LASERVISION

noun Often written Laservision (Science and Technology) The trade mark of a video system in which the signal is recorded as a series of pits and bumps on an optical disc and 'read' by laser; a type of CD video (see CD). Etymology: Formed by compounding, after the model of television and Cablevision (see cable television): vision made possible by laser technology. History and Usage: Laservision was developed by Philips during the seventies and first made commercially available in the early eighties as one of a number of videodisc formats competing for the CD video market. The quality of reproduction from the digital recording on compact discs is much higher than can be achieved using videotape; Philips went on to develop an interactive version (CDI: see under CD) which is designed to make this system more versatile in the age of multimedia. The CD-I Enabling Initiative will provide software tools and a manual to help designers to transfer programmes from Laservision and computer format to CD-I, thus broadening the choice of courseware and helping to reduce its cost. Guardian 20 July 1989, p. 29 When I saw my first LaserVision demo, it was, in the immortal words of Yogi Berra, 'deja vu all over again'. The picture was sharp. Stereo Review Dec. 1989, p. 94