Those of you who are fans of vintage technology will certainly have at least heard of LaserDisc, a video format very similar yet oh so different to CD, DVD, Blu-Ray, and the like – formats we well know today. In fact, LaserDisc was the predecessor to optical disc formats. Yep, they all got their start with LaserDisc.
I won’t explain LaserDisc to you here – that’s the purpose of Leonard Nimoy and the strange glowing rock to tell you about the wonderful features of the format.
Of course, they do this to promote the Magnavox “Magnavision” player, in this case the VH-8000, a player that was notoriously bad. That simple – it’s supposed to be just an all around poor piece of equipment, prone to failure.
This video actually comes a few years after the introduction of LaserDisc, originally called DiscoVision (yes, seriously) and later “LaserVision.” By this time the format was going through a bit of an identity crisis, as various companies bought and sold their stakes in the format before eventually settling on the “LaserDisc” identity we would grow to know and love.
For now let’s head back to about 1980 and check out the amazing features of the Magnavision Laser Video Disc System! Oh, and uh, I hope you like the band ABBA.