There are a lot of incredulous owners of this format posting on You Tube, many who never knew what a CED was. Guess what?. I owned one when they first came out, so I can tell you almost all you want to know
You'll hear by several that the picture quality is equivalent to Beta or VHS. Until 1984 this is true, but titles towards the formats demise were superior in sound and picture to both tape formats. The Empire Strikes Back was incredible. I bought it fresh off the store shelf in December 1984 and watched it with a friend. RCA had a sleeping giant they woke up too late and lost millions
Owning this player in Sept of 1983 was one of the most exciting moments of my life. I was given Superman The Movie as an added bonus. I think I paid $250. I had the SGT-200
Even Columbia House carried CEDs.I received several through the club in 1984.It was exciting getting titles like The Verdict,Terms of Endearment,The Right Stuff and Apocalypse Now in a heavy mailing box
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| RCA SGT-200. This was the model I owned |
.I also was able to rent many titles from a video store down the street from me in Dallas. By mid
1985,I decided to sell mine as I was now stuck with a White Elephant. Fortunately a dealer gave me half my profit back as I had close to 50 discs
Had RCA released this just one year earlier,it would have easily flourished and lasted into the mid 90's. See, up until 1987,pre recorded VHS and Beta tapes sold as high as $100 retail. Laser disc titles could go as high as $150,and this was til it's demise around the mid 90's. CED titles originally sold for $34 [single disc] close to $40 for double.In 1984 the price dropped from $14 to $19
CEDs were the same size as vinyl LP's but with a much narrower groove space.A silicone lubricant was applied to both sides of the disc to cut back on stylus wear,but also cut back on sound and picture quality They were protected by plastic cases called caddies . A white caddy was mono while a blue meant the disc was stereo
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| Released in Dec of 1984 this was a feast for the eyes. RCA improved CED quality incredibly. I'm talking 10 times better. I'm tracking this down, and will pay up to $60 if it's mint. Notice the white caddy tab. RCA did this to save on production costs. I walked 10 miles with a friend of mine to buy this. I'm now sorry I ever sold my collection The Empire Strikes Back was the best CED picture of any other title |
One thing I want to emphasize to collectors is discs did not improve in quality til their last run. CED's pressed before 1984 are going to be very washed out
CED like their Laser competitor were heavy,bulky and took up a lot of space. Replacement stylus's ran as high as $80 and were given around a 1000 hour life. By 1984,RCA announced they would no longer manufacture players,ironically,consumers demanded discs and RCA agreed to manufacture them til 1986. Jewel of The Nile being the last title pressed
Why RCA backed out even after disc sales soared I do not understand. What was also ironic,is after 1984 the picture clarity doubled in quality. The Right Stuff,Grey-stoke and Terms of Endearment were laudably clearer than earlier pressings like Goldfinger and Superman that looked washed out.
CED had a few other major headaches. The 3 rubber belts stretched or wore out. The stylus had about a 1000 hour life,and could easily be damaged by a cracked or warped disc.
CED has had a recent resurgence in popularity with nostalgia buffs. I want to give those interested a heads up on why this hobby can be a huge disappointment
CED like Laser were both analog. The picture quality is going to be a letdown as it is no where near as sharp as todays digital or Blue Ray DVDs . Also,there were only a few pressed in Letterbox. Almost all CEDs were pan and scan which will take away from the picture even more. Pan and Scan blows up the film to fit older square TV screens. Almost all are going to skip. This can be unbearable watching a movie
At the beginning of 1985,CEDs were almost as good as Laser Discs,only non were encoded in Surround Sound . The silicone coating RCA applied to these discs can harden or turn gummy with age.There is not way to safely clean these. Some recommend using a VPI made for vinyl LP's.I would not try this. The grooves on a CED are substantially finer than an LP
I don't see this taking off like the vinyl revival. Finding CEDs in good shape can be an expensive hit and miss. There are still Laser enthusiasts as well that swear the format is better than DVD.I don't see this. Laser Discs even those pressed before it's demise look washed out compared to DVD
Buying used discs is a greater contingency than players.If the former owner did not store discs properly,you can end up buying several pieces of useless junk. Discs that have been stacked can distort the plastic case including the disc inside. Even the slightest warp will create havoc on the stylus and make the movie unplayable. ALSO,there is no way of telling whether or not they were rental discs. Rental discs especially children's films are going to have several hours of play. You cannot ascertain how many by the condition of the case.
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| One of my favorite CEDa released in 1982. Doctor Zhivago was originally a stereo film.But here is mono This is one of several marginal quality pictures before RCA's overhaul in 1984. This was 2 discs |
Ebay is the worst bet.I've seen sellers posting single discs that were originally 2 discs. ALSO,you have no was of examining them before you buy.
A disc can be opened by releasing the tabs on top of the caddy. Damage is going to be very obvious. The disc with have dull spots where the stylus was caused to jump over even a slight warp. One idiot recommended cleaning dirty discs under a faucet. Never do this! The grooves on these discs are ultra fine,and dirt should be brushed off with a very soft brush. Do not get fingers on surface. The best place to scout out discs is Goodwill.
Take a pen with you. This will be used as a tool to examine disc. At the top of the caddy there will be 2 small slots on both sides. Insert the pen and slide pin ,now the other end. Slide disc out of caddy and examine in good lighting. Any deviations to the disc are going to be quite noticeable ,easier than a standard vinyl LP because the grooves on the CED are almost microscopic in comparison, hence will show damage like a bull in a China Shop. Even the slightest mar will stand out like a sore thumb.
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| This overlooked masterpiece really showed CED picture improvement, stereo to boot. I watched this 5 times |
If you see even the smallest dull spot consider it trash. Spotting minor warp age is almost impossible without placing bare disc on a flat surface. When buying used players it's advisable to stay with RCA as Toshibas,Monty Wards and Realistics are very had to find replacement part for. Also make sure the player is a stereo and not a mono model.
Replacing belts is inevitable,there are usualy 3.After 30 years of lying dorman,there going to turn into black goo Be VERY careful about removing gears to replace these as you can easily break the pins that hold them in place. I would re grease all gears with white lithium. Do NOT use petroleum grease on these gears,it will eat the bejeebus right out of them.
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| This 1983 epic is one of the best films ever made. The CED version had intense color saturation, fewer skips. RCA decided to stop making players at this point while demand for films doubled. I get sick when I think about the death of this format |
To clean caddies used 409 NOT Fantastic with a soft rag. You can remove stickers with a hair dryer. Attempting to pull sticker off before softening the glue with heat will tear paper cover art. Do not leave hair dryer on same spot for too long as you can warp the disc inside caddy. Use a gum erasure to clean dirt of paper art cover. You can also use 409 on a cosmetic cotton pad, do not spray directly on cover. It will not damage the paper in any way,promise. Do not use any other cleaner attempting this. You'll take the ink right off
More to come........
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| One annoying aspect of CED as with Laser is disc only held 1 hour of info. A 4 hour movie required 2 discs that had to be flipped 4 times. Moonraker pictured was one of the first stereo discs. Early stereo discs had a white caddy with a blue top |
