Oh, that reminded me that I recall we rented Airplane with the batch we got from the rental store as well...that very well may have also been the first time I saw Airplane!

Oh, REALLY- what model was that? Everyone at the cedmagic.com forum would love to know, seeing that none of them have ever seen one!

<embed style="width:500px; height:426px;" id="VideoPlayback" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=-2007233073294762797&hl=en" flashvars=""> </embed>

<embed style="width:500px; height:426px;" id="VideoPlayback" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=-753950511952045996&hl=en" flashvars=""> </embed>

This is my favorite player model, introduced in 1982. The one I have hooked up now is one I got from an Ebay seller that was still in the box, never used in 23 years!

I always thought of CEDs as video with all the problems of vinyl ... skipping, scratches, etc. A bad idea quickly retired.

I stand corrected. It was one of my Laser Disc players that had that function. Sorry for any confusion.

Wow, that's actually not bad at all for "new" technology.

Ah, but those "problems of vinyl" are not necessarily sympomatic of the format. All you need is a good cartridge and well-aligned stylus. Which is why it continues to be the format of choice for many audiophiles.

You're comparing LP records to the video discs? I think the video discs downfall was that the disc was prone to being scratched being taken in and out of the jacket.

Maybe a better idea would have been to have an actual LP player type machine that allowed the playing of the discs, which could have come in regular record sleeves?

Or maybe a better idea would not be doing it at all. Interesting technology, but far from ideal.

I used to work in a video rental store and we had these discs plus machines you could rent (I think it was around $25 a week for the player and maybe $1 - $2 for each disc). These discs were not meant for the abuse from a rental market - almost every customer that rented them came back to complain that the discs constantly skipped. I had to warn everyone that wanted to rent them that they'd probably skip. Even though you were never supposed to touch the disc somehow they'd still come back beat to hell.