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From: es1@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu (Ethan Solomita)
Subject: Re: DCTV + CDTV = A SMASH HIT!
Message-ID: <1991Apr7.023811.5758@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu>
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Reply-To: es1@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu (Ethan Solomita)
Organization: Columbia University
References: <10000026@hpmwmat.HP.COM> <1991Apr7.003336.3219@ncsu.edu>
Date: Sun, 7 Apr 1991 02:38:11 GMT

In article <1991Apr7.003336.3219@ncsu.edu> kdarling@hobbes.ncsu.edu (Kevin Darling) writes:
>mikep@hpmwtd.HP.COM (Mike Powell) writes:
>
>> As CDTV is pointed primarily as a NTSC device, DCTV would be right
>> at home in the CDTV, and would give it an AMAZING jump on the
>> competetion...  HAM is ok.  but 16 million NTSC colors is FANTASTIC!
>
>A good idea, but I'm afraid that it would hardly "give it an amazing jump"
>on CD-I, which is CDTV's competition.  In fact, not even close.
>
>...
>
>To be blunt, CD-I gfx is what the basic Amiga gfx should've been by now.
>Perhaps CBM should use CD-I chips.  best - kevin <kdarling@catt.ncsu.edu>


	Kevin, you should take a look at the CDTV before being so
judgemental. Yes, the graphics modes are better. But Gail
Wellington made a good point: Who's going to buy a home machine
that can't play games? Where the blitter? The advantage that CDTV
has is that it is an Amiga. It has the whole library of Amiga
software if you add a diskdrive. There were 7 different titles
being sold at the show, a list of 50 titles which will be
shipping by the end of June, and 150 titles promised to
Commodore.
	The applications were excellent. There was the World
Atlas, which had a full digitized atlas you could scroll around
in. It had digitized voices and music from different countries.
It had digitized pictures from all around the world as well.
Those 600MB were well used. The best thing was how easy it was to
use. There was no keyboard, just the IR control, and it was still
easy. It is basically just very well thought out.
	I've also seen the American Heritage Dictionary, which
was very well laid out, easy to use, had digitized pictures and a
hypertext style to it (every word in a definition could be jumped
to).
	Basically, it is shipping. There are titles. It is
selling for about $800. Commodore has excellent distribution for
it.
	To make it even better, without any additional hardware
they were doing 1/4 screen (1/2 x 1/2) animation in HAM in 12fps.
Loading was done directly off the CD. And although you may be
saying "1/4 screen", you have to realize that most applications
will be supplementing their normal program with the animation,
and for those 1/4 screen is fine. And of course if you slow down
the frame rate you can get larger area. And we all know what can
be done in a 512K Amiga 500 with animation and these come
standard with 1MB.
	The big-names are developing for it, including Grolier's,
Sieera On-Line and Psygnosis.  I really don't see how CD-I can
possibly succeed. The Amiga operating system has had 4-5 years of
thorough in-use testing and there are already lots of programmers
familiar with programming it. CD-I isn't shipping. It seems like
it keeps getting new and new screen resolutions and nothing
ships. Also, Commodore can cut prices a lot better than the CD-I
people can, the CDTV is made of already mass-produced contents.
	CD-I was delayed too long. I'd recommend you look at CDTV
and its applications before condemning them.
	-- Ethan

Q: How many Comp Sci majors does it take to change a lightbulb
A: None. It's a hardware problem.
