Not a computer

[Gorgonops]

The (fairly widespread) longevity issues with original run of DiscoVision disks undoubtedly didn't help but it's not as if LD is the only format that suffers "Laser rot". (Which is actually a manufacturing flaw in the affected disks, nothing to do with the laserdisk format per se.) There have been bad runs of CDs and DVDs with similar problems. It might certainly have been a factor in confusing the public about the difference between LD and CED, since CED disks *by design* wear out while LD's killer feature was (in theory) the discs should be practically immortal.

Play a VHS tape a few dozen times in a dirty VCR (or once in a broken one) and it'll look as bad as a pretty terminal case of laser rot.

 

[Anonymous Freak]

It probably didn't help that RCA dumped the CED SelectaVision system on the market right in time to screw with the public's perception of the "video-on-a-disc" concept. CED was a genuine lemon and a lot of people assumed the problems with it applied to LD as well.
Heh. Come to think of it, I wonder if anyone out there actually still has a working CED player and some not-worn-out-yet discs. *That* would be a find.

By the way, when I said I own 2001 on every home format it was released on, I do mean every home format it was released on. I do own it on CED. To my knowledge, it is fully functional, but having never owned a CED player, I don't know. (I bought it for $1 at a clearance sale to complete my collection soon after I got the Blu-Ray.)

A local role playing game store had a bunch (a few hundred) CEDs for sale a couple yeras ago - I don't know why they had them (I'm guessing the owner had them,) but I picked up a few purely for curiosity's sake. Most were $1, some were $2.

 

[olePigeon]

I bought a bunch of CEDs for 50 cents a piece because they were like mini movie posters. Hung 'em on the wall. Look nifty.

 

[Gorgonops]

More on the subject of CED, in part anyway:

We'll open your eeeeyes! R.C.A.!

(Careful not to get your mind blown by the very idea that you can have a *GIANT* 45 inch diagonally-measured screen in a cabinet that's less than thirty inches deep!.)

 

[CelGen]

I had the chance once to get a GLASS laserdisc. Very limited runs of custom laserdiscs were written to discs that had glass platters and a pink substrate instead of the usual plastic platters and a pressed silver substrate. They're very fragile but look VERY beautiful.

I still see CED once in a blue moon but the people have no idea what they have so they want $15 per movie and $70 for the player. The movie selection on CED is even worse than Laserdisc and ain't worth it.

Edited: The ColorTrak 2000 on the other hand was. My grandparents owned owned one and I owned one right until the tube wore out. They even had SCART. There was NOTHING in North America that even used SCART but it came with it anyways.

 

[NJRoadfan]

Edited: The ColorTrak 2000 on the other hand was. My grandparents owned owned one and I owned one right until the tube wore out. They even had SCART. There was NOTHING in North America that even used SCART but it came with it anyways.

We had one of those 27" Colortrak 2000s, according to the manual the port wasn't SCART even though it used the same plug. The manual called it an "EIA-Multiport" and it was some sort of interface to plug in a cable descrambler (like an analog CableCard) so you could use the TV's built in tuner and remote to tune Pay-Per-View channels. The idea never went anywhere because cable companies would lose a profit stream in renting cable box remotes (it was a separate charge from the boxes themselves!).

 

[commodorejohn]

I still see CED once in a blue moon but the people have no idea what they have so they want $15 per movie and $70 for the player. The movie selection on CED is even worse than Laserdisc and ain't worth it.

I actually just ran across a CED player and a handful of discs in a pawn shop yesterday. Woulda bought it, but I already have enough crap in my house...

 

[waynestewart]

Obviously I don't have enough crap. Picked up a CED player with 125 CEDs this morning. Someday I'll end up sleeping in my car because I won't be able to get in my door.

 

[Bunsen]

Mr Spock and a talking crystal demo LaserDisk:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0f3524BQ0Ms

 

[conceitedjerk]

Until a few months ago (when we started renovations on the house), I had an old MCA Discovision player. It had come from a local Ford dealer, and it included their promo LD showcasing their new vehicles for the 1983 model year!

The unit was a huge beige monstrosity made of steel... it weighed about 60lbs (no joke!) and had a rather large remote that weighed about a pound or so.

I kept it around to watch my Urusei Yatsura and Bubblegum Crisis/Crash LDs.

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

I just spotted a couple sets of the Star Wars Trilogy on LD for about 20 bucks on eBay. Talk about a vintage movie/tek rush! ;D

 

[CelGen]

Until a few months ago (when we started renovations on the house), I had an old MCA Discovision player. It had come from a local Ford dealer, and it included their promo LD showcasing their new vehicles for the 1983 model year!
The unit was a huge beige monstrosity made of steel... it weighed about 60lbs (no joke!) and had a rather large remote that weighed about a pound or so.

One of these?

I bought one one ebay about six years ago, however I ended up being unable to pay shipping so instead broke a deal to just ship the Laserdisc that was inside it, which was the Laserdisc for an Apple Interactive Kiosk.

Those players are industrial grade. Have a gas tube laser.

Eventually bought myself a VP-1000 which was half the weight but just as big.

 

[conceitedjerk]

Yup, that's the one! :lol:

Heavy beast, ain't it?

 

[insaneboy]

I had a few LD players in the mid 90's. local video store rented the disks and I bought some over the years. maybe 3-4 years ago I gave my last player (fancy pants Sony with auto reverse, AC-3 etc played CDs and VCDs too) and all my disks. only CAV disk I had was terminator. also had all the james bond flicks and a slew of other movies.

Once DVDs took hold, that video store started to phase out the LDs and I eventually got a DVD player and the LD started to gather dust (I'm not that rabid of a Starwars fan to require the original LD version, re-release is fine by me).