The wonderful world of laserdiscs
If you can view this on google docs for it to be 10000x better: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Dgc31HMW-WMukTDfNxAipLz4rjoNKDzIftdM9uSuOUM/edit
The laserdisc was a format of physical media mostly used for movies/films.
It is often compared to a DVD, laserdiscs are much larger than DVDS.
The laserdisc had a slightly higher video quality than VHS.
Despite its impressive capabilities, this technological marvel never quite made it into the mainstream. The culprit? A hefty price tag and, let's be honest, it's rather huge size.
Would you rather have a small convenient VHS or a massive disc that barely fits anywhere just because it’s slightly better quality?
Back in 1978, a little something called "DiscoVision" hit the shelves, Later renamed to the LaserDisc, It wasn't until the '90s this got insanely popular.
What's even more impressive? This gem was created a full four years before the CD which was heavily influenced by the LD.
The laserdisc measured a whopping 12 inches, each side of the laserdisc could hold up to 60m of video. While it may not have been the most popular format, it did pave the way for the DVDs and CDs we know and love today.
Laserdiscs may be discontinued (from around 2000/2001) but there are the odd few collectors around, Some say laserdiscs were a failure but they did last a few decades and we would not have some formats without them.
Is it possible to start collecting them?
Yes but it is quite hard and expensive.
A Laserdisc player is very expensive, £60 for one would be considered cheap, they are available on ebay yet still never under £60.
It is possible to find them in second hand stores for a fair price but due to the lack of popularity laserdiscs had they are very hard to find.
A laserdisc itself can range from £1-£700
They can sometimes be found for around £1 in charity shop vinyl sections but online or in their own stores they range from £20-£700
I do think Ebay is the best place to find them online and charity shops may be the overall cheapest places to find them.
youtube playlist i made about them, copy and paste in your url bar: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0FOvvWB3_dlC-W0gZbKb7LZQ6TilsA_O