[opendtv] Re: Blockbuster move boosts Blu-ray camp
- From: "Manfredi, Albert E" <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2007 20:12:26 -0400
> Laserdisc players were destined to be a niche product, the format
> was dying, and DVD finished it off.
In addition to the initially quality-impaired Beta and VHS, the large
rental chains stocked the RCA CED format discs. CED had good stereo
sound and a decent picture, but were mechanical monsters prone to all
sorts of glitches and freeze-ups. And discs were certainly more delicate
than the LDs.
(CEDs finally died ca. 1986. Luckily by then, VHS had hifi stereo sound
and eventually S-VHS came along. I still disliked the tape format, even
with the improvements.)
I think it's only the fact that CEDs were carried by the big rental
chains that gave them any success at all. LD movies were sold in stores,
so there's no reason to think they were meant to be "niche." But never
showed up for rental. Why were CEDs rented? Were they cheaper? Maybe.
And, of course, DVD was a perfect replacement for LD, but LDs could have
had a 20 year life at least, until DVD came along in 1996. Who knows.
Bert
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