CD Video
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| Media type | Optical disc |
|---|---|
| Encoding | analog video + digital audio |
| Capacity | Up to 185 MB + 5 min analog LaserDisc video |
| Read mechanism | 780 nm wavelength semiconductor laser |
| Developed by | Sony, Philips, Panasonic, Samsung |
| Usage | audio and video storage |
| Released | 1987 |
CD Video (also known as CDV, CD-V, or CD+V) is a format of optical media disc that was introduced in 1987 that combines the technologies of standard compact disc and LaserDisc. CD-V discs are the same size as a standard 12-cm audio CD, and contain up to 20 minutes' worth of CD Audio that can be played on any audio CD player. It also contains up to 5 minutes of LaserDisc video information with digital CD-quality sound, which can be played back on a newer LaserDisc player capable of playing CD-V discs or CD-V-only players.[1]
The "CD Video" brand was also used to market some 20 and 30 cm LaserDiscs which included a digital soundtrack[2] but no CD-compatible content.
Description
12 cm "CD Video" disc format
One of the first LaserDisc players that can play CD-V discs is the Pioneer CLD-1010 from 1987. Though it is a CD-based format, CD Video was never given a rainbow book designation; the idea of encoding analogue video, which is incompatible between different regions, was poorly received by CD stakeholders other than Philips, who had not consulted them prior to demonstrating the format to the music industry.[3]
CD Video discs have a distinctive gold color, to differentiate them from regular silver-colored audio CDs. This is a characteristic that would later be replicated in HVD, a more advanced disc format.
A similar version of CD Video called Video Single Disc (VSD) was also released. It is basically the same as CD Video, but it only has the analog video track (occupying the whole storage space of the disc), so it is, in fact, a small LaserDisc.
CD Video was targeted toward people who watched music videos on MTV. However, few of them were familiar with LaserDiscs, and far fewer owned CDV-compatible players at the time. Buying a costly new player was not an option just for the minor use of playing a single music video more easily accessible through a VHS videocassette, either purchased pre-recorded or recorded off a television programme with a VCR.
Other uses of the name
"CD Video" branding for 20 and 30 cm LaserDiscs
The "CD Video" name and logo were also used to market some full-size (30 cm / 11.8") and EP-sized (20 cm / 7.9") LaserDiscs that featured a digital (rather than analog) soundtrack.[2]
Unlike the newly-launched 12 cm discs, these were little more than a rebrand of existing LaserDisc formats.[2] (Both disc sizes, along with support for digital soundtracks, had been in use under the LaserDisc name for several years beforehand.)[2] In addition, despite their use of the name, the 20 and 30 cm discs did not feature the CD-compatible audio of the smaller discs.
European LaserDisc relaunch
Philips' launch of the CD Video format (and the rebranding of existing LaserDisc formats under the name) also served as the basis of a relaunch for LaserDisc as a whole in Europe[4] where sales under the original "LaserVision" name had been extremely poor,[2][4] and Philips attempted to leverage the name recognition of the newly-successful audio CD format.[2][5]
The use of digital audio on the relaunched "CD Video"-branded LaserDiscs rendered them incompatible with older analog-only "LaserVision" players based on the European PAL television standard.[4] This was because PAL LaserDiscs can only support analog or uncompressed digital soundtracks, but not both.[6][7] However, due to the format's previous lack of success, Philips estimated there to have been just 12,000 to 15,000 analog-only Laservision players sold in Europe.[4]
Discontinuation and legacy
CD Video lasted only a few years in the marketplace and began disappearing by 1991.[2]
When the format failed to become the success Philips were hoping for, they turned their attention to the more promising MPEG-1-based digital video compression which ultimately formed the basis of Video CD[2]- a similarly-named but fundamentally different (and all-digital) format launched in 1993.
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References
- ^ "Digital audio modulation in the PAL and NTSC video disc formats, J. Audio Eng. Soc. vol. 32, pp. 883, 1984". Retrieved 2008-03-04.
- ^ a b c d e f g h
"Techmoan" (Matthew "Mat" Taylor) (2018-02-01). CD Video (Not Video CD) - when Videodiscs went gold. Retrieved 2021-05-08.
[08:27] over in Europe [Philips' LaserDisc sales were pitiful but] with Laserdisc now capable of [digital audio] why not just start all over again [and rebrand as] CD Video [and] piggyback on the success of compact disc
[13:38] Most [discs were] smaller ones with pop music [whose market] tends to be younger people [for whom it's obvious player and discs were] just too expensive.
[14:23] [30 cm] discs [are] are just Laserdiscs or Laservision discs with a digital audio soundtrack. Players for Digital Audio soundtrack Laserdiscs had existed since 1984. [..] [The 20 cm discs had also] been out for a number of years.
[15:12] [12 cm disc] is the essence of the format [..] [Larger discs were] caught up in the rebranding but really those are Laserdiscs or LaserVision discs.
[15:57] physical limitations of [12 cm disc dictated] the end product because you've only got room for about six minutes worth of video
[17:18] Philips [..] started to concentrate their attentions on [more promising MPEG-1 based] digital video [ultimately resulting in] Video CD that Philips released in the early 1990s
[17:45] [Philips] tried to sell Laservision since the late 1970s without any success this CD Video rebranding hadn't [helped], and within just a couple of years the CD Video name disappeared - ^ "Problems ahead for CD Video". New Scientist. 1986-12-11. Retrieved 2018-07-31.
- ^ a b c d Barry Fox (1987-03-19). Compact disc video hits the streets... p. 28.
Philips also sees CD Video as a way of relaunching the technically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful Laservision [whose name] will be dropped and the new name and logo used [for] 12, 20 and 30 centimentre [discs] [..] The old LaserVision videodiscs had analogue sound but new CDV discs will have digital sound [..] this makes all new discs incompatible with old [analogue-only] players in Europe. [..] Philips estimates [between] 12,000 and 15,000 old-format Laservision players in Europe [and] is estimating the cost of a trade-in deal
{{cite book}}:|magazine=ignored (help) - ^
CD Video PROMO 1988 - Presented by Kenny Everett. Philips. 1988. Retrieved 2021-05-08.
[0:57] This is it- a CD machine that also plays pictures [..] and you already know how fabulous [CDs] are [..] Gone are the days of naff and fuzzy records [..]
[1:21] But now CDs come in gold too - ^ "The LaserDisc FAQ: 2.3.1 Analog channels".
This can't be done with PAL discs, where analog and uncompressed digital channels are mutually exclusive.
- ^ "The LaserDisc FAQ: 2.3.2 Uncompressed digital channels, or PCM channels".
PAL LDs can only have either analog or uncompressed digital audio.
External links
- IEC 61104 - Compact disc video system - 12 cm CD-V
- A webpage on CD Video discs, featuring a list of NTSC CD-V releases
- The LaserDisc Database, including CD Video
- Techmoan: CD Video (Not Video CD) - when Videodiscs went gold, YouTube on 2 February 2018
- CD Video, CD-Video 8-inch disc and CD-Video 12-inch disc at the Museum of Obsolete Media