RCA SelectaVision VideoDisc demonstration

A friend recently gave me an old RCA VideoDisc player and a bunch of discs. This is a format that originated in 1981 and died in 1986.
The format was not very popular. However, there are quite a few technological innovations to be found here. The discs are stored in protective caddies, and the player pulls them out and puts them back in. The result is that no dust or fingerprints ever gets on the discs.
An automatic stylus playhead is used, which allows index skip, fast forward, and fast rewind. The FF and RW doesn't suffer from the video quality loss that VHS rewind/fastforward does.
The image quality is about on par with a VHS tape. Not as good as laserdisc by far.
The player needed some dusting to get it going, and one of the buttons was stuck, but it is now in perfect working condition. It's very quiet when operating and in general the video quality is quite good, considering that the newest disc made is 22 years old. I don't think that 22-year-old VHS tapes would hold up quite so well.
Obviously, we've opened up the player here so you can see the inner workings. When it's closed, it protects the disc from dust and other contaminants.
Music: Pictures at an Exhibition, which was the intro music for the system
Movie: Bladerunner

[@Windsweptzariel]

One thing that was cool about this system is that when you paused the picture it was an actual high quality still shot for it's time, not blurred like VHS. They were a riot when you sped them up or watched them backward.

[@TotoFrancey]

The reason this player failed is it was a mid-1970s technology sold to a 1980s audience. Had RCA marketed these players after they were developed by Philips Electronics in Europe in 1973 RCA would have made a killing. Instead, this was the final nail in the coffin in the RCA electronics brand which had been losing ground to newer and better technologies and companies for years. It is also important to note that this is an analog technology as opposed to a digital one. Instead of reading "ones and zeros" it is reading grooves. While I never owned one of these units, I had a buddy which worked in one of the North American plants (another reason these units failed to make money) which manufactured the discs. It was a great product released to the North American public six years too late.

[@Larry]

+TotoFrancey Very similar story with Atari, trying to base their business on old technology they sat on for years and released in a rush, when they noticed the competition was releasing far superior machines.

[@judacia]

finally, somebody doing a demo with a widescreen TV putting the correct picture setting on (standard)!

[@samuraicinema]

Great video/tutorial on the RCA Selectavision!!! I remember these crazy players when I was a kid. My uncle had one of these CED-Capacitance Electronic Discs players. It was before he had a Pioneer Laserdisc player. I was truly amazed how the cover/disc would slide in and the cover would come right out. I do have one of these CED disc for conversation and nostalgia. They are a blast in the past!

[@l34052]

I had no idea this tech even existed, it's amazing to me that it all worked via a needle riding in grooves like a vinyl record but it somehow showed video instead. I wonder what other tech like this is out there just waiting for me to discover?

[@thegreatbungholio21]

I remember these. We were too poor to buy one at the time. Now, I can get as many as I want!

[@cryinglion]

I think the protective case was an excellent idea. I often wonder why this concept was not carried over to Laserdisc, or even to DVD/bluray. The concept reminds me of the old Atari 2600 carts that had the protective door in the top of the cart to protect the connectors.

[@plisehon]

The protective case for CED was kinda flawed. The sleeve scratches the disc causing skipping. The VHD used similar case mechanics but i think it was better, but it was a skippy format too, but less. Other disc formats also used random cases, the ones i have mostly remembered is CRVdisc and Amiga CDTV CD's with caddies

[@jpowell180]

Back in '83-'84, the Sears in my local mall used to have one of these on demo; I remember playing around with it, and rerunning the attack scene from Apocalypse Now, where the helicopters attack the coastal village so they can surf!

[@Larry]

I quite like the idea of the casing, so you'd never touch the disc itself. Shame the concept didn't really take off. Bus as it used grooves like a record player, did you have to replace a needle every so often (or did it use a laser?)?

[@SlobbyHill]

+Larry Bundy Jr I swear I see you on almost every video :D

[@reviewsfornoobs]

+Bobby Chill me too

[@DDG2023]

The concept was used in a way... in floppy disks, hard drives... You handled the external case and never touched the internal storage medium. I guess flash drives follow the same general rule also. Wait... even cassette tapes!

[@backofficeshow]

Larry, just found a bunch of these discs in the local Charity shop for £7, seems the going rate, no player though. Crazy that it actually uses a needle, I would have loved to see the output in person!

[@seinfan9]

Yeah, it would have benefitted the lifespan of CDs, DVDs, and Blurays around kids if they were like UMDs on the PSP. Always a protective covering to prevent scratches, dust build up, fingerprints, and cracking.

[@tomahawkpilot]

The workings of the CED player are beautiful. Thank you for this video.

[@googla12]

I know of this only because a baby sitter (when I was about 4) had this and would show me Star Wars on it. It was awesome!

[@AvWuff]

Nope. The disc is actually like a record, it has grooves and is read by a needle. Laserdisc is more like a CD, it is read optically with a laser.

[@OlegKostoglatov]

Not really because the early laser discs had many problems as well. They also do not function like a record does, while it does use a stylus the data is stored electrically not mechanically. The interaction between the turntable platter, the disk, and the stylus form a capacitor that is part of an electronic oscillator circuit and the "pits" in the disk groove cause that capacity to vary and the frequency of that circuit to vary.

[@luisreyes1963]

Interesting demonstration of a forgotten video format.

[@tom11zz884]

i like how these folks who collect these old things like laserdisc players, have them playing with the newest technology,like that lcd tv..lol

[@KRAFTWERK2K6]

could be the stylus that is miss-aligned or the disc is just kinda worn out. Selectavision discs could not be played back too often. The narrow grooves were very fragile.

[@chinjihiraoka8041]

Lucky of you. I"ve been trying to get some CED's with no sucess here in Brazil is impossible to find them.Congrats

[@Swampert384]

Hey Av. It's me, Forrest. I wasn't aware you had one of these!

[@AvWuff]

I don't anymore! This video is from 9 years ago, I got rid of this thing soon afterwards.

[@jimmyneutron161]

found some of these discs at a local thrift shop in LA. I took Dumbo out of its case to see its condition. there was dust, debris and scratches all over it... I could imagine without inspection, this would have contaminated or destroyed the player it was inserted in... Love my laserdisc player with multichannel audio and AC3 capability (for sale if anyone is interested).

[@HelmedHorror666]

Damnit giantbomb, now i want one of these

[@Ben1238]

Up until toady I had seen those at flea markets and so on. I never realized that the player ejected the case itself. I am a child of the eighties and I do not remember seeing those. I see also that these video discs did not show the film in the original aspect ratio. Thank Christ for Criterion!

[@VIRGOLEGACY]

you must have cool friends since one of them gave this to you as a souvenir lol

[@GeorgeGray43]

@TheLastBrainLeft Well, not really. Remember, this thing was conceived in the late 1960's, perfected in the 70's and, finally, brought to market in the very early 1980's, prior to CD's hitting the market and just after LaserVision/LaserDisc hit in 1979. CED SHOULD have taken off due to the lower cost of the media, but, people were all excited over recording their favorite shows, rather than buying them.

[@OlegKostoglatov]

As I replied to this poster the data on these video disks is not even stored mechanically like it would be on a record, it's a capacitive storage format. His statement is based on complete ignorance not only the historical context of the time but how the player functions as well. Also the original laser video discs were plagued with all sorts of problems as well, particularly delamination.

[@stabbytheclown2303]

I originally clicked on this just too see if he was watching Blade Runner, (I'd recognize that tree from anywhere) but it turned out to be really cool.

[@AvWuff]

@SempiternalDamnation Actually, laserdiscs had the picture quality a bit less than DVDs, with 425 lines of resolution -- you might call it 425i. VHS tapes had a resolution of only 240i. Bluray has a resolution of 1080i, much much higher than laserdisc. Anyway, these are not laserdiscs, they are videodiscs, which had a resolution of about 240 lines (240i) so about the same as VHS.

[@mrchopsticks3]

So it played kaleidoscope music instead of the movie's audio then?

[@AvWuff]

Yes, both of them are old video formats. But laserdisc used an actual laser and is the predecessor to CDs, while this is more like the child of records. Also, LaserDisc enjoyed huge popularity in Europe, while VideoDisc never really went anywhere.

[@clydeburkey]

I had one back in the 80's

[@wendellporter4810]

nice machines i have one restored it and have 1000 movies for it

[@cuppajoesugar]

Is the weird fuzz in the picture because of the camera or the disc? Also I love how the CED picture almost resembles an 8mm film

[@AvWuff]

@cuppajoesugar It's from the disc. The image had ghosting and other quality issues -- could be because it's old, but I doubt this format ever looked as good as Laserdisc.

[@KillThad]

I see these things at my local Habit for Humanity all the time.

[@stephendobbins9251]

I must admit some older technologies are pretty cool.

[@DURAMATRIX112]

wow!! i was at goodwill and they had these and i was wondering why you couldnt pull out the disc..thats pretty cool. thanks for the demo! i saw a starwars video disc and it hasnt been opened yet..xD

[@Pyrofries]

Isn't this in the same vein as laserdisc?

[@GPorGUY]

I remember my daycare center had one of these around '82-'83. Didn't you have to flip the disc over halfway through the movie?

[@elimgarak01]

Yes. And in some cases,you had more than one disc per movie.

[@mengle2004]

When I was a kid I found one of these at a fleamarket. I thought it was a laser disc player and the person that had it had no idea what it was. I paid 5 bucks for it. I was going to rent a laser disc to try it but figured out what it was before I did...lucky because it would have destroyed a laser disc.

[@GreenMan893x]

Blade Runner was the first laserdisc i bought.

[@AvWuff]

Note that this isn't a laserdisc, it's a videodisc -- very different technology. This player actually has a record-style needle that sits in grooves on the disc.

[@GreenMan893x]

Yeah I know. I was just making a comment.

[@zyber9]

@CLDavi1983 Maybe the Blade Runner case had an ad for Star Wars episode IV on the back of it.

[@wa2ise]

RCA dropped about 2/3 of a billion dollars on this thing. The VCR killed any chance it might have had.

[@muen4634]

@AvWuff clearly was episode IV case.

[@jstrewth]

Fascinating. And which disc did you take out at the end of the video?

[@wede1138]

Star Wars

[@kayharris4948]

I have some movies that play on this machine, all are top rated movies like The original Superman , Star Trek "The trouble with Tribbles" etc., will be putting them on Ebay to find them a new home.

[@mghc7]

If I put the ced in do I need to flip it over to remove like shown in the video

[@debiani3866]

Oh I love the background song. Remember the incredible machine?

[@DaiAtlus79]

@AvWuff my grandparents had the RCA model.. the music made me nostalgia hard!

[@MrSundownone]

Cool, this may be a stupid question but is video discs compatible with laserdisc players?

[@wendellporter4810]

no its not

[@billhicks9056]

I disagree, Wendell Porter, it is a stupid question.

[@raymondrose6596]

@@billhicks9056 both amazing machines

[@tros_725]

Imagine if this tech came out only 5 years earlier.

[@cashman3001]

lmfao did you make the music in this pure banger

[@wanderLBP]

This song is in "Even more contraptions"

[@judacia]

cool reproduction of the selectavision theme.

[@imanolalonsotegui7999]

Do you considerer that quality is better than laserdisc?

[@bradmedicus]

The pictures not half bad. Thanks for sharing

[@karr1213]

AH, cool! That's how I thought it worked! I remember these when I was in gradeschool. :0D

[@HarvestmanMan]

Not as good as 20-year-old VHS tapes? That's debatable.

[@KRAFTWERK2K6]

Maybe, but the idea was great :)

[@masmotors]

good movie pick also i love that fn movie and cool the things i cant remember

[@jimmymorris146]

Haha Helmed H. The same reason I'm watching this.

[@macadameane]

@debiani3866 I recognized it, but I don't think too many people would. It is Mussorgsky's "Promenade" from "Pictures at an Exibition"

[@mrmjb1960]

Music:"Promenade" from "Pictures At an Exhibition".

[@nickpancost6858]

Baby Van Gogh

[@MrFeelGoodJson24YTP]

Nice, fucking great intro music!

[@KC_and_Carl]

Watch yo profanity

[@AvWuff]

@CLDavi1983 Nah it was the same case.

[@AvWuff]

@macadameane I used this song because it was the theme song of the Video Disc system.

[@rtcod06]

That Music Is From Baby Van Gogh

[@ThisGuyFrritz]

+rtcod06 That, of course, is referring to the version we heard on the video. The actual version on the RCA videodiscs is the one by Tomita. Type in key words like "Tomita Pictures" and you could even hear the whole album on KZbin!

[@TranscendentalAirwaves]

Is it sad that I knew it was blade runner from just the thumbnail? I've watched that movie too many times maybe. lol

[@AvWuff]

The crummy music is the intro music for the CED system. It's "Pictures at an Exhibition".

[@brandondavis6108]

And the logo for the World Northal Corporation (now WW Entertainment).

[@CLDavi1983]

This is just confusing. You put in a copy of Blade Runner, and then when you take the disc out, its in a Star Wars case?!

[@wild7rumpus]

I have multiple machines like these and hundreds of videodiscs. Contact me to purchase them or information how I can sell them. Thank you.

[@erin19030]

An electromechanical nightmare to fix.

[@tfgreen23]

you used baby einsten music from baby van gogh

[@southgeorgiarepublic]

This was made before I joined KZbin

[@nickpancost6858]

BABY VAN GOGH MUSIC?!

[@alecsandercp1]

ORIGINAL MUSIC Pictures at an Exhibition: Promenade

[@TyhlerNovac]

Wow...... .. Laserdisc .. ha ha ha ha ha

[@MichaelBitan-ob6ph]

Taken From Baby Van Gogh

[@GeorgeGray43]

@Guacatechs Well, remember those bloody CD's that had them? They were terrible. Much better without them.

[@AvWuff]

@muen4634 Hmm, you're right. Oh well.

[@bertroost1675]

Shape shifters

[@marlon94124]

This is the biggest product flop of all time. My father never purchased a Selectavision because they are bulky to carry and only works on analog format.