CED VideoDisc and Player Discussion

[Jesse Skeen]

March 22nd marks the 30th anniversary of the launch of the RCA SelectaVision VideoDisc system! I assume it will be a national holiday?

(Sadly in June we will see the 25th anniversary of the format's death.)
_________________
Videodisc and stereo sound- there's no better value around!

[Beetlescott]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RCA SELECTAVISION VIDEO DISC PLAYER!!!

I am soooooo glad I got back into this format! I'm having a very LARGE time with it, and I have met some of the nicest people on the planet. Yesterday we watched 3 CED movies and it was so much fun. I even have my wife interested in them too! We had a great time.
_________________
1000 titles
SGT-250
SJT-400
Montgomery Ward
SGT-100

[cedmagic]

From the old weekly column 20 Years Ago in CED History, here are some of the major news events around 30 years ago:

March 19, 1981:
* Australia's largest corporate loss ever is reported by its leading
automotive firm. General Motors Holden's Ltd. lost $152 million in 1980.

March 20, 1981:
* The first boat load of DeLorean automobiles departs the harbor in
Belfast, Northern Ireland bound for the United States. This is the
$25,000 stainless steel body sports car made famous in the CED title
"Back to the Future" where the vehicle had a "flux capacitor" installed
for time travel. Interesting that two of the biggest technological white
elephants of the 1980's were introduced at nearly the same time.
* Jean Harris is sentenced to 15 years to life for slaying of Scarsdale
Diet Dr. Herman Tarnower.
* Future CED title in widespread theatrical release: The Postman Always
Rings Twice.

March 21, 1981:
* "Keep on Loving You" (CED) by REO Speedwagon becomes the No. 1 U.S.
single.
* Some RCA dealers such as Macy's in New York City set up their
VideoDisc kiosks a day early in violation of RCA's policy.

March 22, 1981:
* The RCA SelectaVision VideoDisc system is officially launched at 5,000
dealers across the United States. The first player is the SFT100 and the
initial catalog contains 100 titles.

* A group of 12 Green Berets arrives in El Salvador, thereby raising to
54 the number of U.S. military advisors in that country.
* The previously announced increase in the first class U.S. letter rate
from 15 to 18 cents takes effect.

March 23, 1981:
* President Ronald Reagan issues a proclamation that April 14 will be
designated Pan American Day.

March 24, 1981:
The White House reports that Vice President George Bush has been
selected by President Reagan to head a special crisis management team.
Secretary of State Alexander Haig publicly expresses his "lack of
enthusiasm."

March 25, 1981:
* The Dow Jones industrial average of selected stocks on the New York
Stock Exchange closes at its highest level in more than eight years.

March 26, 1981:
* The Social Democratic Party (SDP) gains official recognition in Great
Britain and becomes the third most important political party in
Parliament.

March 27, 1981:
* Actress Carol Burnett is awarded $1.6 million in damages in libel suit
against National Enquirer magazine.
* Future CED titles in widespread theatrical release: Final Conflict,
Thief.

March 28, 1981:
* "Rapture" by Blondie becomes No. 1 U.S. single.

March 29, 1981:
* Polish workers stage a four hour nationwide strike to protest
government harassment.

March 30, 1981:
* President Reagan is shot in the chest outside the Washington Hilton
Hotel. The president's press secretary, James Brady, is also severely
wounded, and Timothy McCarthy, a Secret Service agent, and Thomas
Delahanty, a local police officer, are also shot. The assailant, John W.
Hinckley, Jr., is seized at the scene. Confusion arise when Secretary of
State Alexander Haig announced on television the he is "in control"
while Vice President George Bush is flying back to Washington.
* The Indiana University Hoosiers (from Bloomington) led by
irrepressible head coach Bobby Knight win the NCAA Basketball
Championship for the fourth time. Star player Isiah Thomas leads the
team to a 63-50 win over North Carolina. The start of the game is
delayed until it is confirmed that Ronald Reagan's surgery for a gunshot
wound is successful.

March 31, 1981:
* Four of five Indonesian terrorists are killed in Bangkok, Thailand
after hijacking an airplane on March 28. None of the 55 hostages are
injured when Indonesian commandos storm the plane.

[Jesse Skeen]

I wonder how many of those RCA kiosks still exist?

Gonna watch one of the launch-day titles tonight to commemorate, hopefully one I haven't seen before (I watched Race For Your Life Charlie Brown on the 20th anniversary.)
_________________
Videodisc and stereo sound- there's no better value around!

[blindfury420]

Was it 100 launch titles? Is there a list so I can watch one of em haha?!
_________________
I dont own

McMicheal 5001h
Hitachi VIP202P
JCP 686-5705
RCA SKT265, SKT300
RCA SJT400X, SJT425

[Jesse Skeen]

March 22, 1981:
* The RCA SelectaVision CED VideoDisc system is officially launched at 5,000 dealers across the United States. The first player is the SFT100 and the initial catalog contains 100 titles as listed below (although only about half the titles were in distribution on launch day, and the Demo Disc and Service Test Disc were not listed in the catalog).

THE FIRST 102 CED TITLES:

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Absent Minded Professor, The
Adam's Rib
As We Grow
Bad News Bears, The
Bears and I, The
Big Fights, Vol. 1: Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fights
Black Stallion, The [monophonic]
Boys From Brazil, The
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid [RCA]
Candleshoe
Caring for your Newborn
Casablanca
Charlie Brown Festival, A
Charlotte's Web
Citizen Kane
Clarence Darrow
College Football Classics, Vol. 1
Count of Monte-Cristo, The
Demo Disc: RCA VideoDiscs
Dirty Dozen, The (2) [RCA]
Disney Cartoon Parade, Vol. 1
Easter Parade
Eat to the Beat-- Blondie
Escape From Alcatraz
Evening with the Royal Ballet
Family Entertainment Playhouse, Vol. 1
Fiddler on the Roof (2)
Foul Play
French Connection, The [RCA]
G. I. Blues
Gigi [RCA]
Gimme Shelter [monophonic]
Giselle
Godfather, The (2)
Graduate, The
Grateful Dead, The
Grease [monophonic]
Great Locomotive Chase, The
Hamlet (2)
Harder They Come, The
Heaven Can Wait
Heidi [RCA]
Hello, Dolly! (2) [RCA]
Henry V (2)
High Noon
HUD
Hunchback of Notre Dame, The
Jacques Cousteau, Vol. 1: Sharks/Singing Whales
Jesus of Nazareth (4)
Julia Child: The French Chef, Vol. 1
Kidnapped
King Kong [1933]
Lady Sings the Blues (2)
Laura [RCA]
Longest Day, The (2) [RCA]
Longest Yard, The
Looking for Mr. Goodbar (2)
Love Bug, The
Love Story
M*A*S*H [RCA]
Meet Me in St. Louis [RCA]
Movie Movie
Muppet Movie, The [Dolby Stereo Label]
New York Yankees Miracle Year: 1978
Night at the Opera, A
Ninotchka
North By Northwest (2) [RCA]
Old Yeller
On the Town [RCA]
Our Town
Paper Moon
Patton (2) [monophonic]
Philadelphia Story, The
Planet of the Apes [RCA]
Play It Again, Sam
Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown
Red Shoe's, The (2)
Rocky [RCA]
Romeo and Juliet (2)
Sands of Iwo Jima
Saturday Night Fever [monophonic]
Service Test Disc
Seven Year Itch, The [RCA]
Shane
Show Boat
Singin' in the Rain [RCA]
Stalag 17
Star Trek - The Motion Picture (2)
Star Trek: Vol.1, The Menagerie
Star Trek: Vol.2, City/Battlefield
Starting Over
Sunset Boulevard
Super Bowl XIV: Steelers vs. Rams
Ten Commandments, The (2)
Terrytoons Volume 1 Featuring Mighty Mouse
Thing, The [1951]
To Russia...With Elton
Tora! Tora! Tora! (2) [RCA]
Tut: the Boy King/The Louvre
Victory at Sea
World of Wildlife, Vol. 1: Snow Geese/Leopard

It would be nice to know whether all of these were out on launch day or not, and if so which ones didn't make it in time (I have all of these so they were released sooner or later.) Would also be nice to have a chronological list by release date- I have one for HD-DVD but of course that's a lot more recent and even shorter-lived!
_________________
Videodisc and stereo sound- there's no better value around!

[7jlong]

You know, I've seen that list before but never really looked it over - they did a nice job throwing the net far and wide in terms of anticipated audience. Classics, kids' stuff, recent hits, TV, educational, music, theater... not a bad range.

[blindfury420]

Thanks for that list! I got quite a few of those I can watch!
_________________
I dont own

McMicheal 5001h
Hitachi VIP202P
JCP 686-5705
RCA SKT265, SKT300
RCA SJT400X, SJT425

[Beetlescott]

They didn't release the "blue" stero discs until the next year. I will never forget seeing that kiosk saying "May the Force Be With You!" TONIGHT! and it a picture of the front of the Star Wars cover. That was the first time I had ever heard about this wonderful format, and I didn't leave that place empty handed! I left with a brand new SGT250, Star Wars, and the list of movies. It was playing the new stereo demo disc with the cute twin blondes on it. There was another store, a hardware store that had a line of the RCA discs, that had a "Swap 2 old for a new" deal going on. It was a great deal. If you bought a disc and watched it, and decided to trade it in, you could get a brand new one. I worked the second shift at the time in a box factory, and I spent many mornings at that hardware store!!! I'll never forget when Poltergeist came out!!! I was so excited. I am a major Trekkie and in a way, it was because of this format. I didn't get to go to the movies the summer of 82 when The Wrath of Khan came out. but that Fall, when I first laid eyes on that disc, that was all it took! By the way, like many of the other CEDs, The Wrath of Khan had different artwork than any other format. Thanks guys for the stroll down memory lane:).
_________________
1000 titles
SGT-250
SJT-400
Montgomery Ward
SGT-100

[Jesse Skeen]

Yeah, Wrath of Khan has a different "RCA Selectavision Videodiscs" logo on the front that was never used on any other title. Wonder what the story on that was?
_________________
Videodisc and stereo sound- there's no better value around!

[Beetlescott]

[eno]

Hello fellow enthusiasts ,
Just wanted you all to know
That my son was born on the 22nd of March,
in honor of the Ced launch date anniversary.

What do you think would be the best title
for his first Videodisc viewing?

Have a great day!

[Jesse Skeen]

Caring For Your Newborn?
_________________
Videodisc and stereo sound- there's no better value around!

[Beetlescott]