"S888Wheel" wrote in message

I said

So why didn't laser disc take off?

Arny said

Initially, LDs were crap, which cast a pall on the whole product.

I totally disagree. They offered vastly superior performance to VHS
from the get go.

I guess you weren't there in the beginning, sockpuppet. Skipping was
endemic.

Arny said

There was
a major upgrade when they went from FM sound to PCM sound. The
players were very expensive. Lots of reasons.

They were not all very expensive.

Look at the pricing, add inflation and then compare it to the current
pricing of DVD players which bottoms out around $30.

The discs themselves weren't all that expensive either.

Look at the pricing, add inflation and then compare it to the current
pricing of DVDs.

Clearly other market forces were at work.

As usual sockpuppet, your command of the facts is horrifically bad.

Laser disc was clearly a superior medium to VHS and it died.

The moral of the story is that there is nothing more frustrating and deadly
than being ahead of your time.

I said

It was clearly superior to VHS and is arguably superior to DVD.

Arny said


Only near the end of the practical life of the format.

I disagree, It was always better than VHS and quite substantially so.

As usual sockpuppet, you immediately forget what you say. Either that, or
your powers of expression are nil. You said: "...arguably superior to DVD."

I said

There is more to the formula of success
to these formats than actual quality. VHS beat out Beta for reasons
that had nothing to do with quality.


Arny said

The differences while noticeable were not that great.

That is a matter of opinion.

Relevant opinions are based on reliable facts. Since you've got most of the
facts wrong, your opinions aren't relevant.

But the point is the superior format
died while the inferior one lived. Quality is obviously not the
primary driving factor in the success of different formats.

Quality has to be delivered at a reasonable price to create or satisfy a
mass market. And of course, the market or the potential for it, has to
exist.

The reason Beta died is well known. It had nothing to do with quality.

It was a testimony to Sony's lack of business and technical expertise.

Arny said

VHS went through quite
a few stages of improvement after Beta had pretty well been chased
out of the market.

Yeah, *after.* Quality had nothing to do with the death of Beta.

The one problem with the alleged quality of Beta was that it was not
sufficient to overwhelm its competitor's superior business expertise and
eventual technical expertise.

Quality had nothing to do with consumers choosing one format over the
other.

All generalizions are false, and this one is founded in more than a little
bit of historical error and incompetent business analysis.

I said

LPs gave way to Cassettes for
reasons that had nothing to do with quality.

Arny said

No rumble, tics and pops in cassettes, unlike records.

Are you seriously going to take the position that cassettes sound
better than records?

Cassettes had some sound quality advantages over LPs. Not the total
overwhelming domination of digital, but there was a significant improvement.
Like I said, no rumble, tics, and pops.

They were more durable in a way. Most significantly, they were suitable for
portable use. I'm old enough to remember the vain attempts to play vinyl in
moving cars. I even sold a few of the players.

If so you really do need to upgrade your rig.

Unlike you sockpuppet, my ears are still good enough to hear rumble, tics
and pops.

I said

Convenience and
portability have been the key factors IMO in audio.

Arny said

Yours is only one opinion.

Of course, as is the case with all people who are not suffering from
multiple personalities.

Just goes to show how limited and narrow your thinking is, sockpuppet. A
normal person can have hold or be functionally aware of several opinions on
a subject, and clearly see many sides to an argument.

People who are obsessive, or have limited mentalities can only see one.
Thanks for admitting that you are one such person, sockpuppet.