VHD in the UK - how 1980s UK missed out on this interactive video & games format
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- Published on Apr 19, 2019
- VHD was a home videodisc format never launched to the public outside of Japan. However it was funded by a UK company and was due to come out here in 1982. This is the story of VHD in the UK featuring early demo footage and rare PAL discs.
Next Episode: thexvid.com/video/S8Zt6cB_NPU/video.html
My original 2017 video about VHD in Japan: thexvid.com/video/fCWLaAwr3sM/video.html
A ‘comedy’ re-edit of the VHD demo disc thexvid.com/video/LIXA8bF_VXY/video.html
In case anyone is wondering - Yes I checked and captured all the contents of both sides of every disc I purchased. The UK demo disc is not in my possession. The seller did not own a VHD player or any other discs.
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Science & Technology
I guess that Japanese kid that couldn't play Highway Star became a vicious cult leader...
10:50 for anyone interested:
評価 (hyouka): assessment, inspection
現象 (genshuu): phenomenon, observation
反転 (hanten): turning over
Most of the notes are about whether issues are 小 (small), 中 (medium), or 大 (large). Some of the handwriting was too sloppy for me to read.
25:13 -- 80s girls were gorgeous
Awesome presentation thanks
16:45 a Techmoan callout to find long lost love, cue the song, No Mercy, where did you go.
Even worse than those Mega CD FMV games...
"Convoy" was a huge hit in Soviet Union btw.
The only memory i have of the actual use of laserdisc is with the arcade game "Dragons Lair" (1983). The graphics and interaction of that game were revolutionary in comparison with Donkey Kong and Pacman. thexvid.com/video/JdMyLFsp5Tk/video.html
Missed opportunity: the section of the demo video after the ASICS in-store demo appeared to be related to SoftBank, now a major conglomerate that owns both a mobile phone network and a baseball team.
The bank which invested in Alibaba and WeWork? Whoa.
What are the odds, that "blank" disc in the wrap *is* the demo disc from the empty caddy..?
32:48 - Who needed an interactive slideshow about roaring down the motorway, when your "average" hatchback had 3,5 liter v8, manual gearbox and rear drive... so you could just go out and have it "realtime 3d surround sound G-force enchanced"
I don't know the propper English term, but in the Netherlands we have something called "citaatrecht" (Google-translate: citation law). A single bar of music in the background should not be a problem. You don't make money on half a bar of someones music, do you? But then again, some laws are weird....
Ok but Thorn EMI's logo looks like a buttcrack
Music reminds me of captain of her heart
This system ran my favourite operating system, OS-9, not to be confused with MacOS9 which is ~nothing~ like it. OS-9 was produced by Microware in the US, it was a fully real-time, multitasking, windowing, mouse-oriented, unix-like OS that ran in half a meg of memory and was up and running on my (upgraded) Tandy COCO-3 in 1985. Brilliant system. BTW, the Space Shuttle also used OS-9 because of its high reliability, and real-time features (wherein the right answer at the wrong time is the wrong answer). In fact, I don't think there's ever been a fully real-time OS for consumers EVER (and still) other than Microware's OS-9. Certainly no unix or linux I've ever used is real-time, Windows and the various Mac OSs (even when they went unix core) is real time. It was brilliant because all code was re-entrant so if both of us wanted to use the word processor, for example, we only had unique data space, we executed the same module in memory. Brilliant stuff. BTW, it was named OS-9 for the Motorola 6809 and later was called OSK when it ran over the 680x0.
18:55 in the middle left, one of the rarest items, japan's version of the SCART cable. it had different pinouts from europe's version, and thats all i could find on it
Did they find the girl in the video
17:03 TFW the little preschool Japanese girl playing with the VHD system educational game was roughly your age at the time... and you're both in your 40s now...
Have you tried putting the disk in the clear case into the empty case and then maybe you could play it.
It just occurred to me that the disc in the clear case could possibly be the missing demo disc.
Nah, it's another Arabesque disc. As shown in the end of the VHD in the US video.
The Speccy game Tornado Low Level (TLL) was made by Thorn EMI, really great game too, thinking about it I guess Thorn EMI probably had something to do with building the real Tornado.
1980s version of the PlayStation?
Might interest some
thexvid.com/video/AHryQ0cwanA/video.html
Sir Moan of Techshire, I was wondering which equipment you used to listen to music in your various cars during the 80's and 90's and onwards . Myself I had Alpine cassette decks with an Alpine Amp and Infinity speakers which I stuck with but just upgrading the decks as and when I could afford . I know this isn't Top Gear but I would also love to know the cars you had ? I had an amp to put my music out of the speakers in my car but not to frighten old ladies at bus Stops !!!!!
Im just entirely amazed.
The 1st VHD disc video I saw the Convoy and I got amazed that that movie is there and disappointed that i never get to see it.
Then I saw The VHD video for the us and notice the still from this video from as a recap. (I didn't see this video until now)
Then I went into this video and oh my god there it is
Techmoan:"the only pal VHD with a full movie"
I think my luck just ran out at this point. Im just so glad to see that.
Dad Conference
Does anyone else see a monstrous face on the hole diagram graphic in the golf game...?
Man, that kid surely wanted to kick his father out of the computer to play Highway Star!
Have you seen the 'Risk' BBC programme from the early 80's here on TheXvid? It shows you the 3 disc formats and their introduction into the UK.
I keep hoping for a follow up where they find the women in the video
Is there any dedicated social media search thread?
That video is pure a e s t h i c
Haha I can't believe there was a content match for the instrumental backing of some obscure 1980s (21:26) promotional video. Enjoyed the dub anyways!
Is that not the same as the RCA Selectavision.
I'm pretty sure that segment with the girl calling for a reservation... was later turned into a porno.
1980s were great time for technology
16:17 Pretty woman
hot girl. brooke shields look alike.
Woop Swindon! Actually useful for something. If you can't tell I'm from Swindon anyone else?
317.5 MB in 1980s?
Wasted potentials in VHD, really.
Definitely crack open the demo! Also.. i need to watch convoy now :)
They only did it 'cause of fame!
Who?
EMI!
No UMD Disc reviews?
Imagine those amazing VHD demo videos were used for a vaporwave or synthwave music video
The possibilities of the VHD technology is pretty amazing for the 80's. Too bad it never caught on.
We had one of those big disk movie players in the 80s I think my parents probably still have it.
It was only sold in Japan. Where did your parents get it?
11:97 I can't believe Lee Carvallo's Putting Challenge was on VHD
Female model on 16:16 looks very much alike to Deborah Ann Gaetano, female model from british QVC Channel.
Wow she does! Maybe she's DAG's mother!
BRILLIANT ! Thanks for such a superb explanation of an important but forgotten technology.
ferguson videostar. The bread and butter of any Radio Rentals Store..
Oh wow. As a former Thorn EMI employee i will be taking a good look at this later..Techmoan you are a Legend...
Japanese call Optimus Prime as Convoy.
Because of the movie I think.
Johnny Rotten: EMI!!!
The woman booking a hotel at 25:06 is having the most relaxing conversation ever.
hello, i've been watching your content for a while now and i think your videos are absolutely fascinating, right now i'm in the market for a cassete deck, is there any particular model you would recommend that isn't too expensive? also what model do you have?
Do you have any interest in doing a video on DVD Recorders? I own 2 of them. When I mention it to most people, they have never heard of that type of technology. It would be fascinating to hear the history and development of DVD Recorders by the great techmoan. Thank you for all the content on technology through the years
Arabesque, without them Sandra would have never been the pop star she was in the 1980s.
26:36 Giga Bites!
Did you ever review this? thexvid.com/video/cW7jvmoLQ7o/video.html
I live in Blackburn and I find it intriguing there was a laser disc manufacturer plant here. I wonder where exactly?
Philips Road surprisingly enough. Most of the Laserdiscs manufactured there in the 1980s turned out to be defective and suffered from disc rot. They also made defective CDs for several years before selling the plant to another company.
Can You release for a month some cat videos, You really deserve 1M subscribers, and I lost my patience :)
if anyone else is wondering what the song the guy at 18:24 is singing is, it's Shikuramen no Kahori (The Scent of Cyclamen). yes, i typed in the Japanese lyrics and did a search. it looks like it was first released by Akira Fuse back in the mid-70s. you can search 布施明 シクラメンのかほり and see a live performance from 1975. quite a lovely song.
also, 52-year-old woman here. *waves*