CED VideoDisc and Player Discussion

dumbchemist · Joined: 27 Oct 2011 Posts: 546 Location: Central New York

Last Friday, I became the proud owner of a VHD player (DiscLord DP-830). I have a few questions about it and was wondering if anyone else on this forum could possibly answer them.

Note: The previous owner claimed that he spent almost $300 having the player tuned up at a vintage electronics shop. Also, I have a voltage dropper (120 VAC to 100 VAC) and a composite video to HDMI converter on order for this player.

1) Where can you buy a stylus (or whatever it is called) for this player?

2) How often does the stylus need replacing? From what I have read, the stylus does not touch the videodisc; but, floats above the disc and thus should last a long time.

3) Is there a translation of the owner's manual and/or service manual available on the web?

FYI: The cost of the VHD movies is not cheap. E-bay seems to be the only source that I know of right now. The price can be shocking to unbelievable. Would you believe that a VHD of Star Wars cost $110 on E-bay?
_________________
Sears 934.54780150 & 934.54810350
CED-1
Hitachi: VIP2000, 3-VIP1000, VIP201P
GEN10301
RCA SJT-200 SJT-400
DiskLord DP-830

cedmagic · Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2019 1:10 pm Post subject: RE: VHD

I haven't done much with VHD since buying my modest collection back in 2002, but it looks like things have gone up in price - the entire Star Wars Trilogy was about $20 back then. But shipping costs and Rinkya commissions approximately tripled that price. The lengthy post about VHD in this 2002 issue of CED Digest still has relevance today:

http://www.cedmagic.com/home/ced-digest/ced-digest-vol-07/ced-digest0737.html

You might find a stylus cart via auction. Found a $120 auction for the Victor stylus cartridge by goggling the VDS-1100 part number, but National players such as your unit take different cartridges. I've never worn out a VHD stylus, so have no input on their longevity. I have not seen any manuals for VHD, and their existence in English is a longshot given that the system is not well-known in the U.S. Also check out the YouTube channel eyeh8nbc. He has a number of VHD videos posted:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCevtHHLfvPHeEbGEy2QhDdw

dumbchemist · Joined: 27 Oct 2011 Posts: 546 Location: Central New York

Thank you CEDmagic for replying. The one and the only VHD movie I have is 2001. I bought it so as to complete all the video formats that 2001 was released on. I currently have these formats for 2001: BD, CED, DVD, HD-DVD, LD, VCD and VHD, I lack the VHS and Beta tapes and the UHD disc. These last 3 are the only ones that I can think of that can complete my collection for 2001.

If anyone can think of a format that I have not listed, let me know.
_________________
Sears 934.54780150 & 934.54810350
CED-1
Hitachi: VIP2000, 3-VIP1000, VIP201P
GEN10301
RCA SJT-200 SJT-400
DiskLord DP-830

cbertra2 · Joined: 29 Dec 2004 Posts: 221

U-Matic

dumbchemist · Joined: 27 Oct 2011 Posts: 546 Location: Central New York

kitchensynch · Joined: 24 Feb 2013 Posts: 1087

dumbchemist · Joined: 27 Oct 2011 Posts: 546 Location: Central New York

I have another question about my DiskLord player. Is its electrical plug the same as used in the USA? I bought a Japanese/American transformer and cannot get the player to plug into the transformer. The player's plug looks US and can plug into any of my house outlets and the plug on the transformer can too.

I called Amazon tech support about the above and they generously sent me another transformer by overnight shipping. I received the transformer yesterday and it has the same configuration as the first transformer.

I originally was setting up the player to test it and ran into the above problem.

Has anybody else had this problem?
_________________
Sears 934.54780150 & 934.54810350
CED-1
Hitachi: VIP2000, 3-VIP1000, VIP201P
GEN10301
RCA SJT-200 SJT-400
DiskLord DP-830

kitchensynch · Joined: 24 Feb 2013 Posts: 1087

If one side is wider/flared then it's a polarized plug. DO NOT defeat this by filing or cutting off and replacing it with a NON polarized plug without the guidance of a qualified serviceman or electrician. The wide prong was required by US law at some time into the 1980s and establishes proper grounding in lieu of a three prong with the round prong at the bottom that only goes in one way.

Radio Shack used to sell a complete set of world plug adapters, which I have but have never had an opportunity to need to use having never left the USA.

PS Your seller has NO CLUE.
_________________
A New Vista of RCA Victor COLOR!

dumbchemist · Joined: 27 Oct 2011 Posts: 546 Location: Central New York

I sent a message to the transformer's manufacturer about the problem I am having and they replied:
============================================================
Hello,

The lockets come with window shutters for safety, apply pressure when inserting the plug.

Regards,
VCT Team

=======================================================================

I am unfamiliar with the term "window shutters"; but, I guess it is the metal that the ends of the plug have to push into the female jack. I will have to do some experimentation and I will post my results.
_________________
Sears 934.54780150 & 934.54810350
CED-1
Hitachi: VIP2000, 3-VIP1000, VIP201P
GEN10301
RCA SJT-200 SJT-400
DiskLord DP-830

kitchensynch · Joined: 24 Feb 2013 Posts: 1087

Wow. That's a good translator.
_________________
A New Vista of RCA Victor COLOR!

kitchensynch · Joined: 24 Feb 2013 Posts: 1087

Are the two sides the same length?

Or do you need to be Hercules to stick the plug in?

Did you turn the plug the other way?
_________________
A New Vista of RCA Victor COLOR!

dumbchemist · Joined: 27 Oct 2011 Posts: 546 Location: Central New York

kitchensynch · Joined: 24 Feb 2013 Posts: 1087

Does the socket twist to open the shutters?
_________________
A New Vista of RCA Victor COLOR!

kitchensynch · Joined: 24 Feb 2013 Posts: 1087

If you wish you can post pictures here with a host or email me through the forums email. I'd like to see this if you don't figure it out.
_________________
A New Vista of RCA Victor COLOR!

kitchensynch · Joined: 24 Feb 2013 Posts: 1087

Does a cover pull off that looks like the prongs would go in but it's just sorta hollow there?
_________________
A New Vista of RCA Victor COLOR!

jsdspif · Joined: 16 Jan 2016 Posts: 278

U-matic must be what my dad's boss got back around '71 or 72. I remember i was recording audio of a tv show onto an 8 track tape recorder (not an expensive with 8 seperate tracks, an 8 track like in your car before cassette) by holding the microphone up to the tv speaker and my dad said "we should borrow my bosses recorder for television he just got,it records the picture and the sound". His boss also had a car phone way back then and I remember him telling my mom "he just bought a car phone and he can only use it in new york, and he never even takes his damned car to new york!" and my mom got mad at him for saying damned. They were pretty straight. The guy also had an indoor swimming pool.

kitchensynch · Joined: 24 Feb 2013 Posts: 1087

And there were only 12 channels available before AMPS so when you did get to NYC it would be like winning the lottery to get through!
_________________
A New Vista of RCA Victor COLOR!

jsdspif · Joined: 16 Jan 2016 Posts: 278

I was only about 8 at the time. My dad was pretty worked up about it for some reason. The car phone thing he was worked up about. I think he questioned why his boss did some of the things he did.

kitchensynch · Joined: 24 Feb 2013 Posts: 1087

It's not much different with cellphones today...I think my friend got his first huge cellphone in the 80s after seeing one of the Brat Pack movies like The Breakfast Club or something. But cellular wasn't invented until around 1973 and the major trials were in c.1979. Your dad's boss was likely using a conventional radiotelephone if it was 1971 (like McGarrett on Hawaii Five-O). And I was 8 in 1974.
_________________
A New Vista of RCA Victor COLOR!

dumbchemist · Joined: 27 Oct 2011 Posts: 546 Location: Central New York

kitchensynch · Joined: 24 Feb 2013 Posts: 1087

I was able to navigate without signing up for any accounts, and I found the user reviews helpful. If you haven't read them yet please do so.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004S2COIC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1#customerReviews

The lack of instructions was noted as well early on and gives you some tips on how to insert the plugs and some pictures of the unit that may help you well before the link for the next 341 reviews.

This product has been sold on Amazon since 2011 and I didn't look past the initial reviews shown to get a better idea of customer responses but I think that it may be enough to help you.

Always to a fair amount of research outside Amazon or any seller's site and read the reviews...

It looks like the US plug is 3-prong or what is called IEC 950 (i.e. the same as the one for your computer power supply on a PC. You can get an adapter for this but do not defeat the round (ground) prong by cutting it off!
_________________
A New Vista of RCA Victor COLOR!

dumbchemist · Joined: 27 Oct 2011 Posts: 546 Location: Central New York

An update:

Be sure that the transformer is not connected to the wall outlet when doing the following:

I took a small bladed screwdriver and inserted it into one side of the power outlet jack on the transformer. I then turned the screwdriver blade so as to bend the center of the aluminium insert. This then gave room for the male blade of a power plug to fit into the female jack. I then repeated the procedure for the other side of the power jack. I then tested the transformer by inserting the DiskLord power plug into the female jack on the transformer. I then plugged the transformer into the wall outlet and turned it on. I then turned on the power to the DiskLord. The player opened up its front door for the insertion of the disk. At this point, I turned off the power to the player, the player closed its door and I turned off the power switch on the transformer.

The above procedure seems to work well. I am going to keep the player plugged into the transformer and move the 2 as though the 2 are one unit. This will keep from plugging and unplugging the player from the transformer thus minimizing wear on the player power plug.
_________________
Sears 934.54780150 & 934.54810350
CED-1
Hitachi: VIP2000, 3-VIP1000, VIP201P
GEN10301
RCA SJT-200 SJT-400
DiskLord DP-830

kitchensynch · Joined: 24 Feb 2013 Posts: 1087

Awesome! I hope you can enjoy your VHD titles for a long time to come, as hard to get as they may be.
_________________
A New Vista of RCA Victor COLOR!

dumbchemist · Joined: 27 Oct 2011 Posts: 546 Location: Central New York

Gopd news. The player works as I just played part of disc 1 of 2001. The picture"wobbles" once in a while which is acceptable IMHO. I am feeding the video//audio into a composite to HDMI converter. The HDMI signal is then sent to a AVC08U switch which then sends the HDMI to my Bravia HDTV. I am converting the composite video to 720p which gives an acceptable picture. I have not tried converting to 1080p as the player's native video is not detailed enough to give a good picture IMHO.

I say that the picture "wobbles" once in a while which is acceptable when compared to the :"skipping" that CED's can produce.

The player takes in the front 1 inch of the caddy, extracts the disc and then pushes the caddy out of the slot. Slightly different than the CED players.
_________________
Sears 934.54780150 & 934.54810350
CED-1
Hitachi: VIP2000, 3-VIP1000, VIP201P
GEN10301
RCA SJT-200 SJT-400
DiskLord DP-830

dumbchemist · Joined: 27 Oct 2011 Posts: 546 Location: Central New York

A must late update:

A word about the Composite to HDMI converter I am using. It seems that the converter is compatible with both NTSC and PAL video formats. The instructions say that the converter will accept either format and convert it to HDMI. This means that the converter can take the PAL from my Hitachi VIP201P CED player convert it to HDMI without my input. This would be fine with me.

This is just an FYI for anyone who may find it valuable.
_________________
Sears 934.54780150 & 934.54810350
CED-1
Hitachi: VIP2000, 3-VIP1000, VIP201P
GEN10301
RCA SJT-200 SJT-400
DiskLord DP-830

fertooos · Guest

I haven't done much with VHD since buying my modest collection back in 2002, but it looks like things have gone up in price - the entire Star Wars Trilogy was about $20 back then. But shipping costs and Rinkya commissions approximately tripled that price.

lynx · Joined: 30 Jun 2018 Posts: 100

kitchensynch · Joined: 24 Feb 2013 Posts: 1087

I have the soundtrack album on an early MGM audio cassette Cool

_________________
A New Vista of RCA Victor COLOR!

dumbchemist · Joined: 27 Oct 2011 Posts: 546 Location: Central New York

Just an update.

I bought a copy of David Bowie's Video of 3 of his songs: Let's Dance, China Girl and Modern Love. I did not play the disc when I got it and stored it with my copy of 2001. A while ago, I checked the runtime of the disc as I got to thinking that it cannot be very long for only 3 music videos. Well, the tuntime is only 14 minutes. I spent $71 for a 14 minute disc! I have learned to check the disc runtime before deciding to buy. The cost averages out to about $5 per minute. Yipe.

I also bought a stylus for my player. The seller of the player put a stylus for it on e-bay and I bought it. With the amount of playing the player gets, the spare stylus should last a very long time.
_________________
Sears 934.54780150 & 934.54810350
CED-1
Hitachi: VIP2000, 3-VIP1000, VIP201P
GEN10301
RCA SJT-200 SJT-400
DiskLord DP-830