Although the format was capable of offering higher-quality video and audio than its consumer rivals, the VHS and Betamax videocassette systems, LaserDisc never managed to gain widespread use in North America, largely due to high costs for the players and video titles themselves and the inability to record TV programming. It also remained a largely obscure format in Europe and Australia. 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, being the prevalent rental video medium in Hong Kong during the 1990s. Its superior video and audio quality did make it a somewhat popular choice among videophiles and film enthusiasts during its lifespan.

LaserDisc was first available on the market, in Atlanta, Georgia, on December 15, 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 North America in 1978, the technology was previously referred to internally as Optical Videodisc System, Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Optical Videodisc, and Disco-Vision (with a dash), with the first players referring to the format as "Video Long Play".

1. What never got popular in USA?
2. Why not?
3. What US city was it first released in?
4. When?
5. Where was it popular in?
6. What year did the CD come out?
7. What about the VHS VCR?
8. How many other names was LaserDisc known as?
9. What were the first formats called?
10. Who were it's competitors?
1. LaserDisc
2. high cost & no recording
3. Atlanta GA
4. December 15, 1978,
5. Japan and South East Asia
6. 1982
7. 1976
8. Four
9. MCA DiscoVision
10. VHS & Betamax