************************************************************************ ************************************************************************ CED Digest Vol. 6 No. 1 1/6/2001 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 20 Years Ago In CED History: January 7, 1981: * Figures published by the U.S. automobile industry showed that domestically manufactured passenger car sales fell 20% behind the level of the previous year, making 1980 the industry's worst year since 1961. January 8, 1981: * Winter '81 Consumer Electronics Show opens in Las Vegas, Nevada. * RCA PRESS RELEASE: Largest Display of VideoDisc Players Marks RCA's Return to CES Show RCA's return to the Consumer Electronics Show was marked by an impressive display devoted totally to the forthcoming introduction of the "SelectaVision" VideoDisc system. A series of eight 14-foot towers held 84 RCA VideoDisc players in the largest demonstration ever of the new medium that provides picture and sound on a disc. Eight demonstration areas for public access to the RCA player were also part of the display. The programming material to be available in RCA's opening catalog was displayed on television screens connected to the VideoDisc players. Two pylons billboarded the VideoDisc which included movies, family entertainment, classics and special interest programs. The RCA "SelectaVision" VideoDisc system will be introduced by 5,000 television dealers in a National Demonstration Week beginning March 22. The optional retail price of RCA's initial player will be $499.95. The national introduction of "the most important new consumer electronic product since color television will mark the beginning of a true personal video communications business," Jack K. Sauter, vice president and general manager of RCA's Consumer Electronics Division has said. "The change from mass to personal communications will be more noticeable as new forms of electronic entertainment reach the market. With an important new video product such as the video disc player, the hours devoted to video in the home will expand because of 24-hour availability of diverse visual entertainment," he predicted. RCA believes that video disc players will appeal to a broad market segment "that is interested in affordable, simple-to-operate entertainment in the home," Mr. Sauter said. "Our customer for video discs is clearly the average family, the same broad segment that built the television business to 1980's level of nearly 16 million annual unit sales." Production of the SFT100, RCA's initial video disc player, has begun at the company's Bloomington, Indiana plant. Video discs have been in production since last summer at RCA's Rockville Road facility in Indianapolis. Initial players for training purposes have been shipped to RCA distributors. Mr. Sauter said RCA's extensive market research indicates that the video disc has far more universal appeal than video cassette recorders, for example, "because it is family oriented, appeals to women as well as men, and spans the entire spectrum of income and occupations." The company has forecast that the video disc business could grow to $7.5 billion by the end of the 10th year. The largest advertising and promotional campaign ever scheduled for a new RCA product will begin on March 16 to build consumer interest in the national introduction of RCA's video disc system the following Sunday, March 22. "Ease of use, depth of software and affordability will be the key points communicated to the public," Mr. Sauter said. "While the RCA system is based upon extremely esoteric elements of electronics and physics, the end result is a product that any consumer from 8 to 80 years old can use right out of the shipping carton," he said. Providing up to two hours of entertainment on a single disc, the RCA "CED" capacitance electronic disc system, which has been under development since 1963, is designed to combine sound and pictures on a disc that can be played through any brand of NTSC television receiver. As easy to operate as an audio record player, the RCA video disc player is extremely compact, weighs but 20 pounds, and uses only 35 watts of energy. Each "CED" disc can provide up to one hour of visual entertainment on each side of the disc. The stylus used in the RCA video disc player is so unique that special computer- controlled processing equipment had to be devised for its manufacture. The stylus tip measures just 1/10,000 of an inch and tracking force is extremely light, only 65 thousandths of a gram. The high performance "DuraLife" diamond stylus is designed for years of service under normal use. RCA's goal is to establish the "CED" video disc system as a worldwide standard for video disc products. To date, color TV brands representing over 50 percent of the United States color TV market have indicated their intention of introducing video disc players based on the RCA system, including Zenith, JC Penney, Sears, Sanyo, Toshiba, Hitachi, and Radio Shack. CBS, Inc. has also announced plans to manufacture and market "CED" discs. Mr. Sauter said that RCA's most recent market research study indicated over four million American TV households, seven percent of all homes with color TV, would be interested in purchasing a video disc player during the initial marketing period.RCA expects to sell at least 200,000 players and two million discs bearing its own brand in 1981. Noting that black-and-white TV, color TV, and VCR players fell well below that figure in their introductory year, Mr. Sauter said video disc players "will reach a higher sales level in the first year than any other major video product in the history of the industry." January 9, 1981: * Thirty people die in Keansburg, NJ when fire destroys a two-story home for the elderly. * U.S. Representative Raymond F. Lederer is found guilty on charges of bribery and Conspiracy relating to the Abscam investigation. * Future CED titles in widespread theatrical release: Stir Crazy, Seems Like Old Times. January 10, 1981: * Actor Richard Boone dies at the age of 63. Best known for his starring role in the TV series "Have Gun Will Travel," he also appeared in a number of CED titles including The Robe, The Alamo, Hombre, The Hobbit (voice of Smaug), and Winter Kills. January 12, 1981: * Television series "Dynasty" with Joan Collins premieres on ABC. January 13, 1981: * Soviet Marshall Viktor Kulikov visits Poland, a move outside observers believe is intended to intimidate the Polish Solidarity labor movement. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ From: Wlsnma Date: Mon, 1 Jan 2001 16:08:33 EST Subject: Re: CED Digest Vol. 5 No. 52 To: [email protected] I can absolutely remember when CEDs came out in 1981. We were living in American Samoa. TV was practically non-existent because of the poor reception, etc. Video tape players were out but were horribly expensive. One store in Pago Pago had this heretofore unheard of new CED system and six movies. The price was much better so we bought it. We watched the movies over and over again - our favorite was MASH. When we returned to the U.S., we started collecting movies. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ END CED Digest Vol. 6 No. 1 ************************************************************************ ************************************************************************ CED Digest Vol. 6 No. 2 1/13/2001 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 20 Years Ago In CED History: January 14, 1981: * U.S. President Jimmy Carter delivers farewell speech to the nation focusing on the issues of: "The threat of nuclear destruction, our stewardship of the physical resources of our planet, and the preeminence of the basic rights of human beings." January 15, 1981: * "Hill Street Blues" TV series premiers on NBC. January 16, 1981: * British character actor Bernard Lee dies at the age of 73. He played spy chief "M" on the James Bond CED titles "Dr. No" through "Moonraker." * Jimmy Carter submits his final State of the Union message in writing to Congress assessing the nation as sound, but warning that the problems of unemployment, inflation, the energy shortage, and challenges from Russia were yet to be solved. * Future CED titles in widespread theatrical release: Altered States, Stardust Memories. January 20, 1981: * Ronald Reagan takes oath as 40th President of the United States. * Iran frees 52 U.S. hostages after 444 days in captivity. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Date: Mon Jan 08 05:08:13 2001 To: [email protected] Subject: ced player an 84 discs for sale From: homer j simpson <w-corleone> Hey tom I have came to a point in my life when I would think about selling my ced player and everything I have to go with it. On one hand discs are cheap for the player, but if I go with a newwer format like laserdisc or DVD most of the titles wouldn't be available. anywho I am offering up for sale my RCA SJT 400 player, a new stylus installed + a spare stylus, and 84 discs, about 78 movies some are 2 disc sets. I am asking $400.00 and I will pay for shipping to anywhere in the lower 48 states. it is up for auction on EBAY now and there is the option to buy it now. http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1402793629 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ From: "colint" <cclark> To: <[email protected]> Subject: over 600 videodiscs listed at Yahoo Auctions Date: Mon, 8 Jan 2001 21:53:41 -0600 I've listed a choice out auction consisting of over 600 CEDs, some still shrinkwrapped, at Yahoo Auctions. If you are interested, it is available at http://page.auctions.yahoo.com/auction/48382105 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Date: Wed, 10 Jan 2001 04:50:57 -0500 From: "Tom Howe"<[email protected]> Subject: 2001 Consumer Electronics Show To: <[email protected]> Hello All: In contrast to the 1981 CES, where RCA was one of the most notable exhibitors, Thomson (RCA) was not present at this show.