technology Analog High-Definition Television of the 1990s in Japan - Hi-Vision MUSE (including MUSE LD and W-VHS)

[Katie Cadet 90]

Hello fellow bronies!

Back in the late 1980s and 1990s, NHK started developing a prototype of High-Definition television in an analog format called Hi-Vision MUSE. This groundbreaking prototype really set the standard in a time when for us North American and Europeans were still stuck on 480i back in the day.

There were two formats of early high-definition home media in Japan, one is a pre-recorded movie format on MUSE Laserdisc, and the other to record a MUSE broadcast off the air called W-VHS. This was before D-VHS started coming out in 2002 when North Americans really got a glimpse of HDTV before Blu-ray and HD DVD followed in 2006. In fact, back in the 1980s, before I was born, my relatives started getting an early glimpse of Analog High-Definition. Here in Canada, we didn't have HDTV's back then in the 1980s and 1990s, but starting in 2010 and 2012, we actually got a Digital HDTV and Blu-ray player, but eight to ten years later, we started utilizing 4k video displays in the age of 4k streaming.

I've tested out a 4k UHD Blu-ray on existing equipment, but it gives up after several tries. The LG BP200 gives up after three tries and says "Check Disc" then ejects the tray, while my Sony Blu-ray players from 2010-2011 both give up after four to six tries and then says "INVALID" on the front panel display.

But anyways, does anyone remember seeing those prototypes of Analog High-Definition Television back in the 1980s and 1990s? If so, did it impress you? Feel free to talk about it here!

Technology Connections and Techmoan did some research and testing on the MUSE Laserdisc format for you to watch below this text:

Cathode Ray Dude and Reely Interesting provided demonstrations of W-VHS below this text:

 

[Brony Number 42 9,931]

I remember HD TVs in the late 1990s, I don't remember what brand it was. But the TV was huge and sat on the floor. 

[Pentium100 2,057]

This looks cool, but the problem is that the LD players that support this are very expensive and the movie selection is small, so, I guess, I'm stuck with regular LDs.

W-VHS requires a special (rare and expensive) tape, so does D-VHS, but it could be made to work with a SVHS tape. The problem is that the VCRs usually do not have a HD video input, so I could probably be better of with a HDV (though a lot of those also do not have HD inputs) or similar VTR.

I would like to have a HD-capable VTR with either RGB or Component inputs (though HD-SDI could also be OK, but I would need a signal converter)

[cuteycindyhoney 13,283]

Hey! I'm a fan of Techmoan! I've watched a lot of his videos!

[Dreambiscuit 8,024]

The only high rez equipment I saw back in the ‘90s was the Laserdisc players. I never owned one because they were too expensive, which was frustrating because Laserdisc had waaaaay better titles than VHS or dvd at the time, with lots of really rare stuff. The manufacturers foolishly assumed the unique titles would only be desirable to people with LD players. Unfortunately the rich collectors weren’t enough to make the Laserdisc format pay off. It should have been less expensive and accessible to mainstream buyers. Just like 3D TVs, they went down the drain because they were too greedy and only pandered to an upscale crowd.

The high rez formats they have now are only as good as the rest of your viewing set-up. You’d have to buy better equipment all around if it’s to be of any use, and that’s a lot of money. It reminds me of Bluray vs dvd; Bluray costs more but doesn’t make enough of a difference to justify the cost. I like some of the fancy systems they have out there but they aren’t worth the extra money, no matter how much they spin it as the best of the best.