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CED Digest Vol. 6 No. 9  •  3/3/2001

20 Years Ago In CED History:

March 5, 1981:
* Scott Hamilton (on 3/5) of the U.S. and Denise Biellmann (on 3/6) of
Switzerland win at the World Figure Skating Championship in Hartford,
Connecticut.
* The city of Atlanta, Georgia is promised nearly $1 million in federal
aid in the wake of the unsolved murders of 22 black children.

March 6, 1981:
* The U.S. announces plans to sell advanced military equipment to Saudi
Arabia including AWACs surveillance planes.
* Walter Cronkite delivers his final CBS Evening News telecast. Some of
his classic telecasts can be seen on the CED title "Man on the Moon."
* Future CED title in widespread theatrical release: La Cage Aux Folles
II.

March 10, 1981:
* The U.S. Postal Service announces an increase in first class postage
from 15 to 18 cents.
* President Reagan submits a budget for fiscal 1982 that is $48.6
billion smaller than the Carter budget.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sun, 25 Feb 2001 22:13:26 -0800
To: digest@cedmagic.com
From: Tom Howe <ceds@teleport.com>
Subject: RE: CED Player Computer Interface

homer j simpson wrote:
>I was wondering what was the top of the line player that
>RCA had out?  another thing I wondered about is the RCA sjt 265 player
>(the one with the computer interface card)  does anyone still have the
>card and player, and does the computer interface really work?


The computer interface on the SKT265 was designed to be somewhat similar
to the one designed for LaserDisc players in the late 1970's. The 15-pin
interface was used to allow the host computer to do most of the work,
but by late 1983 when the top of the line RCA SJT400 (later SKT400)
player came out, it was cost effective to put a dedicated microprocessor
in the player and use a single piece of wire to transmit and arbitrate
the relatively low-speed control data. The same thing happened in the
last few years with higher speed data on personal computers with the
implementation of the USB and Firewire standards, both capable of higher
bandwidth transmission with fewer wires than their predecessors.

So LaserDisc players kept the 15-pin interface for backwards
compatibility even though they could have switched to a simpler cable
like the SJT400 control interface. The SKT265 may have been designed
only for specialized use, as I've heard a rumor that these players were
used in a flight simulator at the Top Gun School at Miramar Naval Air
Station, and San Diego seems to be the only place where they ever turn
up.

--Tom