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88-452: The series was supplemented by numerous original video animation releases and also inspired several spin-off works whose media ranges from serialized light novels to video games . The TV anime was originally licensed by the now-defunct Central Park Media , which released the series on DVD and VHS. Currently, it is licensed by Maiden Japan , a unit of Section23 Films, which has also released all OVAs other than Leechers Army Merowlink . In

176-679: A videodisc in reflective mode, which has advantages over the transparent mode. MCA and Philips then decided to combine their efforts and first publicly demonstrated the videodisc in 1972. LaserDisc was first available on the market in Atlanta, Georgia , on December 11, 1978, two years after the introduction of the VHS VCR , and four years before the introduction of the CD (which is based on laser disc technology). Initially licensed, sold, and marketed as MCA DiscoVision (also known as simply DiscoVision ) in 1978,

264-570: A 2004 news release (for their new OVAs aimed at women) that about 50% of the customers who had bought their anime DVDs in the past fell into the category of 25 to 40-year-old men, with only 13% of purchasers women, even with all ages included. (However, these statistics cover Bandai Visual anime DVDs in general.) Nikkei Business Publications also said in a news-release that mainly 25 to 40-year-old adults bought anime DVDs. Few OVAs target female audiences. Some OVAs based on television series (and especially those based on manga ) may provide closure to

352-584: A 4.7 in (12 cm) indentation in the loading tray, where the CD was placed for playback. At least two Pioneer models (the CLD-M301 and the CLD-M90) also operated as a CD changer, with several 4.7 in indentations around the circumference of the main tray. The Pioneer DVL-9, introduced in 1996, was both Pioneer's first consumer DVD player and the first combination DVD/LD player. The first high-definition video player

440-671: A DTS decoder. Many 1990s A/V receivers combined the AC-3 decoder and DTS decoder logic, but an integrated AC-3 demodulator was rare both in LaserDisc players and in later A/V receivers. PAL LaserDiscs have a slightly longer playing time than NTSC discs, but have fewer audio options. PAL discs only have two audio tracks, consisting of either two analog-only tracks on older PAL LaserDiscs, or two digital-only tracks on newer discs. In comparison, later NTSC LaserDiscs are capable of carrying four tracks (two analog and two digital). On certain releases, one of

528-553: A few minutes to two hours or more. An episode length of 30 minutes is common, but no standard length exists. An OVA series can run anywhere from a single episode to dozens of episodes in length. Many anime series first appeared as OVAs, and later grow to become television series or movies. Producers sometimes make other OVA releases as sequels, side stories, music-video collections, or bonus episodes that continue existing as television series or films. Much OVA-production aims at an audience of male anime enthusiasts. Bandai Visual said in

616-586: A few, such as Battlestar Galactica and Jaws , were time-compressed versions of their CAV or CLV DiscoVision originals. The time-compressed CLV re-issue of Jaws no longer had the original soundtrack, having had incidental background music replaced for the videodisc version due to high licensing costs (the original music would not be available until the THX LaserDisc box set was released in 1995). One Universal/Columbia co-production issued by MCA Disco Vision in both CAV and CLV versions, The Electric Horseman ,

704-500: A given disc very quickly. By comparison, VHS would require tedious rewinding and fast-forwarding to get to specific points. Initially , LaserDiscs were cheaper than videocassettes to manufacture, because they lacked the moving parts and plastic outer shell which were necessary for VHS tapes to work, and the duplication process was much simpler. A VHS cassette had at least 14 parts (including the actual tape) while LaserDisc had one part with five or six layers. A disc could be stamped out in

792-602: A handful of titles pressed by Technidisc that used CAA50. The final variant of CAA was CAA70, which could accommodate 70 minutes of playback time per side. There are no known uses of this format on the consumer market. Sound could be stored in either analog or digital format and in a variety of surround sound formats; NTSC discs could carry a stereo analog audio track, plus a stereo CD-quality uncompressed PCM digital audio track, which were ( EFM , CIRC , 16-bit and 44.1 kHz sample rate ). PAL discs could carry one pair of audio tracks, either analog or digital and

880-542: A highly combustible liquid in their artificial muscle , their pilots have a very low chance of survival and are commonly referred to instead as "Bottoms", the lowest of the low ("Votoms" and "Bottoms" are written and pronounced the same way in Japanese). The series follows a main character named Chirico Cuvie, a special forces Armored Trooper pilot and former member of the Red Shoulder Battalion, an elite force used by

968-498: A horizontal resolution of 425  television lines (TVL) for NTSC and 440 TVL for PAL discs, while VHS featured only 240 TVL with NTSC. Super VHS , released in 1987, reduced the quality gap, having horizontal luma resolution comparable to LaserDisc. But horizontal chroma resolution of Super VHS remained as low as that of standard VHS, about 40 TVL, while LaserDisc offered about 70 TVL of chroma resolution. LaserDisc could handle analog and digital audio where VHS

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1056-471: A lifetime. By contrast, a VHS tape held all of its picture and sound information on the tape in a magnetic coating which was in contact with the spinning heads on the head drum, causing progressive wear with each use (though later in VHS's lifespan, engineering improvements allowed tapes to be made and played back without contact). The tape was also thin and delicate, and it was easy for a player mechanism, especially on

1144-438: A low quality or malfunctioning model, to mishandle the tape and damage it by creasing it, frilling (stretching) its edges, or even breaking it. By the advent of DVD , LaserDisc had declined considerably in popularity, so the two formats never directly competed with each other. LaserDisc was a composite video format: the luminance (black and white) and chrominance (color) information were transmitted in one signal, separated by

1232-476: A matter of seconds, whereas duplicating videotape required a complex bulk tape duplication mechanism and was a time-consuming process. By the end of the 1980s, average disc-pressing prices were over $ 5.00 per two-sided disc, due to the large amount of plastic material and the costly glass-mastering process needed to make the metal stamper mechanisms. Due to the larger volume of demand, videocassettes quickly became much cheaper to duplicate, costing as little as $ 1.00 by

1320-447: A necessity. The earliest known attempt to release an OVA was The Green Cat in 1983, although it cannot count as the first OVA: there is no evidence that the VHS tape became available immediately and the series remained incomplete. The first OVA to be billed as such was 1983's Dallos , released by Bandai . Other companies were quick to pick up on the idea, and the mid-to-late 1980s saw

1408-449: A player equipped with a special "AC-3 RF" output and an external demodulator in addition to an AC-3 decoder . The demodulator was necessary to convert the 2.88  MHz modulated AC-3 information on the disc into a 384  kbit/s signal that the decoder could handle. In the mid to late 1990s, many higher-end AV receivers included the demodulator circuit specifically for the LaserDisc player's RF-modulated Dolby Digital AC-3 signal. By

1496-501: A projection of the FM signal along the track on the disc. When reading, the FM carrier can be reconstructed from the succession of pit edges, and demodulated to extract the original video signal (in practice, selection between pit and land parts uses intersection of the FM carrier with a horizontal line having an offset from the zero axis, for noise considerations). If PCM sound is present, its waveform, considered as an analog signal, can be added to

1584-416: A pursuit extending across the entire series, with Chirico hunted by the army and criminals alike as he seeks the truth behind the operation. He is especially driven to discover the truth of one of the objects he was assigned to retrieve in that operation: a mysterious and beautiful woman who would become his sole clue to unraveling the galactic conspiracy. Ryōsuke Takahashi conceived of VOTOMS after watching

1672-684: A series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the first part of an OVA series may be broadcast for promotional purposes. OVA titles were originally made available on VHS , later becoming more popular on LaserDisc and eventually DVD . Starting in 2008, the term OAD ( original animation DVD ) began to refer to DVD releases published bundled with their source-material manga . Like anime made for television broadcast, OVAs are divided into episodes. OVA media (tapes, laserdiscs or DVDs) usually contain just one episode each. Episode length varies from title to title: each episode may run from

1760-608: A single laser pickup. Pioneer produced some multi-disc models which held more than 50 LaserDiscs. For a short time in 1984, one company offered a "LaserStack" unit that added multi-disc capability to existing players: the Pioneer LD-600, LD-1100, or the Sylvania/Magnavox clones. It required the user to physically remove the player lid for installation, where it then attached to the top of the player. LaserStack held up to 10 discs and could automatically load or remove them from

1848-515: A three-disc box set along with the two soundtracks. It was released on Blu-ray as part of the Perfect Soldier Box on February 25, 2021. Armored Trooper VOTOMS: Brilliantly Shining Heresy ( 装甲騎兵ボトムズ 赫奕たる異端 , Sōkō Kihei Botomuzu Kakuyakutaruitan ) is a 5-episode OVA series released in 1994. It is a sequel to the original TV series. Armored Trooper VOTOMS: Pailsen Files ( 装甲騎兵ボトムズ ペールゼン・ファイルズ , Sōkō Kihei Botomuzu Pēruzen Fairuzu )

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1936-521: A total of approximately 3.6 million LaserDisc players had been sold before its discontinuation in 2009. In 1984, Sony offered a LaserDisc format that could store any form of digital data , as a data storage device similar to CD-ROM , with a large 3.28 GB storage capacity, comparable to the DVD-ROM format that would arrive 11 years later in 1995. The first LaserDisc title marketed in North America

2024-492: A wavelength of 780 nm. In March 1984, Pioneer introduced the first consumer player with a solid-state laser, the LD-700. It was also the first LaserDisc player to load from the front and not the top. One year earlier, Hitachi introduced an expensive industrial player with a laser diode, but the player had poor picture quality (due to an inadequate dropout compensator), and was made only in limited quantities. After Pioneer released

2112-454: Is a 12-episode OVA series that was released from October 26, 2007 to August 22, 2008. It was also released as a feature film on January 17, 2009. It is a prequel to the main series and a sequel to Origin of Ambition . Armored Trooper VOTOMS: Phantom Arc ( 装甲騎兵ボトムズ 幻影篇 , Sōkō Kihei Botomuzu Gen'ei-hen ) , released as Genei ~ Phantom Arc by Maiden Japan, is a six-part OVA series that was released from March 26, 2010 to October 27, 2010. It

2200-687: Is a 2011 50-minute OVA that serves as sequel to the Shining Heresy and prequel to the Phantom Arc . VOTOMS has appeared in numerous video games since the series' original airing. For a limited time, the Armored Trooper Votoms - Uoodo and Kummen game included a Red Shoulder Custom model. Chirico also figures in the Sunrise Eiyuutan (Sunrise Heroes) game for the PlayStation 2. VOTOMS

2288-727: Is a 50-minute OVA released on August 21, 1985. The storyline takes place after the Woodoo storyline in the TV series. It details Chirico meeting with his old comrades in his old military unit, and their plan to get revenge on General Pailsen. A 1986 60-minute OVA. Takes place near the end of the series. The storyline features Chirico and his comrades participating in a mecha gladiatorial match. Armored Trooper VOTOMS: The Red Shoulder Document - Origin of Ambition ( 装甲騎兵ボトムズ レッドショルダードキュメント 野望のルーツ , Sōkō Kihei Botomuzu Reddo Shorudā Dokyumento Yabō no Rūtsu ) , released as just Origin of Ambition by Maiden Japan,

2376-519: Is a 60-minute OVA released in 1988. The storyline serves as a prequel to the main series and especially The Last Red Shoulder . It details Chirico's time in the Red Shoulder elite military unit and his encounters with General Pailsen. Leechers Army Merowlink ( 機甲猟兵メロウリンク , Kikō Ryōhei Merourinku ) is a twelve episode anime science fiction action OVA series spinoff of Armored Trooper Votoms . It premiered on November 21, 1988. It takes place in

2464-692: Is a sequel to the original TV series and Shining Heresy . Armored Trooper VOTOMS Case;Irvine ( ケース;アービン ), an OVA that follows the story of Irvine Lester, a repairer of the tank-like robotic Armored Trooper (AT) mecha in the VOTOMS story world. Votoms Finder ( ボトムズファインダー ), an " alternate universe " OVA that centers around Aki Tesuno, a Bottoms guard for scrap salvagers and a pilot of a robotic mecha called an At or Altro (as opposed to VOTOMS' trademark Armored Trooper mecha). Armored Trooper VOTOMS: Alone Again ( 装甲騎兵ボトムズ 孤影再び , Sōkō Kihei Botomuzu Koei Futatabi ) , released as Chirico's Return by Maiden Japan,

2552-490: Is recorded on the other side of this disc" are below the turtle. During the early years, MCA also manufactured discs for other companies including Paramount , Disney and Warner Bros. Some of them added their own names to the disc jacket to signify that the movie was not owned by MCA. After DiscoVision Associates shut down in early 1982, Universal Studio's videodisc software label (called MCA Videodisc until 1984), began reissuing many DiscoVision titles. Unfortunately, quite

2640-461: Is still not available in any other home video format with its original score intact; even the most recent DVD release has had substantial music replacement of both instrumental score and Willie Nelson's songs. An MCA release of Universal's Howard the Duck shows only the start credits shown in widescreen before changing to 4:3 for the rest of the film. For many years, this was the only disc-based release of

2728-466: The MPEG-2 encoding process as video is prepared for DVD. Early DVD releases held the potential to surpass their LaserDisc counterparts, but often managed only to match them for image quality, and in some cases, the LaserDisc version was preferred. Proprietary human-assisted encoders manually operated by specialists could vastly reduce the incidence of artifacts, depending on playing time and image complexity. By

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2816-486: The composite domain (having a video bandwidth and resolution approximately equivalent to the 1-inch (25 mm) Type C videotape format ) with analog frequency modulation (FM) stereo sound and pulse-code modulation (PCM) digital audio . Later discs used D-2 instead of Type C videotape for mastering. The LaserDisc at its most fundamental level was still recorded as a series of pits and lands much like CDs, DVDs, and even Blu-ray discs are today. In true digital media,

2904-528: The "official" name of the format remained LaserVision. In the early 1990s, the format's name was changed again to LaserDisc. Pioneer Electronics also entered the optical disc market in 1977 as a 50/50 joint venture with MCA called Universal-Pioneer and manufacturing MCA-designed industrial players under the MCA DiscoVision name (the PR-7800 and PR-7820). For the 1980 launch of the first Universal-Pioneer player,

2992-459: The "original" 20 dB CX system). This also relaxed calibration tolerances in players and helped reduce audible pumping if the CX decoder was not calibrated correctly. At least where the digital audio tracks were concerned, the sound quality was unsurpassed at the time compared to consumer videotape. However, the quality of the analog soundtracks could vary greatly depending upon the disc and, sometimes,

3080-653: The 1990s. It also saw a modest share of adoption in Australia and several European countries. By contrast, the format was much more popular in Japan and in the more affluent regions of Southeast Asia , such as Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia, and was the prevalent rental video medium in Hong Kong during the 1990s. Its superior video and audio quality made it a popular choice among videophiles and film enthusiasts during its lifespan. The technologies and concepts behind LaserDisc were

3168-521: The AC-3 signal to the standard Dolby Digital signal that was compatible with the standard Dolby Digital/PCM inputs on capable AV receivers. Another type marketed by Onkyo and Marantz converted the RF AC-3 signal to 6-channel analog audio. The two FM audio channels occupied the disc spectrum at 2.3 and 2.8 MHz on NTSC formatted discs and each channel had a 100 kHz FM deviation. The FM audio carrier frequencies were chosen to minimize their visibility in

3256-701: The Astragius Galaxy, the Gilgamesh and Balarant nations had until recently been locked in a century-old galactic war whose cause was long ago forgotten. Now, the war is ending and an uneasy truce has settled. The main weapon of the conflict is the common Armored Trooper , a mass-produced humanoid combat vehicle piloted by a single soldier. Both the Armored Troopers and their pilots are also known as VOTOMS (Vertical One-man Tank for Offense & Maneuvers). However, since Armored Troopers have extremely thin armor, and use

3344-533: The DVD release of the series. Laserdisc The LaserDisc ( LD ) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium, initially licensed, sold and marketed as MCA DiscoVision (also known simply as "DiscoVision") in the United States in 1978. Its diameter typically spans 30 cm (12 in). Unlike most optical-disc standards, LaserDisc is not fully digital , and instead requires

3432-648: The FM carrier, which modulates the width of the intersection with the horizontal threshold. As a result, space between pit centers essentially represent video (as frequency), and pit length code for PCM sound information. Early LaserDiscs featured in 1978 were entirely analog but the format evolved to incorporate digital stereo sound in CD format (sometimes with a TOSlink or coax output to feed an external digital-to-analog converter or DAC), and later multi-channel formats such as Dolby Digital and DTS . Since digital encoding and compression schemes were either unavailable or impractical in 1978, three encoding formats based upon

3520-536: The Gilgamesh Confederation in its war against the Balarant Union. Chirico is suddenly transferred to a unit engaged in a suspicious mission, unaware that he is aiding in the theft of secrets from what appears to be his side. Chirico is betrayed and left behind to die, but he survives, is arrested by the Gilgamesh military as a traitor, and is tortured for information on their homeworld. He escapes, triggering

3608-498: The LD-700 player bore the term "Pioneer LaserDisc brand videodisc player". From 1981 until the early 1990s, all properly licensed discs carried the LaserVision name and logo, even Pioneer Artists titles. On single-sided LaserDiscs mastered by Pioneer, playing the wrong side would cause a still screen to appear with a happy, upside-down turtle that has a LaserDisc for a belly (nicknamed the "LaserDisc Turtle"). The words "Program material

Armored Trooper Votoms - Misplaced Pages Continue

3696-428: The LD-700, gas lasers were no longer used in consumer players, despite their advantages, although Philips continued to use gas lasers in their industrial units until 1985. Most LaserDisc players required the user to manually turn the disc over to play the other side. A number of players (all diode laser based) were made that were capable of playing both sides of the disc automatically, using a mechanism to physically flip

3784-476: The North American retail marketplace, as media were no longer being produced. Players were still exported to North America from Japan until the end of 2001. As of 2021 , the format retains some popularity among "thousands" of American collectors, and to a greater degree in Japan, where the format was better supported and more prevalent during its lifespan. In Europe, LaserDisc always remained an obscure format. It

3872-594: The VP-1000 was noted as a "laser disc player", although the "LaserDisc" logo was displayed clearly on the device. In 1981, "LaserDisc" was used exclusively for the medium itself, although the official name was "LaserVision" (as seen at the beginning of many LaserDisc releases, just before the start of the film). Pioneer reminded numerous video magazines and stores in 1984 that LaserDisc was a trademarked word, standing only for LaserVision products manufactured for sale by Pioneer Video or Pioneer Electronics. A 1984 Ray Charles ad for

3960-632: The aforementioned Jaws . Philips' preferred name for the format was "VLP", after the Dutch words Video Langspeel-Plaat ("Video long-play disc"), which in English-speaking countries stood for Video Long-Play. The first consumer player, the Magnavox VH-8000 even had the VLP logo on the player. For a while in the early and mid-1970s, Philips also discussed a compatible audio-only format they called "ALP", but that

4048-413: The analog audio tracks were further made unavailable through replacement with supplementary audio such as isolated scores or audio commentary. This effectively reduced playback of a DTS disc on a non-DTS equipped system to mono audio, or in a handful of cases, no film soundtrack at all. Only one 5.1 surround sound option existed on a given LaserDisc (either Dolby Digital or DTS). As such, if surround sound

4136-505: The analog tracks is used to carry a modulated AC-3 signal for 5.1 channel audio (for decoding and playback by newer LaserDisc players with an "AC-3 RF" output). Older NTSC LaserDiscs made before 1984 (such as the original DiscoVision discs) only have two analog audio tracks. The earliest players employed gas helium–neon laser tubes to read discs and had a red-orange light with a wavelength of 632.8  nm , while later solid-state players used infrared semiconductor laser diodes with

4224-506: The battlefield", sucking on the blood of soldiers. "Armor Hunter" reflects a more faithful translation of the Japanese 機甲猟兵 (Kikō Ryōhei, lit. "Armor Hunter") The series is available for download on Bandai Visual's official website and the Japanese DVD box set was released on December 6, 2006. The series was previously issued twice on laserdisc , once as six individual volumes, and once as

4312-471: The beginning of the 1990s. LaserDiscs potentially had a much longer lifespan than videocassettes. Because the discs were read optically instead of magnetically, no physical contact needed to be made between the player and the disc, except for the player's clamp that holds the disc at its center as it is spun and read. As a result, playback would not wear the information-bearing part of the discs, and properly manufactured LaserDiscs could theoretically last beyond

4400-509: The digital tracks on a PAL disc were 16-bit, 44.1 kHz as on a CD; in the UK, the term "LaserVision" is used to refer to discs with analog sound, while "LaserDisc" is used for those with digital audio. The digital sound signal in both formats is EFM -encoded, as in CD . Dolby Digital (also called AC-3) and DTS , which are now common on DVD releases, first became available on LaserDisc, and Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999) which

4488-406: The end of LaserDisc's run, DVDs were living up to their potential as a superior format. DVDs use compressed audio formats such as Dolby Digital and DTS for multichannel sound. Most LaserDiscs were encoded with stereo (often Dolby Surround) CD quality audio 16bit/44.1 kHz tracks as well as analog audio tracks. DTS-encoded LaserDiscs have DTS soundtracks of 1,235 kbit/s instead of

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4576-416: The entirely digital DVD, LaserDiscs used only analog video. As the LaserDisc format was not digitally encoded and did not make use of compression techniques, it was immune to video macroblocking (most visible as blockiness during high motion sequences) or contrast banding (subtle visible lines in gradient areas, such as out-of-focus backgrounds, skies, or light casts from spotlights) which could be caused by

4664-603: The film Junior Bonner , in which the main character travels across towns performing rodeo shows, which gave Takahashi the idea of creating a story in a post-war setting, with mechs fighting each other for sport. Although several authors have noted similarities between Chirico and Steve McQueen , who played the main character in Junior Bonner , Takahashi stated that Chirico was not modeled after anyone in particular. A 1983 52-episode anime television series. Armored Trooper Votoms: The Last Red Shoulder ( 装甲騎兵ボトムズ ザ・ラストレッドショルダー )

4752-460: The film, until widescreen DVD formats were released with extras. Also, the 1989 and 1996 LaserDisc releases of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial are the only formats to include the cut scene of Harrison Ford , in the role of the school principal, telling off Elliott for letting the frogs free in the biology class. LaserDisc had several advantages over VHS . It featured a far sharper picture with

4840-537: The format was introduced in Europe in 1983 with the LaserVision name, although Philips used "VLP" in model designations, such as VLP-600. Following lackluster sales there (around 12–15,000 units Europe-wide), Philips tried relaunching the entire format as "CD-Video" in 1987, with the name appearing not just on the new hybrid 12 cm discs , but also on standard 20 and 30 cm LaserDiscs with digital audio. While this name and logo appeared on players and labels for years,

4928-447: The foundation for later optical disc formats, including Compact Disc (CD), DVD , and Blu-ray (BD). LaserDisc players continued to be produced until July 2009, when Pioneer stopped making them. Optical video recording technology , using a transparent disc, was invented by David Paul Gregg and James Russell in 1963 (and patented in 1970 and 1990). The Gregg patents were purchased by MCA in 1968. By 1969, Philips had developed

5016-555: The hyphen), which became the official spelling. Technical documents and brochures produced by MCA Disco-Vision during the early and mid-'70s also used the term "Disco-Vision Records" to refer to the pressed discs. MCA owned the rights to the largest catalog of films in the world during this time, and they manufactured and distributed the DiscoVision releases of those films under the "MCA DiscoVision" software and manufacturing label; consumer sale of those titles began on December 11, 1978, with

5104-612: The image. To help deal with this, Pioneer decided to implement the CX Noise Reduction System on the analog tracks. By reducing the dynamic range and peak levels of the audio signals stored on the disc, filtering requirements were relaxed and visible beats greatly reduced or eliminated. The CX system gives a total NR effect of 20 dB, but in the interest of better compatibility for non-decoded playback, Pioneer reduced this to only 14 dB of noise reduction (the RCA CED system used

5192-465: The late 1990s, with LaserDisc players and disc sales declining due to DVD's growing popularity, the AV receiver manufacturers removed the demodulator circuit. Although DVD players were capable of playing Dolby Digital tracks, the signals out of DVD players were not in a modulated form and were not compatible with the inputs designed for LaserDisc AC-3. Outboard demodulators were available for a period that converted

5280-438: The market flooded with OVAs. During this time, most OVA series were new, stand-alone titles. During Japan's economic bubble , production companies were more than willing to spontaneously decide to make a one- or two-part OVA in the 1980s. They paid money to anime studios, who then haphazardly created an OVA to be released to rental shops. Judging from sales, should a longer series be deemed feasible, TV networks paid for most of

5368-499: The medium as Laser Videodisc . Philips produced the players while MCA produced the discs. The Philips-MCA collaboration was unsuccessful – and was discontinued after a few years. Several of the scientists responsible for the early research (Richard Wilkinson, Ray Dakin and John Winslow) founded Optical Disc Corporation (now ODC Nimbus). LaserDisc was launched in Japan in October 1981, and

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5456-472: The nature of the conspiracy that led to their deaths. While the official English title of the series is Leechers Army Merowlink according to the text seen on multiple video and music software releases, it is commonly referred to as Armor Hunter Mellowlink in English. This translation dates from issue 5 of the now-defunct English-language anime magazine Animag and has been repeated in various fan sources over

5544-451: The pits (or their edges) directly represent 1s and 0s of a binary digital information stream. On a LaserDisc, the information is encoded as analog frequency modulation and is contained in the lengths and spacing of the pits. A carrier frequency is modulated by the baseband video signal (and analog soundtracks). In a simplified view, positive parts of this variable frequency signal can produce lands and negative parts can be pits, which results in

5632-597: The player or change sides in around 15 seconds. The first mass-produced industrial LaserDisc player was the MCA DiscoVision PR-7820, later rebranded the Pioneer PR7820 . In North America, this unit was used in many General Motors dealerships as a source of training videos and presentation of GM's new line of cars and trucks in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Most players made after the mid-1980s were capable of also playing Compact Discs . These players included

5720-416: The player to refuse commands to skip a specific part (such as fast forwarding through copyright warnings). (Some DVD players, particularly higher-end units, do have the ability to ignore the blocking code and play the video without restrictions, but this feature is not common in the usual consumer market.) With CAV LaserDiscs, the user could jump directly to any individual frame of a video simply by entering

5808-741: The player. Many early and lower-end LaserDisc players had poor analog audio components, and in turn, many early discs had poorly mastered analog audio tracks, making digital soundtracks in any form more desirable to serious enthusiasts. Early DiscoVision and LaserDisc titles lacked the digital audio option, but many of those movies received digital sound in later re-issues by Universal, and the quality of analog audio tracks generally improved greatly as time went on. Many discs that had originally carried old analog stereo tracks received new Dolby Stereo and Dolby Surround tracks instead often in addition to digital tracks, which helped boost sound quality. Later analog discs also applied CX noise reduction , which improved

5896-572: The plot – closure not present in the original series. OVAs originated during the early 1980s. As the VCR became a fixture in Japanese homes, the anime industry grew. Demand for anime became massive, so much so that consumers would go to video stores to buy new animation outright. While people in the United States used the phrase " direct-to-video " as a pejorative for works that could not make it onto television or movie screens, in Japan direct-to-video became

5984-553: The production costs of the entire series. As the Japanese economy worsened in the 1990s , the flood of new OVA titles diminished to a trickle. Production of OVAs continued, but in smaller numbers. Many anime TV series ran 13 episodes rather than the traditional 26-episodes per season. Studios often designed new titles to be released to TV if they approached these lengths. In addition, the rising popularity of cable and satellite TV networks (with their typically less strict censorship) allowed

6072-431: The public to see direct broadcasts of many new titles. Therefore, many violent and risque series became regular TV series, when previously those titles would have been OVAs. During this time, most OVA content was limited to that related to existing and established titles. In 2000 and later, a new OVA trend began. Producers released many TV series without normal broadcasts of all of the episodes—but releasing some episodes on

6160-566: The receiver. While good comb filters could separate the signals adequately, the two signals could not be completely separated. On DVD-Video , images are stored in the YCbCr format, with the chroma information being entirely discrete, which results in far higher fidelity, particularly at strong color borders or regions of high detail (especially if there is moderate movement in the picture) and low-contrast details such as skin tones, where comb filters almost inevitably smudge some detail. In contrast to

6248-438: The reduced bitrate of 768 kbit/s commonly employed on DVDs with optional DTS audio. LaserDisc players could provide a greater degree of control over the playback process. Unlike many DVD players, the transport mechanism always obeyed commands from the user: pause, fast-forward, and fast-reverse commands were always accepted (barring malfunctions). There were no "User Prohibited Options" where content protection code instructed

6336-404: The remaining parts inventory was exhausted. It was estimated that in 1998, LaserDisc players were in approximately 2% of U.S. households (roughly two million). By comparison, in 1999, players were in 10% of Japanese households. A total of 16.8 million LaserDisc players were sold worldwide, of which 9.5 million were sold by Pioneer. By 2001, LaserDisc had been completely replaced by DVD in

6424-457: The rotation speed were used: As Pioneer introduced digital audio to LaserDisc in 1985, it further refined the CAA format. CAA55 was introduced in 1985 with a total playback capacity per side of 55 minutes 5 seconds, reducing the video capacity to resolve bandwidth issues with the inclusion of digital audio. Several titles released between 1985 and 1987 were analog audio only due to the length of

6512-537: The same universe (and time, and in some episodes, almost the same places) as Votoms , but the two stories are entirely independent of each other. Merowlink is the story of a soldier whose unit is sacrificed on the battlefield for reasons unknown. Although he was not meant to survive, the main character, Merowlink Ality, manages to survive only to be framed for a crime he did not commit. Merowlink escapes his captors and begins hunting down his former commanding officers, both to avenge his dead platoon members and to find out

6600-411: The signal-to-noise ratio of the audio. DTS audio, when available on a disc, replaced the digital audio tracks; hearing DTS-encoded audio required only an S/PDIF compliant digital connection to a DTS decoder. On a DTS disc, digital PCM audio was not available, so if a DTS decoder was also not available, the only option was to fall back to the analog Dolby Surround or stereo audio tracks. In some cases,

6688-459: The technology was previously referred to internally as Optical Videodisc System , Reflective Optical Videodisc , Laser Optical Videodisc , and Disco-Vision (with a hyphen), with the first players referring to the format as Video Long Play . Pioneer Electronics later purchased the majority stake in the format and marketed it as both LaserVision (format name) and LaserDisc (brand name) in 1980, with some releases unofficially referring to

6776-586: The title and the desire to keep the film on one disc (e.g., Back to the Future ). By 1987, Pioneer had overcome the technical challenges and was able to once again encode in CAA60, allowing a total of 60 minutes 5 seconds. Pioneer further refined CAA, offering CAA45, encoding 45 minutes of material, but filling the entire playback surface of the side. Used on only a handful of titles, CAA65 offered 65 minutes 5 seconds of playback time per side. There were

6864-410: The use of analog video signals. Although the format was capable of offering higher-quality video and audio than its consumer rivals, VHS and Betamax videotape, LaserDisc never managed to gain widespread use in North America. This was largely due to the high cost of the players and their inability to record TV programs. It eventually did gain some traction in that region and became mildly popular in

6952-553: The video image, so that even with a poorly mastered disc, audio carrier beats in the video would be at least ‑35 dB down, and thus, invisible. Due to the frequencies chosen, the 2.8 MHz audio carrier (Right Channel) and the lower edge of the chroma signal were very close together, and if filters were not carefully set during mastering, there could be interference between the two. In addition, high audio levels combined with high chroma levels could cause mutual interference, leading to beats becoming visible in highly saturated areas of

7040-486: The years. However, the Mellowlink spelling is contradicted by text appearing in the animation itself. The meaning of "Leechers Army" is explained by how the armor hunters depicted in the series are soldiers who have lost their Armored Trooper combat vehicles and must depend on traps and tricks in order to survive, even going so far as to boobytrap the corpses of their own comrades. For this reason, they're considered "leeches of

7128-607: Was a direct inspiration for the Heavy Gear role-playing game . VOTOMS also has its own official role-playing game, Armored Trooper VOTOMS: The Roleplaying Game , developed by R. Talsorian Games and using the Fuzion system. Original video animation Original video animation ( Japanese : オリジナル・ビデオ・アニメーション , Hepburn : orijinaru bideo animēshon ) , abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV ( original animation video ), are Japanese animated films and special episodes of

7216-823: Was chosen by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) for the BBC Domesday Project in the mid-1980s, a school-based project to commemorate the 900 years since the original Domesday Book in England. From 1991 until the late 1990s, the BBC also used LaserDisc technology (specifically Sony CRVdisc) to play out their channel idents . A standard home video LaserDisc is 12 in (30 cm) in diameter and made up of two single-sided aluminum discs layered in plastic. Although similar in appearance to compact discs or DVDs , early LaserDiscs used analog video stored in

7304-460: Was desired, the disc must be matched to the capabilities of the playback equipment (LaserDisc player and receiver/decoder) by the purchaser. A fully capable LaserDisc playback system included a newer LaserDisc player that was capable of playing digital tracks; had a digital optical output for digital PCM and DTS encoded audio; was aware of AC-3 audio tracks; and had an AC-3 coaxial output, an external or internal AC-3 RF demodulator and AC-3 decoder, and

7392-492: Was mostly analog only (VHS could have PCM audio in professional applications but it was uncommon), and the NTSC discs could store multiple audio tracks. This allowed for extras such as director's commentary tracks and other features to be added onto a film, creating "Special Edition" releases that would not have been possible with VHS. Disc access was random and chapter-based, like the DVD format, meaning that one could jump to any point on

7480-417: Was released on LaserDisc in Japan, was among the first home video releases ever to include 6.1 channel Dolby Digital EX Surround (along with a few other late-life releases from 1999 to 2001). Unlike DVDs, which carry Dolby Digital audio in digital form, LaserDiscs stored Dolby Digital in a frequency modulated form within a track normally used for analog audio. Extracting Dolby Digital from a LaserDisc required

7568-582: Was soon dropped as the Compact Disc system became a non-compatible project in the Philips corporation. Until early 1980, the format had no "official" name. The LaserVision Association, made up of MCA, Universal-Pioneer, IBM , and Philips/Magnavox, was formed to standardize the technical specifications of the format (which had been causing problems for the consumer market) and finally named the system officially as "LaserVision". After its introduction in Japan in 1981,

7656-755: Was the MCA DiscoVision release of Jaws on December 15, 1978. The last title released in North America was Paramount's Bringing Out the Dead on October 3, 2000. Film titles continued to be released in Japan until September 21, 2001, with the last Japanese movie released being the Hong Kong film Tokyo Raiders from Golden Harvest . The last known LD title is Onta Station vol. 1018, a karaoke disc released on March 21, 2007. Production of LaserDisc players ended in July 2009, when Pioneer stopped making them. Pioneer continued to repair and service players until September 30, 2020, when

7744-608: Was the Pioneer HLD-X0. A later model, the HLD-X9, featured a superior comb filter , and laser diodes on both sides of the disc. During its development, MCA (which co-owned the technology), referred to it as the Optical Videodisc System , "Reflective Optical Videodisc" or "Laser Optical Videodisc", depending on the document. They changed the name once in 1969 to Disco-Vision and then again in 1978 to DiscoVision (without

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