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CED Label and Caddy Variations

 

The CED Title Database only lists titles that have unique universal product codes, and makes no attempt to list caddy, label, or program content variations. As is true with many other collectibles, some CED collectors are interested in adding these variations to their CED collection. I have collected a few variations myself, and am providing this list so that interested collectors can email me their list of variations for inclusion.

Caddy variations include the presence or absence of a handle on the caddy, and different caddy colors (blue or white) for the same title. RCA initially intended all CED titles to have the caddy handle and a cutout in the label to accommodate removal of the caddy from the player, but this feature was not needed on the "J" series players introduced in 1983. Some later titles appeared in both blue and white caddies, resulting from a shortage of a particular color in the middle of a labeling run. There are also some titles that have white spines inside blue caddies due to a shortage of blue spines.

The most common label variation is the presence or absence of a cutout in the label to fit the caddy handle mentioned above. Some labels have the cutout, even though they are glued to a caddy with no handle, while others have no cutout, but are glued to a caddy with a handle, which can be felt underneath the label.

Less common are variations in what is printed on the label. The most famous example of this is "The Muppet Movie," which initially stated "Dolby Stereo" on the rear label at the time of the CED System introduction in March 1981-- over a year before any stereo CED players or titles became available. This was changed to "Mono Soundtrack" on subsequent labeling. Other print variations include use of the "Nipper" or the "RCA VideoDiscs" logo on the same title, or similarly, use of the "20th Century Fox" or the "CBS/Fox" logo. A few caddies have mis-matched front and backs due to a printing error, but none of these discs made it to the retail channel. If discs were already loaded before the error was noticed, they were given to RCA employees in lieu of being set aside for relabeling.

Program content variations usually comprise logo changes at the start of the program, or corrections to the actual content after some discs were already distributed. For example, there are two versions of "The Secret of Nimh," one where side 2 is 26 min. and a later version where side 2 is 40 min., replacing a crucial scene left off the earlier version. I have also heard of some discs being pressed with mis-matched sides 1 and 2, but apparently these were destroyed at the pressing plant, rather than being distributed among employees.

The following variation list is sorted alphabetically by title, with the variation listed inside square brackets, and the name of the person who discovered the variation inside curly brackets.

If you discover any additional variations please email them to me. Even if you have only one copy of a CED, variations can be found by comparison to the high-resolution photos on the CED Magic Collector's Guide CD-ROM. I'm looking for any variation other than the presence or absence of handles or handle cutouts on the caddy (half the existing CED titles may have this variation).


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