CED VideoDisc and Player Discussion

[trimalchio]

The disk is a grooved media, like an LP. But it spins fast in an enclosed machine. Has anyone ever tried to modify a machine (open it up, say) and play the disk exposed like you would with a regular record player? And if this is possible, could you "scratch" the audio/video output like a DJ?

[Jesse Skeen]

Nope, it has to be going at exactly the right speed or else the signal will drop out. I've tried doing that once too, just out of curiosity even though I knew it wouldn't work Don't know if you could run the turntable backwards at the right speed and get anything to play that way.
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Videodisc and stereo sound- there's no better value around!

[owenatverrs]

Ha Ha, you must understand that the discs are not recorded with vibrations but with peaks and valleys I would not advise playing a disc that you would like to keep as this could damage the silcon coating on the discs.

[cedmagic]

There's actually an example of VideoDisc "scratching" on the CED demonstration recorded back in 1979. It's at about the 24 minute mark in the video:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-321781081379889657

This was done to illustrate carrier distress and recovery when the disc RPM decreases and returns to normal, but it's interesting that RCA was demonstrating it on CED's at about the same time hip hop DJs adopted the practice with vinyl LPs.

--Tom Howe

[RT9342]

WWWWicked!!! I didn't think RCA would demonstrate something like "scratching" a videodisc. I've never seen that video, but I've tried doing "scratching" myself - not real practical - everything sort of goes blank, then you get a black & white, scrambled image until the RPM recovers to proper speed, then the sound comes in, the image stablizes, and the colors come back in.