CED VideoDisc and Player Discussion

[jgantert]

I'm still trying to decide on a mono or a stereo CED model. Looks like most of the CED movies are mono, so I'm not sure its really worth it to spend the money for the stereo player. One other thing is the stereo players have composite video outputs instead of just RF output. Is there going to be much improvement watching composite over RF? (My target TV is a 51" CRT rear projector HDTV, so not sure either will look "good". I could always just stick it on the 27" TV in the bedroom.)

Any thoughts?

-John

[RT9342]

I think that the picture is a little better with the composite video on these players, though maybe not a whole lot better. But it's possible to add audio/video jacks to mono units, as I have successfully done in the past. Unless you have a lot of stereo movies, I would suggest just getting a mono unit - a stereo unit obviously won't play all of those mono movies in stereo, as you suggested. Unless, of course, you come across a good deal on a stereo player. Most people say stay away from the SFT and SGT models, because they're harder to work on. I, however, find them for the most part easier to work on, not harder, but then again, I've worked on SFT units for about 15 years before ever touching an SJT unit, so maybe it's just because of my own experience. And any RCA model with a number smaller than 100 (-075, -090) is not desireable, as they tend to lack rewind and/or fast-forward buttons and other features. But the funny thing is these players have the ability to do those functions and sometimes even have the buttons hidden behind the front panel, so if you have the will and knowledge to do some modifications, you could make one of those players fully functional. Hope this helps.

[jgantert]

Well, I found a few CED players so I can report on what I picked up.

First off was a junker SFT100. Totally dead, but got it semi-working, but only a b/w picture (no color).

Then picked up a nice SJT400. Plays nice, but the auto loader is not quite strong enough, and struggles to release the caddy sometimes.

Then last weekend, I picked up a matlab's collection from NJ (posted here). Quite a collection. I haven't hooked up all the players yet, but so far they all seem to be in nice shape.

3 SFT100's - Nice picture. All of these seem pretty reliable loading, etc. I can't tell much PQ difference between RF output and AV output of the stereo models. I do miss the stereo output on the stereo CEDs, tho. Nice wood-grain gives them the true retro feel.

1 manual loading SJT100 - Same as a SFT100 except has longer RF connectors in the back. I haven't used this one yet, so I don't know much about it. Label says made in 1984 tho, and it is wood grain and manual loading. Looks nothing like the picture for the SJT100 on the cedmagic website. UPDATE: Looks like this player is a SFT100 (according to an inner label on the chassis) with parts from lots of other players! (ie: bottom plate from the SJT100)

2 SGT250's - My favorite. Stereo, manual loading. Nicer smaller remote, but not Harmony compatible. I really like the way this loads. No lever, and no autoload that might not eject the caddy fully.

1 SJT400 - Same problem as my other SJT400. Doesn't quite load the caddy quite all the way automatically, and sometimes doesn't seem to want to eject the caddy either. This one also seems to have some picture degredation after its been on about 30 minutes or so (probably circuit board overheating that I've read about on this website). But this player does have really cool random access features (banding, time seek, memory, etc). If I get it up and running more reliably, it might be my main player, but I don't have as many stylus for it tho.

Anyways, just my INITIAL impressions. I haven't ordered/replaced any belts yet, which should fix the loading issues I'm having with the 400 series players and the color issues with the first player.

-John