CED Digest Vol. 6 No. 18

CED Digest Vol. 6 No. 18 • 5/5/2001
20 Years Ago In CED History:

May 6, 1981:
* The U.S. orders Libya to close its diplomatic mission in Washington
D.C., and to move its staff outside the country within 5 days. The
country is cited for its support of international terrorism and
assassinations of dissident Libyans living abroad.
* All 21 crew members are killed when a U.S. missile tracking jet
explodes in the air near Frederick, Maryland.

May 7, 1981:
* In a key vote, the Democratic-controlled House approves 270-154 the
$689 billion fiscal 1982 budget endorsed by Ronald Reagan. 
* Some 1,200 government workers in Bermuda end a 25-day strike that had
brought the country's vital tourist industry to a virtual standstill.

May 8, 1981:
* Syria formally rejects Israeli demands that it remove antiaircraft
missiles from Lebanon.
* Future CED title in widespread theatrical release: Caveman.

May 9, 1981:
* The defense minister of El Salvador announces that six members of the
country's armed forces have been arrested as suspects in the December 2,
1980 murders of three U.S. nuns and a co-worker.

May 10, 1981:
* Francois Mitterrand, the 64-year-old leader of the Socialist Party,
defeats incumbent Valery Giscard d'Estaing in the runoff election for
the presidency of France.

May 11, 1981:
* Bob Marley, king of reggae music, dies of lung cancer in Miami at age
36. The Rastafarian dreadlocks he wore were reminders of the anger and
impatience of young Jamaicans, but through his music he advocated an end
to the violence of Jamaica. Reggae music is prominent on the CED title
"The Harder They Come" and Bob Marley is honored on the "Best of Reggae
Sunsplash" CED titles.

May 12, 1981:
* President Reagan proposes fundamental changes in Social Security
legislation to restore the system to a sound financial basis.

* RCA PRESS RELEASE:
RCA ADDS 26 NEW TITLES TO ITS STRONG-SELLING VIDEODISC CATALOG

LAS VEGAS, May 12 -- James Bond, Inspector Clouseau, John Wayne and Mary
Tyler Moore have one thing in common -- they're featured on some of the
26 new video discs being added to RCA's catalog this summer.

The 26 new titles bring the total number of programs available from RCA
to 126.

Howard M. Ballon, director of market planning for "SelectaVision"
VideoDiscs, announced the new titles today to RCA distributors at a
national sales meeting here. He said, "Sales of RCA video discs have
exceeded expectations, and the addition of these new titles will help
build and maintain consumer interest in RCA's expanding video disc
catalog."

RCA has increased production of its more popular video discs such as
"Rocky," "Grease," "Saturday Night Fever," "Star Trek -- The Motion
Picture" and others in response to consumer demand, Mr. Ballon said. A
number of new discs, including "Airplane!," "Urban Cowboy," and the
James Bond classic. "Goldfinger," have been moved up to a June release
date.

Mr. Ballon noted that "Airplane!, "Paramount's most successful picture
in 1980, has not yet appeared on cable or commercial TV. "Goldfinger,"
which has not been released on video cassette, represents the first in a
series of James Bond movies to be offered on RCA VideoDiscs.

Other exciting new titles to be released by RCA this summer are
"Ordinary People," winner of four Academy Awards, including Best
Picture, and "The Pink Panther," starring Peter Sellers.

In its first six weeks on the market, RCA's VideoDisc system has
achieved the most successful introduction of any major electronic
product in history.

Basing his remarks on early sales information, Mr. Ballon said the
average video disc buyer now owns close to eight discs. "Titles like
'Rocky,' 'The Godfather,' 'Heaven Can Wait' and 'The Muppet Movie' have
been our strongest sellers. In six weeks, these titles have sold close
to 15,000 copies each."

RCA's initial video disc catalog offered the consumer 100 titles -- up
to 60 available at retail and the remaining 40 available through a Quick
Delivery Service (QDS). All 40 QDS titles have registered good sales
with "Star Trek -- The Motion Picture," "The Dirty Dozen" and "The
Longest Day" leading the way. Because of its popularity, "Star Trek --
The Motion Picture" will be transferred from the QDS list to retail
availability in July.

"QDS has given us instant information on the appeal of specific titles,"
Mr. Ballon said. "This span of interest in titles from narrow to broader
interest is strong encouragement that the consumer is receptive to much
more than movies. Our 26 new titles, together with the titles already
available, give RCA's catalog a broader and more exciting mix of
programs for video disc."

Other well-known movie titles included in the new summer releases are:
"North Dallas Forty," "Chinatown," "American Gigolo," "The Great
Escape," "War of the Worlds," "The Shootist," "Farewell, My Lovely,"
"Fantastic Voyage," "The Apple Dumpling Gang," and "Harold and Maude."

RCA's new offerings from the Television category are: "The Autobiography
of Miss Jane Pittman," and "The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Vol. l." "A
Doll's House," starring Jane Fonda, is RCA's new offering in the
Performing Arts category.

In the Music/Variety category RCA is introducing: "The Last Waltz," a
rock film capturing The Band in its farewell concert with many guest
stars appearing, including Bob Dylan; "Don Kirshner Presents -- Rock
Concert, Vol. 1," with 17 performances by Motown superstars, Billy
Preston, The Commodores, Smokey Robinson, and Bonnie Pointer; "King
Creole," the Elvis Presley musical; "Paul Simon in Concert," and
"Richard Pryor -- Live in Concert."

Two new releases from the Sports area are: "Wimbledon 1979 and 1980,"
and "The Miracle of Lake Placid."

Finally, a Program of Special Interest will be added to the catalog, two
highly acclaimed NBC documentaries on one disc: "The American
Alcoholic," and "Reading, Writing and Reefer."

RCA's Second Wave of 26 CED titles:
Airplane !
American Alcoholic/Reading, Writing, and Reefer
American Gigolo
Apple Dumpling Game, The
Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman
Chinatown (2)
Doll's House, A
Don Kirshner Presents Rock Concert, Vol. 1
Fantastic Voyage [RCA]
Farewell My Lovely
Goldfinger
Great Escape, The (2)
Harold and Maude
King Creole
Last Waltz, The [monophonic]
Mary Tyler Moore Show, Vol. 1
Miracle of Lake Placid, The
North Dallas Forty
Ordinary People (2)
Paul Simon In Concert [monophonic]
Pink Panther, The
Richard Pryor: Live In Concert
Shootist, The
Urban Cowboy (2)
War of the Worlds, The
Wimbledon: 1979 and 1980

------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: KatGlen1
Date: Sun, 29 Apr 2001 19:23:39 EDT
Subject: Re: CED Digest Vol. 6 No. 17
To: ceds@teleport.com

Does anyone out there actually own a VHD disc player and discs?  Can you
tell 
us how it performs and what discs you own?  

Glenn

------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: "Dan White" <ufoengines>
To: digest@cedmagic.com
Subject: The Loved Ones!
Date: Sun, 29 Apr 2001 18:03:52 

Hi Ya'll1 Anybody have a CED copy of "The Loved Ones"?  Dan
ufoengines@hotmail.com

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sat, 5 May 2001 04:05:11 -0800
To: digest@cedmagic.com
From: Tom Howe <ceds@teleport.com>
Subject: SEGA Wireless Controllers

Hello All:

There's a seller on Ebay who has a number of new-in-the-box DOCS-brand
infrared controllers at $17.99 that can be used with the F/G remote
interface. I don't have a picture of this brand at CED Magic yet, but
the package consists of two hand units and a corded receiver box. The
seller VGE007 has hundreds of auction up (and a huge rating of 21474) so
use the following url to search on the subject line:

<http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?MfcISAPICommand=GetResult&So
rtProperty=MetaEndSort&pb=&ebaytag1=ebayreg&ht=1&query=genesis+wireless>

If your email program zaps the url try searching Ebay for "genesis
wireless."

The seller also has them listed on his direct web site for $18.50

http://www.auctionworks.com/store/default.asp?sfo=vge007

--Tom
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