Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!swrinde!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!lll-winken!taco!hobbes.catt.ncsu.edu!kdarling From: kdarling@hobbes.catt.ncsu.edu (Kevin Darling) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.advocacy Subject: Re: CDTV and CD-I (last) Message-ID: <1991Apr14.075104.18461@ncsu.edu> Date: 14 Apr 91 07:51:04 GMT References: <23487@know.pws.bull.com> Sender: news@ncsu.edu (USENET News System) Organization: North Carolina State University Lines: 87 > OK, I've watched certain remarks go far enough. Kevin, your neatly leaving > out several factors which put the odds in CD-I's favor... Hey, I'm only human. Still, I think I've tried _very_ hard not to put any unfair slant on things... altho many people besides myself think I've been given provocation to do so. Ah, but what's life without a little pain? :-) > Since CD-I doesn't come standard with a blitter, how do you propose very > fast and intensive graphic manipulations in things such as games? Since you put so much misplaced emphasis on blitters, and some critical technical comparisons (chip ram access, especially) didn't seem to indicate obvious answers to you, I fear you're asking me the impossible. Umm...okay, if you tell me you know how ANIMs are played back, and/or how to calculate chip ram lockout, then I'll know if you'll understand. Otherwise, honestly we may both be wasting our time, and you'll just have to trust me ;-). Email indicates that those who need to know (programmers), got the picture tho. > Hey, how about that OS? The Amiga has a much more cleanly constructed, > faster, and RAM conservative OS than anything IBM or Apple currently makes. I agree, but wonder why you constantly brought up IBM/Apple. They're not in it. CD-I uses a version of OS-9, honed for six years just for interactive TV. I doubt that you can find a cleaner, tighter or more solid OS for a player. > CDTV sports a very impressive list of expansion ports. Umm. Check out _other_ people's postings in amiga groups on this subject. Much of your message seems to show that you've only read .advocacy articles. > CD-I isn't even here yet, so what you promise as features should > be taken with a grain of salt. CD-I, if it does have all those features, > will probably not sell for under $1000. Well, I don't blame you for disbelieving. It's a lot like trying to explain my Amiga to an IBM owner. It's _always_ easier to shoot the messenger than to believe something you don't wish to :-) Believe me, I didn't/don't want to be that messenger. At the same time, people should know the facts. Those who've kept up on the other c.s.a.xxx groups, know about new 680x0 video systems coming out which use many of the CD-I chips. They sell for under $1000 _with_ DMA 1.44meg drive, DMA SCSI port, 3meg RAM, 5 serial ports, 2 parallel ports, PC keyboard/mouse ports, DMA stereo audio output _and_ input ports, up to 256 colors out of 16 million, and realtime multitasking/user windowing and multiple screens in 100K of code. The makers are tiny companies. I repeat this only because it might persuade you that a <$1000 CD-I system will be _easy_ for the huger companies who brought you digital TV sets, LCD portables, and CD stereos at bargain prices. Too much salt is bad for one :) > If CDTV makes Commodore money, the Amiga > line get's an R&D injection, and that makes me happy. For all I care they > can use the multimedia market like a cheap hooker for the next two years like > Apple has used a computer and it's name to fill the bank with money. With respect, I fear that you're kneejerking here, without thinking of the consequences. I've thought for a year about what CDTV will mean for CBM -- Benefits: First, the Amiga fairly quickly gains a set of CDROM titles; and altho they are not oriented towards _Amiga_ use (eg: data retrieval for use in reports), we still get a massive shot in the arm to Amiga CDROM. Second, it brought in some multimedia studios who had previously ignored the Amiga. Third, it has the potential of prompting CBM to more quickly upgrade Amiga graphics. Fourth, it brings some needed publicity to CBM. Pitfalls: First, the original R&D might've gone into better Amiga graphics; instead we must wait up to a year (according to a recent show report here). Second, CBM'll continuously have to lower prices. That equals lower profit, with all its ramifications. Potentially worst of all: the Amiga has built up a fairly decent reputation... now what will happen to that when people compare CDTV/CD-I output, and someone mentions that CDTV has an Amiga core? Thoughtful discussion welcome. Don't rely just on me. Again, I like Amigas. But I've also been a five-year believer in I-TV, and yes, CD-I. If you think YOU feel bad when Mac users claim to have invented multimedia, then you know how I feel about CDTV. But that's a beef I have with CBM, not anyone here. I've also said that I don't doubt that CDTV will sell... but I also fear that it might not benefit either the Amiga or I-TV in the end; and could hurt. In any case, some keep trying to make this one of those silly "XXs vs Amigas". I'd much rather talk about possible applications. One I just thought of would be a college tour disc for high school students. Others? > Gee, the world isn't so complicated when you look at it through IBM eyes... If you say so! I sure wouldn't know, nor want to. :-) take care - kevin