Uploaded August 2009 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
This is another clip I had found somewhere and decided to download.
This clip was originally uploaded by ThatLogoDude, who uploaded it first but, later, unfortunately ended up with a suspended account. Wherever you are, ThatLogoDude, thanks. Hope you can get back on YouTube soon.
I uploaded this because there is very little video available concerning VHD or "Video High Density," a unique video disc format developed by JVC that was, more or less, a system that offered the functional benefits of LaserDisc coupled with the operational simplicity of RCA's Capacitance Electronic Disc system.
VHD discs are roughly 10 inches in diameter compared to CED's 12 inch discs. Video resolution was slightly better than VHS and Betamax but far cleaner and more refined than CED and even video cassette. The only format to best VHD in picture quality was LaserDisc.
Sound quality was superior to all except LaserDisc Digital Sound; VHD analog sound was superior to VHS hi-fi, Beta hi-fi, CED CX stereo, and LaserDisc CX analog stereo.
VHD was also a grooveless disc system employing electronic tracking, so even though it was slightly more complex in operation than CED, it was also far more robust; skipping would only occur on VHD if the disc was damaged. CED discs would skip even if you just hadn't played them for a long while, thus necessitating a conditioning play for the stylus to cut through the silicone lubrication layer down to the groove of the PVC/carbon disc.
Composition of a VHD disc was similar to a CED disc, employing polyvinyl chloride plastic that was carbon-doped to make it electrically conductive. It was also simpler to manufacture than LaserDisc.
In addition, VHD styli were broad-tipped while CED styli were keel-shaped. VHD not only required a fraction of the tracking force that CED needed, but that tracking force would be spread over a wide area by the broad tip of a VHD stylus instead of being concentrated on one narrow point by the keel tip of a CED stylus. This lead to a dramatic increase in stylus and disc life over CED.
Unfortunately, VHD could not make it to the market in time; by the time VHD was technologically ready to compete against LaserDisc and CED, the competing videodisc formats were already hugely supplanted by video cassette. VHD was released only in Japan; a United Kingdom release was only for commercial applications and was never released for the consumer market. For videodisc, LaserDisc ultimately won out in what's arguably a pyrrhic victory and would remain the best way to enjoy home video until the advent and subsequent wide adoption of DVD-Video.
If anyone out there can demonstrate and show VHD in depth, please, PLEASE post a video showing this on YouTube.
This is another clip I had found somewhere and decided to download.
This clip was originally uploaded by ThatLogoDude, who uploaded it first but, later, unfortunately ended up with a suspended account. Wherever you are, ThatLogoDude, thanks. Hope you can get back on YouTube soon.
I uploaded this because there is very little video available concerning VHD or "Video High Density," a unique video disc format developed by JVC that was, more or less, a system that offered the functional benefits of LaserDisc coupled with the operational simplicity of RCA's Capacitance Electronic Disc system.
VHD discs are roughly 10 inches in diameter compared to CED's 12 inch discs. Video resolution was slightly better than VHS and Betamax but far cleaner and more refined than CED and even video cassette. The only format to best VHD in picture quality was LaserDisc.
Sound quality was superior to all except LaserDisc Digital Sound; VHD analog sound was superior to VHS hi-fi, Beta hi-fi, CED CX stereo, and LaserDisc CX analog stereo.
VHD was also a grooveless disc system employing electronic tracking, so even though it was slightly more complex in operation than CED, it was also far more robust; skipping would only occur on VHD if the disc was damaged. CED discs would skip even if you just hadn't played them for a long while, thus necessitating a conditioning play for the stylus to cut through the silicone lubrication layer down to the groove of the PVC/carbon disc.
Composition of a VHD disc was similar to a CED disc, employing polyvinyl chloride plastic that was carbon-doped to make it electrically conductive. It was also simpler to manufacture than LaserDisc.
In addition, VHD styli were broad-tipped while CED styli were keel-shaped. VHD not only required a fraction of the tracking force that CED needed, but that tracking force would be spread over a wide area by the broad tip of a VHD stylus instead of being concentrated on one narrow point by the keel tip of a CED stylus. This lead to a dramatic increase in stylus and disc life over CED.
Unfortunately, VHD could not make it to the market in time; by the time VHD was technologically ready to compete against LaserDisc and CED, the competing videodisc formats were already hugely supplanted by video cassette. VHD was released only in Japan; a United Kingdom release was only for commercial applications and was never released for the consumer market. For videodisc, LaserDisc ultimately won out in what's arguably a pyrrhic victory and would remain the best way to enjoy home video until the advent and subsequent wide adoption of DVD-Video.
If anyone out there can demonstrate and show VHD in depth, please, PLEASE post a video showing this on YouTube.
