CED VideoDisc and Player Discussion

[Tim_S]

To my knowledge, this has never been posted on ebay before..... an actual blank laserdisc:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300512294819


Sorry there aren't any blank CEDs, since CED recorders were not available even industrially, but you should find this interesting anyway.

[Beetlescott]

Wouldn't it be something to have a CED that could be recorded on? I had no idea there was such a thing as laser disc that could be recorded.
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[Alchemy]

That is cool, never knew they existed, a tad high in my opinion
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Scott
SGT-200, CLD-79
http://bcw.utnij.net <--- CED/LD collection

[Beetlescott]

I was thinking the same thing.
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[deantjeep]

My question is: what would you do with this? I don't recall any recording laserdisc players on the market. I guess this would be for a laserdisc collector as one of those oddities for serious format collectors. I remember owning a Firefox game laserdisc that was for an arcade game. I guess today it would be rare, but only for collectors as it was unwatchable, unless you like watching the same scenes over and over with slight variations.

[Beetlescott]

So, there hasn't ever been a Laser Disc Recorder? I was wordering what a person would do with a blank disc.
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[deantjeep]

Keep it as a collectable, I guess...just something from a bygone era...

[Alchemy]

That's how I look at it- cool collectible to add with my other oddities.
I have several transcription discs- can't play those without spending $500+ for a new machine. So if I can pick them up at a reasonable price and it's a show I like I will.
I do have about 50+ 78's that I can play on my 1946 Philco, so can't say those are obsolete
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Scott
SGT-200, CLD-79
http://bcw.utnij.net <--- CED/LD collection

[Beetlescott]

Man, that sounds like fun!!! I have always had a special place in my heart for records. 78s, 45s 33 1/3 lps. I love them. I had a very very hard time getting away from my record player. I NEVER went with cassette tapes, I hated them. I did like 8 tracks some. Finally when CDs came out, I softened a bit. The same thing happened to me when VCRs came out, I preferred CEDs!!! I had a much better time collecting these movies on CED, not tape. I have to admit, it was a few more years before they came up with a DVD, but I always said, the very first time I came upon a CD, "One of these days, they will come out with movies on these little discs:).
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[Tim_S]

I think you guys need to re-think this a bit.
Think about it: there is a RECORDER for *every* format.
There *has* to be. Otherwise, how could the media exist?

Yes, there was a CED recorder.
Yes, there was a Laserdisc recorder.

The thing is, Laserdisc Recorders were *not* on the market.
Just because a Laserdisc Recorder was not marketed does not mean it didn't exist.

I *saw* a LASERDISC RECORDER with my own eyes. I saw it recording a laser videodisc. The thing is, is it was for INDUSTRIAL use only.

I saw the one-and-only laserdisc recorder in existence in the southeast.
It was owned by a company in Atlanta called Crawford Communications.
I toured the facility and was shown the laserdisc recorder, which, of course, I thought was really cool.... and I toured it because I knew they had one, the only one in existence in the southeast quadrant of the country.

I obtained my Crawford Communications laserdisc blanks from a company I once worked at that was throwing them out. It's a good thing I happened to work there! It was at a different company in a different city some 350 miles from Atlanta, that had at one time produced some (boring) industrial corporate videos. The only video disc format at the time that a company could transfer a video to was laser videodisc, and the only company that could do this was Crawford.

There were probably only less than 100 Laserdisc Recorders made.
One of these (probably the Crawford one) was for auction on ebay around the year 1999... the home theater forum discusses it. I wish I had seen that forum at the time so I could have matched my blanks with it.

[Tim_S]

As for a CED recorder, of course there were none on the market.
However, RCA certainly had one! It would have been at their mastering facility in Indianapolis.

I had a Popular Electronics magazine back in 1972 or 1973 containing an article about (CED) videodiscs in research and development. There was a photo of RCA's CED recorder. It was certainly one of a kind. It was basically like a modified record cutter, more than likely with a special cutting stylus for embedding the video signal.... I had read once that when CEDs started being manufactured, they were burning the video signal into the discs with lasers rather than with a cutting stylus, and would coat the discs with magnetic material to create the variable capacitance and polyvinyl material to make the grooves.

[Tim_S]

Incidentally, the price for the blank is negotiable... just starting at $24.99 since it's rare. But if no bids come along it will certainly come down.

[Beetlescott]

Tim, You are right, i didn't think of that. I understand what you were talking about. I can't imagine seeing blanks get thrown out!!! Many of the CED videos are completely blank on one side, it's kind of like it is half a blank. I had never thought about the Master printer that makes the CEDs as a CED recorder. I suppose that is what it is though. Anyway, we are glad you are here!!!!!
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[Tim_S]

Glad I found this forum, Beetlescott.

One thing those blank CED sides could be used for is for cutting audio phonograph grooves into. I'm in another forum for people into cutting their own (phonograph) records. These are machines that you might call "record recorders", but more often called "record cutters", that enable you to cut your own analog audio record for playback on a turntable or gramophone. They were particularly popular during the 1940s, so most of the cheaper machines come from that decade. Audiophile "mastering" systems, on the other hand, run into the $$ thousands.

Record cutting experimenters like trying different disc media to cut into.
Cutting phonograph grooves onto CDs and DVDs is especially popular, except that the discs are so small.... but you can play them on old-school record players. Recently a company or 2 have released hybrid CD/phonograph discs on the market, but not many artists have used the format... Mars Volta is the only one I can think of. Experimenters have also been cutting phonograph grooves into laserdiscs, but mainly if it's a movie or disc that isn't popular and has no value to anyone. Now, to my knowledge, there hasn't been a repurposed CED disc yet, so that would be a first.... of course the larger center hole would present some issues, but cutting experimenters usually just use tape and weights to hold the disc down to the turntable while cutting (recording), and then you can just center the disc manually by eye-balling it for playback. There are hundreds of youtube videos demonstrating various phonograph record cutting experiments.

[Beetlescott]

Wow! You quickly got over my head there! That's facinating! I always loved records so much. I hated it when they stopped making vinyl. I had a large collection of them too. I said on one of thiese threads, I never warmed to audio cassettes or video cassettes. I was so down and sad when I heard they had pulled the plug on CEDs. I loved watching them, collecting them. There is just something special abou them, Other than they are so heavy!!!!
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[Tim_S]

There is a record cutter on ebay now, but it's one of the higher-priced ones... a hi-fi Presto Rek-O-Kut model, one of the desirable ones.... but $1500 is hard to come by these days. Plus it needs some repair work on top of that. Also huge and heavy and requires a garage or shop environment.
http://cgi.ebay.com/RARE-record-vinyl-cutting-cutter-lathe-Rek-o-kut-presto-/290518594336?pt=Vintage_Electronics_R2&hash=item43a441f320

[Tim_S]

and here is a demonstration of cutting a record with a Rek-O-Kut lathe:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0nrdN_Q4B8

[Beetlescott]

That is awesome! Kind of like the great grandfather to the CED world!
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[Alchemy]

Esoteric Sound makes Rek-O-Kut, maybe contact them and see if they have anything lying about?
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Scott
SGT-200, CLD-79
http://bcw.utnij.net <--- CED/LD collection

[7jlong]

Just a couple of points:

- blank laserdiscs show up periodically on eBay. $24.99 wasn't all that unusual back when there was more interest.

- Sony made a professional/broadcast laserdisc deck, seen here. Many institutions used them, as one-off and short-run discs (easy to spot, as they always have a generic label) show up frequently on eBay. I picked up one of these units about 10 years ago for $30 on eBay. The cost of media kept me from using it and it is now long gone.

- there was never a discontinuation of vinyl, and in fact it is in the middle of a rather large resurgence.

- there are threads on this forum discussing the possibilities of pressing new CEDs, as well as rumors on Tom's site that there is still a stamper in storage with RCA.

- there are also lengthy and in-depth archives on the main CEDMagic site discussing the CED fabrication process that are worth investigating.

[Beetlescott]

Hey thanks 7 for all the useful info. Do you mean vinyl (lps) are still being made today? After all these years?
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[7jlong]

Absolutely! Musicdirect.com is one of the better vendors, though there are plenty out there. Even a search on just the word "vinyl" at Amazon turns of piles and piles of hits - new issues, reissues, lots of stuff. In fact, I don't remember the exact numbers, but 2009 had the highest sales of new vinyl since 2001 or something like that...

[deantjeep]

I just bought one of those turntables that can connect to a computer to transfer records into music files. It also has a retro case and built in speakers. The only issue is that it has a ceramic cartridge instead of a magnetic cartridge, so you don't want to play your records to many times and wear them out. Really just need it for just one play to transfer to my computer.

[Beetlescott]

I actually bought a couple of Carpenter records, The Jazz Singer soundtrack, a Monkees lp. I don't have a turntable anymore, I wish some much I had of kept it. I have actually been looking on Ebay, but I haven't found one at a decent price yet. anyone have any recommnedations?
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[Alchemy]

Just a thought if you are looking for a decent turntable cruise around http://audiokarma.org/ for a bit

http://soundapproach.com/turntables-c-37_107.html Rek-O-Cut is a good solid performer at reasonable money.
BTW- pawnshops, craigslist... in Portland there is a big audiophile niche and the gear comes up on occasion- so keep a look out
Of course there's always http://www.continuumaudiolabs.com/ for a 'record player' price is around $120k....
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Scott
SGT-200, CLD-79
http://bcw.utnij.net <--- CED/LD collection

[Beetlescott]

Thanks for the heads up Scott!
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[7jlong]

Or you could always mix your technologies and go for the ELP Laser Turntable: http://www.elpj.com/

[Alchemy]

It even plays 78's hmmm.... nah. i think I'll just keep looking for a decent Thorens to replace my cheapy Pioneer 600.
_________________
Scott
SGT-200, CLD-79
http://bcw.utnij.net <--- CED/LD collection

[RT9342]

I don't know if I overlooked this in a post or not, but for your information, I've seen a laserdisc burner for sale once, but it was very expensive, and I didn't think blank laserdiscs could be found anymore. So for those of you wondering what a blank laserdisc would be for, there you go. And it's quite true that LPs are still in production - I still buy new LPs, sometimes reissues of old albums, sometimes new albums. Anyone familiar with the Iron Maiden album A Matter Of Life And Death that came out in 2006? I have it on vinyl. I even have an LP of one of my little brother's former band's albums (Pink Swords - Shut Up And Take It). But no consumer CED recorders. I was one of the folks who once posted ideas of trying to record CEDs, but I never actually tried it or even put any resources into it. It was one of those ideas that I thought would be neat to try, but may never accomplish it in my lifetime.

[deantjeep]

I think the main issue of CEDs is that they are not recorded onto the disc, they are actually pressed like a record, from a master. So, a home recorder would never be. Laserdiscs are much like a CD, so recording on a disc is more likely.