anyone else ever own a VIDEO DISC player ?

[Mikey]

I ran across this auction by accident.....
(not my auction)

RCA SelectaVision SGT 250 CED Video Disc Player + Discs - eBay (item 370023429350 end time Feb-21-08 16:32:53 PST)

Brought back fond memories of the early 80's when I used to buy these Discs for $35.00+ apiece

I gotta admit, their quality was better then VHS-- I think.

I sold my player and discs in the late 80's...
I think I got like 60 bucks..
At the time, it seemed like a good deal

[toys2cool]

Nope never had one,but I remember my uncle having his

[Corellian Corvette]

I still have one I have all 3 Star Wars movies for it, as well as Raiders of the Lost Ark. Pretty cool stuff for the time

[Mikey]

How did they work ?

This was before lazers, right ?

Was it an actual needle playing them like a record album ?

[PCofmisfittoys]

i love those. I have bought many of the Discs at thrift stores for display. they have the great graphics on them. like to have one to play with.

[Hotfoot]

I was given a player and six disks back in the 80's. Had it hooked up for a few years before the machine died. Predecessor to the DVD!

[Adam West]

I think they have lasers. I never had one but there are some discs out there that are out of print, and really valuable.

For example, I know they released the Disney Movie "Song of the South" on Laser Disc in Japan. It was also released in PAL version in the UK but they were retired and never released again. I purchased the UK version and spent the money to have it converted to VHS format but the quality just wasn't as good as I wanted. There are some anti-piracy deterrents on the video which causes the colors to fade in and out....the person I sent it to was a professional who could remove a lot of it but not as much as I wanted...he said there was only so much he could do. I have the Japanese Laser Disc version burned onto a DVD and it looks fantastic. The only little annoying thing are Japanese subtitles down at the bottom during "Zippety Doo Da" and a few other songs but otherwise, the quality is very good.

It really is a good movie but I doubt Disney will ever release that movie again which I find interesting especially since one of their main attractions at Disney World is Splash Mountain so there is a whole generation of kids riding the ride who have no idea who Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox, or Brer Bear are.

[cjefferys]

How did they work ?

This was before lazers, right ?

Was it an actual needle playing them like a record album ?

My father bought a CED player back around 1981 or so (but traded it in for our first VCR several months later). You are correct, they involved an actual needle, not a laser. That was the problem, the discs were very prone to skipping. Much worse than LPs ever were. That's why the discs came encased in plastic caddies, so that the discs (theoretically) wouldn't get too dirty or scratched for the needle to play them. You would insert the whole thing into the player, flip a switch, and pull the empty caddy back out, while the disc stayed inside to be played. Your hands never touched the sensitive surface of the disc. Unfortunately, since a needle touched the discs, they also quickly became worn and eventually unplayable (again, much worse than LPs). A terrible technology really, and it was discontinued rather quickly (due to the above problems, and also not having the ability to record).

These CEDs weren't really "before" lasers though. Laserdiscs were introduced several years earlier than CED was (and were a far superior technology). I think some people might be confusing the two disc formats. Laserdiscs had a much better picture quality than VHS. CED, not so much.

[Mikey]

My father bought one back around 1981 or so (but traded it in for our first VCR several months later). You are correct, they involved an actual needle, not a laser. That was the problem, the discs were very prone to skipping. Much worse than LPs ever were. That's why the discs came encased in plastic caddies, so that the discs (theoretically) wouldn't get too dirty or scratched for the needle to play them. You would insert the whole thing into the player, flip a switch, and pull the empty caddy back out, while the disc stayed inside to be played. Your hands never touched the sensitive surface of the disc. Unfortunately, since a needle touched the discs, they also quickly became worn and eventually unplayable (again, much worse than LPs). A terrible technology really, and it was discontinued rather quickly (due to the above problems, and also not having the ability to record).

These CEDs weren't really "before" lasers though. Laserdiscs were introduced several years earlier than CED was (and were a far superior technology). I think some people might be confusing the two disc formats. Laserdiscs had a much better picture quality than VHS. CED, not so much.

Thanks for the info.......
I suspected there was a physical "needle" playing them, but never knew for sure until now

[cjefferys]

No problem.

If anyone wants to know more info about this long dead format, there is a site dedicated to them with more info than any sane person would ever need to know. (you can even watch the old disc intros in Quicktime):

http://www.cedmagic.com/selectavision.html