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Expert at videodisc convention
says future video disc technology
to make compact discs obsolete
By Ken Havlat
Stiff Reporter __
Few limits will hold video disc
technology back in the nest decade,
according to Andy Finney, a producer
for the British Broadcasting Corp
It could make compact discs look
like dinosaurs, he said.
Finney was in Lincoln last week
for the Nebraska Videodisc Sympo
sium held at the Comhusker Hotel.
The symposium was in conjunction
with the Ninth Annual Nebraska
Video disc Awards, called the “Neb
bies.” It is the longest running video
disc awards program and is interna
tionally recognized.
Finney was in Lincoln to receive a
Nebbie for his disc on “Volcanoes.”
The program was made in LV-ROM
format, and holds not only video and
sound but a large information data
bank in digital form.
Ron Nugent, video disc group di
rector of the Nebraska Technology
Service Corp., was a pioneer in the
field of video disc technology 10
years ago, Finney said.
Since then, video discs primarily
have been used for academic instruc
tion. Finney said this shouldchange in
the next few years.
The first of the new technology,
compact disc video (CDV), showed
up at this year’s symposium. The
CDV system allows a viewer to first
listen, then watch. The machines are
generally available in Europe and
Japan. In Lincoln, the Sound Envi
ronment is the only place that carries
the players.
In the next two years, compac t disc
interact (CDI) will be appearing on
the market, Finney said. This type of
player uses a blue laser which reads
smaller pits on the disc. These pits
contain all the information, sound and
music on a disc. With smaller pits, the
disc can hold more information.
Nugent added that these new discs
have abou t fi ve gigabytes of space for
information.
Philips of Belgium, maker of Pio
neer components, is experimenting
with a five-inch disc that holds a 2 1/
2-hour movie. Nugent said it is nice to
speculate on the future but it is diffi
cult to know what the consumer will
think of this upcoming technology.
Within the next decade, CDI
should be on the market. Using a
signal processor and ultraviolet laser,
the complete Encyclopedia Britan
nica could fit on one five-inch disc.
According to Nugent, the com
plete works of William Shakespeare
contain eight megabytes of informa
tion. One of these discs can hold four
megabytes, he added.
“Hopefully soon we will get
money loexplorc these possibilities,”
Finney said. “The next generation of
musicians have only recently realized
it is possible to pul texts and pictures
together.”
Finney said he also considers
Frank Sinatra’s album “Wee Small
Hours” recorded in 1956, the latest
development in music. It was the first
concept album released.
Artists will be able to offer visual
imagery—all in a digital format—
instead of just putting out music.
A current hot topic in this country
is the inability to buy digital audio
tape (DAT) players in this country.
Finney said he does not care for DAT
machines because they are incompat
ible with the millions of cassette
decks in the world.
“You would have to buy an en
ti- ely different system,” Finney said.
“They arc great for musicians to rec
ord their music at a higher quality, but
the expense isn’t worth it for consum
ers."
Originally a disc jockey, Finney
used to host a radio program on BBC
London called “Break Thru" where
he took listeners on a retrospective
lour of a musician’s career
Now, he writes a column called
Ceetrax for BBC 2 cable television.
People with a signal processor can
pick up news and other items from
their cable, and read the information
much like a video newspaper. An
estimated 500,000 British viewers
(out of 12 million) reads his column.
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