Why the Futuristic LaserDisc Failed and Why VHS Didn’t
Many people consider the timeline of home video entertainment to be VHS and then DVD, but in reality, both formats were available to buy by the late 1970s. The LaserDisc system was essentially the Blu-Ray of the VHS era. LaserDisc players were cheaper than VCR systems, they had superior video and audio quality, and they didn’t degrade over time in the same way that recorded tape did. So, if they were better, then why didn’t they take off? Why were they only popular with videophiles?
LaserDisc was first available on the market in 1978, only two years after the introduction of the VHS VCR. Although LaserDisc hit the market in 1978, the public had been teased with videodisc technology for well over a decade at this point. Inventor David Paul Gregg patented a transparent videodisc system in 1961. It was in 1969 that electronics manufacturer Philips expanded on previous optical disk patents, improving the technology and by 1972 Philips held their first public demonstration of the videodisc. Other companies had also been experimenting with optical discs during this time.
To understand why LaserDisc failed, you need to understand the home entertainment culture in…
