Pioneer VDR-V1000
Pioneer in the
U.S. has begun selling the VDR-V1000 "LaserRecorder", a two piece
rewritable laserdisc recorder/player. The device functions in CAV in analogue NTSC format with digital audio but offers slightly extended playing time over the current NTSC laserdisc standard. The VDR-V1000 can record and play 57,600 frames or 32 minutes of video from a disc side. The discs are protected in caddies, as is normal for recordable systems.
The product is being targeted at the professional market as an editing or programme making tool. The discs have a claimed erase/record potential of 1,000,000 cycles and the audio can be encoded both separately from the video or simultaneously. Pioneer claims the product is the first device to let producers perform real-time, non-linear editing with absolute accuracy.
Pioneer
has also launched a PAL version of its rewritable laserdisc recorder/player aimed at
the programme editing market. Editing on laserdisc has been popular for several
years, the rapid access of the disc being an ideal way of rehearsing different
mixes of scenes that, once finalised, can be imitated when editing the actual
videotape, or in the case of movie systems like EditDroid, the film.
The VDR-V1000 makes use of two lasers making it possible to instantly write to any part of the disc. While one laser is reading the other is searching so there need never be a blank screen. The VDR-V1000 sells for around £25,000 and the blank discs for £800.