xgr39@isuvax.iastate.edu (Marc Barrett) (05/09/91)
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. ------------------------------------------------------------- / Marc Barrett -MB- | BITNET: XGR39@ISUVAX.BITNET / / ISU COM S Student | Internet: XGR39@CCVAX.IASTATE.EDU / ------------------------------------------------------------ \ Wanted for foreign language courses at Iowa State: One \ \ Babel Fish. Willing to pay Top Dollar. If you have one \ \ for sale, please respond to one of the above addresses. \ -------------------------------------------------------------
peterk@cbmger.UUCP (Peter Kittel GERMANY) (05/10/91)
In article <1991May8.202349.17673@news.iastate.edu> xgr39@isuvax.iastate.edu writes: > > 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. > To make it easier for people to use their VCRs and CDTVs together, >I think Commodore should seriously consider making the genlocks >standard hardware. You don't need a switcher to comfortably switch between CDTV and normal TV or VCR! It's already in there! You can loop the CDTV into your antenna cable, and on the CDTV remote control you have a button to switch between CDTV operation and TV signal fed through. They are not dumb... And a genlock is really a nice thing. But it's not free and not needed by everyone. So I think it's really a good idea to have it optional. -- Best regards, Dr. Peter Kittel // E-Mail to \\ Only my personal opinions... Commodore Frankfurt, Germany \X/ {uunet|pyramid|rutgers}!cbmvax!cbmger!peterk
slc@hoptoad.uucp (Steve Costa) (05/11/91)
Against my better judgment, I reply to a Marc Barrett article. In article <1991May8.202349.17673@news.iastate.edu> xgr39@isuvax.iastate.edu writes: > >... stuff omitted > > 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. > People who buy CDTV are likely to have audio/video receivers with multiple video inputs. I don't think we're talking about people with a 13" TV and a KMart VCR. >... more stuff omitted > > ------------------------------------------------------------- > / Marc Barrett -MB- | BITNET: XGR39@ISUVAX.BITNET / >/ ISU COM S Student | Internet: XGR39@CCVAX.IASTATE.EDU / >------------------------------------------------------------ >\ Wanted for foreign language courses at Iowa State: One \ > \ Babel Fish. Willing to pay Top Dollar. If you have one \ > \ for sale, please respond to one of the above addresses. \ > -------------------------------------------------------------