The Year In video Imaginaria FILM AT 5: HOPES ARE A Computer Animation Top Kid Videos C orilmuetl from pule 8.3 HIGH FOR LOW-COST Music Video for Children 7 BARNEY IN CONCERT -The Lyons Group 8 DISNEY'S SING ALONG SONGS: FRIEND CD MOVIES LIKE ME -Walt Disney Home Video In the tradition of the Multi- Platinum video hits Beyond The Mind's Eye and 9 BARNEY'S MAGICAL MUSICAL ADVEN- TURE- The Lyons Group BY CHRIS McGOWAN The Mind's Eye comes IMAGINARIA, the first computer animation odyssey 10 THE RESCUERS-Walt Disney Home Video produced entirely for children. Colorful and playful imagery combined 11 CHARLOTTE'S WEB- Paramount Home Video with original music creates a fascinating and enriching program for 12 BARNEY'S BEST MANNERS -The Lyons One of the most important mile- ever, there is an ongoing debate as to Group stones in 1993 was the launching whether the five -inch format can compete children of all ages. 13 BARNEY'S BIRTHDAY -The Lyons Group of a new home video format for fea- successfully with VHS and laserdisc in the 14 BARNEY GOES TO SCHOOL -The Lyons ture films: the five -inch CD. short term, and with 500- channel fiber - IMAGINARIA tickles the creativity in every child's heart. Imagination is Group Philips was the first to put both feet optic systems in the long haul (Billboard, 15 BARNEY RHYMES WITH MOTHER GOOSE into these uncharted waters, releasing sev- Sept. 11, '93). your key to 13 fantastic worlds bursting with delightful songs, enchanting - The Lyons Group eral Paramount movies and PolyGram Five -inch CDs have been used for stories and flights of fantasy. Sing -along, dance, laugh and explore the 16 THE GREAT MOUSE DETECTIVE -Walt music videos in the CD -I format. And motion video before, and PolyGram magical worlds that only your imagination can unlock. Disney Home Video Philips, JVC, Sony and Matsushita have pushed a short -lived format called CDV 17 BARNEY'S THREE WISHES -The Lyons Group agreed on a "Video CD" configuration (or CD Video) in the late 1980s that mar- 18 FERNGULLY...THE LAST RAINFOREST- that should be introduced by one or more ried about 20 minutes of audio with Journey to a mogirol kingdom in your mind. Travel lo... FoxVideo manufacturers in 1994. roughly five minutes of video. Dozens of 19 FANTASIA -Walt Disney Horne Video ;. Video CD software will adhere to the CDVs were released, mostly on the vari- 20 THE RESCUERS DOWN UNDER -Walt Disney "White Book" standard used for karaoke ous Philips labels, and almost all included g 1112í`1a Home Video discs and will be playable on a variety of three songs and one music video clip. 21 DUMBO -Walt Disney Home Video -I ma JourneyAto a magical kggdom in your mind. Havel to... CD -ROM formats, including CD units CDV utilized analog video and digital 22 DISNEY'S SING ALONG SONGS: BE OUR and dedicated Video CD players. audio, as do 12 -inch laserdiscs, and was GUEST Wall Disney Home Video Many industry experts have high playable on a laser combiplayer. magmaria 23 X -MEN: ENTER MAGNETO -PolyGram Video hopes for the future of Video CDs, due to Then in 1992, Voyager Company 24 THE LITTLE ENGINE THAT COULD - the comparatively low costs of CD manu- debuted the first all-digital feature films on MCA /Universal Home Video facturing and packaging, plus lower distri- five inch, when it released the documen- 25 ALICE IN WONDERLAND Walt Disney Home bution costs. Video CDs will be cheaper taries "Poetry In Motion" and "Ephemeral Original Music By Original Music By Video to make and market than video- Films" on CD -ROM for the Macintosh Gory Powell -6oíyP'itit it cassettes and 12 -inch laserdiscs. How- computer (Billboard, Jan. 18, '92). These used QuickTime software to play their motion video, as did Voyager's interactive version of "A Hard Day's Night." All three titles featured small- screen, partial- motion video footage. rv At the end of 1993, Philips went a step further by releasing the first all -digital `.,1 tsavaeowrksssoxseti, movies on CDs that featured full- screen, ..t2,i w arvi,ua+gtrras mutls ,'a/` -ore * full- motion video and could be played on A Computer Animation ASi°'e a "set -top" system that hooked up direct- Music Video for Children ly to the television. Among the titles released by Philips on CD -I were "Top Gun," "Apocalypse A Computer Animation \ow," "White Christmas," "Fatal Music Video for Children Attraction," "Star Trek VI," "The Hunt For Red October," "The Naked Gun 21 2," "Patriot Games," 'Black Rain," "Keep The Faith: An Evening With Bon Jovi," "Billy Order Date: January 21, 1994 Ray Cyrus Live" and "The Cream Of Eric Release Date: February 15, 1994 Clapton." Selection Number:72333- 80070 -3 (VHS) Televising The Resolution 72333- 80070 -6 (Laser) The year 1994 is expected to usher in Rr enuc : AHJ f hr Grd,l is ihr II top Kid Video. the arrival of Video CD players from other Suggested Retail Price: S14.98 (VHS) S24.98 (Laser) , manufacturers, and those machines will also play back linear feature films on five - Selling Points: inch discs. Both CD -1 and Video CD movie titles currently feature digital video Proven seller in the tradition of the Multi- Platinum hits "Beyond The Mind's Eye" conforming to the MPEG -1 standard, and The Mind's Eye." which provides 74 minutes of roughly VHS -quality video (about 240 lines of res- Specially priced at 514.98. olution) per five -inch side. In contrast, laserdisc offers 425 lines of resolution. Original music produced by Gary Powell: Regarding fidelity, Video CDs using composer /producer of 4 Disney Read -Along Collections. MPEG -1 will offer digital audio of near - CD quality, also to level - producer of seven albums by the nationally recognized not quite up the children's artist JOE SCRUGGS' -- two of which received of laserdiscs. There were actually two Video CD for- Parents Choice Gold Awards. mats still at odds at presstime. One was the Video CD standard agreed upon by Features the best child- oriented state -of- the-art computer animation. JVC, Sony, Matsushita and Philips last June 24 at the Digital World conference in Animation is a proven seller in the children's market. Beverly Hills. Their Video CD conforms to the White Book (or " Karaoke CD ") stan- Simultaneous LaserDisc release. dard introduced previously by JVC and Philips in October 1992. And it adheres to the MPEG -1 standard for the compres- sion of video and audio data. Commodore gMG MIRAMAR` Philips released a CD -I version of "Top Gun." International, C -Cube Microsystems, V I D E O 200 Second Avenue West Goldstar Col., Samsung Electronics and Seattle, Washington 98119 Sigma Designs also supported this version The BMG logo is a registered trademark of BMG Music. 800- 245 -6472 of the Video CD. 84 BILLBOARD SPOTLIGHT BILLBOARD JANUARY 8, 1993 www.americanradiohistory.com.