🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1992Dec22.101147.9560@iscsvax.uni.edu>, bartusek@iscsvax.uni.edu writes:
|> Is anyone working with Phillips CDI & their authoring system, that just came
|> out for consumer use in October?  I am curious about the use of full screen/
|> full motion video on CDI. I'd like to know if it is available or when it will
|> be available with full motion video?  And I'd like some information on the
|> user-friendly ability of the system.  Thanks!
|> 
|> Marc A. Bartusek
|> University of Northern Iowa
|> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|> 

	Philips CD-I and authoring systems have actually been out and about for
a couple years ( I went to the 3rd CDISC conference last April ). FMV, on the
other hand, is in a "not quite released" state. We currently have one of the 20
or so boards in existance sitting in the back room. It is in target form factor
(to fit into existing consumer players), but obviously needs another revision or
two. After a few plays, it starts to overheat and glitch fairly seriously.

	The board will do full-screen, full-motion video in full color, off of a
CD. This is fairly impressive (to me at least), especially when listening to all
these folks talk about the $15,000 systems they need to run 200x300 sub-windows
at 10fps. (Okay, maybe I exaggerated. So sue me.) Development systems are at a
premium right now, and are priced accordingly (at least the encoding part is). I
believe the systems are all sold through OptImage in Des Moines (1-800-234-5484,
tell I sent you and want a commission). Far as I know, all the boards in
existance and in production at the moment are spoken for, but I could be wrong.

	The software interface is, at best, horrible. Well, maybe I'm
exaggerating again. But, at the least, it is horribly documented. The working
sources we were given are full of magic little bits of assembler, traps to the
OS, unidentified signal handler actions, etc.

	I'm not sure when consumer availability is scheduled for FMV, but I
would imagine it would be sometime 2nd or 3rd Qtr. '93. When titles will be
available is another matter. Oh, and the consumer upgrade is supposed to be
about $100. How they're going to do that when the board we have was supposed to
cost $6000, I don't know . . . .


-- 
Walter Hunt					walter@optimla.optimage.com
OptImage Interactive Services Company, L.P.	walter@optimla.aimla.com
11040 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite #300		netcom!optimla!walter
Los Angeles, Ca. 90025				(310) 445-5718