CED VideoDisc and Player Discussion

[Beetlescott]

[7jlong]

But... streaming doesn't eliminate the possibility of repeated viewings! In fact it makes it easier than ever. I regularly go back to favorite scenes in comedies, for example, when I just need a good laugh without committing to the entire movie.

As for concerns about programming appearing and disappearing, I think this will also cease to be a trend as demand increases.

On the other hand, it worked for Disney all these years... all they had to do was say "OK... here comes Beauty and the Beast... for... 5 MINUTES! BUY NOW!" and people would go berserk laying out cash.

Yes, they got to take it home with them and stop worrying about it. But there are clever people in the industry. They'll find some new and exciting way to "get" people with digital services.

Don't worry, no one wants to take anyone's Selectavision away. There are plenty crazy collectors of all kinds to go around.

[7jlong]

[TheLaserdisc]

I just took advantage of a Netflix free trial, and since PS3s post 3.5 update have netflix software installed, like on the Xbox 360. I did some comparisons of some movies that I have on DVD and Blu-ray and I figured it would be made fair that the PS3 is the only netflix device able to stream in 1080p.

Now the HD streaming was noticeably better than Up scaling a DVD, it was noticeably worse on certain blu-rays and almost the same on others. Movies like Avatar, and Gake no Ue no Ponyo (aka, Ponyo) gave Blu-ray the upper edge in the comparison as the HD stream showed signs of compression causing artifacts to form.

While at the same time, vintage movies like 2001, A Clockwork orange, and Akira look good on Blu-ray, they only have a marginal difference between their HD streaming counterparts, some better and some worse (Akira looked better in HD broadcasts than the Stream).

I don't see any reason to abandon physical media any time soon. Especially with 3D taking off (if you can afford a 3D TV with VIZIO releasing a passive 3D system similar to that used on the Nintendo 3DS for around $500 for a 32 inch model), and I haven't seen netflix jumping on the 3D bandwagon yet except on the 3DS.
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[Beetlescott]

[7jlong]

Actually, many Blu-Ray players with network hookups (pretty much all of them these days) offer 1080p streaming - not to mention using a computer to access Netflix.

That aside, if what you're seeing is what we have right now - a worthy competitor even at the HD level for disc-based media - I maintain that it will not be 10 years before streaming media has left physical media in the dust.

I'm taking a "wait and see" stance on 3D for now. I can't get a good read on where it's all going. For every proponent there seems to be a skeptic right behind them - personally I don't care much about it.

[Beetlescott]

Maybe you can help me with a problem I'm having with my BluRay player. I have my Samsun BluRay player. I have it on my wireless. Once in a while it tells me I have an update, and It asks me if I want to update it now? I usually click yes, but the last couple of times I ahve clicked "no" because I was busy witht something else. It hasn't prompted me anymore. Do you know if there is a way to do it manually?
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1000 titles
SGT-250
SJT-400
Montgomery Ward
SGT-100

[TheLaserdisc]

On the Samsung website, they should have firmware updates and directions on how to update it.
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[Jesse Skeen]

How do I update the firmware on my SGT-250?
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Videodisc and stereo sound- there's no better value around!

[blindfury420]

[Beetlescott]

[deantjeep]

There is a website that will allow you to download new firmware for most RCA CED players with the load/play levers. Just Google CED Firmware Update and you should find it. It also contains information on how to build your own CED disc press and where to get some plastic goop for the discs. Simply build the disc pressing machine with the simple instructions provided on the website, hook up the machine to your computer, download the new firmware and simply press "PRESS DISC" and there you have it, the new firmware is now on a CED disc!
The next step is the real tricky part: Insert the disc into your player, while holding down the pause and reject buttons, with the lever, quickly move it to the play, then back to the load position. This will put your player into the update firmware mode. The LED should now read, UF, for update firmware. Once the firmware has been updated, the LED will read, FU, for firmware updated (I know what you were thinking, get your mind out of the gutter). If you did everything correctly, your CED player will now play any DVD or Blu-ray discs. Oh and you have to also customize a caddy insert to hold the smaller discs and add a custom spindle. These instructions are also available and should take mere minutes to make the minor modifications.
ENJOY!

[Beetlescott]

[7jlong]

You can usually find an option to force a firmware check/update buried in the setup menus of your Blu-Ray player. Mine (a Panasonic) is under some sort of "advanced options" sub-menu, if I remember correctly (don't have the unit in front of me).

[deantjeep]

On my Panasonic Blu-ray player, I had to go out and download the update and burn it to a CD, and with the update instructions, completed the update.

[Real1shepherd]

[Jesse Skeen]

In the late 70s I read a magazine article about "TV of the future"- one thing they mentioned was holograms, which they said was like "Laverne and Shirley standing right there in your living room!" Thought that would've happened by now (and where's my flying car? We were supposed to have those by 2000!)
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Videodisc and stereo sound- there's no better value around!

[Real1shepherd]

Well, there are flying cars-you can buy/make them. But they're slow & impractical for the average consumer.....no Jetsons yet. What visionary writers hadn't accounted on was our deadly passion and love affair for the internal combustion automobile; the most dangerous device in the world, (but one in which we are willing to take the risks).

Holograms are out there, but as experiments and scientific application. I've noticed that sometimes the most staple of science fiction icons resist becoming reality for some reason. Frustrating because the science is there, but it takes the profitable desire of investors to make things happen. Otherwise, these things just remain "Is is fact or fiction?" oddities.

I thought for example, we'd all be wearing pressure sensitive suits and be lost into virtual reality games/lives by now.

Kevin

[Beetlescott]

[quote="deantjeep"]On my Panasonic Blu-ray player, I had to go out and download the update and burn it to a CD, and with the update instructions, completed the update.[/quote

Well, I have my Samsung Blu Ray player on wireless. All the other times, it asked me when and then just did the deal. The last 2 times, I was busy, and clicked no, when it asked if I wanted to update.
_________________
1000 titles
SGT-250
SJT-400
Montgomery Ward
SGT-100

[7jlong]

I just took a quick spin through Samsung's support site. Don't know the model of your player, but I'm guessing these instructions will be fairly consistent or some close variation of them:

1. With the unit in Stop mode/No Disc mode, press the MENU
button.

2. Press the ▲▼ buttons to select Setup, then press the ENTER
or ▶ button.

3. Press the ▲▼ buttons to select System Setup, then press the
ENTER or ▶ button.

4. Press the ▲▼ buttons to select System Update, then press
the ENTER or ▶ button.

The player will check the cable or network connection status
automatically. The connection checking window will be displayed.

5. To perform the system upgrade, press the ◀▶ buttons to
select Start and then press the ENTER button.

The system update gets started.

If you select Cancel during the download process, you are
prompted to confirm your selection in a message box.

If you want to cancel the download, select Yes and press the
ENTER button.

Verification will proceed. When download is done, the firmware
update process will begin automatically.

When the installation is done, the player will automatically turn
off in 5 seconds.

All settings will revert to the factory settings the next time you
start the system and you will see the menu language selection
window.

[Beetlescott]

[Beetlescott]

[Midwinter]

I think CED would have been successful if it came after the rise and fall of recordable video formats. It would have had to supported a movie on one disc side though or had a machine that read both sides (like some of the late model laserdisc players). Multiple discs would not have caught on unless it was fairly large film such as Dances with Wolves.

The reason I make this argument is that consumers were not ready for CED when it first debuted. Consumers fell in love with the concept of being able to record. Owning movies to watch again and again didn't fit in quite yet in the early business model of home video.

It wasn't until consumers started enjoying the concept of purchasing some of their more favorite movies at a reasonable price that it ushered in the age of DVDs. A whole generation had grown up being able to watch their favorite films without having to continually rent them or watch their degraded copy recorded from tv, and DVD offered them a way to buy in to a format that was made for their generation. Early adopters of the DVD format were mostly younger consumers and the same has been the case with Blu-Ray.

If CED would have arrived after VHS popularized the home movie collection and DVD had never been developed then it would have had a chance of becoming a major format. Consumers would have been ready for a new format and enjoyed a format that just played purchased movies (just as almost 90% of all DVD players did at the time they were popular). Most consumers were starting to use DVR style machines to record any way by 2000. (Shocking enough Panasonic has released a VHS / Blu-Ray player)

Regarding the end of VHS and the beginning of DVD: I think consumers were ready for a change, major producers backed the format, and retailers were looking for the next electronic gimmick to sell. I think consumers also fell in love with DVD because of computer/home video use, search functions on the players, and size. Personally I think the cartridge style disc should have been chosen for DVDs and Blu-Rays. Most consumers are so careless with their media that they destroy these fragile formats and a CED style cartridge should have been chosen. Unfortunately DVD formats that used the cartridge never became popular and were discontinued.
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My SJT400 keeps me warm MIDWINTER when the OSD board overheats!

Trying my wife's patience one purchase at a time.

[Real1shepherd]

I don't know that I agree with that.......there has always been a market for 'playback only' devices....look even today at Bluray players. It was TiVo that killed VHS, more so than DVD's. If your theory is correct about recordable devices, then recordable DVD machines would have taken the country by storm. I had one, it was nearly impossible to put in screen selection and even harder to have actual pics to go with your screen selection. I hated the machine.....even the few movies I recorded with, it quit working some five yrs later. Even back then, many folks were burning movies from their PC's.

At the time CED's came out, they had the best picture hands done; even if some of the colors were exaggerated. It was very engaging and 'alive'. So.....if the machine had come out earlier.....say '75, they would have gained the foothold that VHS & Beta had. As far as prices, all the formats (VHS, Beta & CED) were priced very closely on their movie costs.

After Pioneer's laser discs came out and then VHS+ with a measurably improved picture....they forced CED's into extinction. And....CED's had the rep for skipping during movies and being able to see a slight picture jitter all the way through. You are correct that if they had continued to pour money into and improve their machines.... they may have had a chance. But again, they would have had to premiere around '75 or so.

I dunno....I feel like technology is feeding on itself these days.

Kevin

[Midwinter]

I agree. I don't think DVD killed VHS. I think it was because the new generation was ready to accept a "playback only" system because of things like TIVO or as I first posted DVR technology. People realized that the technology they play media with doesn't have to be the same technology they record with.

I still feel as though back in the late 70's and early 80's the market just wasn't ready to spend a bunch of money on being videophiles (although the companies thought they could establish that market). The videophile wave didn't really hit until DVDs which is funny since the audiophile market started decades earlier. I could be wrong and you could be right. This is just my opinion.

I think this is why Laserdisc and CED failed (not to mention the size of the media).

[Real1shepherd]

[7jlong]

I think backwards compatibility also played a role, if perhaps only a small one. By the time DVD players started catching on people were ready to replace their aged CD player - ta-da, a device that could not only play their CDs but also shiny, sexy new copies of movies as well? An easy sell. Especially when people could just toss their old CD player, drop in the new DVD player, and not have to sort out where to put yet another device. In the early-to-mid 2000s my local thrift shops were packed with discarded CD players. Then came the flood of unwanted VHS decks.

They also did a smart thing by not positioning DVD as some kind of "connoisseur" format, which LaserDisc always had a problem with - in price as well as overall consumer opinion. With DVD the big players appear to have gotten over making any attempt to appeal to the so-called videophile market, because every previous attempt failed horribly. I really don't think the average consumer is that worked up about it.

Having DVD prices average around $20 right out the gate and selling them everywhere was brilliant. Ultimately I think that is the tradeoff - I don't necessarily believe people want a playback-only device, but if it's cheap, why not? Especially if there are easy options (as previously pointed out: TiVo, DVD-R, DVR, etc).

However, I do believe that DVD played a very strong role in killing VHS. If you graph the sales figures of the two over the 2000s, the decline of VHS and the rise of DVD form almost a perfect "X". Ultimately VHS was a tedious format that the general public was happy to say goodbye to - all that rewinding, eaten tapes, etc? Bleah.

[Real1shepherd]

I agree.....but I think the death of VHS was the analog format in general; ala CD's versus cassettes-it was all very related. Given the fact that the consumer had no longer to deal with tape 'wear', breakage & dropouts. VHS didn't go down easily, as VHS tapes and DVD movies sold side by side for yrs. People had the machines already and were often not willing to jump ship. For me, it was the deliberate absence of the special features on VHS movies (that were contained in DVD's) and the easy access of same.

In the end, convenience won out. The only rising star and current link to analog are LP's.....which have had a tremendous resurgence within the audiophile community.

Kevin

[Midwinter]

[Beetlescott]