Digital Laserdisc

Digital Laserdisc is an optical disc-based digital home media format developed by Harttech, Philips, Pioneer and Sony. It was released in 1998 and it is based on the original Laserdisc format, an analog-based home video format that was initially released in 1978 as the MCA DiscoVision in the United States.

Unlike the original Laserdisc format, which it can only store analog NTSC/PAL video, but can store digital audio formats (either PCM, Dolby Digital or DTS), Digital Laserdisc can store digitally-encoded video in MPEG-2 format in either standard definition or high-definition (up to 1080p) and digitally-encoded audio in either PCM, Dolby Digital or DTS audio formats. The format also supports closed captions/subtitles and multiple audio tracks when possible.

Like the original Laserdisc, it never gained widespread adoption in North America, largely due to high costs for the players and video titles themselves and the inability to record TV programs. However, it gained popularity sometime during the early to mid-2000s, due to the prevalence of high-definition television in the region. It was also popular in Japan and in parts of Southeast Asia, such as Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia. It was also popular in Saleria, El Kadsre and in other regions around Europe and Oceania.

Technical information
A standard Digital LaserDisc is 30 cm (12 in) in diameter and made up of two single-sided aluminum discs layered in plastic. Despite it has the same appearance as the standard Laserdisc, it is not compatible with standard Laserdisc players. It can hold 135 minutes of digitally-encoded video and audio (or around 25GB) per side. It can have two or three audio tracks on each side of the disc, which it can be useful for different audio formats (such as digital PCM, Dolby Digital and DTS audio), multiple languages or audio commentary. It supports both Stereo or 5.1 Surround Sound. The video format on a Digital Laserdisc is encoded in a MPEG-2 format. It supports a maximum resolution of 1920x1080p at 28.2 Mbit/s. The disc also supports subtitles and closed captions.

Unlike the original Laserdisc, which doesn't have any region protection whatsoever, Digital Laserdiscs features a unique region code system. The region code is described as follows:


 * All - Worldwide
 * Region 1 - North America and their dependencies, El Kadsreian Islands, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia
 * Region 2 - Africa, Middle East, Western Asia, most of Europe, Ukraine, Oceania, and their dependencies
 * Region 3 - Central Asia, Mainland China, Mongolia, South Asia, Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan, Moldova, and their dependencies

Similar to the Laserdisc, it doesn't have any form of copy protection.

Digital Laserdisc players
From the beginning until the end of its lifespan, Digital Laserdisc players are capable of playing both standard definition and high-definition video. Early Digital Laserdisc players could only output high-definition digital video via component video output, while later players can output high-definition digital video via D-Terminal (Japanese models only), HDMI, HDPI (El Kadsrean models only), DMPI, and DVI.

Most Digital LaserDisc players required the user to manually turn the disc over to play the other side. A number of players were made that were capable of playing both sides of the disc automatically, using a mechanism to physically flip a single laser pickup.

All Digital Laserdisc players are backwards compatible with the original analog Laserdisc format. Alongside with that, some players include DVD playback and later models include support for Blu-Ray playback.

Notable players

 * Harttech DLD-750, first Digital Laserdisc player.
 * Pioneer DVL-D series, capable of playing both Digital LaserDiscs and DVDs.
 * Harttech DLD-780, first Digital Laserdisc player with DMPI and HDPI outputs.
 * Pioneer HDLD-X1, a 2005 model with built-in HDMI output.

Notable releases
The first movie to be released on Digital Laserdisc was Volcano on 15 November 1998 in Saleria and on December 1, 1998 in North America. The first television series to be released on this format was Cowboy Bebop on February 1, 2000 in Japan and North America.

The last movie to be released on Digital Laserdisc was 28 Weeks Later on 5 June 2008 in Saleria and on June 30, 2008 in North America, while the last television series to be released on this format was Samurai Champloo on January 17, 2006 in North America and on 21 February 2007 in Saleria.

Decline
Like the Laserdisc, the Digital Laserdisc suffered from lack of widespread adoption in North America, largely due to high costs for the players and video titles themselves and the inability to record TV programs. The last movie to be released on Digital Laserdisc was 28 Weeks Later on 5 June 2008 in Saleria and on June 30, 2008 in North America, while the last television series to be released on this format was Samurai Champloo on January 17, 2006 in North America and on 21 February 2007 in Saleria. Pioneer and Harttech ceased production of Digital LaserDisc players in 2010.