What is the proper terminology to use when talking about RCA VideoDiscs?
The name used by RCA for the first couple of years of production was “RCA SelectaVision VideoDiscs” which was later abbreviated to “RCA VideoDiscs.” Collectors usually call them CED’s amongst themselves. The name “Capacitance Electronic Discs” is not commonly used, and “CED VideoDiscs” is actually redundant, although that terminology was used on RCA/Columbia titles and on the PAL/UK system discs. I’ve had the most success with want ads in newspapers and other venues with the name “RCA VideoDiscs.” The word SelectaVision is often associated exclusively with RCA VideoDiscs, but the term actually originated in 1969 and applied to all three of RCA’s home video player research projects (Holotape, Magtape, and VideoDisc), and ultimately was used for RCA’s VHS videocassette recorders (technology purchased from Matsushita rather than being developed internally at RCA).
