CED Digest Vol. 2 No. 46

CED Digest Vol. 2 No. 46 • 11/15/1997
From: "Foret, Pete (PS)" 
To: "'ceds@teleport.com'" <ceds@teleport.com>
Subject: CED Digest Vol. 2 No. 45
Date: Mon, 10 Nov 97 15:50:00 est

 I am new to the CED Digest and am interested in the discussion of   
breathing new life into CED. I just bought a CED player and have   
collected a few discs. Although the few experiences I had with CED while   
it was new involved skipping discs while watching them, I must say I am   
quite impressed with the quality of CED over even modern day VHS   
prerecorded fair. As an avid Beta user since 1984, I wish this format   
would have won out over VHS. In my opinion Sony really had a chance to   
overcome VHS and even modern laser disc with its' ED Beta VCR; but   
dropped it for fear that it would hurt their industrial 3/4" sales! As an   
ED Beta owner, the quality of the format is breathtaking, being able to   
record at laser disc level of quality.
 I have been working for General Electric for a couple of years now and   
as you may already know, the consumer electronics division of RCA was   
sold to Thompson Consumer Electronics group shortly after GE purchased   
RCA in 1986. RCA and even General Electric products are made by Thompson.   
This may give CED a chance because with the company mandated margin   
levels for their divisions, CED wouldn't stand much of a chance of coming   
back here at GE.
 I have seen the estimated number of CED users. Are these based on past   
sales or actual people actively using CED to this day? Probably the most   
feasible way of pressing discs would be to prove to a small production   
company that there is a market awaiting the new release of titles on   
disc. However, I have read of small duplication companies that are   
willing to take all of the responsibility of releasing prerecorded Beta   
tapes but are consistently turned down by the big studios. This despite a   
fair amount of loyal Beta users with interest in obtaining new   
prerecorded fair.
 I can remember back in the early eighties that big studios were anxious   
to get down to one format to release movies on. With RCA pulling the plug   
on CED and Beta dying a slow death at the hand of VHS, Pioneer was smart   
enough to create a niche for its' product by vastly improving the quality   
of the format and fiercely standing behind it; almost alone. With DVD   
giving laser disc a run for its' money and the number of Beta owners   
still interested in that format, it will take some creative thinking to   
bring CED back to life.

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From: LLP33
Date: Wed, 12 Nov 1997 22:50:58 -0500 (EST)
To: ceds@teleport.com
Subject: Re: CED Digest Vol. 2 No. 45

$7.00 per person seems very reasonable, but how about rounding it off to
$10.00? and what about an organization that we all trust will handle this
money properly? Would this be a new company? 

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Date: Thu, 13 Nov 1997 08:50:24 -0800 (PST)
From: Jesse Skeen 
To: Tom Howe <ceds@teleport.com>
Subject: Re: CED Digest Vol. 2 No. 45

While I just have to laugh at the thought of putting out new movies on 
CED, I have heard that there is at least one professional videotape 
format that was used decades ago that is now impossible to play as all 
the machines have broken and irrepairable. I hate the thought of that 
happening to any format.
Therefore, when I got into CEDs my first worry was having my stylus wear 
out. It was so much that I started watching only the discs I REALLY 
wanted to see first, in case the player died and I couldn't watch any 
more. But I started combing the flea markets and thrift stores and have 
gotten some spare players, and in cases where the seller will only sell 
the discs and player as a package, if the player is mono then I take the 
stylus out of that and store it away in a plastic bag. I also have 2 
brand new "old-style" cartridges that I got at a mom-n-pop TV shop, so I 
don't think I have to worry about my CEDs being unplayable for a long 
time. I've heard the SJT-series (motorized loading) players had styluses 
that were designed to last a VERY long time, someone claimed they would 
last forever with normal use; that's why there's no access cover like on 
other players, and once you get the player open it's still hard to get to 
the pickup arm and the stylus. I prefer my SGT-200 however because on 
"Dual audio" discs it lets me play them in true stereo. "Audio B" was 
really the out-of-phase sound like how the surround channel in standard 
Dolby works, so you can get some pretty interesting effects playing these 
in stereo. The music in Jane Fonda's Workout is recorded weird so you can 
turn off Jane's voice, and the CBS/FOX discs I have that are English with 
Spanish on the second track are quite funny in Dolby Surround. The whole 
Spanish soundtrack of "Snoopy Come Home" is just a microsecond off from 
the English track so the music echoes strangely if you're playing this in 
surround, and the dialogue also has an interesting effect- the English 
voice speaks first then it's like someone sitting behind you starts 
translating it into Spanish. I've always noticed how "spazzed" Spanish 
voices in cartoons sound, this is certainly no exception. I laughed when 
I figured out they were calling Charlie Brown "Carlito", it reminded me 
of Al Pacino's movie "Carlito's Way". I don't quite think I'm up to 
handling "North to Alaska" or "The Adventures of Robin Hood" this way yet 
though.
But back on the subject of keeping equipment alive so the world can 
always play these, something SHOULD be done to make sure that all CED 
players becoming unusable never happens. Enthusiasts of old 78 RPM 
phonographs make needles you can use with those, the CED stylus is a 
little more complex but I think someone can figure it out.
Anyways, I'm off to the flea market at the Drive-in hoping to find some 
more CEDs!
Alan Smithee

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From: "Daniel P. Cayea" 
To: "CED Digest E-Zine" <ceds@teleport.com>
Subject: CED Order Verification
Date: Thu, 13 Nov 1997 20:05:21 -0500

     To those who it may concern:  Those whom I have had business dealings
with in the past,  please forgive the incomveience. I have had severe
difficulties with  America Online had have switched service providers.  My new
email address is cayead@westelcom.com and Telecom  Technologies is also on this
server.  Dan Cayea Telecom Technologies

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From: "Daniel P. Cayea" 
To: "CED Digest E-Zine" <ceds@teleport.com>
Subject: The CED Future, Part IIX
Date: Fri, 14 Nov 1997 11:01:50 -0500

     The CED Future, Part  IIX Forming of a  Corporation  It has been two
weeks since I last spoke with  you about the possible restart of our obsolecent
yet wonderful entertainment  media. As many of you have pointed out in your
constructive critisicism  you have said 'It would not be financially feasible
to start the repressing of  discs again.' This would be true after careful
examination. I do  however propose this to those who are interested. A
forming a corporation  mainely titled 'Capacitance Corporation' and unseemingly
catchy as that  is. I propose that we join into corporation that would perhaps
not forward  this technology but stop or at least slow the obsolesence to a
mere crawl.  Before we find our players and discs to be worthless. I ask those
to think  seriously of this proposal.  Dan Cayea Telecom Technologies
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