The CED: No really, it coulda made sense! (Part 2)

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It’s seriously not that crazy of an idea. RCA might have pulled this off in a couple of ways, and in this video we explore those new angles.
First of all, here’s part one;
• The CED: RCA's Very La...
Here are a few videos that show what goes on inside the later players:
• Inside a CED RCA SJT 4...
• Inside a CED Player
The first link is a quick view, the second link includes more explanation of the player itself.
And where there are some links, you’ll find more links!
Technology Connections on Twitter:
/ techconnectify
The TC Subreddit
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Technology Connections 2 (the channel where I sometimes talk about stuff and generally don’t prepare for anything):
/ @technologyconnextras
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[@Agustinb14]

In a parallel universe where RCA released the CED's in 1975: TC: "Today we are going to see why the VHS was a total failure and why the ambitious idea of home recorders could have threatened our lovely copyrights!"

[@brettknoss486]

Not at all. The VHS was a way to record TV and edit, and work with camcorders. At best, the two devices would have shared the home, just, as hifis usually had a record player, and some kind of tape, with a recorder.

[@fun_ghoul]

@@brettknoss486 Nobody gave a shit about recording TV for half the year while repeats played, and it would be a decade before video cameras were anything but a rich man's bauble.

[@bioticsla]

Chill dude, learn to aknowledge other perspectives, this is both speculation No need to be rude

[@filminginportland1654]

Paesan Control Centre They had portable video cameras with separate video recorders for at least a decade prior, long before VHS or Beta came out. Public access, for example, used this quite a lot during the 70’s. It was black & white and not the best quality, but it was available and somewhat commonplace.

[@jhoughjr1]

@@fun_ghoul The whole part of being able to watch one thing and record another to resolve familial conflicts you seem to be forgetting.

[@TheOldMan-75]

I'm digging the disc insert mechanism. Feels like loading the cannons.

[@blakksheep736]

Reminds me of a shotgun! SHK-SHK

[@root42]

If you didn’t, please turn on subtitles! The intro is hilarious.

[@Felipemelazzi]

Thanks!

[@deathmachinezack]

Omg yes

[@joeh4955]

I forgot about the stuttering. Me: This doesn’t look too bad. TC: Let’s get on with-the sh-sh-show on... Me: *Dead* PS thank you for sharing

[@liyifenn]

You should always watch Technology Connections with subtitles on

[@findantu]

Lololol

[@christopherrippel2463]

17:10 I have a whole new outlook now for Mr. Rogers. This one act of his turns him into cool & somewhat of a hero! (I never knew this until now seeing your video here). Mr. Rogers: “Some public stations, as well as commercial stations, program the ‘Neighborhood’ at hours when some children cannot use it… I have always felt that with the advent of all of this new technology that allows people to tape the ‘Neighborhood’ off-the-air, and I’m speaking for the ‘Neighborhood’ because that’s what I produce, that they then become much more active in the programming of their family’s television life. Very frankly, I am opposed to people being programmed by others. My whole approach in broadcasting has always been ‘You are an important person just the way you are. You can make healthy decisions.’ Maybe I’m going on too long, but I just feel that anything that allows a person to be more active in the control of his or her life, in a healthy way, is important.” The Supreme Court noted that Mr. Rogers’ testimony was a significant piece of evidence that helped lead them to their ultimate decision.

[@Xylus.]

Mr. Rogers is one of the true treasures when it comes to iconic people. Just a genuine good guy, through and through.

[@richardwild76]

"The device that RCA thought was too complicated to manufacture, despite the fact that they were selling them already." That made my day.

[@michaelmartin9022]

To be fair they were just sticking their labels on ones made by another company

[@Malikyte13]

@@michaelmartin9022 Came here to say the same. They thought they were too expensive and complex to make themselves, but had no problems letting somebody else do it for them and reaping the rewards for themselves by slapping their name on it when it was finished.

[@mjouwbuis]

@@Malikyte13 I'm pretty sure the OEM, probaby Matsushita, was reaping the largest rewards. That's why RCA wanted a system that they could manufacture themseves.

[@kilajuy]

@@michaelmartin9022 to be fair, that's pretty much all tech companies these days, besides the big name ones (Samsung, LG, Asus, etc...) that have manufacturing capabilities. most brands (including Google) rely on 3rd party manufacturing.

[@brettknoss486]

@@mjouwbuis I get the impression that JVC and RCA, while separate at this point, were still tightly related.

[@MrMonkeyCrumpets]

“I probably sound sarcastic here” could be the Tagline for your entire channel 😉

[@arnbrandy]

One of the amazing things about this channel is that it has almost the exactly perfect amount of sarcasm per video. They mock the negative side of things, but not too much, but also amaze us with the good aspects and surprising advancements.

[@SmellTheCheeeez]

A disc-based movie rental industry is an oddly futuristic thought...

[@davidlogansr8007]

Sean Hearrell no, it actually did exist! A place near my home rented initially Betamax, then added my original chosen format of VHS ( I did later by several Betamax’s for other reasons) but rented these discs too! I do remember that the owner at the time said he was having legal difficulties but no longer remember exactly what.

[@davidmcgill1000]

Once you could even rent them by mail! Crazy!

[@chucklebutt4470]

There was nothing better than renting something like Rambo or gremlins 2 for a sleepover with friends. Or renting snes games and saving over some dudes stuff haha.

[@jeenkzk5919]

TheKodester never fear! There’s a possibility that Family Video is near you! Though they are sparse but a great, and cheap, place to rent from

[@JaredConnell]

Damn someone should get on that!

[@michaelmartin4552]

Ultimately, the failure was not RCA, but the companies releasing the movies. Back in that era, the companies releasing the movies were trying to maximize profits by releasing them at a high cost. A typical video actually cost around $90 in 1981, that is almost $300 in today's money. That is why few actually "owned" company made videos, and either rented them from the booming rental market, recorded their own, or copied them. It was not until around 1992 that the industry realized they could make more money by sharply reducing the price and making up for it in volume. If they had done that a decade earlier at least on that format, the demand would have been much higher. But by that time, both CED and LD had been killed as those were play only formats, and few were buying premade movies. Fast forward another decade, and DVD did work as a play only format because the industry was smart and sold them at a price the consumers could afford to pay. But if they had never done that and was still trying to sell new pre-recorded movies in the $200-300 range, then DVD would have died also. Because there is simply no market for a play only format where the media is that expensive.

[@vwestlife]

Another thing that probably didn't help is that a clunky plastic cartridge that needed to be gracelessly shoved into a player reminded people of 8-track tapes, which were rapidly falling out of favor in the early 1980s.

[@aaron7671]

Fancy seeing you here!

[@nolan412]

These discs remind me of floppy disks.

[@seanmcdonald987]

The disc and caddy were too heavy. I have a dozen and they are a real pain to move!

[@yugimumoto1]

ah the 8-track tape, those were really something weren't they?

[@BubbafromSapperton]

I knew ONE person that had one... 🤗

[@theMIP3]

I'd like to take a moment to appreciate your set background that always has relavent objects and colors on it, like the backlit RCA logo directly to your right and the tricolor logo to your upper left. I LOVE your set, and can't get over it. So awesome.

[@Jcreamy513]

The entire set background is 2 cheap LCD tvs

[@timecubed]

​@@Jcreamy513 that's actually quite a clever way to do something like that I would've though he bought tiny LCD displays that fit his set or something. It's quite cool

[@AxGryndr]

@@Jcreamy513 It's not exactly. He has a video talking about the set design. It is some shelving from Ikea with the TVs behind it.

[@SalivatingSteve]

It’s stupid that an RCA brand machine doesn’t have an RCA output!!!

[@marcusdamberger]

I believe later models did. His is an early model and most TV's at that point didn't have any sort of composite in. The CED was marketed at the mid to lower end of the A/V market anyway, so none of those TV's would have had composite inputs. VCR's were twice as expensive to manufacture, and stamping out millions of CED discs was supposed to be economical and cheaper than tape duplication. But like he said, no one quite expected the rental market to take off like it did. Rendering moot the point of stamping out millions of copies, vs more expensive tape duplication at the time. Everyone knew how to press vinyl LP's so why not modify the LP to accept video and do the same? Converting a factory over from vinyl LP's to CED's mass duplication probably wasn't going to be too expensive in the scheme of things.

[@robertt9342]

I like how I had a RCA tv where the "RCA" inputs didn't work.

[@mgabrysSF]

@@marcusdamberger Yup. I didn't see sets with composite-in widely available until 1982 or 1983. Home video and stereo TV broadcasts pushed them into the home. Funny thing - those RF adapters for home-game systems leaked like crazy. We had a pong console in 76 that shot the game straight up our ultra-high antenna (lived 60 miles from the nearest TV stations) and beamed 'Pong TV' on channel 3 for the entire town. Didn't know about it until kids started asking me who was playing on the right and who was playing on the left.

[@nunya___]

In 1981 I drilled holes through the plastic case of my Zenith BW TV to mount RCA plugs so I could listen to MTV through my stereo system. I was like 12.

[@KuraIthys]

@mgabrysSF - lmao. That's kinda hilarious. Plus considering I've still got some devices with RF adapters from that era... Perhaps I could start an impromptu broadcasting service. I mean, it's not like many people would notice, given that analogue TV transmission is no longer used, but it'd still be kind of funny...

[@TheWilldrick]

confirmed max headroom was a CED playing back "normally"

[@valeriataylor8337]

the video bugging really reminded me perfectly of the "hi-tech" 80's video effects lol now I know where they took that aestetics from, because I had never heard of the CED before

[@Vassilika1]

my very first thought at 0:52 Max Headroom! :-)

[@p0ptop]

so, I'm 41 now. I grew up with one of these given to me by my grandfather, along with 60 or so movies/collections of cartoons like Chip n Dale, Donald Duck and more. we took it to a local repair shop very often. the player long ago gave up the ghost, but I still have a few of the disks inside their cases. .. Terms of Endearment, and some others. lot of childhood memories for me in these machines.

[@fun_ghoul]

I'll be 41 this month, and I don't have a single recollection of even hearing of a CED, ever. The only choices at Montreal Stereo Video were Beta and VHS, lol.

[@jonathanpullen7439]

The CED is one of my favorite video stories of all time. It's sooo absurd. I'm delighted that both you and Techmoan are doing articles on it.

[@electrictroy2010]

LOOK UP VHD which appears skip-proof. So typical: The American RCA barely made it work, but the Japanese perfected the videorecord technology. They even had playable videogames.

[@GothAlice]

I'm always a fan of any innovative information storage technology. The early days were a "Wild West" of throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks. From the computer side of things: core memory (doughnut magnets flipping polarity) is hilarious, in terms of ability to scale. Even better: mercury piezoelectric. Almost literally storing bits as sonar. (Mercury used due to the low speed of sound, thus higher storage density!)

[@KabelkowyJoe]

@@electrictroy2010 And it could hold 120minutes of video - 60minutes each side, 2x more than LaserDisk, full movie the only problem IMO was fact it wasnt recordable. Couldnt be. Plus you could not make still frame 1 frame, would not work in schools, because 2 frames was stored on each track. Reason why LaserDisk survived trough 80s and VHD never went out of Japain IMO was fact LaserDisk it was recordable could be used to archive data, photos, videos. VHD was IMO much better format, better idea to store pre recorded movies than VHS and LaserDisk but it could only work in the class room. It was like DVD to VHS owner in late 90s additional accessory.

[@videogamekraken]

Excellent Video! Fun Fact: The CED almost made it as a Video Game format. In 1983, RDI decided to partner with RCA to use one of their Capacitance Electronic Disc player to use in their upcoming Halcyon video game system. At the time, RCA was working to release a new model called the SKT425 which would be part of their high end Dimensia system, but then RCA announced that they would stop developing the SKT425 and the discontinuation of all other CED player. At this point, RDI had no choice but to switch to the LaserDisc format for their upcoming console. They decided to use the Pioneer LaserDisc model LD-700 as the media player. With the high cost of LaserDisc Player, the price of the system jump to the roof and ultimately made the console too pricy for the home market. Because of this, the Halcyon was never mass-produced.

[@drewgehringer7813]

CED was also going to be used as an expansion module for the Coleco Adam, giving it full-motion video

[@TheMediaHoarder]

Yep, and it would have had an arcade-perfect version of Dragon's Lair. They went with CED because it was cheaper than laserdisc, but never got off the ground. There was an NFL Football arcade game that used CEDs, I have one of the discs for it.

[@PascalGienger]

It was a good choice to use the LaserDisc format. There was a NFL football game using the CED for video sequences in the game and the problem was that the opening trailer was played over and over again so that part of the disc was worn out rapidly. You had the same program on side 2 but that was worn out at the end too. That NFL game got on LaserDisc later, too.

[@ZaCloud-Animations___she-her]

Aw maaaan, such a shame. That's the risk of having tech that depends on another tech to work. :( What could have been...

[@ZaCloud-Animations___she-her]

@@TheMediaHoarder , My thoughts IMMEDIATELY went to Dragon's Lair as what would've been great use of the format. Aw man... I wanna visit the dimension where this got to happen. :(

[@redgrain3914]

This CED series is my sanctuary media. History, tech talk, and video of components doing things. And the fact it was a dead end makes it another hidden corner of the world. Thanks.

[@XthegreatwhyX]

Your analysis of obscure tech are the high points of your channel. More of that, please.

[@mattgies]

@Captain Brandon Horror Film Lover I think you mean "famous", not "infamous".

[@Mind_Idiot]

there's something incredibly charming about that glitched up intro sequence.

[@clonefighter1996]

"Anyway, let's get o-- [GLITCHES UNCONTROLLABLY BECAUSE CED] *[Thud]* get on witg the show."

[@Adallace]

Especially with closed captions enabled.

[@electrictroy2010]

LOOK UP VHD which appears skip-proof. So typical: The American RCA barely made it work, but the Japanese perfected the videorecord technology. They even had playable videogames.

[@ArlenMoulton2]

AND A BULB ON A STICK, DO NOT FORGET THE BULB ON THE STICK!! Fantastic video as always Alec, well done!

[@ArlenMoulton2]

@@manitoba-op4jx They're good little fellas.

[@everythingpony]

@@ArlenMoulton2 your profile pic looks like a bulb on a stick

[@ArlenMoulton2]

@@everythingpony most people look like bulbs on sticks

[@fun_ghoul]

_"I wash myself with a bulb on a stick."_ -Bart Vidson (mulligan)

[@clonefighter1996]

> most people look like bulbs on sticks @@ArlenMoulton2 I am LITERALLY a bulb on a stick.

[@evilbred974]

The sound of the disc flip process is really satisfying.

[@prjndigo]

This product, if released in '75, would have likely changed the computer industry. Consider the amount of data on that disk! Assuming at about 7bpp if including the audio and the sector headers and the 213,800 pixels on screen at 27,000 screens per side and two sides that means that in 1983 RCA released disks *made on presses* that contained just a smidgeon over ONE GIGABYTE of data. That they were able to just **fling** these at customers in 1983 for $20 a pop is absurd. If you consider they had working prototypes at that density back in '73 it becomes mind boggling.

[@tankermottind]

Perhaps, but what do you *do* with a gigabyte of ROM in 1975? You can't write to it, you can't back up to it, and many programs had to be modified from source *by the user* to run on a machine at all different from the one intended, and if your source code needs a gigabyte disc, that is just not going to happen.

[@negirno]

@@tankermottind Even more than a decade later, most developers couldn't knew what to do with the 650 megabytes that CD-ROM offered. They would just use the extra space for audio tracks or animations.

[@alexandruianu8432]

Interactive video games with live action sequences?

[@devourerthegoop2887]

@@tankermottind They could have used all the spare space for all the versions of the software

[@tankermottind]

@@negirno To do *what*? Do you think MIT professors sat around listening to music or playing epic multimedia experiences on their PDP-7s? The only reason they got away with the primitive video games they did make was because they didn't require anything their machines didn't have (for example: audio. THERE WAS NONE on the overwhelming majority of computers of the era, a diagnostic beeper if you're lucky) or make loud noises or flashy animations that would attract management's attention. Furthermore, computers at the time had one, maybe two megabytes of memory for absolute top of the line models that are brand new (computers in institutional settings have to operate for many, many years to recoup their costs, remember). More realistically, you're looking at 64K, the maximum capacity of a PDP-11/20 from 1970. That's enough for *a single frame* of 320x200x8bpp video...and either zero or 1,535 bytes left over for everything else depending on how you count a kilobyte. Everything else, of course, includes the computer's operating system. And the complete video stack, down to the bare metal, you will have to write to drive whatever fucked-up video solution you've Frankensteined together (this would probably result in bespoke chips and an investment of many millions of dollars, if it could be done at all!), all to beam grainy, low-resolution video onto your hacked-up television CRT, with a really big, really expensive calculator involved in the process for some reason. And once you've achieved all of this, you will still be stymied by hilariously slow and low-bandwidth I/O both internal and external. People did not own computers in their homes in 1975 to consume content on, nor were computers of the era designed to deliver content. They cost enormous amounts of money, they were large (a "minicomputer" was the size of a refrigerator), they were difficult to operate and maintain, they work not toys but instruments for scientific, mathematical, or financial work, and nothing else. They had no sound, they had no graphics, their feeble amount of memory was often sliced up in arbitrary and inconvenient ways, and they were massive investments made by large enterprises that needed to do lots, and lots, and lots of calculations. The computers you envision are more like the SVGA multimedia PCs that started to roll out in the early 1990s which, not coincidentally, was right around when the CD-ROM got big even though compact discs had already been around for ten years. As if the manufacturers were waiting for a computer that could use a CD disc drive effectively before they could commit to making CDs formatted for computers. Funny that. The CED was a dead end, an old technology pushed far beyond the limits of practicality. The computers of the era were decades away from doing multimedia, and such concerns were completely irrelevant to what people actually used them for at the time anyway. An impossible solution to a problem nobody considered a problem.

[@timothystockman7533]

I have a friend whose father was a machinist who worked for RCA back then. He has a plaque which was given to him for his dedication to the CED project over the years.

[@davest123va]

It's amazing to me how you have managed to get every point exactly right from 40+ years ago. I know. I was there and saw all of this unfold exactly as you state. Another, obviously very researched presentation. Bravo!

[@iamnomad101]

Fun fact: the earlier players with the old pickup mechanism that is physically disengaged with the lever mean that you can pause and shut off the player at any point and come back at any time to resume where you left off!

[@MatroxMillennium]

The funny thing is there actually is a composite video signal accessible inside the machine. I modded mine to be able to use it. I think all I had to do was wire up the jacks, if I remember correctly.

[@Yrouel86]

Let me guess, you can tap the signal just before the RF modulator?

[@MatroxMillennium]

@@Yrouel86 Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's what I ended up doing. I think there were even test points marked on the circuit board, but I'd have to take it apart again to be sure.

[@danieldaniels7571]

It was pretty much unheard of for TVs in 1981 to have a composite input. Players made in 1982 and later have composite line outputs

[@fun_ghoul]

@@danieldaniels7571 -Who said "input", tho?- Sorry. I didn't skim enough words there! lol

[@danieldaniels7571]

Paesan Control Centre it’s all good. You just gave me another good idea for how to pass Coronavirus lockdown time. My CED of The Wall has been stuck in my CED player for far too long. It’s time to open it up and get it out. I have an SGT-200, so I already have a composite video output as well as RCA jack for stereo audio.

[@pghcoyote]

17:56 "And we CANNOT have THAT, oh NO!" I love it. Looking forward to a third installment!

[@mrflamewars]

Even with the glitching, that rainbow logo at the start is rad. Go go Scanimate!

[@davidbarts6144]

Almost as classy as the old NBC snake (Google it if you don't know what I mean).

[@electrictroy2010]

LOOK UP VHD which appears skip-proof. So typical: The American RCA barely made it work, but the Japanese perfected the videorecord technology. They even had playable videogames.

[@jponeal5258]

Thank you for these videos. My father worked for RCA in Indianapolis during this time (until the plant closed). We had two of these machines, though ours were nicer versions. For instance we didn't have to manually insert the disc. You set the disc at the lip of the player and the machine slid the disc inside just as a VHS tape did or DVD tray does. We had dozens of movies that we owned. and hundreds when RCA closed. My dad was bringing home boxes of these as the stock was liquidated. This is where my love of collecting movies came from. We also had a mom and pop video store that (in the early 80's) only rented CED discs. This rental store didn't have VHS until after RCA closed. They remained in business until we started getting Hollywood Videos and Blockbusters (which I worked at for years while in college). I have very fond memories of this machine, seeing our movie collection grow and organizing it on shelves, and visiting the video store.

[@MitchellHang]

This whole video makes me want to watch the original unedited version of Star Wars on CED.

[@davep5698]

it is not CED and you need to be in the US but you can still watch the original version at the Library of Congress by appointment, they also do screenings for many people too occasionally.

[@chucklebutt4470]

Mitchell Hang haha glad I scrolled down before leaving this exact comment. Give us the original cuts, George Lucas! 😤

[@MitchellHang]

@@chucklebutt4470 He already did, although the 2006 Bonus DVDs aren't that great in terms of quality.

[@lutello3012]

Don't watch it in pan&scan.

[@jmalmsten]

There are fan reconstructions like the Despecialized project. There are also quotes that say that parts of the negative was destroyed when making the Special Editions in the 90s... And that it is part of why we haven't seen blurays of the original cuts yet and the LaserDisc masters being used as a bonus feature for the blurays that were released. But considering what I've seen official reconstruction efforts do for much lesser known films, I am fairly certain they could scan the existing negatives and use the color separated technicolor archival prints at the library of congress to get the segments that got destroyed. And with that fairly easily produce a close to pristine print and master for an original cut release. Think about it. Manos: The Hands of Fate has a 2K restored Bluray... It even includes an uncleaned version with the scratches and damages in HD... We can get Manos on BluRay... But not Star Wars... It blows my mind... Frigging Manos, man!

[@XenobiaDarkstar]

I just want to say how much I appreciate the subtitles. I always have them on but the little extras are always really fun.

[@timmydirtyrat6015]

Funnily enough, just a few days after I had watched the original video, I went to Goodwill and found a CED player with a couple dozen discs.

[@scaper8]

Well, don't leave us hanging; did you get them?!

[@timmydirtyrat6015]

@@scaper8 Of course! It was 40 bucks, I ended up getting the player and a copy of Starwars.

[@dougr.8653]

@@timmydirtyrat6015 Lucky guy

[@CantankerousDave]

Somebody in the area was selling a player and disc collection on Craigslist a couple months ago. The asking price was a bit steep, unfortunately.

[@smileprettymusic]

Timmy Dirtyrat there are groups on Facebook for collecting and selling check em out

[@safi.uh_]

I think i know why i watch this series everyday almost. My dad was a printer technician for most of my life but, he worked all kinds of hardware tech jobs. Also sometimes he would do alot of computer repair for people we knew so our garage had all kind of techy parts organized meticulously and computers in states of disrepair. I used to watch him fix and clean alot of stuff, and even sometimes he’d do software stuff like install drivers n stuff or fix someone’s os. He passed away unexpectedly in 2015 and left behind alot of his computer parts and tools. Since i was the only one who really even knew what things were for, ive kept alot of them. But like seeing someone who knows what theyre looking at go through and dissect various pieces of tech is something i really miss. So i think i get that from these videos. And it probably also helps that the host is enjoyable to listen to.

[@speedfreakpsycho]

0:52 My heart stopped, I was rendering some 3d scene while listening your video in the background. After like 2 hours when this part kicked in..i got chills in my spine, I thought the program will crash.

[@Fattoxthegreat]

"If you had a Time Machine, what would you do?" Most People: "I'd go back and stop Hitler" Other people: "I'd go back and stop slavery" Technology Connections: "I'd go back and convince RCA they had a winning solution with CED with the right tweaks"

[@KaeYoss]

Most people are short-sighted idiots that hate poor Franz Ferdinand.

[@vulpixgrant]

I would have gone back in time and whispered to myself in the late 90's when I first started working to start buying Apple Stock big time. Then invest in some crazy man's idea to make a commercial spaceship company then electric car manufacturer.... Yes greedy, but what chance would one person really have of changing world history ;-)

[@ohnoitschris]

i would have gone to funcoland in 2002 and bought up all the nes games before they got valuable and then i'd have all the mega man games

[@Ballowax]

I'd go to 1993 and snag my self a copy of StarWarsDefenitiveEdition on LaserDisc.

[@robfriedrich2822]

I have to use the Time Machine several times First I stop Hitler Then I stop Thälmann Then I stop another person etc.

[@WmLatin]

You are very good at explaining these little-known technology niches... Thanks for all the work to enlighten and entertain use with these videos!

[@uss_04]

0:51 You successfully triggered a “slap the screen” response in my head.

[@oleo007]

I was looking forward to the second part, I don't know why, but these obsolete audio and video formats fascinate me, thanks to you and techmoan I gained a lot of knowledge. Your channel is amazing,if possible make more videos about this content. Waiting FOR PART 3!!!!!!!!!!!

[@PhillyMotoXTS]

"In the third, and probably final part..." *Laughs from the future*

[@bobriemersma]

I recall CED rental ranging from 1/3 to 1/2 the price of VHS, Beta, and LaserDisc rental and even at that probably higher profit to the store than rental of other media. Buying a CED was very cheap too. Stores didn't have to deal with all of the tape rewinding angst or wrecked fragile LaserDiscs. And little or no DRM issues meant prices stayed low since no "piracy tax" had to be added into wholesale pricing. Buying on VHS easily ran to $90 or more per movie, CED closer to $20 per movie. Perhaps some markets lacked entrepreneurs with the foresight to open video rental stores early but we had 'em here. I remember more than half the store being CEDs. But yeah, carriage and stylus woes were quite a curse.

[@electrictroy2010]

LOOK UP VHD which appears skip-proof. So typical: The American RCA barely made it work, but the Japanese perfected the videorecord technology. They even had playable videogames.

[@gregvarner9562]

Patrick, your knowledge of so many different subjects in electronics etc is impressive and you present these complicated and often outdated and not easily understood electronics expertly. Great Job! I've watched your videos for a while now and I really appreciate them.

[@GrimFaceHunter]

6:46 And that's how GIF was invented.

[@electrictroy2010]

GIF pronounced like Giraffe or gem or giant was invented as a way to share an image across non-compatible computers.

[@metallicaman0258]

MOARRR! I love the idea and story of this format! I'm glad a third video is required!!

[@davidlogansr8007]

This really is a good explanation, I went VCR in 1978, spending the price of a decent used car! A close friend went with this, and the quality was noticeably better.

[@JDBodine]

I’d like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for reminding me of those boat anchors that were sold as VCRs about a million years ago. If that wasn’t bad enough I’m reminded of those video record player thingies. I had just gotten into the electronics repair business and after working on those VCRs I began questioning my career choice. lol. I only got to work a few of the CEDs. Thanks for the memories/ nightmares.

[@williamreid6255]

I think you’re forgetting something- CEDs with *closed captioning!*

[@TheTruthAboutLemmings]

Oh dear..

[@FunkyM217]

@@chromacrystals Subtitles on Teletext Page 888!

[@FroggyMosh]

@@FunkyM217 Teletext in the US. ;) . . . Hihihi :D

[@2fingacriminal]

What?!?!? Thats sick

[@nyccollin]

William Reid Thank God. Probably just more for him to complain about.

[@rustymixer2886]

The fact vinyl plays video amazes me

[@ZirconiumandKnox]

I just wanted to say that I'm really glad you're doing well with this channel.

[@Waccoon]

My dad had a LaserDisc player back in the day (and still does), so I never even knew these things existed! That's impressive, given that he has one of everything else, including multiple new HD-DVD players still sealed in their boxes.

[@r7calvin]

My uncle had a LaserDisc player, and I remember how glorious it was to watch Terminator 2 on it with his high-end sound system. I don't think we ever had CED in Taiwan.

[@TechTimeWithEric]

I just want to make sure you know that the effort you put into captions doesn't go unappreciated

[@JulianAlpsNews]

The amount of research and love that goes into these videos is incredible. Some of the best KZbin content ever.

[@Striker_Ikari]

Can't wait for part 3! Well I guess I could wait, since I don't have a time machine. Great Video.

[@common_c3nts]

nor plutonium

[@GrumpyIan]

You may not have a time machine but Technicallyconnections has like 3+ videos about a toaster.... which is just as good.

[@RockRedGenesis]

@@GrumpyIan And don't forget about the video about street lighting. A video about street lighting shouldn't be interesting, but strangely enough it is!

[@TravisTev]

“Oh God, he made a third one.”

[@mychevysparkevdidntcatchfi1489]

Going to the future is easy. Just drive real fast (but don't violate the speed limit). Einstein is your friend.

[@nmcarpenter]

I really love the content of your videos. The bloopers, however, are true icing on the cake. 😉

[@rrai1999]

Y'all better be turning on captions, this man puts extra unseen jokes into them!

[@altheaunertl]

It's April of 2020, I'm in quarantine, and somehow, I have JUST NOW learned that RCA doesn't exist anymore and I just feel so stupid.

[@LittleDancerByGrace]

Don't feel too bad, I'm watching this in 2024 and went "wait, RCA doesn't exist anymore?!"

[@Shorkshire]

Haha right? I had no idea. I just assumed they were still around. What the heck!

[@jdenoe69]

CED: It could have made sense if it was released in 1973 and not 1981!

[@spikester]

Yep, and anyone that watches AVGN knows his catch phrase very well that immediately comes to mind... WTF WERE THEY THINKING?!?!?!

[@hachikiina]

1981! is a big number 🗿

[@That_AMC_Guy]

Absolutely! But in 1973, the CED system in development at that time could barely hold 10 minutes of video and (apparently) only in B&W.

[@shawnjoseph4009]

Alfred Neuman if they used a constant linear velocity instead of angular velocity, they could fit 2x the data per side so it would be 20 minutes per side, meaning that trimmed TV episodes could be sold on CED. It’s not an ideal watching experience, but it would give RCA a head start pushing players into the market.

[@Markle2k]

@Shawn Joseph Movies were the "killer app", to use an anachronism.

[@oS2006DE]

This series on the CED is some of the fullest and most wholesome entertainment I've found in the past few years.

[@stevebennett9750]

People need to watch this with the captions turned on :)

[@BlahBleeBlahBlah]

steve bennett yes! I’m going to have to re-watch now 😂

[@joesterling4299]

Mm? Now I'm curious. I'll have to check that out.

[@davidlogansr8007]

It’s decidedly amusing! I do it to enhance age related hearing loss, but derive amusement from what it actually says! Check it out!

[@joesterling4299]

@@davidlogansr8007 I think I hear as well as I ever did, except for speech comprehension. I don't know how to explain it. It's like words blend into the ambient noise more than they used to, particularly on shows and movies. (I have no trouble with face-to-face conversations, or with most YT creator videos--speech is clear, and doesn't compete with other sounds usually.) But yeah, I love subtitles now. I don't consider a show or movie complete without them.

[@grantexploit5903]

Yup! I just love Technology Connections' captions. 😁

[@allawa]

God damn that's an engineering marvel and that inseting action is incredible

[@LatitudeSky]

CED would not have been "the only way to watch a movie in your home" even in 1975. In 1975, my local library was letting members borrow a film projector, screen and actual 16mm movies in the metal movie cans. Yes for real. So you certainly could take home several movies and make an actual movie night with REAL movies. My family did this fairly often, and there was always a waiting list to borrow the gear. This was how I saw my first Dr.Seuss movie and others. Flash forward to 1980 or 81 and a different library where I lived at that time was letting members borrow CED players and discs! Yes, for just a small cash deposit, you could take home a player and stuff to watch. I remember distinctly watching one of the Disney Witch Mountain movies that way. It was kind of a let down, both because the movie was pretty bad, but also because our TV at the time was a 12" barely color set. It was typical for the day. Bigger TVs with better pictures didn't come along until the mid to late 80s. That certainly would have slowed down CED in the 70s. What the hell are you going to watch this on in 1975? A monochrome TV with a tiny screen? Maybe if you were rich, you'd have a huge console TV with a whopping 27-inch screen that looked awful. The terrible quality of TVs in that decade has to take some of the blame for holding back CED and every other home video format. We sure take for granted things like LED and OLED and hell, I just watched YOUR video on my 200-inch LCD projector screen. It's a whole wall in my bedroom. It's fantastic. To have this sort of setup in a home would have been total sci-fi back in those days.

[@ianhelps3749]

Yes, it was definitely possible to rent a 16mm film including projector in the 1960s and 70s. It may have been quite expensive for actual home viewing, but our primary school sometimes showed us a feature film at the end of term, with a couple of Tom and Jerry cartoons.

[@SuperTrainStationH]

Funny thing is, as a now 31 year old, we had this in our house growing up alongside VHS. We had a HUGE library of these disks and they were just another way to watch movies for me. The first time I watched Star Wars was on these CEDs.

[@Norweeg]

Deep Breakfast by Ray Lynch is incredible! I remember playing my cassette copy of that until it deteriorated back when I was in school.

[@kellyhacker969]

I was introduced to this album in the late 90s when I was still in high school! It’s currently in my Apple Music library. :)

[@SD-cf3tj]

Love these videos so far. My father actually owned an electronics store in upstate NY and was one of the first to create a movie club, and he did so with the CED format (he later moved to VHS as, well you know). I remeber these large bins of movies and people would scroll trough them like vinyl. I miss the format as it was a large part of my childhood. These videos bring it all back. Our store even repaired electronics and I got a chance to learn a bit about the mechanics of the different versions of the player. Again, thanks!

[@galxieranger8277]

The "We've never had movies at home" line reminded me of the 2 scenes in the movie "Airplane!". The first, when the guy takes a refill on his coffee, and his wife thinks "Jim never has a second cup of coffee at home. And then the later scene where she thinks a similar thought line regarding his current state.

[@fun_ghoul]

Nice.

[@m2heavyindustries378]

"Jim never vomits at home..."

[@williamreid6255]

And Alec always at 1 point goes along the lines of “there’s something else, but we’ll come back to that.”

[@rtcurtis5858]

I had the first model RCA player purchased while in the navy in Hawaii. Shortly thereafter, was transferred to Iceland. The base I was at there was using US standard ac power, but evidently the 60hz was not very stable. The player’s color reproduction had poor stability and was horrid. Unusable. Another RCA player another guy on base had did the same thing. I had no idea it was the power line frequency until after replacing the drive belt, needle, etc. and still getting the same results. Ordered up the Hitachi player, which used a crystal reference for the motor. It worked quite well, except that it was more sensitive to the disc skips. Fun times! Thank you for the info. Randy, IL

[@CincyRaz]

I love how you changed your set to be a RCA Selectavision theme.

[@Turbo231]

CED did have rentals, they were awesome as it were stacked on end and you flipped them forward. The store we bought the machine from rented them for years.

[@vinylarchaeologist]

That INTRO: pure comedy gold!

[@clydesalley]

I worked at a video store in Dayton, Ohio in the early 80's, and we rented the discs and the players out. After a while though, many of the discs were completely unplayable. But I would take the player and discs home simply because I thought it was pretty cool to plug it into my stereo system at the time.

[@jansenmtan]

10:02 "It's no wonder that..." 10:14 "That was surprising..." nice

[@KaleunMaender77]

Confidence is a lie, everything is a fluke 😂

[@Lanthanideification]

This channel just keeps getting better and better.

[@davep5698]

Wow not even 30 seconds in and I am laughing hard with the subtitles. I appreciate the effort. EDIT: and the end too ahahah Regrettably Smooth Jazz

[@CommodoreGreg]

I never thought to turn on subs until I read your comment. They are great!

[@scavengerjoe1012]

I love the genuine passion and sincerity in your videos.

[@scavengerjoe1012]

I'm not being sarcastic...

[@thatguyontheright1]

Kid: I wana go to the movies! Mom: We have movies at home Home: CED

[@machine-shopbilly6584]

The RCA made the first YTP generator AND it has a Radiohead inside. The perfect invention

[@LeoStaley]

This content is *so* good. I'd love to see him get exclusive interview content from lead engineers of these projects.

[@fensoxx]

This is my favorite home video format of all time. I wish they made a home computer data version. Probably the nostalgia of renting the players as a kid ... but it’s just so damn cool

[@cheeriosaregood2me]

Keep the great content coming! One of the best channels on KZbin!

[@dominateeye]

0:00 - 0:20 I want this at the start of every video from now on.

[@SuperCookieGaming_]

i bet if they had 3 styluses and only the middle one actually getting the video and other two for stabilization it would be less prone to skipping.

[@MattMcIrvin]

I was wondering if they could have done something about the glitching. Of course, watching these discs *today* to conclude things about how they would have performed in the 1970s is a bit unfair, but it does seem as if this tech was more finicky and fragile than laserdisc.

[@johnfrancisdoe1563]

Matt McIrvin Another option would be an electronically positioned multi-sensor head riding on top like a laserdisc head. Might even be able to read gen 1 discs without the caddy by not needing a clean groove.

[@DasAntiNaziBroetchen]

@@johnfrancisdoe1563 "electronically positioned multi-sensor" In the 80s? Are you alright?

[@absalomdraconis]

@@DasAntiNaziBroetchen : More or less the same tech as CDs, quite achievable. If someone wanted to build a modern one (or redesign an old one) then they could probably even use CD/DVD/BluRay reader mechanisms for the most accurate parts of the device.

[@Bassotronics]

For the price of the three styluses, they could just use one stylus and get a good memory buffer.

[@PeacefulAutistic]

Your Subtitles are amazing! I can hear, I am hard of hearing however and love subtitles yours for audio noises and repeats of audio segments are funny! Keep up the good work!

[@taylorb7393]

Thank you for your continued hard work in making these videos, always nice to have well made content to watch when i have down time!

[@calereliya]

Adore your work. I had never even heard of some of this stuff, and learning about it is incredibly cool. Keep it up!

[@grn1]

When I saw that intro I just knew it was gonna glitch like that. Still got a chuckle out of me.

[@electrictroy2010]

LOOK UP VHD which appears skip-proof. So typical: The American RCA barely made it work, but the Japanese perfected the videorecord technology. They even had playable videogames.

[@aleph0x]

I think the caddy is a good thing. A nice place for artwork, don't have to touch the disc, easy storage.

[@crazyrobotlady3391]

I love this format, and love the outtakes at the end. Can’t wait for part three!

[@ifyoure555thenim666]

I'm absolutely stoked you made another CED vid and you have another on the way...still! You do good research and provide valuable insight. Keep up the good work!

[@wojiaobill]

awesome! i love your videos on these old formats

[@mrwoody1413]

I’m so glad we don’t have to deal with disc skipping anymore, it was so damn annoying. I used to get so pissed when one of my discs would get scratched somehow and it would skip when played so I was super super protective of the discs and ended up not letting anyone touch them but myself.

[@-Steven-]

Your videos are amazing, they're very well produced, scripted and edited and informative. Thank you for your hard work and I look forward to the next one.

[@rock-steadi-cam5058]

LOVE the first 30 seconds of this presentation! This version of the RCA Selectavision logo was truly wonderful, and the way you've "hacked" it really tells your story! FYI, I owned SV for a week* and rented a bunch of titles that weren't on LaserDisc. I don't remember any problems with skipping or sticking, although the horizontal white streaks were annoying - as were the white drop-outs on LaserDiscs. (*and then I returned it for a refund)

[@larrydavis3645]

I owned a CED player and I rented disks from an electronics store.

[@precisionxt]

I love your backdrop with the RCA logos and intro screens in the shelves behind you, nice touch.

[@cdurkinz]

Really enjoyed the lazerdisc series. I remember seeing them in high school and wondering what in the world they were, as I too had never heard of or seen them before. But I forgot about it and never looked into it. Super informative, good job! (I'm liking these so far as well, just forgot to comment about the other series)

[@mattadams7660]

I love when creators put the link to pt2 in the notes for pt1. Thank you

[@FezTheSpaceBiker]

Imagine if LaserDisc had just never happened. That would go beyond just affecting the world of Home Video. We might not have seen the advent of the Compact Disc.

[@mgabrysSF]

Except laser discs were analog. Not digital like the CD.

[@pauljones2510]

Born in the 50s. I remember seeing one video disk system is someone's home. As I remember, it was incredibly expensive. I never heard of CED until seeing your first video in this series. I bought a VCR in the late 80s.

[@repairitdontreplaceit]

true story . i used to work in a tv repair shop and one day a guy brings a laser disc player in and a bunch of discs saying he couldnt get the discs to play . turns out he had bought over 30 ced discs and was removing the sleaves from the discs and then trying to play them in his laser disc player ! he was not happy when we told him he had wasted his money on the discs

[@kirknelson156]

back in 85 i used to work at a video tape facility operated by technicolor. I forget how many top loader VCRs we had, to be sure it was a bunch, many isles of machines stacked i think 3 or 4 units high. was a high pressure job to change the tapes as quickly as possible. all the units were operated remotely so they could record from the master tape all at once. and it was an around the clock operation, I was working the graveyard shift.

[@Big_Loo]

0:54 I still fix things like that. Percussive maintenance.

[@JonnySelProductions]

I still found that part funny tho, lol. :D

[@crotchman]

What's your profile picture?

[@windyhawthorn7387]

Seeing the insides of that VCR brought back memories of my childhood. My dad cleaning his VCR and teaching me how to hookup and take care of it. And of course record his most like shows when he was out. I labeled my own tape as a child to record all the shows I missed due to the fact my TV watching time was limited and fast forwarding through the commercials helped me watch more then one with my mom.