Pioneer VP-1000
(1980 - 1983)


Only a minor participant when the Magnavision format was launched in 1978, Pioneer became the most active promoter of the format when the exhausted MCA withdrew from the adventure. So much so that most people believe Pioneer did the "white papers" for Laserdisc but Pioneer didn't for Laserdisc is a fully Philips/MCA format.
What Pioneer really did was to launch a series of players far far more reliable than the original VLP-700 / VH-8000, set a foot into content production and, naturally, the manufacturing of the LDs themselves. Or: how to properly corner the market !
Although the technology used was based on the old helium-neon powered laser, many VP-1000s still are playing around... twenty-six years later!

Philips abruptly withdrew in 1993/94 (quite stupidly), Sony somewhat later (also rather stupidly) but Pioneer did hold onto its cherished format while DVD was already touted as swift LD-killer in 1995: Pioneer players remained available until 2002 and service still is assured today in Japan for higher-end units like the LD-S9 or the HLD-X0 MUSE monster.
And who, right from the start, did and still does sell more DVD recorders and players than any other manufacturer? Pioneer ! A proof that one can be active on two different formats and win on both sides.