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Question for CED collectors
https://forum.lddb.com/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=2438		 Page 2 of 2
Author:  rein-o [ 17 Mar 2013, 01:21 ]
Post subject:  Re: Question for CED collectors
rixrex wrote:
jazz2future wrote:
Does CED look good? How often do you get bad ones?is rot an issue? Have you witnessed discs in your collection wearing down and getting worse over time?MOST importantly how long does it take for them to wear down?


There's about a hundred regular feature films on CED not released on LD in the USA, some are on PAL LD, such as Taps and Legend of the Lone Ranger. Of course I'm not considering the unique to CED titles that promote the CED system.

My CED player, SKT 400, looks as good as any of the newer 90s VHS tapes and Beta too, but not quite as good as LD of course. Still, on a proper TV set, they will look just fine. On the Sony 34" WEGA, they look as good as anything else on the 4:3 setting, as is typical with the smaller screen size. On the Pioneer 64" CRT rear projector, they look super for being such a large screen, but that's mostly due to the Pioneer set's capabilities. On newer sets, I would say the Sharp aquos LCD set does CED well, but most plasma sets do not for some reason.

I used to suggest to interested persons to go ahead and try out CED, but no longer. If you're not adept at doing repairs and mechanics/electronics are beyond you, then I would say don't bother with it. A CED player is easier to repair and maintain than a VHS player, but you can get good VHS players for so little now, that's not really an issue.

The only way I'd suggest you get one is if you have such and interest in the format that you must try it, then go ahead. It is quite fun to see these things work and play a movie on a vinyl disc, especially the SJT/SKT models.

agree, it was a fun format and if you can repair its again fun to tinker around with getting it working.
i felt very happy to get my player working, but decided it wasn't worth it for me, that dosen't mean it's not worth it :thumbup:
Author:  61cubby [ 26 Jul 2013, 07:11 ]
Post subject:  styLAST?
Question for you guys. post is a few years old but worth a try.

What is LAST factory's styLAST? What does it do? How do you use it? Can you still get it? If so, where?

thanks!
Author:  rixrex [ 26 Jul 2013, 15:09 ]
Post subject:  Re: styLAST?
61cubby wrote:
Question for you guys. post is a few years old but worth a try.

What is LAST factory's styLAST? What does it do? How do you use it? Can you still get it? If so, where?

thanks!


Do you mean STYLUS? If so, then:

From most accounts, the last RCA production of styli was around 1988-1990, and RCA factory supply was gone by the mid to later 1990s, although many shops around the country had stock on their shelves. I suspect most if that is gone too. I personally have around a dozen of NOS styli.

The microsized diamond stylus tip which reads the disc was said by RCA to last at least 1,000 hours of play, or about 500 discs. In actual practice, I would say that is pretty accurate, although it will generally need cleaning about every 100 plays. The symptoms of a dirty or worn stylus are staticky video and especially audio. A clean and good stylus, with a good player, gives a fine picture and audio that is comparable to Beta 1 or S-VHS, in general overall quality.

The stylus tip is in a good-sized cartridge that is easily removed and replaced so, just like the discs themselves, a person should never need to touch the stylus, even when cleaning it. Cleaning the stylus is done best with a very fine, small artists paintbrush dipped in rubbing alcohol, brushing first against the direction of play first, and then in the direction of play. The cartridge then should be left to dry for about 20 mins before being returned to the player.

There is a company that cleans and/or rebuilds the stylus back to better than factory specs called CEDATUM. They have a website, cedatum.com and their prices for such service are pretty inexpensive.

If you did not mean STYLUS, then I apologize.
Author:  61cubby [ 26 Jul 2013, 15:43 ]
Post subject:  Re: Question for CED collectors
Rix-

As always, thanks for your detailed and easy to understand answers. I'm glad there are guys like you around we can count on for this.

On page one of this topic, a guy with the handle "disclord" is talking about how he uses styLAST on his stylus before he is going to record a copy of a CED. He states that the picture is much better and the stylus is able to get a better signal off the disc. From this context, I'm guessing it is a product that you put onto the stylus before play?
Author:  rixrex [ 27 Jul 2013, 22:40 ]
Post subject:  Re: Question for CED collectors
Sorry, my mistake on that. You are talking about that product which reduces phonograph stylus wear. I suspect it has some value in reducing any sort of tangiential stylus shudder or vibration that would result in an increase in picture and audio stability and quality, and some value in cleaning the stylus.

First, I should clarify a couple of things I said:

1. I stated CED was comparable to S-VHS, and I actually meant comparable to standard VHS carried via S-Video signal.

2. The diamond part of the stylus tip does not atually "read" the disc, but it carries the stylus on the disc surface, and imbedded in the stylus is a titanium electrode that has a minute electrical charge. The diamond stylus tip is keel shaped, like a boat hull, and it rests on peaks that are adjacent to the groove valley wherin the titanium tip sits. The tip itself never touches the disc surface, and the diamond keel, which does, does not really move up/down or sideways but is only the carrier for the electrode tip. The disc itself is kept in contact with an electrode that touches the underside. The titanium tip and the carbon impregnated disc carried micro electronic charges that are opposed. The variable signal that creates the video and audio is caused by dips and peaks in the lower center part of the groove, The titanium tip senses this difference in capiticance, hence the term Capaticance Electronic Disc aka CED, and the player translates this into video and audio. Quite an accomplishment from a technical, scientific viewpoint, and Edison would be proud.

It can be likened somewhat to an airplane flying through a valley between mountain ranges at a stable altitude, and as the valley floor is at higher and lower elevation, the distance between the plane and the valley floor could be read by a radar device and this reading would constantly be changing, thus creating a variable signal.

So this essentially means the only wear on the stylus would come from riding upon the unvariable groove sides. Since the disc has a silicon coating, this wear is already close to a minimum, and I doubt that a product like STYLAST would do very much to reduce wear further, perhaps a bit. But I can see that it could improve video and audio quality in other ways. and could be valuable in stylus cleaning too. The product description says this about it:

Completely cleans the stylus
Reduces noise and distortion
Removes accumulated deposits and particles
Completely safe for all cartridge assemblies

And Also: Reduced distortion and improved sonic performance - Increased stylus tracking ability - Increased stylus suspension life - Reduced record wear - Not a lubricant and leaves no residue - Effective throughout the entire play of one side of an LP record

I saw it available on amazon at $36 for the 1/4 oz bottle with brush, and one application is good for one side play of an LP, so who knows on a CED? It's not cheap in this case.
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