CED VideoDisc and Player Discussion

[andrewwild]

Hi, i have one of the low model PAL players with mono sound and only the 3 buttons on the front, PausePlay, Forward Scan and Reset, but when i lifted the cabinet top there were 4 buttons so why is there only 3 buttons on the exterior of the cabinet, does anyone know what this mysterious 4 button does, if there were an extra button on the exterior it would be between play and forward scan, Many Thanks, Andy ?

[RT9342]

Sounds like an RCA SJT-090 or SKT-090. Supposedly they left off the buttons to cut costs, but looking at the way the face is molded and assembled, I don't see how it saved any money. I almost think they did it as more of a punishment for buying the cheapest model, or perhaps as a gimmick to try to get people to buy a more expensive player.

have you tried out the extra buttons? They are actually functional! One is a reverse scan, and there is also a visual search rewind and fast-forward (I don't recall what the other button is for at this time, but you can try it out).

But I've had this discussion with people before, and I don't know if anyone really knows the real reason why RCA did that. The world may never know.....

[cedmagic]

This was a marketing technique to create product differentiation at very little cost. Besides Hitachi, RCA used it with the SGT075 and SGT100 players. Both machines have the same chassis design. But the SGT075 leaves off the high speed search and pause buttons as well as the LED display. Those capabilities are still present in the SGT075 and the buttons can be accessed through this remote control interface:

http://www.cedmagic.com/tech-info/remote-control/f-g-remote-install.html

And check out this advertisement for a PAL/UK CED player:

http://www.cedmagic.com/history/ced-pal-uk-1983.html

It shows the front panel of a Hitachi player, but the innards are of an RCA F/G player!

--Tom Howe