CED VideoDisc Development

[ChrisW6ATV]

I think CED movies may have been $25 and $30, which would be $5 less than comparable Laser Disc versions. Prerecorded movie tapes started at US$60 for the first group (all Beta) from Magnetic Video in about 1978. Later, they started to go up to $80 and eventually often $100, as the studios priced them for the rental stores since there was no revenue-sharing back then. Star Trek 2 was the first tape priced lower with consumer sales in mind, at US$39.95. The next low price was Raiders Of The Lost Ark at $29.95, and it included a commercial for the upcoming Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom, which was also on the Laser Disc, the only LD to ever get a commercial that I know of. These releases were in 1982-83, and low-priced tapes remained the exception all through the life of VHS and Beta. Top Gun in 1986 was notable as the first tape with a true non-related commercial, but the excuse was that it "allowed" the price to be $30 as ha1156w said. CED during its short life was always easier to find than Laser Discs, primarily because it was available from more manufacturers, starting with RCA of course. Laser Disc players were only made by Pioneer and Magnavox in those days. CED players were also less expensive, starting at US$300 if I remember right versus LD players at $600 or more, until Pioneer came up with a stripped-down $400 model.