Home video

Home video is recorded media sold or <a href="/facts/Video_rental_shop/VpPAck1S">rented</a> for home viewing. The term originates from the <a href="/facts/VHS/aN1lffdC">VHS</a> and <a href="/facts/Betamax/ksdxknFD">Betamax</a> era, when the predominant medium was <a href="/facts/Videotapes/fNekHd5Y">videotapes</a>, but has carried over to <a href="/facts/Optical_disc/vjVDB1GH">optical disc</a> formats such as <a href="/facts/DVD/7fJsHJrN">DVD</a> and <a href="/facts/Blu-ray/zyPalhfG">Blu-ray</a>. In a different usage, "home video" refers to amateur video recordings, also known as <a href="/facts/Home_movies/vr28xbQK">home movies</a>.
Released in 1978, <a href="/facts/LaserDisc/nU4WJhDM">LaserDisc</a> (LD) is another home video format, which never managed to gain widespread use on North American and European retail markets due to high cost of the players and their inability to record TV programs (unlike the <a href="/facts/VHS/aN1lffdC">VHS</a>), although it retained some popularity among <a href="/facts/Videophiles/zjLrIPor">videophiles</a> and <a href="/facts/Cinephilia/2qWnIA24">film enthusiasts</a> during its lifespan; the format had greater prevalence in some regions of <a href="/facts/Southeast_Asia/VafwT517">Southeast Asia</a> such as <a href="/facts/Japan/U5mz0SRT">Japan</a>, <a href="/facts/Hong_Kong/4nAf3mqQ">Hong Kong</a>, <a href="/facts/Singapore/CQDkhUvD">Singapore</a> and <a href="/facts/Malaysia/8zbUMzCP">Malaysia</a> where it was better supported. Film titles were released in LD format until 2001, production of LD players ceased in 2009.
The home video business distributes <a href="/facts/Films/wM3b9Kk3">films</a>, <a href="/facts/Television_series/eooTEhwW">television series</a>, <a href="/facts/Telefilms/gsGGUltR">telefilms</a> and other audiovisual media to the public in the form of <a href="/facts/Videos/3A1BMr05">videos</a> in various formats, either bought or rented and then watched privately in purchasers' homes. Most <a href="/facts/Theatrical_release/VNfkdqQe">theatrically released</a> films are now[when?] released on digital media (both optical and download-based), replacing the largely obsolete videotape medium. As of 2006, the <a href="/facts/Video_CD/87gb1XJ5">Video CD</a> format remained popular in Asia.[needs update] DVDs have been gradually losing popularity since the late 2010s and early 2020s, when <a href="/facts/Streaming_media/4rPhSq0Y">streaming media</a> became mainstream for the audiences, with most <a href="/facts/Media_consumption/YWTXCw3u">media consumers</a> in urban areas globally having domestic <a href="/facts/Internet/Xw1rVvJU">Internet</a> access.

Home video open-in-new

Home video