CED Digest Vol. 3 No. 8

CED Digest Vol. 3 No. 8 • 2/21/1998
Date: Sat, 14 Feb 1998 12:15:58 -0800
From: Michael Ashton-Moore  
To: tom@cedmagic.com
Subject: CEDs

Hello Tom,
I have recently found a batch of CEDs.
Looking on the web for info made me decide not to throw them away, but see
if anybody actually wanted them.
If you know of anyone who wants them, just get them contact me.
I am in the NJ area.

Here is the list on titles

Goldfinger
The Thing
The Verdict x2
The Cannonball Run
Staying Alive
Ordinary People x 2
The Toy
Body Heat
Airplane 2 - The sequel
Trading Places
Coma
Raging Bull x2
Empire Strikes Back
Thriller (Making of Michael Jacksons)
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Alien
Star Trek II - The Wrath of Khan
Blade Runner
Flash Dance
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Tron
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
The Amityville Horror
An American Werewolf in London
And Justice for all
Richard Pryor Live on Sunset Strip
The Spy Who Loved me
Purple Rain
Omen III- The Final Conflict
Firefox
Polergeist

------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: RJGra
Date: Sun, 15 Feb 1998 11:16:43 EST
To: ceds@teleport.com
Subject: Only on CED

The question of which titles are available on CED and not on other video media
comes up from time to time, and here are a few that I am aware of:

"The Disney Disk of Mystery and Imagination" was partially financed by RCA and
has never been released in any other form.  You can see an SJT 400 in the
instruction and introduction section on the disk, but if you don't have an SJT
400 player you can't watch the disk.

Even though tape and laser compilations of Rocky & Bullwinkle have been
issued, none of them contained the classic "Whotsamatta U" story arc of the
first CED disk.

"American Hot Wax" was released on tape by Fotomat (remember them?) in the
early days of home video, but has been out of print for years due to licensing
problems with the music.  I read somewhere that a copy of the old Fotomat
release is selling for $850 at Video Oyster, one of those dealers specializing
in hard to find video (I would think it would be harder to find a collector
willing to pay this price for what is undoubtedly a poor transfer--given the
limitations of VHS circa 1978, but that's another story).  When I read this, I
pulled out my CED, popped open a beer and watched Jay, Fran and Lorraine
witness the birth of Rock 'n' Roll.  Eat your hearts out, tapeheads!

Bob Graham

------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: analog.tv
To: ceds@teleport.com
Subject: Re: CED Digest Vol. 3 No. 7
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 1998 14:58:50 EST

That's a cool website!  I ran across two banana boxes full of ced movies
at the church auction about two years ago......nobody bid on them because
the included player had a sound problem.....none.  I wound up with the
mess and was determined to get the player fixed. I found a tech who found
a bad chip in it---he'd fix it if I could find the chip.  A friend in
Indianapolis who started at RCA about when this ced thing came out was
able to find a stick of the particular chips used in this player.  I run
the heck out of the critter now and through the website and friends in
low places have found quite a few very good titles.  There's almost no
reason to watch commercial television and I don't miss the commercials.  
As my hobby is repairing/collecting pre-1950 televisions, there is a
quirk these ced's have over conventional video tape: they play without
distortion on these old sets.  These oldies prefer a nice big
synchronizing pulse the tape players abbreviate.  Tape puts a nasty  "S"
curve on the top of the screen and there is no problem with the set 
aside from room dust on glowing tubes.                           Tom,  my
wife wants me to organize/catalog the movies we have....are you
interested in a list for addition to the database in the website...no new
titles but it might give an idea to the quantity of stuff out
there.....and there's still a lot.    Later, CRAIG	(GREENBELT, MD)
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------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 Feb 1998 10:33:33 -0600
To: ceds@teleport.com
From: Thomas Eyssell 
Subject: Newbie question

I recently purchased 160 CEDs and a SFT100 at a flea market. Although there
was no way to test the equipment, the discs were in original shipping boxes
(about 8 to a box) and the outside of the player seemed pristine (and
included the styrofoam shipping "covers". Now the bad news: while discs
play well, any color (even on the logos at the beginning of b&w discs)
constantly fades in and out. During the time it changes from color to b&w,
the picture distorts.

I thought perhaps the player or discs were faulty, but then found another
SFT100 and a couple of discs at a thrift store. They do the same thing!

This problem doesn't seem to be covered in the CEDMagic faq. Do these
symptoms sound familiar? Being new to this technology, I am baffled. Any
ideas?

Tom

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sat, 21 Feb 1998 08:58:58 -0800
From: Neil Wagner 
To: *CED Digest <ceds@teleport.com>
Subject: Videodisc History, Part 16

>From the December 1981 "Popular Science" -- Part 1
by William J. Hawkins

VIDEODISCS - new alternatives to movies at home
---------------------------------------------------------
Grab the popcorn:  Lots of new machines
mean a new era in video entertainment
---------------------------------------------------------
  Look close.  That record of "Saturday Night Fever" has
all the songs from the movie.  Wait.  Look closer--that
record *is* the movie.
  It's a videodisc.  Not only does it contain a sound
track--it also contains the picture.  Place it in a video-
disc player connected to your TV set, and you get to see
full-color, uncut, commercial-free movies--and more.
Until recently, only two machines--Magnavox and Pioneer--
have been available.  But by the time you read this, over
a dozen manufacturers should have units on store shelves,
and many other makers plan to have systems within the next
year (see table [to be recreated in a future installment
of Videodisc History]).
  Sound good?  It does to me, but for some, the jury is
still out.  They argue the price is too high for what you
get, and stiff competition from vieotape recorders, as
well as incompatible disc formats, have helped confuse and
alienate potential customers.  True?  Well, there's only
one way to decide--and that's to see what the new players
have to offer.

What you get
  They're players only.  Videodisc machines can't record.
You buy a prerecorded video record--as you do an audio
record--place it in the player and watch its picture on
your TV.
  Prices for the new players range from $430 to $770 depen-
ding on the format, which determines the possible features.
The format of the player is the technical way the video
information is extracted off the disc.  There are currently
two types:  LV (laser vision) developed by MCA and Philips,
and CED (capacitance electronics disc) by RCA.  A third
system, VHD (video high density), designed by Matsushita,
JVC, and GE, is planned for June 1982.
  The formats are incompatible--you can't buy an LV record
and expect it to play on a CED machine, or vice versa.  And,
as you can see from the table, even manufacturers are divi-
ded over which system is best.  The fact is, each format has
its own advantages.
  The LV system, for example, uses a laser beam of light to
"read" the information.  Nothing mechanically touches the
disc, so there's no wear or loss in picture quality over
time.  And, because of the way information can be placed on
the disc, the unit has many special-effects capabilities.
  Controls on the Magnavox player, for instance, allow you
to vary the speed--forward or reverse--from 16 times normal
down to still frame.  And, in the still-frame position, it
will hold one frame of the disc rock-steady on the screen
for as long as you like
  The Pioneer laser disc player does that and a bit more.
Each frame on the disc is electronically encoded with a num-
ber.  That allows you to instantly find and display any
frame at any time.  To do it, you enter the frame number on
a numeric key pad on the player and push a SEARCH button.
In seconds the frame pops on the screen.  It could be a pic-
ture of Bo Derek from her latest movie.  Or, perhaps not as
interesting but a lot more informative, it could be a chart
of drill sizes from a how-to program disc.  Sears has re-
cently put its entire catalog on a disc.  Pick one frame to
see the newest radial-arm saw; press PLAY to see it in
action.  The same idea is used for musical-concert discs:
Each song can be chosen with a CHAPTER number button.
  All this gives the LV machines great possibilities for a
variety of future uses.  There is a drawback, however: cost.
The LV machines simply are more expensive than CED players--
and low cost, along with simple operation, is the main idea
behind the CED design.

[The conclusion of this article will appear in CED Digest next
 week, with the comparison table coming the following week.]
-- 
Neil - nw@ix.netcom.com
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