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From: xgr39@isuvax.iastate.edu (Marc Barrett)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.hardware
Subject: CDTV Improvements.
Message-ID: <1991May8.202349.17673@news.iastate.edu>
Date: 8 May 91 20:23:49 GMT
Sender: news@news.iastate.edu (USENET News System)
Reply-To: xgr39@isuvax.iastate.edu
Organization: Iowa State University, Ames, IA.
Lines: 42


   There have been flame wars on .advocacy for some time, in which people
have been questioning the success of the CDTV machines against the
technically-superior CD-I machines.  All of this debate aside, I would
like to offer some possible improvements that Commodore could easily make
to the CDTV, that would better insure insure its success against these
CD-I machines.

   Commodore wants people to put their CDTV machines in their living
rooms, along with their stereo systems and their VCRs.  It would seem
to me that, if people are going to do this, they are going to want to
easily connect their VCRs and CDTVs to their TV sets at the same time.
They could go out and purchase a switcher, but they would then have
to be constantly getting up and switching manually between their VCRs
and CDTVs.  Since most people will inevitably end up using their VCR
more than the CDTV, many people may end up just disconnecting the
CDTV altogether and throwing it in the closet along with their C64s.

   To make it easier for people to use their VCRs and CDTVs together,
I think Commodore should seriously consider making the genlocks 
standard hardware.  First, this allow people to pipe the output of the
VCR through the CDTV, simplifying the use of both with a single TV.
Second, this would likely allow the CDTV to really take off as a 
video tool, as it would allow people who would ordinarily not go out
of their way to purchase such a complicated item as a genlock, to
discover the true capabilities of a genlock through experimentation.

   Before the Amiga 1000 was introduced back in 1985, there were
many rumors that the standard hardware would include a genlock.  I
think it is about time that Amigas did include genlocks as standard
hardware, starting with the CDTV.  Not only would this give the 
CDTV a boost as a home video tool, but it would give it an added
edge against the CD-I systems -- an edge it desperately needs.

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