Interactive videodisk---a new look
Jerry Martin · 1985
Interactive videodisk has been around for quite some time. Several companies, IBM included, have lost quite a bit of money on it. The problem has been primarily the cost and difficulty of mastering a video disk. The problem of mastering (creating the first master copy from another video media) is still with us, but the difficulty level has been reduced somewhat. As with many other devices, the price has remained high until the product is useful for many individuals at a reasonable cost. The video tape recorded is one example of this price reduction.Recently, the price of videodisk systems has been dropping at a fairly dramatic rate. This is due somewhat in the reduction in price of the electronic components. However, there is increased interest in using the technology for mass storage for microcomputers as well. The result of the advances made for one industry has helped the other; in this case the videodisk. It is now possible to acquire the hardware for videodisk for less than $1,000. By spending a small amount for a microcomputer controller, it is possible to control the videodisk intelligently from a microcomputer for the price of a card. Controller cards for some of the more popular microcomputers run around $300. So cost is becoming less of a factor.However, whatever the price, what is the utility of videodisk over some other technique, say microcomputer graphics capability? Following is a summary of the differences:Microcomputer GraphicsLimited ResolutionLimited ColorsSlow generation of pictureComplex pictures require large amounts of memory and disk spaceContinuous motion slow and difficultVideodisk GraphicsHigh TV like resolutionUnlimited ColorsLess than 5 seconds to randomly access any of 54,000 picturesRegardless of picture complexity space required on disk is smallContinuous motion easy as well as slow, and reverse motionThe major disadvantage of videodisk is getting the source of the video in a format that can be placed on the videodisk.