CED Digest Vol. 6 No. 7

CED Digest Vol. 6 No. 7 • 2/17/2001
20 Years Ago In CED History:

February 18, 1981:
* President Reagan calls for budget cuts of $41.4 billion and a tax
reduction in his program for economic recovery message to Congress.
* Pioneering aeronautical engineer John K. Northrop dies at age 85. He
was the main force behind the design of the Lockheed Vega, the P-61
"Black Widow" night fighter from World War II, and the Flying Wing,
which can be seen in operation 21 minutes into Side 2 of the CED title
"The War of the Worlds."

February 19, 1981:
* Sinclair announces their first flat-screen, pocket-sized TV, the
Microvision 2700.
* Ford Motor Co. reports a loss of $1.54 billion, their first yearly
loss since 1946.

February 20, 1981:
* Future CED title in widespread theatrical release: The Dogs of War.

February 21, 1981:
* "Hi Infidelity" by REO Speedwagon (CED) becomes the No. 1 album,
entering the charts at the top spot.
* "9 to 5" (CED) by Dolly Parton becomes No. 1 U.S. single.

February 23, 1981:
* At the opening of the 26th congress of the Soviet Communist Party,
Leonid Brezhnev suggests a summit conference with Ronald Reagan.

February 24, 1981:
* Headmistress Jean S. Harris is convicted of murdering cardiologist
Herman Tarnower, author of "The Complete Scarsdale Diet."
* Prince Charles's engagement to Lady Diane Spencer is announced in
Great Britain.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: "Gary Morse" <gmorse>
To: <digest@cedmagic.com>
Subject: post
Date: Mon, 12 Feb 2001 09:53:49 -0500

I was given an RCA SKT 090 and 70 disks.
I have attached a listing of these.
 
My wife would like me to sell them, give them away, or pitch them, so if
anyone is interested in them just email and we'll discuss it.
 
There are two movies that I have only the first of two disks for.
Terms of Endearment, and On a Clear Day....
 
you can send responses to
<mailto:gmorse@chartermi.net>gmorse@chartermi.net.
 
Thanks.
 
42ND STREET 48 HOURS A PASSAGE TO INDIA (2) A SOLDIER'S STORY ABSENCE OF
MALICE AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN (2) BOB & CAROL & TED & ALICE BROADWAY
DANNY ROSE CRACKERS D.A.R.Y.L. DOLLARS ENDANGERED SPECIES FINAL
ASSIGNMENT FIRST BORN FOREPLAY FRATERNITY VACATION FREE TO BE YOU AND ME
GORKY PARK ICE CASTLES KILL POINT KING DAVID LASSITER LOOKIN' TO GET
OUT! MURDER BY DECREE  NEIL DIAMOND LOVE AT THE GREEK NIGHTWING OH, GOD!
YOU DEVIL ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN SEE FOREVER PART ONE ONE FROM THE HEART
PLAZA SUITE PRIVATE RESORT RACING WITH THE MOON RAPUNZEL RICH AND FAMOUS
ROCKY III SATURN 3 SILKWOOD (2) SONGWRITER ST. ELMO'S FIRE STAR CHAMBER
STARMAN STICK STREETS OF FIRE TEACHERS TERMS OF ENDEARMENT PT 1 THE
AMATEUR THE ANDERSON TAPES THE BLACK HOLE THE BOSTONIANS (2) THE
BREAKFAST CLUB THE COTTON CLUB (2) THE FINAL TERROR THE GREAT LOCOMOTIVE
CHASE THE HIT THE LONG GOODBYE THE MAN FROM SNOWY RIVER THE MEAN SEASON
THE SHIVERS THE STREET FIGHTER THE SURE THING THE WASHINGTON AFFAIR
THEIF OF HEARTS THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO TOOTSIE UNCOMMMON VALOR UNDER THE
VOLCANO UTILITIES VISION QUEST WARGAMES WRONG IS RIGHT

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From: "Roger The Shrubber" <rshrubber>
To: <digest@cedmagic.com>
Subject: Under Fire Disc: Damaged Or Badly Pressed?
Date: Mon, 12 Feb 2001 15:49:33 -0800

Hello,
    I got a disc of Under Fire that should be in stereo. The first side
will not play in stereo. The second side plays in some weird stereo.
There is mono information, and there is out of phase. So as surround
sound it does not work enjoyably at all. There is not much in the way of
front left and right sound. Can anyone comment on this disc, or the
original mix of the movie? Is my disc damaged? E mail me.
<mailto:rshrubber@netradioseattle.com>rshrubber@netradioseattle.com 
Thank you,
Joe

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sat, 17 Feb 2001 23:44:35 -0800
To: digest@cedmagic.com
From: Tom Howe <ceds@teleport.com>
Subject: Sega to Discontinue the Dreamcast Game Console

Hello All:

Sega's recent announcement that they will discontinue manufacture of the
Dreamcast is oddly reminiscent of RCA's similar announcement about CED
players 17 years ago. Like RCA, Sega plans to continue software support
for a while, although with the rapidly changing game market that
probably won't be for long.

One thing that Sega is doing which RCA failed to do is to promote
continued hardware production by other companies. A month before RCA
canceled player production the company had announced it was moving
player manufacture to Mexico, a move mostly viewed favorably because of
the reduced costs possible. So they may have been caught off guard by
the negative backlash the decision to simply cancel player production
generated among RCA's customers.

I think RCA would have been better served if the company had made
arrangements with Hitachi to continue manufacturing players under the
RCA brand before they made any cancellation announcements. Hitachi was
already involved in making RCA-branded audio components at that time, so
this could have easily been pulled off. And Hitachi's VIP2000R player
from this period is a study in manufacturing refinement, as it weights 6
pounds less than the VIP1000 of two years earlier, a reduction achieved
by reducing the mechanical and electrical component count inside the
identically-sized players. RCA could have simply stated they were
turning player manufacture over to Hitachi for economics, but perhaps
corporate pride did not make such a decision possible.

More info on the Sega announcement can be found here:

http://dreamcast.ign.com/news/30854.html

--Tom
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