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From: hrlaser@crash.cts.com (Harv Laser)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.misc
Subject: Re: CDTV's are here.
Message-ID: <8441@crash.cts.com>
Date: 7 Apr 91 20:24:19 GMT
References: <2240@swrinde.nde.swri.edu> <9746@mentor.cc.purdue.edu>
Distribution: na
Organization: Crash TimeSharing, El Cajon, CA
Lines: 83

In article <9746@mentor.cc.purdue.edu> aru@mentor.cc.purdue.edu (Sri-Man) writes:
>In article <2240@swrinde.nde.swri.edu> kent@swrinde.nde.swri.edu (Kent D. Polk) writes:
>>
>>I suppose this is a little late, but Amazing Computing here in San
>>Antonio got their first shipment of CDTV's in last Monday. C= said they
>>were the first ones to be shipped for retail sales.
>
>Our dealer just got one last week on Monday or so.  Its an interesting looking
>device.  So far we only have one application for it.  Can't do very much with
>just Backgammon. :-)  More to come, when they get more shipments of products.
>
>	Sri


I was in Creative Computers' store in Lawndale (Torrance) CA yesterday.
They have received their first shipment of CDTV and looked to have a
pile of about twenty of them in white shipping cartons for sale to anyone
who cared to wave about $900 at a salesman. 

In the rear of the showroom they had cordoned off a corner with one of those
portable office wall thingies and had set up a very tiny living room: a
couple chairs, a magazine rack, some art on the walls, and a nice 
black 21" Sony trintron tv on a tv rack/stand with the CDTV on the shelf
below it. They didn't have much software - just whatever comes packed
with the unit, plus a "Barney Bear" children's game disc, and some
CD+G music disc. They said more titles were in transit. 

Customers were welcomed to sit down with a saleman "for a private showing"
as per the sign taped to the store's front door but in the crowded
typical Saturday shopping frenzy, customers were playing with the CDTV
remote on their own with only occasional intervention by a salesman
to make sure no one was damaging the uniit or trying to pocket the
discs. 

At the "Home Media Expo" held last week at the Beverly Hills Hilton
hotel I got a "Spring 1991 CDTV Catalog" which lists about 80 CDTV
titles, both available on launch and promised for near-future release.
A disc that was running on Creative's unit had screen shots and
recorded-huan-voice narration offered customers the ability to 
page through descriptions of all of these 80 or so titles (and perhaps
more.. I didn't take the time to explore the entire disc... when you
go adventuring on a graphical CD there can be HOURS of sound and
screens on them :-)

I asked three different Creative salesmen why they had the unit kind of
buried in the back of the showroom and all three of them told me it was because
Commodore had insisted on them not demoing it "mixed in" with the
regular Amigas nor were they to present it to the public as a "computer."
Thus the mini-living room ambience. 

How are other dealers showing CDTV?  Creative is the only place I've
seen it so far. 

I also learned from a CBM Int'l rep at that Home Media Show that they
(CBM) were going to try to get The Wherehouse (So. Calif's largest
retailer of records (well... hell, they don't carry vinyl LPs anymore),
CDs, Cassettes, and movie rentals) to carry CDTV discs and I saw a
number of CDTV software sales packs in those CD "long boxes" made to
fit right in with regular audio-retailer's display shelving.  It should
make for a very interesting session of dealer education when it comes
time to explain to the typical record store employees what CDTV is
and how to explain and demo it to customers.  

The idea of packing CDTV software in CD long boxes seems to go right
againist the current trend of certain outspoken environmentally-
oriented (or so they claim) artists and record companies who are
purposely going to repackage their audio CDs withOUT the long boxes since
those boxes are mainly an anti-shoplift device more than anything else 
and most customers just throw them away after opening them and removing
the CD in its jewel case, thus just more tree-killing cardboard to
end up in landfills.

Oh, one other curious note: CDTV does not have an electronic motor-driven
eject of the disc and its "caddy". It has a mechanical pushbutton next
to the CD slot. For a thousand dollar unit I was kind of surprised at
this.  PUsh that button too briskly and the caddy comes flying out the
slot and onto the floor.  At least it did on Creative's demo unit and
the salesguys were constantly warning customers about pushing the
eject button with too much gusto. 


Harv Laser                                      {anywhere}!crash!hrlaser
"Park and lock it.  Not responsible."           People/Link: CBM*HARV