Welcome to CED Magic

[GregBlu5]

With several of our discussions lately regarding past technologies and their potential applicability to the current format war, I stumbled upon www.cedmagic.com, which provides a detailed look at the RCA CED (Capacitance Electronic Disk), or SelectaVision (record-player-like), format back in the early to mid-80's (1981-1986).

The reason I felt a certain nostalgia pouring over this site is that I had an RCA CED machine (you name the dead format and I bought into it at some stage). I bought upwards of 40 titles, possibly more, in that format. I bought the machine on sale with a free disk or two tossed into the bargain.

After a couple years, I abandoned this format and went to LaserDisc instead, where I remained until about 1998 or so when I finally stopped buying LaserDiscs and moved over the DVDs.

The point that I want to make here is that I know some of us feel sorry for the Duders who will get screwed if Warner goes Blu exclusive. Those folks will be stuck with a dying format, and rather expensive disks that won't play when their machines crap out. And, perhaps, some of us look at their potential plight and think: "There for the grace of better technology, or a bad break here or there, or a mismanged company decision, go you or I."

It might have been us, had this war gone differently.

Well, this list is filled with members who invested in the past in failed technologies. How many folks are out there--not necessarily on this list--who bought close to the maximum number of those 1,700 CED disks that were available to buy? How many of them stuck with CED (they had a great selection of titles, across multiple movie studios, as well as unique TV specials--some of which are still not available in SD today) through the entire 1981-1986 era?

Currently, no matter how many folks out there have invested heavily in HD DVD, no one has spent five years in that format. No one has bought anywhere close to 1700 HD DVD titles. CED disk titles cost $34.99 and $39.99 primarily. No one has spent that kind of money consistently on HD DVD titles. (Remember, CED disks were in early 80's dolllars.)

So, if Warner is going to go Blu, everyone ought to applaud that move coming as soon as possible. If, because of that, Universal, and later Paramount do the same, then let them do it as soon as possible.

If HD DVD is going to fail (which many of us believe will happen soorner rather than later), let it happen as soon as possible. Spare the current Duders from even falling into the RCA CED trap of 5 years and 1,700 title range of format failure. Because Betamax hung around longer than that. LaserDisc was even longer still (approximately 20 years, and you can still buy a combo player on Pioneer's Web site).

It was far easier for me to abandon RCA CED with only 40-60 titles and a $199 player than when I began parting with well over 400 LaserDisc titles, and at least three multi-hundred-dollar players, later.

-Greg