Path: utzoo!censor!geac!torsqnt!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!gatech!ncsuvx!news
From: kdarling@hobbes.ncsu.edu (Kevin Darling)
Newsgroups: comp.ivideodisc
Subject: Re: How much can be put on a videodisc
Message-ID: <1990Dec9.082724.22804@ncsuvx.ncsu.edu>
Date: 9 Dec 90 08:27:24 GMT
References: <4003@mindlink.UUCP>
Sender: news@ncsuvx.ncsu.edu (USENET News System)
Organization: NCSU Computing Center
Lines: 29

> In this discussion on CD-I, CD-V, etc., which are coming, no mention
> has been made of Commodores' CDTV which is available in limited release now.
> General release after Christmas.
>
> It is being sold at around $995.00 Canadian.

I'd heard that it was previewed at a Canadian Amiga show, but won't
be available for US sale until months after its release in Europe 2Q '91.
Have you seen it in a store?

Commodore originally announced that CDTV would be available with
a "hundred" discs for the Christmas season.  They missed, which is
understandable. But if CD-I comes out in stores before next season,
then I don't see CDTV being able to make it in the mass market.

That is, it'd be hard to visualize the general buying public going into
an audio-video store, and selecting a Commodore unit (whose discs would be
incompatible with anything else)... instead of choosing from a shelf full of
other well-known brands (Matsushita, Yamaha, Pioneer, Sony, Philips, et al)
which _do_ all play the same discs... and which have better graphics to boot.

I think Commodore was very clever to try to jump ahead of the coming
CD-I bandwagon, and few if any other computers could've been used to do so.
But CDTV is pretty much pre-doomed, I'd think.  At best, it'll serve as
a "feeler" for public reaction to interactive TV... at worst, it'll make
a lot of people mad when they realize they bought a "loner".  best - kev

 | Kevin Darling        | Internet: kdarling@catt.ncsu.edu   | OS-9 &
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