Video High Density

Videodisk format Video High DensityA VHD disc; pictured is a copy of the 1961 Italian film "Girl With a Suitcase"Media typevideo playback mediaCapacity60 minutes NTSC video per sideRead mechanismstylusUsageHome videoReleased1983 Video High Density (VHD) was an analog video disc format storing up to 60 minutes per side, predominantly marketed by JVC in Japan. In contrast to the optical LaserDisc format, the VHD format was read with a physical conductive stylus. Facing numerous competing formats both in and outside of Japan, the reach of VHD remained very limited. History VHD was first demonstrated in 1978 and was eventually released in Japan on April 21, 1983. Despite demonstrating the player at several Consumer Electronics Shows, JVC opted not to release VHD as a consumer product in North America. In the UK, Thorn EMI, which was the leading consumer provider of the VHS tape system, saw VHD as the next step in the market and committed to the system. In 1981 it invested in a factory to press discs (in Swindon) and a production unit to develop a catalogue of "interactive" titles to support a planned 1984 launch, but canceled the investment in late 1983. VHD remained on the market in t