Laserdiscs

Loved by cinephiles, ignored by everyone else, laserdiscs were the forerunner of DVDs in the 80s and 90s. Up to 120 minutes of video could be stored on a laserdisc, which looked like a giant CD the size of an LP record. Unlike DVDs, the video was encoded in analogue format, so was far from ideal — at the time, though, it still offered superior picture quality and greater durability compared to VHS.

A total of 8 Doctor Who laserdiscs were released in the 80s and 90s, before the arrival of DVD killed the format forever. Five different discs were released in the UK, two in North America and even one in Hong Kong. A UK release of Spearhead from Space was also planned for early 1998, but cancelled at the last minute. None of the laserdiscs contained any DVD-style special features.

Nowadays, online auction sites such as eBay would be your best bet if you want to pick up any of these discs (or indeed a player so you can watch them!)