Anyone over 30 remembers a time when it was impossible to imagine home video without physical media. But anyone over 50 remembers a time when it was difficult to choose which kind of media to bet on. Just as the "computer zoo" of the early 1980s forced home-computing enthusiasts to choose between Apple, IBM, Commodore, Texas Instruments.
Pioneer's LaserDisc players, starting with the VP-1000 in 1980, dominated the market, but in 1981 RCA started a minor format war with its analog CED video discs (an LP. They also rented these players and the movies, and had a pretty big selection. When they stopped offering them, my dad took a bunch of it home, and I ended up with a player and a stack of about 50 or 60 movies.
Most of them were crappy B-movies, but I remember there being some Firesign Theatre discs that turned out to be a real hoot. Few people even remember that such a medium as vinyl movies existed, but for a brief, doomed period in the early 1980s, home video was available on CEDs. While CED players were not released to.
Records that played video in the '80s? It wasn't a dream. RCA's SelectaVision, a huge flop, did indeed exist. The cost to be kind, rewind Long before Netflix was even a blip on home entertainment's radar, before Blue-ray brought us into the realm of HD, even prior to the reign of DVDs, the VHS player was home theater king.
Sure, some people had projectors prior to its release to watch home movies and film, but the VHS player made home entertainment mainstream. It was the 1980s, and in between riding. In the 21st century, our home video options include streaming, and - for the dedicated collector or aficionado - DVD and Blu-Ray discs.
But if history had gone just a bit differently, the 1980s would have been the great decade not of VHS (after that format vanquished Betamax), but the decade of MCA Disco-Vision, RCA "Slipped Discs: Remembering the Home Video Disc. Home entertainment in the 1980s underwent a significant transformation as new technologies made it possible for people to enjoy movies, music, and games without leaving their homes. The advent of the VCR allowed viewers to rent and watch movies at their convenience, leading to the rise of video rental stores like Blockbuster.
Cable television expanded, offering more channels and premium. 1980 in home video: Walt Disney Home Video enters the home video market. MCA establishes MCA Videocassette, Inc.
for VHS and Betamax releases of Universal Studios titles, with the first release being the Marx Brothers film Animal Crackers (1930). The Paramount Pictures studio forms its home entertainment division. December - By the end of the year, the DiscoVision format is available all.
The Flicker, The Flair, and The Fuzz Remember the days when we'd pop in a VHS tape, press play, and be instantly transported to another world? The soft whir of the VHS player, the slight static, and the charm of tapes being rewound. Ah, the magic of '80s home entertainment. It wasn't just a way to watch movies; it was an experience.
Be Kind, Please Rewind We've come a long way from the era of.