LASERDISC

noun Also written laser disc, laser disk, or (as a trade mark) LaserDisc (Science and Technology) A disc on which signals or data are recorded digitally as a series of pits and bumps under a protective coating, and which is 'read' optically by a laser beam reflected from the surface; also called an optical disc or CD. In the form LaserDisc: the trade mark of software developed for the Philips LaserVision system. Etymology: Formed by compounding: a disc which is both written and read by laser. History and Usage: The technology associated with the laserdisc was developed by Philips in the second half of the seventies (see CD and LaserVision). The name laserdisc started to be used more generally from the beginning of the eighties, contributing to the vogue for any new technology to contain the word laser in its name at this time. Any videocassette or laserdisc featuring the Premiere Recommends seal in its advertising has been approved by our editors with your home-viewing satisfaction in mind. Premiere June 1990, p. 142 A laser disk player, together with a computer, a monitor, and probably a printer, adds up. Smithsonian Feb. 1991, p. 24