Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!wuarchive!emory!att!cbnewsh!rkl
From: rkl@cbnewsh.att.com (kevin.laux)
Newsgroups: comp.multimedia
Subject: Re: CDI questions
Message-ID: <1991Feb19.142330.13621@cbnewsh.att.com>
Date: 19 Feb 91 14:23:30 GMT
References: <573@hydra.bucknell.edu> <1991Jan15.040230.26507@gpu.utcs.utoronto.ca> <651.27bcf03a@vger.nsu.edu>
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Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories
Lines: 59

In article <651.27bcf03a@vger.nsu.edu>, manes@vger.nsu.edu ((Mark D. Manes), Norfolk State University) writes:

	-Preceeding discussion deleted-

> I might say that if you need to add sound and if you need to add some 
> more special hardware to bring your video to a NTSC standard for overlaying
> laser disk output, and if you need a genlock you could have purchased an
> amiga and more than likely all the support hardware that you need.
> 
> Let me ask what software are you planning to use on the
> PC?  How much is this software?  Are you going to use a laser disk for
> video?  Which genlock are you going to buy?  And finally, what will all
> this cost?   Rough estimate please.

	I've been developing the Concept Presentation System (CPS) workstation
for over 4 years now.  CPS is a state of the art Information Delivery system
that provides aspects of Training and Documentation to enhance the user's
performance (it's *not* just training or documentation, but a Performance
Support workstation).  CPS provides the user with Conceptual as well as very
detailed information on a Just In Time basis at the very same workstation
where the user is doing their everyday job (you hot-key and what you were
doing is put on hold).  CPS is 386/Vga based.

	Prior to 1990, CPS was laser disc based, with a Sony 3081 Vga/Genlock
boardset, an EECO still frame audio decoder (audio is encoded into a video
frame, about 10 seconds of audio per video frame), and a Sony 2001 laser
disc player.  Total cost for enhancing the 386 was about $4000 for hardware
and drivers.  The workstation configuration did a fine job delivering
multimedia for performance support, but it's weak point was that it was too
hard to maintain (too many parts that could break, no one place could service
it, tangles of cables, and it took up too much real estate, etc.)

	In 1990, the CPS platform was moved completely into the digital world
and is now DVI based.  Now a base 386 is enhanced via the addition of the
Actionmedia 750 Delivery board and an internal CD-ROM.  Current cost is $3000,
but is expected to be under $2000 later this year.  By going completely
digital, almost all of the weak points above have been eliminated.  Not only
that, but capacity has been boosted significantly.  (System must have the
capacity for 10 minutes FMV, 22 hours of Audio, and 5500 graphic stills -
you can't cram all that onto a laser disc.)

	My point is that it's not just a matter of adding laser disc, genlock,
etc. - the user's environment, information capacity, system response time,
etc. all must be taken into consideration.  Yes, an Amiga could have
delivered multimedia, but as I stated before,  the customer wouldn't want
to buy another PC that wouldn't be able to run all the other DOS software
packages.

	However, I *would* want an Amiga for a video production tool, because
it can run the Video Toaster by New Tek.  Now that's a really neat package.
It definitely would smooth out the video production, because all of the post
editting could be done without using an expensive post production studio.
I could save the cost of the Amiga on the first day of post production :-).

-- 
________________________________________________________________________________

	R. Kevin Laux				Email: rkl1@hound.att.com
	AT&T Bell Labs				Voice: (908) 949-1160