CED Digest Vol. 2 No. 5

CED Digest Vol. 2 No. 5 • 2/1/1997
Date: Sat, 01 Feb 1997 01:39:10 -0800
From: Tom Howe 
To: ceds@teleport.com
Subject: First Stereo VideoDisc

In response to the question, What was the first stereo VideoDisc? There actually
wasn't a single disc, as RCA simultaneously introduced eight stereo titles along
with the SGT200 and SGT250 players in May 1982. Those initial eight titles were:

Popeye*
Jazz Singer, The [1980]**
Pink Floyd at Pompeii*
Pippin*
Paul Simon In Concert*
Rod Stewart: Live at the Los Angeles Forum*
Eubie!*
Paul McCartney & Wings Rockshow*

The above titles are listed in stock number order, which may or may not reflect
the order in which they were pressed at the factory. The first two titles are
movies with the stock number starting with 10, while the last six are musical
performances with the stock number starting with 12. The CED title "The Kids are
Alright" was an early stereo title, but wasn't released until a couple months
after the above in July 1982.

Another question that comes up is, What was the first ever VideoDisc? Like the
above, there were a number of titles available for purchase at the CED launch in
March 1981, as RCA had spent most of 1980 and early 1981 pressing a warehouse
full of discs for the nationwide launch. But according to the publication _RCA
Engineer_ the first production title mastered was "Race for Your Life, Charlie
Brown," which curiously enough isn't even close to having the lowest numerical
stock number. If you look at this title, you may notice the rainbow-style label
pattern. Other titles with this rainbow pattern like "The Love Bug" and "The
Philadelphia Story" may be among the first titles pressed, as this would make
sense from a manufacturing standpoint.

--Tom Howe
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