craig@gpu.utcs.utoronto.ca (Craig Hubley) (08/17/90)
I saw the CDTV at SIGGRAPH and was told that it would be supporting some form
of VCR control. I am wondering what the nature of this is - will it be a sort
of trainable infrared system, like universal remote controls ? Will it also
be able to hook into VCR serial ports ? I thought that the actual control
protocols on these things was pretty proprietary, but perhaps not anymore.
There also doesn't appear to be an industry standard yet - perhaps we are
waiting for CEbus to provide that.
----OBLIGATORY POST-SHOW FRIENDLY "SHAPE UP COMMODORE" FLAME----
At SIGGRAPH, Commodore had the CDTV well-hidden in the middle of their booth,
while there was only a demo video running at the corners. There was certainly
no CDTV with a huge sign saying "CD-Audio! CD-ROM! Amiga 500! Remote Control!
UNDER A THOUSAND BUCKS!" like there should have been. No excuses, please,
Commodore. Not only was the final price not set by SIGGRAPH time (whose fault
was that?), and the product hidden in the booth, but its capabilities were not
well advertised (although the personnel at the booth had a good background for
questions). Meanwhile, NewTek was drawing huge crowds with a cute
demonstrator editing video of herself, and Penn and Teller's demo tape. I
happened to overhear a NewTek person tell a Commodore person that the first
time NewTek had heard of the A3000 was "at the launch". Therefore the Toaster
doesn't work on the A3000. Commodore sure has a lot to learn. Their press
kit didn't mention the CDTV at all, that I could find. In the press room,
Commodore had the highest pile of undistributed press kits. I found better
press coverage of the CDTV from Tiger Media, who are doing a CDTV game. I
guess I should thank Commodore for not beating up and kicking out the single
newsman that I saw find the CDTV at the booth.
I don't think I have to elaborate the effects this kind of bungling has on
CDTV developers, and people's inclinations to become developers.
----END OBLIGATORY POST-SHOW FLAME----
Anyway, I would like to know what level of VCR control is likely to be provided
for the CDTV off-the-shelf, and what Commodore sees being provided by third-
party products. This is a pretty critical issue if the CDTV is to fit snugly
into existing home-entertainment systems.
Craig Hubley kid after Live Aid: "Is that it?"
Craig Hubley & Associates ---------------------------------
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--
Craig Hubley kid after Live Aid: "Is that it?"
Craig Hubley & Associates ---------------------------------
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craig@gpu.utcs.toronto.EDU {allegra,bnr-vpa,decvax}!utcsri!utgpu!craigdaveh@cbmvax.commodore.com (Dave Haynie) (08/17/90)
In article <1990Aug16.182516.2512@gpu.utcs.utoronto.ca> craig@gpu.utcs.utoronto.ca (Craig Hubley) writes: >I happened to overhear a NewTek person tell a Commodore person that the first >time NewTek had heard of the A3000 was "at the launch". Therefore the Toaster >doesn't work on the A3000. Simply not true. All Developers in the Developer Support Program knew about the 3000 before the April launch. Many signed up for a special series of one-day sessions we had in Philly, Chicago, and San Jose, in mid February. These were for the testing of hardware and software, and all developers were informed of them. Anyone who didn't go stayed away at their option. >Commodore sure has a lot to learn. Their press kit didn't mention the CDTV at >all, that I could find. Well, SIGGRAPH is hardly the place for CDTV, I would think. That's a consumer product, like a TV or VCR. SIGGRAPH is pretty much for professional graphics stuff. The A3000 and the Video Toaster certainly qualify for this, but if you had to ask a question about CDTV at SIGGRAPH, mine would be "why is it there at all", not "why aren't they pushing it". > Craig Hubley kid after Live Aid: "Is that it?" -- Dave Haynie Commodore-Amiga (Amiga 3000) "The Crew That Never Rests" {uunet|pyramid|rutgers}!cbmvax!daveh PLINK: hazy BIX: hazy Get that coffee outta my face, put a Margarita in its place!
craig@gpu.utcs.utoronto.ca (Craig Hubley) (08/17/90)
In article <13853@cbmvax.commodore.com> amiga!cbmvax!daveh writes: >In article <1990Aug16.182516.2512@gpu.utcs.utoronto.ca> craig@gpu.utcs.utoronto.ca (Craig Hubley) writes: > >>I happened to overhear a NewTek person tell a Commodore person that the first >>time NewTek had heard of the A3000 was "at the launch". Therefore the Toaster >>doesn't work on the A3000. > >Simply not true. All Developers in the Developer Support Program knew about Just reporting what I heard. Can't vouch for its accuracy. The Commodore people asked "who in our organization are you interfacing with about the A3000?", and the (senior) NewTek person responded "Nobody. The first we heard about the A3000 was at the launch." >>Commodore sure has a lot to learn. Their press kit didn't mention the CDTV at >>all, that I could find. > >Well, SIGGRAPH is hardly the place for CDTV, I would think. That's a consumer Tiger Media didn't think so, nor did the half dozen people I hauled over to have a look at the thing... >product, like a TV or VCR. SIGGRAPH is pretty much for professional graphics >stuff. The A3000 and the Video Toaster certainly qualify for this, but if you >had to ask a question about CDTV at SIGGRAPH, mine would be "why is it there >at all", not "why aren't they pushing it". Dead wrong. SIGGRAPH is crawling with serious multimedia developers. Apple was courting them. So were several other companies. These guys show up to see who's got the hot box that they want to work with... a lot of them will target the low end immediately or as soon as it is feasible. This was a golden opportunity to show them who really has the goods. But it will have to wait now until next year... when the CDTV is old news. It really needs the help at launch time, not a year later... by then they will see cheap Macs, though... One look at the SIGGRAPH program would show that there were panels and papers devoted specifically to multimedia issues... and an ENTIRE FORUM of nothing but hypermedia pieces... if anyone had bothered to look, that is. Sorry Dave, nice try, but this is the good old "sure to fail" Commodore marketing pseudo-strategy that we all know and hate... >Dave Haynie Commodore-Amiga (Amiga 3000) "The Crew That Never Rests" Craig Hubley kid after Live Aid: "Is that it?" Craig Hubley & Associates --------------------------------- craig@gpu.utcs.Utoronto.CA UUNET!utai!utgpu!craig craig@utorgpu.BITNET craig@gpu.utcs.toronto.EDU {allegra,bnr-vpa,decvax}!utcsri!utgpu!craig -- Craig Hubley kid after Live Aid: "Is that it?" Craig Hubley & Associates --------------------------------- craig@gpu.utcs.Utoronto.CA UUNET!utai!utgpu!craig craig@utorgpu.BITNET craig@gpu.utcs.toronto.EDU {allegra,bnr-vpa,decvax}!utcsri!utgpu!craig
jesup@cbmvax.commodore.com (Randell Jesup) (08/27/90)
In article <1990Aug17.072522.8782@gpu.utcs.utoronto.ca> craig@gpu.utcs.utoronto.ca (Craig Hubley) writes: >Just reporting what I heard. Can't vouch for its accuracy. The Commodore >people asked "who in our organization are you interfacing with about the >A3000?", and the (senior) NewTek person responded "Nobody. The first we heard >about the A3000 was at the launch." a) How did they get to the A3000 launch with a big booth set up to show off in, Penn & Teller video running, etc, if that was the first they'd heard about it? b) The (fairly high up I think) NewTek guys I was talking to there didn't say anything like that to me. They did say they would probably have to redo the connectors on the back to fit the A3000 properly, I think (though I think it will fit fine if you remove the little card-cage back-plate). They still had one more board-rev to go anyways, they said. c) You would think someone would have been "interfacing" re the A3000 by now, even if the A3000 launch had been the first they heard. d) All developers were invited to the mini-devcons. Many went. If they didn't (especially for soemone doing video slot stuff), there's not much we can do about it. -- Randell Jesup, Keeper of AmigaDos, Commodore Engineering. {uunet|rutgers}!cbmvax!jesup, jesup@cbmvax.cbm.commodore.com BIX: rjesup Common phrase heard at Amiga Devcon '89: "It's in there!"
daveh@cbmvax.commodore.com (Dave Haynie) (09/05/90)
In article <14003@cbmvax.commodore.com> jesup@cbmvax (Randell Jesup) writes: >In article <1990Aug17.072522.8782@gpu.utcs.utoronto.ca> craig@gpu.utcs.utoronto.ca (Craig Hubley) writes: >>Just reporting what I heard. Can't vouch for its accuracy. The Commodore >>people asked "who in our organization are you interfacing with about the >>A3000?", and the (senior) NewTek person responded "Nobody. The first we heard >>about the A3000 was at the launch." > a) ... d) e) Everything you could ever need to be fully compatible with the A3000 has been out to the developers for years. There's a book called the "A500/ A2000 Technical Reference Manual", which costs about $40, that has all the AUTOCONFIG specs, physcial connector specs for video and Zorro II, etc. Developers ignore these kinds of things (and some do) at their own peril, we never publish specs just to give 3rd party engineers something to read on the can, we publish them because we MEAN them. >Randell Jesup, Keeper of AmigaDos, Commodore Engineering. -- Dave Haynie Commodore-Amiga (Amiga 3000) "The Crew That Never Rests" {uunet|pyramid|rutgers}!cbmvax!daveh PLINK: hazy BIX: hazy Get that coffee outta my face, put a Margarita in its place!