A Pioneer LaserRecorder that could be connected to a computer or a video source

A CRV Disc with a VHS tape for size comparison

Another type of video media, CRVdisc, or "Component Recordable Video Disc" were available for a short time, mostly to professionals. Developed by Sony, CRVdiscs resemble early PC CD-ROM caddies with a disc inside resembling a full sized LD. CRVdiscs were blank, write-once, read-many media that could be recorded once on each side. CRVdiscs were used largely for backup storage in professional/commercial applications.^{[citation needed]}

Another form of recordable Laserdisc that is completely playback-compatible with the Laserdisc format (unlike CRVdisc with its caddy enclosure) is the RLV, or Recordable LaserVision disc. It was developed and first marketed by the Optical Disc Corporation (ODC, now ODC Nimbus) in 1984. RLV discs, like CRVdisc, are also a WORM technology, and function exactly like a CD-R disc. RLV discs look almost exactly like standard Laserdiscs, and can play in any standard Laserdisc player after they've been recorded. The only difference an RLV disc has over regular factory-pressed Laserdiscs is their reflective purple-violet (or blue with some RLV discs) color resulting from the dye embedded in the reflective layer of the disc to make it recordable, as opposed to the silver mirror appearance of regular LDs. The purplish color of RLVs is very similar to some DVD-R and DVD+R discs. RLVs were popular for making short-run quantities of Laserdiscs for specialized applications such as interactive kiosks and flight simulators.

In spite of nonrecordability being commonly regarded as the primary weakness of the Laserdisc format, these recordable LD systems were never marketed toward the general public, and are so poorly known as to create the misconception that a home recording system for Laserdiscs is impossible.

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Facts

The Laserdisc turtle, used on the non-program side of some single sided Laserdiscs

• An early single-sided prototype DiscoVision Laserdisc made an appearance in the 1977 movie Airport '77, during a scene in which a flight stewardess inserts it into what looks like a Magnavox VH-8000 "Magnavision" player for an in-flight movie.
• During the late 1980s, Pioneer signed contracts with major music artists, such as Madonna, Janet Jackson, and others, to release their concerts on Laserdisc only through Pioneer. To this date, the contracts are still standing, and the concerts have not been re-released on DVD by Pioneer or others. An exception is the Genesis LD of "The way we walk" , which was released to DVD in October 2002, under the Pioneer label.^{[citation needed]}
• The Firefox arcade game included a Philips Laserdisc player to combine live action video and sound from the Firefox film with computer generated graphics and sound. The game used a special CAV Laserdisc containing multiple storylines stored in very short, interleaved segments on the disc. The player would seek the short distance to the next segment of a storyline during the vertical retrace interval by adjusting the tracking mirror, allowing perfectly continuous video even as the player switched storylines under control of the game's computer.
• In 1979, the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago opened their "Newspaper" exhibit which used interactive Laserdiscs to allow visitors to search for the front page of any Chicago Tribune newspaper. This was a very early use of digitally interactive technology in Museums and could even be among the first.^{[citation needed]}
• PAL laser discs had a longer playing time than NTSC discs, but had fewer audio options. PAL discs only have 2 audio tracks, consisting of either 2 analog-only tracks on older PAL LDs, or 2 digital-only tracks on newer discs. In comparison, newer NTSC LDs have 4 tracks, 2 digital and 2 analog altogether, with one of the analog tracks sometimes being used to carry a modulated AC-3 signal for 5.1 channel audio (for decoding and playback by newer LD players with an "AC-3 RF" output). However, older NTSC LDs made before 1984 (such as the original DiscoVision discs) only have 2 analog audio tracks.
• On single sided Laserdiscs mastered by Pioneer, playing the wrong side will cause a still screen to appear with a happy, upside down turtle that has a Laserdisc for a stomach (nicknamed the "Laserdisc Turtle"). The words "Program material is recorded on the other side of this disc" are below the turtle. Other manufacturers used a regular text message without graphics.
• In Back to the Future II, the scene where Doc and Marty leave Jennifer to sleep whilst accomplishing the mission in which Marty intercepts a possible jail sentence for his son, Laserdiscs are bundled up and left out as garbage to be picked up where they deposit Jennifer. Back to the Future was also released on Laserdisc.

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See also

• Videodisc
• SelectaVision
• VHD

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References

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External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Laserdisc

• [1] - source material
• The LaserDisc Database – titles database, profiling, marketplace
• The 'Total Rewind' VCR museum, covering Laserdisc and other vintage formats
• The Laserdisc FAQ, (original source)
• MCA DiscoVision History via the Wayback Machine
• The UK Laserdisc Player Archive – includes North American players
• BLAM Entertainment Group – includes Star Wars and Star Trek Laserdisc catalogs and lists of Dolby Digital and DTS equipped titles
• RCA SelectaVision VideoDisc FAQ – also contains some DiscoVision history
• History of the Laserdisc, Terms and a look at some specific players
• eBay UK guide - Laserdisc Players and Laserdiscs - Formats and Features
• Guide to and software for the Matrox 286/Laserdisc player