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From: bjames@lehi3b15.csee.Lehigh.EDU (Binoy James [890904])
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga,comp.sys.amiga.tech,comp.sys.amiga.hardware
Subject: Re: Multimedia platforms in Personal Workstation
Message-ID: <1141@lehi3b15.csee.Lehigh.EDU>
Date: 26 Sep 90 16:46:50 GMT
References: <1990Sep23.144316.10200@zip.eecs.umich.edu> <1990Sep24.142727.6368@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu>
Reply-To: bjames@lehi3b15.csee.Lehigh.EDU (Binoy James [890904])
Followup-To: comp.sys.amiga
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Organization: CSEE Dept. Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA
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In article <1990Sep24.142727.6368@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu> cmm1@cunixa.cc.columbia.edu (Christopher M Mauritz) writes:

>
>Yah, I noticed that.  Frankly, I'm at a loss to explain it.  One of
>the systems reviewed was an Intel box (I think).  I hardly think
>ANY Intel box can compete on a price/performance basis (or even just
>a performance basis given expenditures don't exceed $10K or so) with
>the Amiga 3000 for Multimedia applications.  It is true that the Amiga
>lacks software in some areas, but I wasn't aware that the multimedia
>area was one of them.  I'm astonished at the A3000's absence.
>

Well, Lehigh University has been an Intel/IBM DVI testsite for some time now.
I went and checked out the lab.  The have some sort of Intel boards inside a 286 which is connected to another monitor and the guy in charge showed me some demos.  Most of it was stuff playing of a laserdisk.  Then he turned on the camera and digitized in
 real time (with compression) to his hard drive.  The image was 512x512 and when he played it back there was a slight jerkiness to the video but it was ok.  Pretty bad for such an expensive system.  

I think the reason they don't have Amigas up there is that it is lacking in some key parts.  There is no machine or machine with boards that Commodore can offer for developing multimedia.  I mean there is no multimedia board that one can buy and have a sy
stem similar to Intels.  They also want realtime digitizing (video and audio) with compression (very important!).  I couldn't find such a product!  Does it exist?  

I also took a bunch of people from the above lab to the User's Fair.  They were really disappointed!  After all wasn't this the same fair that was called World of Commodore/Amiga last year.  Where were all the big companies.  Commodore also demo'd up at t
he lab for these folks.  This was during the summer.  I wasn't here (in Qatar near Kuwait) but I heard that forgot simple cables and software and ended up not be able to demo much!  The head of the dept. is really cautious of CBM and is pretty adamant abo
ut not dealing with them.  It's a pity because all the people under him want an Amiga/Toaster setup.  The multimedia lab has everything from MAC IICx to ps/2's to Techtronix (v. expensive) printers to expenisive cameras.  

What do I do?
Bin (Amiga owner since 1986) but no guru!