CED VideoDisc and Player Discussion

[cedmagic]

The image below is of the RCA VideoDisc display visitors to Walt Disney World's Space Mountain saw back in the late 1970's. Does anyone have any memories of seeing this display when it was active from the late 70's until 1985?


http://static.flickr.com/50/135622217_d7891f8255.jpg

I visited Space Mountain in 1982 and remember seeing something about VideoDisc, but that's about it. By that time RCA must have updated the display with production players. The "Widen You World" site mentions that a number of different CED titles were demonstrated, and the theme music "Bring the Magic Home" was used for some time. This display was actually part of RCA's Home of Future Living, which is what you went through upon exiting the Space Mountain ride. Here's an excerpt from Widen Your World describing the scene:

On to the teenage daughter's bedroom, done in a wide variety of greens. Her orange hair contrasted nicely with the decor. As she lay on her bed, she also chatted on the phone with her friend Judy and watched her new SelectaVision videodisc on a large screen across the room. Over the years she perused several different "classic" discs, from Elvis to Kurt Russell (performing an Archies song with the Disneyland group Sound Castle) to Blondie. The teenage girl seemed to enjoy it all equally, telling Judy to come right over and check it out with her.

The picture below is a blow-up of the disc that the mannequin is holding. This is a genuine RCA experimental VideoDisc of the metallized variety.


http://static.flickr.com/55/135622218_bff16e5806.jpg

And here's the flip-open sleeve the VideoDisc came in. If anyone has insight into the meaning of that cover, I'd like to know.


http://static.flickr.com/44/135622219_78622a7d1b.jpg

The complete text describing RCA's Home of Future Living can be found on this WYW page:

http://home.cfl.rr.com/omniluxe/sm.htm

--Tom Howe
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cedmagic/

[Jesse Skeen]

She should be arrested for the way she's holding that disc- no wonder they went with the caddies!
_________________
Videodisc and stereo sound- there's no better value around!

[tomkil]

I saw this in 1979. There was music that kept repeating and the words were . . .RCA leads the way, leads the way....

That kept repeating as you were on a moving walkway looking at the future living display in your picture.

The discs that I saw looked just like LP's and did not have the rainbow effect. They were strewn on the floor without caddies and the girl held them like in your picture.

The player looked just like a record player, different from the one in your picture.