as4e+@andrew.cmu.edu (Andrew Paul Stern) (03/12/89)
Sorry to ask so many general questions, but what is the difference between 12" CDV and 12" LV? Why not put these CDV's on LV format? Is it just LV with digital sound? Could an advantage be that someone would by a CDV player, which won't play LV's (cheaper than one that plays both)? -Drew P.S. I'm looking for "Strange Brew" with Doug & Bob McKenzie on Laserdisc. Does it exist? I haven't been able to find it in any catalogs. Perhaps it was never pressed.. What a shame.
rjn@hpfcdc.HP.COM (Bob Niland) (03/15/89)
re: "... what is the difference between 12" CDV and 12" LV?" For U.S. NTSC discs, not much. It is mostly just a Philips marketing ploy to revitalize LV by positioning it with CD in the mind of the audio-video public. To the extent that it works, I have no problem. But it is creating needless confusion. > Is it just LV with digital sound? Yes. 12" CDV presumably is at least always provided with digital sound (as well as analog), where an "ordinary" LV might have only analog sound (but could have both). For 12" PAL LVs, you can only have digital OR analog, and not both, so the term "CDV" might be more significant in the U.K. and Europe. 5" CDVs, incidently, are digital-sound-only (based on the four I've played). Philips is alleged to be about to introduce 12" single-sided LVs made of polycarbonate (like CDs), contrasted with today's two-sided acrylic LVs. These new discs will presumably be referred to only as "CDV"s, and being thinner, will require a spacer in older (non-Philips) players. They might even be digital-only, like 5" CDVs, although that would be a mistake. This will be interesting to watch, since PDO (Philips-Dupont Optical) in the U.K. cannot master digital-audio NTSC LVs today (I'm told). > Could an advantage be that someone would by a CDV player, which won't play > LV's (cheaper than one that plays both)? There may well [soon] exist players that can handle 5" CDVs and not 8/12" media, but there is no reason why any full-size combi "CDV" player could not handle "ordinary" LVs as well. > P.S. I'm looking for "Strange Brew" with Doug & Bob McKenzie on Laserdisc. Can't help you there. Hoser, eh? Regards, Hewlett-Packard Bob Niland 3404 East Harmony Road ARPA: rjn%hpfcrjn@hplabs.HP.COM Fort Collins UUCP: [hplabs|hpu*!hpfcse]!hpfcla!rjn CO 80525-9599