Videodisc Technology

Major areas of videodisc systems technology are Identified and briefly described. The operation, reliability, storage capacities, and applications of two laser systems are presented in detail. These systems include (1) the consumer optical videodisc used in the distribution of films and tutorial types of educational programs and (2) the high‐density storage optical digital disc used for both digital and image storage. The versatility of the optical digital disc is illustrated by its capabilities to digitize a large collection of bibliographic data and to image process the full text of energy documents. The development and application of videodiscs is one of several technologies that will have a profound Impact on our society. It is one of the first major areas of modern consumer electronics in which the U.S. has assumed a dominant role. As advances in this field are made, possibilities of new methodologies in information storage and retrieval will evolve.