CD Video

CD Video (also known as CDV, CD-V, or CD+V) was a format introduced in 1987 that combined the technologies of compact disc and laserdisc. CD-V discs were the same size as a standard 12 cm audio CD, and contained up to 20 minutes worth of audio information that could be played on any audio CD player. It also contained up to 5 minutes of analog video information plus digital CD-quality sound, which could be played back on a newer laserdisc player capable of playing CD-V discs. One of the first laserdisc players that could play CD-V discs as well was the Pioneer CLD-1010 from 1987. Though it was a CD-based format, CD Video was never given a rainbow book designation.

CD Video discs have a distinctive gold color, to differentiate them from regular silver-colored audio CDs. This is a characteristic that would later be replicated to HVD, a more advanced disc format.

A similar version of CD Video called Video Single Disc (VSD) was also released. It was the same as CD Video, but it only had the analog video track (occupying the whole storage space of the disc) and no audio CD tracks.

CD Video was targeted toward teenagers who watched music videos on MTV. But few of them were familiar with laserdiscs, and far fewer still owned CDV compatible players. Buying a costly new player was not an option just for the minor use of playing a single music video that could be taped with a VCR.

The term "CD Video" and its logo also appear on full-size Laserdiscs which contain compilations of music videos with no audio CD tracks.

Though CD Video lasted only a few years in the marketplace and began disappearing by 1991, its legacy would live on with the all-digital MPEG-based Video CD format, which came out a few years later in 1993.