Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!samsung!rex!uflorida!gatech!taco!hobbes.catt.ncsu.edu!kdarling From: kdarling@hobbes.catt.ncsu.edu (Kevin Darling) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.misc Subject: Re: CDTV- Let's clear the air... Message-ID: <1991Apr11.114735.9673@ncsu.edu> Date: 11 Apr 91 11:47:35 GMT References: <23238@know.pws.bull.com> <1991Apr9.145504.14048@ncsu.edu> <1991Apr10.121215.6661@sugar.hackercorp.com> Sender: news@ncsu.edu (USENET News System) Organization: North Carolina State University Lines: 33 slewis@sugar.hackercorp.com (Steve Lewis) writes: >Kevin, thanks for adding your insight about CD-I to the discussion. >Its good to get a perspective about CDTV/CD-I from outside of the >Amiga communtiy. CD-I sounds very interesting, but even more interesting >is computers based on the CD-I technology. What can you tell us about them? Umm. Basically that it's premature to say much, mostly because they don't yet have the glitzy applications to interest most people. Hackers, yes. I should note here that a few of the CD-I players will be expandable in the same way as CDTV players (keyboard, disk, memory, SCSI, net, etc). I doubt (because of not wanting to alienate technophobic consumers) that this route will be officially pushed in the US, altho overseas might be another story. US third-party expansion is a real probability tho. At least two small companies will soon be selling systems based around the Signetics 68070 cpu, and 66470 VSC (Video System Controller) chips. That gives you a nice, tiny 68K card (perfect for controllers too, btw) with up to 720x480 16-color or 360x480 256-color, color RLE mode, some amiga-copper-like processing, a pixel-logic unit, and NTSC or PAL output. One of them was recently being promoted for $875, which included: a 15Mhz 68070 cpu, VSC with 1-meg RAM and a 16-million color DACRAM, DMA SCSI port and 3.5" 1.44meg floppy, 5 serial ports, 2 parallel ports, XT keyboard port, RTC, slots for Mac/PC SIMM expansion to 3/9 megabytes, analog joystick port, DMA-driven stereo 8-bit sound output AND input. Software includes multitask/user OS-9 with c compiler, basic, uucp, windows, networking, and a slew of utilities. Optional low-profile case/pwr $100. Future computers in this vein will have 68030s (prototype already in use), dual VSCs (like the CD-I players), perhaps even a built-in video digitizer. I'll keep you informed. Thanks! kevin