VHS was developed by the Victor Company of Japan (aka JVC, a subsidiary of Matsushita), while Betamax was developed by Sony, also of Japan. The earlier VCR-LP and VCR video recorders (yes, “VCR” was the name of the format) were products of Philips NV of the Netherlands, leaving Cartrivsion as the only US-developed home videorecorder format.
Magnavox was the North American arm of Philips NV. It was a Dutch invention, although Pioneer was the main manufacturer of LaserDisc players after the earliest years of the format, at least in NTSC countries. Colin Hunter White Hall, MD > On Jul 2, 2022, at 7:26 AM, Alan Heimann <[email protected]> wrote: > > talk about coincidences..if i remember correctly and am happy to be > corrected..VHS players were developed in the US but rapidly gave way to > production by asian companies > similar story for laser disc players..i do remember the magnovox players as > being the earliest out there and i'm not sure but i think the next iteration > for discs after discovision was RCA videodiscs > so coincidentally i visited my favorite vintage store in Greenport long > island yesterday and came across a bin having guess what..7 videodiscs i > photo'd the cover for East of Eden > > > https://d2j6dbq0eux0bg.cloudfront.net/images/1377056/3133618543.jpg > > On Fri, Jul 1, 2022 at 4:13 PM Jay Johannes > <[email protected]> wrote: > I bought one of the original Magnavox Discovision players on the first day > they were available in the Denver test market in Spring of 1978. I believe I > have purchased 4 or 5 players since. I had well over 700 discs. Gave all > the discs and 2 players to my son-in-law when we sold the house and moved to > a senior apartment in 2019. > > > > Buying laserdiscs was really an adventure those first couple of years. They > were all under the discovision label with the silver boxes. I would trek 60 > miles down to Denver twice a week to each of the 6 stores that sold them and > look through the boxes of discs. The dealers could not order specific > titles, just boxes with random discs. About half of the box would be filled > with cheap documentary stuff. National Gallery of Art, Cooking shows, etc. > The dealers were stuck with these, and after a bit you needed to sort through > large quantities of junk to find any entertainment title. I ended up buying > movies I had little interest in, just because it was something different. > > > > The discovision discs were interesting in that they were in a CAV format that > only had 30 minutes per side. They often had an odd number of sides and they > would place some random title on the ‘dead’ side and disable it by spraying > on a coat of matte lacquer. We soon realized you could wipe this off with > rubbing alchohol and see what was there. About 2/3 were Ford dealer titles > on maintenance or sales techniques, but sometimes you would hit gold. For > example, one disc had an experimental CLV format (1 hour per side) copy of > the start of Deliverance, complete with the Dueling Banjos number. > > > > I wrote to Sears and received a free copy of their laserdisc Summer 1978 > catalog. > > > > The format nearly died and titles again became scarce in 1981 when RCA came > out with their disc format, but it finally took off full force in 1983 or so, > when RCA pulled out. > > > > Yes, I had that 1776 disc, that I bought when it came out. Had the original > one without the footage as well. I bought a number of musicals that never > seemed to show up on DVD. And 2 or 3 adult titles. I watched these discs > until I sold the house. I almost never bought a DVD with the same title, but > started buying BluRay titles of my favorites. > > > > -- > > Jay Johannes > > 2716 S Promenade CIR APT#9 > > Sheboygan, WI 53089 > > 970-290-9797 > > > > > > From: MoPo List <[email protected]> on behalf of Alan Adler > <[email protected]> > Reply-To: Alan Adler <[email protected]> > Date: Friday, July 1, 2022 at 1:44 PM > To: <[email protected]> > Subject: Re: [MOPO] Laserdiscs > > > > Great stories! > > > > Thanks to everyone for sharing their laserdisc epiphanies! > > > > Keep’em coming! > > > > There a funny kind of thing to sniff into after all these years and I’m > enjoying the process. > > > > Alan > > > > > On Jul 1, 2022, at 11:37 AM, Glenn Taranto <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > I remember there was a time when the out-of-print Criterions were quite > collectable. Years ago when I was selling off my discs and player one of the > sets I sold was the Astaire-Rogers box set. It went to a man in Japan who > sent me three crisp one hundred dollar bills wrapped in tissue paper and > tinfoil through the mail. > > > > The one disc I kept was a rare pressing of the musical 1776. I played John > Adams in high school during the Bicentennial. Naturally the show had a lot of > meaning for me. This particular version was the first time the lost footage > had been added. That footage was in black and white before they found the > right materials for the dvd. > > > > I searched everywhere for that laser. On a trip to the very late and still > lamented Dave's Video on Ventura near Laurel canyon I found a pristine copy > in the used bin. I couldn't believe my eyes. I scooped it up right away and > brought it to the front desk to hold for me after I returned from a doctor's > appointment. I didn't want this rarity sitting in a hot car in the San > Fernando Valley. > > > > As I walked out the door to Ventura Blvd. to cross the street to my doctor's, > who did I see window shopping at Dave's? The one and only John Adams himself, > William Daniels!!! What in the world are the chances of that happening? I > spoke to him for a few minutes acknowledging my fondness for his work on St > Elsewhere and our 1776 connection. Overwhelmed at seeing him I nearly forgot > I had just bought the laserdisc. I excitedly told him about my purchase and > asked him if he would be kind enough to sign it. He came into the store and > did so. I still find it hard to believe anytime I think of that moment. I > have saved some very interesting things through the years but that laserdisc > is one of my most treasured possessions. > > > > Glenn > > > > > > > > > > > > On Fri, Jul 1, 2022 at 11:11 AM Alan Adler <[email protected]> wrote: > > Great info! Thanks! Alan > > > On Jul 1, 2022, at 10:22 AM, Dale Dilts <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > LD have FEW that will bring a $100 or a $50 every now and then but they are > > few and far between. Going rate on bulk collection purchases tend to be > > well under $2 a movie these days. > > > > 80's obscure titles and horror is where the little money is at. Also DTS > > disks bring a premium. The last few discs released also bring a premium as > > there were far fewer pressed. Matrix, Sleepy Hollow, stuff from 1999 time > > period. > > > > > > Word was all of the authoring machines are no more, so there is zero chance > > of laserdisc making any kind of come back like vinyl has. > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: "Alan Adler" <[email protected]> > > To: "MoPo-L" <[email protected]> > > Sent: Friday, July 1, 2022 8:26:22 AM > > Subject: [MOPO] Laserdiscs > > > > Dear Mopos - > > > > I just came across what appears to be a well-curated collection of laser > > discs. > > Good titles - boxed sets - noticed Japanese discs - some still sealed - > > including what I was told by the collector was the best laserdisc machine. > > > > Before I commit to handling the collection, I wondered what the status of > > laserdisc collecting was at present. > > Has the VHS craze seeped into the world of laserdiscs? > > > > Any Mopos out there collect these - or is there some kind of marketplace - > > or site with titles and values, etc.? > > > > I always thought laserdiscs were cool but never have found only a few here > > and there and no machine to play them. > > > > Any laserdisc specialists in the audience? > > > > Thanks. > > > > Alan Adler > > Museum of Mom and Pop Culture > > > > Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com > > ___________________________________________________________________ > > How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List > > > > Send a message addressed to: [email protected] > > In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L > > > > The author of this message is solely responsible for its content. > > > > Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com > > ___________________________________________________________________ > > How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List > > > > Send a message addressed to: [email protected] > > In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L > > > > The author of this message is solely responsible for its content. > > Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com > ___________________________________________________________________ > How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List > > Send a message addressed to: [email protected] > In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L > > The author of this message is solely responsible for its content. > > > > > > To unsubscribe from the MoPo-L list, click the following link: > https://listserv.american.edu/scripts/wa-american.exe?SUBED1=MoPo-L&A=1 > > > To unsubscribe from the MoPo-L list, click the following link: > https://listserv.american.edu/scripts/wa-american.exe?SUBED1=MoPo-L&A=1 > > > To unsubscribe from the MoPo-L list, click the following link: > https://listserv.american.edu/scripts/wa-american.exe?SUBED1=MoPo-L&A=1 > Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [email protected] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content.
