Word: laser
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1980-1989
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...most sophisticated videodisc players currently available are Magnavision, a joint venture of the Dutch electronics firm Philips and the American entertainment company MCA, and LaserDisc, a product of the Japanese electronics firm Pioneer. Both use playback machines that read pictures and sound from a metallic record via a laser beam that never physically touches the platter. With LaserDisc the viewer can select which of the up to 54,000 frames on the record he wants to see by pushing buttons on a keyboard; each frame has its own number. For instance, on a disc that contains images of art masterpieces...
Industry sources say the laser system got off to a bumpy start. By the end of 1980, only about 35,000 of the expensive machines (cost: up to $779) had been sold. Although both of them are now nationally advertised, they were sparingly promoted at first. Only a limited number of programs had been available, and early discs sometimes stuck while being played...
...record player. The viewer slips the disc, including the dust cover, into the front of the machine and then pulls the cover back out before the feature starts. A cartridge with a diamond stylus tracks 27,000 incredibly tiny grooves on the record to reproduce the picture. Unlike the laser system, the RCA device cannot find scenes at random or freeze a frame...
...believes that it has four advantages in selling its videodisc system: lower price, easier operation, a vast selection of programs and marketing strength. The less complicated SelectaVision machines will sell for $499.95, or nearly $300 less than laser systems. RCA will immediately offer 100 programs that range from the movie Rocky to demonstrations on baby care narrated by Dr. Benjamin Spock. Finally, SelectaVision will be sold in 5,000 stores under the RCA label, and a compatible system is being marketed by Zenith, Sears, Radio Shack and Hitachi under their own brand names...
...American honorable mention for collegiate sailing--an award given to only two freshmen in the entire country--and for the past three years he has either been first or second in the country in contests like the United States Youth Championships, the National Sports Festival, and the Laser World Qualifying Regatta. In 1978, he was selected to participate in the United States Olympic Developmental Training Clinic in Squaw Valley, California--an honor given to only the country's brightest Olympic hopes...