The Ill-Fated Fusion of Video and a Record Album

Remember these? 

This ad appeared in the Omaha World-Herald on Oct. 24, 1982 -- I was in 4th grade at the time.

A couple friends of mine had an RCA VideoDisc player back in the early 80s.

I remember watching "Raiders of the Lost Ark," "Star Wars" and "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" at their house. All I really recall was that you'd insert a large, square plastic sleeve containing the movie into the machine's slot, then the player would pull the "disc" inside. You'd then remove the empty sleeve.

At the mid-point of the movie, you'd have to "flip" the disc by inserting the empty sleeve and waiting for the disc to eject back into the sleeve, then you'd have to flip it over and repeat the process above.

(That sounds like a pain...and it kinda was...)

Here is a commercial from back then -- and you could get a VideoDisc player for less than $500!!

Until today, I really had no idea how VideoDiscs worked, or the technology behind them. I guess I always assumed they were like a giant floppy disc.

But they weren't. In essence, the VideoDisc -- or Capacitance Electronic Disc (CED) -- was an analog video disc with grooves, and a special needle (stylus) that played it. Sort of like a vinyl LP, but with video.

According to various articles on CEDs, RCA started developing the technology in the 1960s. It was apparently a laborious process, and the technology wasn't what they had hoped for (they had intended the discs to be released in jackets like record albums, but the surface material was very sensitive to dust and scratches, and couldn't be directly handled).

There is a good article on the format here.

RCA finally released the VideoDiscs and VideoDisc players in 1981, but the format would never take off and was ultimately discontinued in 1984.

Here is a video about the format's death on CNN Headline News:

I can't recall how VideoDiscs looked or sounded (and TV technology those days left something to be desired). But I thought it was cool that my friends could watch movies anytime they wanted (something I couldn't do until we got our first VCR in 1985).

They would ultimately be supplanted in the home video marketplace by VHS, Betamax and LaserDisc.

The VideoDisc's demise serves as a reminder that not all formats survive.

But it was an interesting idea.

Read yesterday's blog post: Let There Be Light