Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!caen!sol.ctr.columbia.edu!cunixf.cc.columbia.edu!cunixb.cc.columbia.edu!es1 From: es1@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu (Ethan Solomita) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.misc Subject: CDTV (reprinted from Amazing Computing) Message-ID: <1991Feb27.052608.26459@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu> Date: 27 Feb 91 05:26:08 GMT Sender: news@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu (The Daily News) Reply-To: es1@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu (Ethan Solomita) Organization: Columbia University Lines: 109 LAS VEGAS, NEVADA was once again the scene for the Winter Consumer Electronics Show. But Commodore Business Machines, Inc. was impatient to announce CDTV (Commodore Dynamic Total Vision) to the international consumer press. CBM scheduled their big press conference for the evening before CES began. Irving Gould, Gail Wellington, Nolan Bushnell and a host of other Commodore executives rolled out their worldwide introduction of CDTV. CDTV is Commodore's latest edition to the expanding line of hardware products based on the Amiga. (Commodore's remarkable UNIX-based machine comes in next). CDTV combines the technology of the Amiga and the storage capabilities of compact disc to create a new consumer product for learning and entertainment. Irving Gould, Commodore International Limited's chairman and chief executive officer, called CDTV "a revolutionary new product category that transforms consumer electronics and computer technology into a powerful new media that will enrich and enhance everyday life." Mr. Gould was standing before a packed audience of press and industry notables. Gail Wellington, Directory of Special Projects for Commodore International, Ltd., noted the large assortment of software developers for CDTV and introduced the newest, Grolier. The Grolier Electronic Encyclopedia contains all 21 volumes of Grolier's Academic American Encyclopedia on a single CD-ROM. Nolan Bushnell, general manager of the Consumer Interactive Products division of Commodore International Limited, noted in a companion press release, "The search and retrieval capabilities provide immediate access to information. Parents and children will have fun doing homework assignments or simply 'thumbing through' the information." Some of the new features available in this latest release of CDTV include screens designed by Jim Sachs, one of the Amiga's most famous artists. His audio screen (used whenever a standard CD is placed in the unit) displays a CD image and a section to list the tracks. As the user chooses the tracks (or the CDTV performs a shuffle), the numbers are displayed in small blocks. Once the CD is activated, a play head hovers over the appropriate disc area and a "laser" beam is seen traveling from the head to the disc and reflected back to the head. If the disc is stopped and removed from the player, both the head and the disc slide off the screen. When playing audio CDs it might be important to check if they are CD+G. CD+G refers to hidden graphic tracks that are encoded on the compact disc. Several compact discs currently contain these hidden graphic files that play like a slow music video, but CDTV is one of the few consumer-priced units that will display these secret graphics. CD+MIDI is another special feature of CDTV. It appears that some artists have encoded their music with MIDI information that will allow the listener to play the music through MIDI keyboards and create entirely different sounds. This feature was being constantly demonstrated by Mike Lehman, author of UltraCard and a developer for CDTV. One of the other great features demonstrated for CDTV is its built-in capability to allow software to be written in a multitude of languages. Several developers are taking advantage of this feature at launch, however, once CDTV is available, every developer will be able to create a single piece of software that can be used on any CDTV around the world. There was good news for Amiga 500 owners. Commodore displayed the A690 (working title) Amiga 500 peripheral that will allow Amiga 500 owners to use CDTV. Unfortunately, no firm pricing has been set for this peripheral, scheduled for a June 1991 release. Amiga 2000 and Amiga 3000 owners will need to wait longer for their access to CDTV. Although Commodore executives say that a device is under development, no one would offer an expected delivery date. While Commodore is unwilling to quote expected sales figures, it is interesting to note the degree of support and the talent working on CDTV products. Walt Disney Computer Software and Grolier lead a large number of developers who have adopted the CDTV format. One of the longest-awaited products for CDTV has been Tiger Media's Airwave Adventure -- The Case of the Cautious Condor. Tiger Media President Laura Buddine stated that the product was ready and waiting for the final release of CBM's CDTV. Based on a 1930's-style murder mystery with vintage comic book characters and scenes, "'Condor'", stated Ms. Buddine, "is the first title to be developed specifically with the interactive capabilities of optical disc platforms in mind." Tiger Media is also the producer of the CATS CD Manager which was instrumental in developing CDs using Sun Microsystems' SPARCstations. Barney Bear Goes To School will be Free Spirit Software's first product for CDTV. Available CDTV's release, Barney Bear Goes to School ($34.95) is a very popular children's interactive game that teaches how to get ready for school, safety, and participation in learning activities. Merit Software will release two products for CDTV, their Classic Board Games and All Dogs Go To Heaven Talking Crayon. Classic Board Games contains the three favorites Chess, Checkers, and Backgammon, completely redesigned for CDTV with play updates available in six different languages (French, German, Japanese, Spanish, Italian, and English). All Dogs Go To Heaven Talking Crayon is based on the animated film by Don Bluth. Music and words from the movie are available in all 30 pictures and children can obtain audio instructions at the touch of a button. Merit is an old hand at developing electronic crayon software; this is their sixth package. With over 46 packages available by the release of CDTV and with hundreds now under development (Commodore has announced that there will be two hundred titles by Christmas 1991), CDTV has a vast assortment of products coming forward. -- Ethan Q: What's the definition of a Quayle? A: Two right wings and no backbone.