ABSTRACT
The LaserDisc delivers analog video and still images, so what is it doing in a book on managing digital media? Publisher and CEO of Emerging Technology, Richard Pollack, observes that there are three key reasons for the stubborn coexistence of the LaserDisc: the large installed base of players; a definite edge in picture quality and data capacity over compact disc-read only memory; and LaserDisc's ease of use with large groups. The LaserDisc concept dates all the way back to the mechanical image scanner invented by Paul Nipkow in 1884. A disc contained thousands of minute holes and when rotated in front of a lighted object, the holes allowed bits of light to fall on a photoelectric cell. LaserDisc players are industry proven for durability and come in many configurations for multiple disc play, or simple boxes designed to be connected to a computer for full control.
