SelectaVision CED Magic Search   FAQ   US Titles   UK Titles   Memories   VaporWare   Digest
GuestBook   Classified   Chat   Products   Featured   Technical   Museum
Downloads   Production   Fanfares   Music   Misc   Related   Contact
CED Digest Vol. 7 No. 17  •  4/27/2002

 

20 Years Ago In CED History:

April 28, 1982:
* Poland's Military Council of National Salvation announces that 800 detainees
will be released outright and an additional 200 granted "conditional leave" as
part of a program to relax martial law. Lech Walesa, the leader of Solidarity,
is not among those freed.

April 29, 1982:
* El Salvador's 60-member Constituent Assembly elects Alvaro Alfredo Magana
Borjo provisional president of the country, thereby ending a month of partisan
political strife that followed in the wake of elections for the assembly on
March 28.

April 30, 1982:
* Corporate sponsors announce that they are delaying for two years construction
of the U.S. segment of the 4800 mile Alaska Highway natural gas pipeline that
will carry gas from Prudhoe Bay in Alaska into Canada and then into the lower
48 states. Canada had already completed part of its work on the pipeline.
* Ending eight years of diplomatic bargaining, delegates to the UN Law of the
Sea Conference overwhelmingly approve a comprehensive treaty on the use and
exploitation of the world's seas. However, U.S. opposition raises questions
about the treaty's effectiveness.
* Future CED title in widespread theatrical release: If You Could See What I
Hear.

May 1, 1982:
* The 1982 World's Fair opens in Knoxville, Tennessee. The theme of the fair is
"Energy Turns the World." Most of the countries, states, and corporations that
have pavilions at the fair devote their exhibitions to energy- how to obtain
it, conserve it, and use it.
* The 108th Kentucky Derby is won by Gato del Sol ridden by jockey Ed
Delahoussaye in a time of 2:02.4.

* RCA VideoDisc Releases for May 1982:

Coming Home (2)
Disney Cartoon Parade, Vol. 3
Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex
Eyes of Laura Mars
Great Cities: London, Rome, Dublin, Athens
On Golden Pond
Some Like It Hot
Time Bandits [monophonic]
Wimbledon 1981/A Century of Greatness
You Only Live Twice [RCA]

May 2, 1982:
* Casualties in the war over the Falkland Islands dramatically increase when
the Argentine cruiser "General Belgrano" is sunk by a British submarine with
the loss of 321 lives.
* Actor Hugh Marlowe dies at age 71 after 13 years in the role of Jim Matthews
on the daytime TV serial "Another World." Prior to his TV career he appeared in
the CED titles Twelve O'Clock High, Elmer Gantry, Birdman of Alcatraz, and
Seven Days in May.

May 3, 1982:
* Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, speaking to the Knesset, declares that
Israel will assert sovereignty over the West Bank at the end of the five-year
transitional period specified in the Camp David peace accords.

May 4, 1982:
* The federal trial of 26-year-old John Hinckley, Jr. for shooting President
Reagan and three others gets under way in Washington, D.C.
* In the wake of violent protests in several cities on the May Day holiday, the
Polish government reimposes tough martial law restrictions, which it had
lifted only a few days earlier.
* An Argentine missile heavily damages the British destroyer "Sheffield,"
forcing the ship to be abandoned with the loss of 20 lives.

* RCA PRESS RELEASE:
RCA Will Offer 10 New Diverse Video Disc Titles In May

Featuring Albums of Movies, Cartoons, Sports, and Special Interest Programming

RCA will add 10 new albums to its growing video disc catalog in May, including
a guided tour of four of Europe's great capitals.

The 10 new albums are: "On Golden Pond", "Time Bandits", "Coming Home", "You
Only Live Twice", "The Eyes of Laura Mars", "Some Like It Hot", "Everything You
Always Wanted to Know About Sex (But Were Afraid to Ask)", "Disney Cartoon
Parade, Volume 3", "Wimbledon 1981 and Wimbledon: A Century of Greatness", and
"Great Cities: London, Rome, Dublin and Athens."

"The May titles broaden the RCA catalog and heighten interest in this new home
entertainment medium," said Seth M. Willenson, Division Vice President,
Programs and Business Affairs, RCA "SelectaVision" VideoDiscs. "They range from
'On Golden Pond', this year's winner of three Academy Awards, to 'Great
Cities', an exciting tour through four of the world's great capitals."

* RCA PRESS RELEASE:
Home Entertainment Saga

Consumers Buying An Average Of 32 Video Discs In First 12 Months Of Player
Ownership

Despite the recession, the average video disc player owner is buying almost
three times as many video disc albums as originally forecast, an RCA consumer
survey showed today.

"We are experiencing an accelerating demand for video discs and our
distributor-to-dealer shipments are running at the highest levels since the RCA
video disc system was introduced in March 1981," according to Thomas G. Kuhn,
Division Vice President, RCA "SelectaVision" VideoDiscs.

He noted that those who have owned their video disc player for 12 months have
accumulated an average of more than 32 disc albums, compared with RCA's
original projection of 10 to 12 albums in the first year of ownership.

"The most interesting statistic is the number of albums that new player owners
are buying. Those who own their players for four months or less already have
bought an average of 14.5 albums -the highest for this category since RCA began
tracking consumer purchases in March 1981," Mr. Kuhn said.

"Consumers are buying discs in record numbers," he added. "Some retailers, such
as Erol's in Washington, D. C., Lechmere's in Boston and Crazy Eddie's in New
York, report that they have sold almost as many discs in the first three months
of 1982 as in all of 1981, and the pace seems to be quickening despite the
adverse economy."

Noting that RCA and CBS are both producing "CED" video discs, Mr. Kuhn said,
"It now looks as though there may be approximately 450 titles available to
consumers by the end of this year."

Mr. Kuhn said video disc sales reflected a growing consumer interest in home
entertainment. "The video disc permits consumers to enjoy their favorite
programs and stars in the comfort and security of their own homes, and now the
system is available at prices they can afford."

He noted that RCA will bring "On Golden Pond" to market on the disc in May at
approximately $28, while the same motion picture on prerecorded video cassette
has a list price of about $80. This film, starring Henry and Jane Fonda and
Katharine Hepburn, won three Academy awards and is one of the most highly
acclaimed films of the year.

In addition to movies, the RCA video disc catalog includes children's programs,
science fiction, comedy, music, the best of television, drama and the
performing arts, sports and programs of special interest.

Mr. Kuhn also noted that Miss Piggy, the star of "The Muppet Movie", hogged the
spotlight as the top box office draw in the first full year of the RCA video
disc system.

In a survey of almost 1,200 video disc owners, "The Muppet Movie" was the most
popular video disc with consumers. It was followed by "Airplane!", "Star Trek
-- The Motion Picture", "The Black Stallion" and "M*A*S*H."

In achieving superstar status on the video disc, Miss Piggy beat out such stars
as Captain Kirk, James Bond, Mickey Rooney, Robert Redford, John Travolta and
The Godfather.

A second Miss Piggy movie, "The Great Muppet Caper", ranked 31st on the
popularity list.

Mr. Kuhn said "The Muppet Movie" also was one of ten RCA video discs which
recently received a Gold Video Award from the Recording Industry Association of
America (RIAA). To qualify for a Gold Award, a video disc must have certified
sales of at least 25,000 units and $1 million retail list value.

"Since 'The Muppet Movie' has a suggested retail price of $19.98, we had to
ship more than 50,000 units to meet the RIAA's criteria," Mr. Kuhn said.

The ten top selling video discs through the first 12 months were:

1. The Muppet Movie

2. Airplane!

3. Star Trek -- The Motion Picture

4. The Black Stallion

5. M*A*S*H

6. The Godfather

7. Heaven Can Wait

7. Casablanca (ED. NOTE: DUPLICATE NO. 7 ON OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE)

8. Goldfinger

9. 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea

10. Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid

------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: "Ken King" <kkingcqe>
To: digest@cedmagic.com
Subject:
Date: Sun, 21 Apr 2002 12:58:30 +0000

Through buying collections I have ended up with the following single disks from
two-disk sets. They all appear to be in very good condition.

Inherit the Wind   disk 2
The Blues Brothers   disk 2
The Verdict   disk 2
The Right Stuff   disk 2
A Star is Born   disk 1
Never Say Never Again  disk 1

If you have the other disk for any of these sets, I will ship this one to you
for just the cost of shipping or if you want to sell your disk, e-mail me!

-Ken King

------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: "DaRyOo" <dariosalvi>
To: <digest@cedmagic.com>
Subject: CED
Date: Wed, 24 Apr 2002 13:21:07 +0200

I have the Don Kirshner Rock Concert vol. 1 CED ( with Commodores, Billy
Preston ).....
How can I dub it on a vhs ???
What laserdisc player can read CED discs. Can U Do The dubbing for me ?

Dario

------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: JasonCheeser
Date: Sat, 27 Apr 2002 22:16:25 EDT
Subject: SUBSCRIBE
To: digest@cedmagic.com

Jasoncheeser@aol.com

I would like to join your list.
And I also have questions involving my SKT 090 player.
(There is a disc stuck in the player when I bought it last week)

 

Previous Digest | Next Digest | Volume 7 Index | CED Magic Home