CED Digest Vol. 8 No. 22

CED Digest Vol. 8 No. 22 • 5/31/2003
20 Years Ago In CED History:

June 1, 1983:
* Musa Awad (Abu Akram), a leading civilian member of Al Fatah, announces that
he and other prominent members of Yasir Arafat's group are joining those
opposed to Arafat's continued leadership of the Palestine Liberation
Organization (PLO).

* RCA VideoDisc Releases for June 1983:

Airplane II: The Sequel
Airport (2)
Amazing Spiderman, The
Baseball's Hall of Fame
Beast Within, The**
Blues Alive*
Candid Candid Camera
Carbon Copy
Carole King: One To One*
Chatterbox
Class Reunion*
Collector, The
Earthling, The
Emanuelle in Bangkok
Endangered Species
Evening with Robin Williams, An
Gauntlet, The
Gilda
Goodbye, Columbus
Great Scout and Cathouse Thursday, The
Great Whales, The/Sharks, The
He Knows You're Alone
Huckleberry Finn
I, The Jury
In the Heat of the Night [RCA]
Inherit the Wind (2) [CBS]
Jinxed!
Last Chase, The
Last Valley, The (2)
Little River Band: Live Exposure*
Love Me Tender
M*A*S*H: Goodbye, Farewell and Amen
Monty Python- Live at the Hollywood Bowl
Mr. Rogers Vol. 2: Mister Rogers Goes to School
My Favorite Year
North By Northwest (2) [UA]
Oscar, The
Psycho
Road Games
Serpico (2)
Sharky's Machine
Shining, The (2)
Sons of Katie Elder, The
Spellbound
Still of the Night
The Who Rocks America 1982 American Tour*
Village of the Damned
Wasn't That A Time: The Weavers
Winter Kills
Ziegfeld Follies

June 2, 1983:
* Richard B. Stone, the new U.S. special envoy to Central America, begins a
12-day fact-finding tour.
* At the close of a two-day meeting in Brussels, defense ministers from the
NATO countries reaffirm their commitment to deploy U.S. medium-range missiles
in Europe by December unless  an agreement is reached in the US - Soviet arms
control talks in Geneva.

June 3, 1983:
* President Reagan announces the designation of eight members of the National
Security Council staff as Special Assistants to the President, reporting to the
Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, William P. Clark.
* Future CED title in widespread theatrical release: War Games.

June 4, 1983:
* China's sixth National People's Congress begins in Beijing.

June 5, 1983:
* A soviet cruise ship hits a bridge over the Volga River, killing more than
100 people. The accident occurs near Ulyanovsk, a city about 430 miles east of
Moscow.

* 37TH ANNUAL TONY AWARDS (WINNERS IN ALL CAPS): 

PLAY OF THE YEAR
Angels Fall
'night Mother
Plenty
TORCH SONG TRILOGY

MUSICAL OF THE YEAR
Blues In the Night
CATS
Merlin
My One and Only

REVIVAL
All's Well That Ends Well
The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial
ON YOUR TOES
A View From the Bridge

LEADING ACTOR - PLAY
Jeffrey DeMunn in K2
HARVEY FIERSTEIN IN TORCH SONG TRILOGY
Edward Herrmann in Plenty
Tony Lo Bianco in A View From the Bridge

LEADING ACTOR - MUSICAL
Al Green in Your Arm's Too Short To Box With God
George Hearn in A Doll's Life
Michael V. Smartt in Porgy and Bess
TOMMY TUNE IN MY ONE AND ONLY

LEADING ACTRESS - PLAY
Kathy Bates in 'night Mother
Kate Nelligan in Plenty
Anne Pitoniak in 'night Mother
JESSICA TANDY IN FOXFIRE

LEADING ACTRESS - MUSICAL
NATALIA MAKAROVA IN ON YOUR TOES
Lonette McKee in Show Boat
Chita Rivera in Merlin
Twiggy in My One and Only

FEATURED ACTOR - PLAY
MATTHEW BRODERICK IN BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS
Zeljko Ivanek in Brighton Beach Memoirs
George N. Martin in Plenty
Stephen Moore in All's Well That Ends Well

FEATURED ACTOR - MUSICAL
CHARLES COLES IN MY ONE AND ONLY
Harry Groener in Cats
Stephen Hanah in Cats
Lara Tetter in On Your Toes

FEATURED ACTRESS - PLAY
Elizabeth Franz in Brighton Beach Memoirs
Roxanne Hart in Passion
DANA IVEY IN STEAMING
Margaret Tyzack in All's Well That Ends Well

FEATURED ACTRESS - MUSICAL
Christine Andreas in On Your Toes
BETTY BUCKLEY IN CATS
Karla Burns in Show Boat
Denny Dillon in My One and Only

DIRECTOR - PLAY
Marshall W. Mason for Angels Fall
Tom Moore for 'night Mother
Trevor Nunn for All's Well That Ends Well
GENE SAKS FOR BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS

DIRECTOR - MUSICAL
Michael Kahn for Show Boat
TREVOR NUNN FOR CATS
Ivan Reitman for Merlin
Tommy Tune, Thommie Walsh for My One and Only

BOOK OF A MUSICAL
CATS
A Doll's Life
Merlin
My One and Only

SCORE
CATS
A Doll's Life
Merlin
Seven Brides For Seven Brothers

SCENIC DESIGN
All's Well That Ends Well
Cats
Foxfire
K2

COSTUME DESIGN
Alice In Wonderland
All's Well That Ends Well
CATS
My One and Only

LIGHTING DESIGN
All's Well That Ends Well
CATS
Foxfire
K2

CHOREOGRAPHY
CATS
My One and Only
On Your Toes
Porgy and Bess

REGIONAL THEATRE
Oregon Shakespeare Festival Organization, Ashland, Oregon

SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT
The Theatre Collection - The Museum Of the City Of New York

June 6, 1983:
* The Summer Consumer Electronics Show (CES) opens in Chicago, Illinois.
Personal computers and video game systems remain popular, but the major new
consumer product is the compact audio disc player with a number of
manufacturers offering units in the $1000 range. Toshiba introduces the stereo
VP550 CED player to replace the short-lived VP500 unit, and the company
promises to have an interactive CED player available within a year.

* RCA PRESS RELEASE:
Video Industry Outpacing National Economy; Will Reach Record Retail Sales in
1983

CHICAGO, June 6 -- Industry sales of video products are running well ahead of
the growth in the national economy and will surpass a record $13 billion in
retail sales this year, an RCA executive forecast here over the weekend.

Jack K. Sauter, RCA Group Vice President, said at the opening of the industry's
Consumer Electronics Show that "the consumer is clearly leading the video
industry into an era of sales and profit growth that is surprising even the
optimists among us."

He noted that a little more than a year ago it was generally expected that the
basic video industry -- television receivers, video cassette recorders, video
disc players, tapes and discs -- would grow to $11 billion in retail sales in
1983. "Instead, we are approaching 1985's anticipated sales level this
year."

A buying public that is more video-conscious, and the faster replacement of
older video products were the two primary reasons cited by the RCA executive
for the industry's strong sales pace in 1983. "This favorable acceleration
in growth carries with it the promise of improved profitability as the consumer
accepts more quickly the industry's advanced video products which offer higher
levels of performance and more deluxe features," Mr. Sauter said.

Mr. Sauter emphasized that color television "remains the core of an
expanding video products business, with industry sales to dealers now running
15 percent ahead of last year's record level. Current indicators point to a
near-13 million unit sales year in 1983, which would be the highest total in
the industry's 29-year history.

"The common belief that the color TV industry was not affected by the deep
recession in 1982 needs to be re-examined in view of this year's strong sales
pace," he said. "It is now more likely that color TV was indeed
adversely affected by the economy, and the sales rate being experienced this
year is more reflective of pent-up consumer demand which promises to have a
favorable impact on the higher-end segments of the color TV business."

He said the relatively quick acceptance by the public of monitor receivers and
more advanced remote control models has resulted in:

-- Larger screen table models, now more likely to be monitor receivers, have
increased in unit sales by 68 per cent this year compared with 1982. RCA, which
helped pioneer the video monitor segment of the market, is registering a 226
per cent sales gain in this category of product so far this year.

-- Remote control receiver sales are growing rapidly and presently account for
50 per cent of all console models sold, and close to 40 per cent of all color
receivers, including portables and table models.

-- A recent study of retail pricing indicates that the $700 and above color TV
price category now accounts for 16 per cent of all industry color sales, or
more than double the mix of recent years.

"The fear held by many dealers and distributors that higher priced table
models with advanced technical features would be difficult to sell, let alone
explain to consumers, is being dispelled every day on the retail sales
floor," Mr. Sauter said.

RCA has expanded its video monitor line to eight models this year in response
to far broader consumer interest in high performance TV receivers that are
designed for use with the expanded array of video accessory products now being
offered by the industry. Mr. Sauter noted that more than one-third of the
industry's retail sales, measured in dollars, will be generated this year by
high-end color receivers.

"High performance television is undoubtedly the industry's most favorable
development in recent years. Combined with the prospect of a 47-million unit
replacement market, we can expect continuing growth for many years,
particularly for those brands that have an established presence in
technically-advanced receivers," Mr. Sauter added.

* RCA PRESS RELEASE:
'The Muppet Movie' Becomes RCA's Best Selling Disc; Eighteen Titles Awarded
Gold Video Awards by RIAA

"The Muppet Movie" became the first video disc album in RCA's catalog
to top the 68,000-mark in factory sales, Thomas G. Kuhn, Division Vice
President, RCA VideoDiscs, announced today.

He said it also was one of 18 RCA video disc albums to be certified as
"Gold" by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the
only video discs so honored.

To receive the RIAA's Gold Video Award, a video disc album must have certified
sales of at least 25,000 units and $1 million at retail price value.

In addition to "The Muppet Movie," the other "Gold" video
discs are: "Airplane!," "The Black Stallion," "Fiddler
On The Roof," "The Godfather," "Goldfinger,"
"Grease," "Heaven Can Wait," "M*A*S*H," "On
Golden Pond," "Ordinary People," "Rocky," "Rocky
III," "Saturday Night Fever," "Star Trek-The Motion
Picture," "Star Trek-The Wrath of Khan," "Superman,"
and "The Ten Commandments."

Mr. Kuhn said these 18 disc albums have sold more than $30 million at retail
price value, clearly indicating that the American public will spend money --
even in the deepest recession since the 1930's -- to build home video libraries
of favorite programs.

The RCA video disc system was introduced to the public in March 1981. Today,
players are priced from under $300 and discs from under $15.

Mr. Kuhn said of the more than 400 titles in RCA's video disc catalog, six have
sold more than 60,000 copies, 13 more than 50,000, 22 more than 40,000 and 42
more than 30,000.

"We continue to be impressed by the strength of disc sales and by the rate
at which consumers are acquiring video discs for their home video
libraries," Mr. Kuhn said.

* RCA PRESS RELEASE:
RCA Survey Shows Consumers Use Video Disc Players an Average of 8.5 Hours A
Week and Repeat Programs

The video disc is proving to be a popular consumer product in the home, with
the average player owner using it 8.5 hours a week, an RCA survey showed today.

In addition, the survey revealed that consumer satisfaction with their
"CED" players is steadily rising and that nearly all VDP owners watch
programs more than once.

Stuart Gray, Division Vice President, Program and Market Research, RCA
VideoDiscs, said video disc owners who subscribe to Home Box Office use their
players 8.8 hours a week and households with children use it 10.3 hours a week.

Mr. Gray said those who also own a video cassette recorder use their video disc
player an average of 7.9 hours a week.

"We also continue to see that cable television has not been a competitive
problem to marketing video disc players, since VDP owners are just as likely to
subscribe to basic and pay-cable as the general population," he added. He
said 79 percent of VDP owners subscribing to cable already had cable when they
bought their players.

The survey also showed that VDP owners are nearly four times as likely to have
a video cassette recorder than the general population (23% vs. 6%), more than
three times as likely to have a home computer (14% vs. 4%), and twice as likely
to have a video game (48% vs. 20%).

The findings of the latest survey confirm that there is a strong appetite to
view programs more than once. Among those who own "On Golden Pond,"
for example, 93 percent have watched it more than once and the average number
of viewings during the first five months of ownership was 6.3 times. In
addition, 35 percent of the respondents who owned the title one year said they
watched it more than 15 times.

"We asked the respondents who did not own 'On Golden Pond' about the last
disc they watched," Mr. Gray added. "We found that 94 percent had
viewed the last disc watched more than once and that the disc had been owned
3.7 months and watched 5.8 times."

Mr. Gray said the latest survey verifies that "there are substantial
numbers of people interested in viewing titles numerous times, a key factor in
the appeal of building an inexpensive home video library."

Suggested retail prices of "CED" video disc players start at under
$300 and video disc albums at $14.98.

Video disc player owners continue to be excellent salesmen. Owners claiming to
have influenced others towards buying a player rose to 29 percent from 24
percent in the October survey, with that figure reaching 37 percent for those
who have owned their players over two years.

The April 1983 survey covered 1,272 VDP owners.

June 7, 1983:
* The U.S. orders Nicaragua to close all six of its consulates and informs 21
Nicaraguan consular officials they could no longer remain in the country. The
orders followed by one day Nicaragua's expulsion of three U.S. diplomats on
charges of plotting to poison Nicaragua's defense minister.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 26 May 2003 21:16:56 +1000
Subject: Strobe speed check
From: Stan <sparkerm>
To: <digest@cedmagic.com>

It is possible that your line frequency is off. This will not show up with a
strobe light check as the frequency of the strobe will be off the same
amount and everything will look fine. The turntable running off speed will
cause black and white display. Also, there is an adjustment for the chroma
oscillator which will cause the same symptoms. Adjustment is best done with
the player running and watch for the return of the color. They have a test
point to check the frequency, but it is very difficult to check without some
pretty fancy test equipment.

Stan

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 26 May 2003 16:14:35 -0700 (PDT)
From: Aj Pawlowski <cbandwny>
Subject: ...follow up on SJT-100
To: digest@cedmagic.com

This is becoming an adventure... I posted last week about the cut traces on the
pickup arm....
 
I have since repaired the traces, and here's the result.
 
No video, no counter. If I turn the volume all the way up, I get audio.

I figured ruined stylus, as it was bent.
 
I picked up another unit. Same model, same place, same price.
Same problem.
 
No video, no counter. Volume up yields audio.
 
I am going to poke around at it, but I have no idea.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: SonyFan13
Date: Tue, 27 May 2003 00:41:59 EDT
Subject: Re: CED Digest Vol. 8 No. 21
To: tom@cedmagic.com, cbandwny

>I have one
>of these and  a VH-8000 DiscoVision from the FleaZONE, and these
>would make excellent cool "ghetto" appliances for my TV.

The VH-8000 would be good as a conversation piece, but really nothing more.

The Magnavox VH-8000 Magnavision, and it's completely same remote equipped
replacement, the VH-8005, were some of the worst LD players ever made.  The
VH-8000 was the first consumer LD player, though, and the fact that MCA
DiscoVision was unable to replicate discs of any decent quality at the time of
introduction would not help matters much. 

Various mechanical parts were undersized, functionality was very crude,
playback was tempermental at best, was extremely intolerant of
less-than-perfect discs, and overall picture and sound quality were very
lacking.  The VP-1000, Pioneer's first consumer LD player released about a year
later, blew this hunk-o-junk out into orbit, although a few first-run VP-1000s
are known to have a problem that caused some spectacular power supply failures
which even resulted in fires!

Funny.  I own three CED players and a few discs (RCA SJT-200 and SGT-250,
Hitachi VIP-2000 that needs a new stylus cartridge), but I know more about
LaserVision.  - Reinhart

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Free to a Good Home
Date: Wed, 28 May 2003 12:51:26 -0400
From: "Helopoulos, Chris" <chelopoulos>
To: <digest@CEDmagic.com>

Must make room.  Have bad back.  Over 300 CED titles.  I'm in Miami, FL, area.
You come & get them & they're yours.  Will throw in working CED player
too.
 
Chris Helopoulos
e-mail to:  medmatch2@yahoo.com

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 28 May 2003 14:21:04 -0700
Subject: FWD: CED Player and 66 Discs, $40 (Chicago)
Fwd From: Jim (jim)
To: digest@cedmagic.com

From: Jim (jim)
Subject: Vintage Schwinn-Videodiscs w/Player-Washer & Dryer-Mac G3
Newsgroups: chi.forsale
Date: 2003-05-27 10:11:01 PST 

Vintage Red Speedster Schwinn Bicycle: $45

RCA Selectavision Videodisc player with 66 discs. 
Works! (pre-Laserdisc technology) $40

Norge gas dryer and Kenmore washer
older models, work fine: $80 for both.

Power Mac G3 233Mhz, 64MB/4GB
ethernet,  scsi, USB (card installed), 
external 56k modem, 19" Samsung
Syncmaster monitor, keyboard, mouse,
microphone. Great shape: $220

312-850-4977

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 29 May 2003 15:13:33 +0100 (BST)
From: paul cooke <paulcooke20032003>
Subject: ced black/whiteh
To: digest@cedmagic.com

hi. can anyone tell me if it is possible to repair a
ced ,(g e c mcmichael v5000h) which is playing in
black and white? sound is good and in sterio, the
picture is sharp and clear, tracking is excellent.
paulcooke20032003@yahoo.co.uk
thanks paul in the uk

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sat, 31 May 2003 07:52:22 -0400
From: TakeTheActive <TakeTheActive>
Subject: Announcing: The NEW "RCA SelectaVision CED Player
Maintenance"  Yahoo
 Group!
To: digest@cedmagic.com

Hello All RCA SelectaVision CED Player Enthusiasts!

I've just created a new Yahoo Group, the "RCA SelectaVision CED Player
Maintenance" Group.

The goal of this forum is to become a Central Repository of technical
maintenance and repair information for the RCA SelectaVision CED Players.

If you own a RCA CED Player with a problem, please feel free to leave a
detailed message describing what's wrong.

If you know how to solve someone else's problem, please reply.

I've searched for newsgroups and I've searched for other forums, but, I could
not find anyplace on the Internet where RCA CED enthusiasts could meet and
exchange information in as near to real-time as possible.  Yes, there is this
wonderful CED Digest that Tom Howe puts out every week, and I've been a
subscriber for years.  But since my interest in RCA CEDs has been re-kindled
lately (I bought a new Function Motor Drive belt, #3, and a bottle of Goo Gone
and "fixed" my original SJT-200 again.), I thought it would be
interesting to see if a Technical Forum would takeoff and become popular.

I've never moderated a forum of any kind before, although I was the Sysop of a
RCP/M BBS for many years, back in the 80s.  So, if things here don't seem to
work right at the start, send me an E-Mail and I'll try to "fix"
them.

Although the stated goal of this forum is to become a Central Repository, if
some members wish to sell or trade RCA CED parts and/or equipment, please post
your ads in the DATABASE (I've created a "template" example for
members to follow).  Ads entered as MESSAGES will be deleted and the offending
member will be restricted from further Posting.

And finally, please be sure to VOTE in the Poll for which CED Player(s) you own
on your FIRST VISIT.  If I understood the Poll instructions correctly, all
results should be immediately available to all and they should list the CED
Player(s) and the member who owns them.  That way, new members can identify
other members with the same machines as a starting point for a discussion.  If
you start posting messages BEFORE you VOTE, you will be restricted from further
Posting.  Please realize that this whole concept will only work if you
"play by the rules".

Let's all have fun and learn!
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