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
Compact Disc Digital Audio (CDDA or CD-DA), also known as Digital Audio Compact Disc or simply as Audio CD, is the standard format for audio compact discs. The standard is defined in the ''Red Book'', one of a series of Rainbow Books (named ...
-sized disc. It was spearheaded by
Sony
, commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professiona ...
and was released in Japan in 1990. It was a new variety of laserdisc and variation on the
CD Video
CD Video (also known as CDV, CD-V, or CD+V) is a format of optical media disc that was introduced in 1987 that combines the technologies of standard compact disc and LaserDisc. CD-V discs are the same size as a standard 12-cm audio CD, and conta ...
(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. 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.
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.
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.
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)”.
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
* CD Video
CD Video (also known as CDV, CD-V, or CD+V) is a format of optical media disc that was introduced in 1987 that combines the technologies of standard compact disc and LaserDisc. CD-V discs are the same size as a standard 12-cm audio CD, and conta ...
* Video CD
Video CD (abbreviated as VCD, and also known as Compact Disc Digital Video) is a home video format and the first format for distributing films on standard optical discs. The format was widely adopted in Southeast Asia, Central Asia and the ...
References
External links
The LaserDisc Database, including VSD
{{Homevid
120 mm discs
Audio storage
Video storage
LaserDisc
Discontinued media formats