still have all my discs and it's great for nostalgia.

mrhan

I had the same problem. Open up the player and clean the ring that holds the disc with Q tips and alcohol. It worked for me.

Alan Smithee

It says the last 3 players still in production were the DVL-919 and 2 other models with karaoke. All of them also play DVDs, though that part becomes more obsolete every day as they can't do progressive scan or any of the other newfangled stuff.

The last disc produced in the US may have been a reprint of the Dragon's Lair arcade game with some extra scenes added, which a bunch of fans raised money and had pressed at Imation (formerly 3M) around 2002.

Regulus

As long as my VHS Tapes can be Played (And as long as my VCR remain's Operational )I will still continue to use them. Blu-Ray is still a little pricy for me, so I'll stick with DVDs for the time being. You know what they say, "If it aint broke, don't fix it!"

dvd-4-life

Abes of Maine has the DVL-919 player for $899. No thanks. I still have one working player.

Travis McClain

About a year or so ago, I started seeing used LD's showing up for about $4 a pop at a local place. Had I known I could still actually find a new, working--and potentially warranty covered--LD player, I might've actually gotten in on the format just for that handful of movies whose features haven't been carried over to DVD. You know, like the super-rare, snipe-riddled commentaries for the early Bond movies.

Dan Average

Either that or The Rome Disc by Ponessa Productions, although I've never seen a single person who claims to own this. Both that and the Dragon's Lair repress were done no earlier than late January '02 and no later than the end of February (when the Imation line shut down).

The Bus

Paging Josh Z.

ken_572002

Great article...thanks for posting.

Back in the mid-to-late 90s, I must of had over 500 laserdiscs. I'll always have a special place in my heart for this now offically dead format.

jjcool

I toyed with getting into Laserdiscs back in the mid to late 90's. Never did pull the trigger though, and went to dvd instead. I had no idea that they were still making players. I thought they stopped almost 10 years ago.

Jaymole

I sold most of my laserdiscs a few years ago, but I still own around 80 titles that are not on DVD yet. Even when these titles make their way onto DVD, I will still hang on to them as a reminder of my "laserdisc glory years" of the late 80's and 90's.

jjcool

VHS is dead??
Why wasn't i notified?

milo bloom

I was pretty surprised to hear that players were still being made. I have a small handful of discs that I put in now and then. I actually got into LD after I got into DVD. I still find the occasional title at the local Half-price Books near me.


And there was an article a few weeks back about the last company selling VHS tapes closing down operations. Not sure if it got posted here, but it was making the news.

fargus

The last batch of LD's I purchased were all sealed.... and a steal at twenty five cents each. Titles included Last Tango in Paris, Dances with Wolves, Schindler's List...

madcougar

Yep, me too. It's the reason I dove in head first into the DVD pool in 1998.

Dubya

I was seriously considering it in 97 but thankfully DVD arrived to save me from wasting money.

jjcool

I was considering it then too. saw some players go for dirt cheap as well as some hefty collections. Mainly for titles that werent available on dvd for a while. Like your Star Wars, Indy, Back to the Future, etc. Eventually decided against it for whatever reason.