Video Single Disc (VSD)
Media typeOptical disc
EncodingNTSC
CapacityUp to 800 MB
Read mechanism780 nm wavelength semiconductor laser
Developed bySony
DimensionsDiameter 120 mm (43⁄4 in)
Thickness 1.2 mm (1⁄21 inch)
UsageHome video, video storage
Extended fromLaserDisc, CDV
Extended toVideo CD
Released1990[1]
Optical discs
General
Optical media types
Standards
See also

Video Single Disc (VSD) is a disc-based format that carried the same analog video information as a LaserDisc, but on a 12-centimetre (4.75 inch) diameter CD-DA-sized disc. It was spearheaded by Sony and was released in Japan in 1990.[2][3] It was a new variety of laserdisc and variation on the CD Video (CD-V) format, except that VSD disc carried only a video track (of up to 5 minutes' duration), and its associated audio, with no CD-compatible partition. The disc is the same size as a standard CD and holds five minutes of video with digital sound.[1][4] It did not have any additional audio tracks like CD-V. Like CD-V, VSD discs could be played back by multi-disc or LaserDisc players that had VSD playback capability.[5]

Release

Upon release, the Video Single Disc was seen as a possible replacement for the failing “CD Video” format, which had confused the public with its combination of five minutes of video and 20 minutes of audio.[6]

Cost

In Japan the Video Single Disc (VSD) was listed at around US$8 which was half the price of the (US$16) CD Video.[7]

Popularity

VSDs were popular only in Japan and other parts of Asia, and was never marketed or introduced elsewhere in the world, but the format did get used once in the United States for a promotional movie teaser and trailer disc to accompany early pressings of the Terminator 2: Judgment Day movie when it was released on LaserDisc in 1991.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Video Magazine - Volume 14, Issue 8 - Page 17
  2. ^ Weekly Television Digest, with Consumer Electronics - 1990 “New laserdisc format — Video Single Disc (VSD) — is due in Japan next month. The 4.75" disc is same size as standard CD, but carries 5 min. of video and audio”.
  3. ^ Weekly Television Digest, with Consumer Electronics - Google books
  4. ^ Video Magazine - Volume 14, Issue 8 - Page 17. “A new variety of laserdisc called the video single disc (VSD) has hit the Japanese market. Intended for use in combi players, the five-inch CD-sized discs hold five minutes of video with digital sound, and list for about $8 in Japan. Though plans for its U.S. introduction have not been announced, VSD is seen as a possible replacement for the failing CD-Video format, which has confused the public with its odd combination of five minutes of video and 20 of audio”.
  5. ^ Telecommunications update - Volume 6 - Page 27 - “A new laserdisc format — video single disc (VSD) - is due in Japan. The 4.75 inch disc is the size of a standard CD, but carries five minutes of video and audio so it can be played in a multidisc player”.
  6. ^ Video Magazine - Volume 14, Issue 8 - Page 17 - “A new variety of laserdisc called the video single disc (VSD) has hit the Japanese market“.
  7. ^ Telecommunications update - Volume 6 - Page 27 “It differs from the failed CD-Video in the amount of audio (the latter had 20 minutes of audio and five minutes of video) and in price (in Japan it will cost half as much as CDV, or about $8 list vs. $16)”.

External links

Video storage formats
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