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Capacitance Electronic Disc (CED) Player. AKA Video Disk

Started by Fabius, January 19, 2019, 01:02:22 PM

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Fabius

Recently picked up a RCA video disk player I recall these coming out in the 1980s but don't think we ever had one. I wanted one since I recently found about 20 video disks at a Goodwill for fifty cents each. And I wanted an example of old technology to show people.  A technology relic. The CED system was envisioned and manufactured (all discs and the RCA players) entirely in the U.S.A. it was the last major electronic entertainment format to have this distinction.

The one i bought is a RCA model number: SJT 100. The sound is monotone. If you wanted stereo you had to buy the higher priced SJT 200. The only output from the machine is a coaxial female connector. While the machine uses a lasar the output is analog.  It's big and so is the disk.

Information from the RCA SelectaVision VideoDisc web site:

http://www.cedmagic.com/home/cedfaq.html#oneone

Tom Vaughn
La Porte, Indiana
ATCA Past President
ATCA #765
C*NET 1+ 821-9905

jsowers

The CED doesn't use a laser. It uses a diamond needle to read the discs and it's vastly inferior to a LaserDisc. I had an RCA SelectaVision I got at a thrift and some discs and managed to ruin mine with one warped disc I tried to play once. It's very poorly designed and easy to damage. Way, way too complicated and so delicate and easily broken and very hard to service. I tried taking mine apart and just gave up. The mechanism to remove and replace the disc covers all the electronics and made mine almost inaccessible. I think they improved them in later models, but mine was evidently an early one.

I couldn't believe that one warped disc could shear off the needle, but it did. The disc actually got stuck in the machine and wouldn't go back into the sleeve. So be careful with yours and inspect the discs before you play them. If they have something spilled on them or if they're not completely flat, then pitch them and don't try to play them. They should come out of the sleeve easily and go back in with no grit on them. It's no wonder this device failed to catch on.

If you want some old technology that actually works well and isn't fussy, get a LaserDisc.
Jonathan

twocvbloke

Problem with LaserDisc these days though is Disc rot and Laser rot, the former is where the discs are quite literally falling apart, resulting in the media becoming unplayable, and Laser rot is the laser modules decaying over time and no longer being able to produce a bright enough beam to read the discs (happens in other optical media devices too), sadly these technologies are gradually failing, and without someone to make new parts, they're probably going to be of no good within the next 10 years unfortunately... :(

Fabius

Quote from: jsowers on January 19, 2019, 01:36:51 PM
The CED doesn't use a laser. It uses a diamond needle...

I knew it uses a stylus. I had CDs on my mind.
Tom Vaughn
La Porte, Indiana
ATCA Past President
ATCA #765
C*NET 1+ 821-9905

jsowers

Quote from: twocvbloke on January 19, 2019, 04:10:23 PM
Problem with LaserDisc these days though is Disc rot and Laser rot, the former is where the discs are quite literally falling apart, resulting in the media becoming unplayable, and Laser rot is the laser modules decaying over time and no longer being able to produce a bright enough beam to read the discs (happens in other optical media devices too), sadly these technologies are gradually failing, and without someone to make new parts, they're probably going to be of no good within the next 10 years unfortunately... :(

I have a Pioneer LD player that doubles as an audio CD changer and haven't experienced any rot and every disc has played fine. I don't use it a lot but when I do, it works well on LD and CD. It was a thrift store find and I was lucky to find a remote for it at another thrift. Having to stop and turn the LD over is the worst part of using it. I watch mostly movies with it and many of them use more than one disc and at least two turns. If it failed it wouldn't be feasible to repair it and like other formats (Beta and VHS) it's sadly the end of the line.
Jonathan