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Sunday November 29, 2009 12:44 PM AEST
Skip Navigation LinksPC Authority > News > Whatever happened to: CD-video home appliances?
Whatever happened to: CD-video home appliances?
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Whatever happened to: CD-video home appliances?

by Staff writers  on Aug 7, 2009
Tags: retro | amiga
Remember the CD-i? Launched in 1991, this odd appliance promised a revolution in the way we watch movies at home, just as Blu-Ray does today.

In 1991, Philips launched the CD-i platform, at the same time Commodore was punting its Amiga-based CDTV. Both were aimed at the living room, and both promised a brave new world in which CDs would deliver not only music, but video and games as well.

Unfortunately, with a maximum resolution of 352 x 288, video CDs looked no better than a VHS recording and, unlike video tapes, you couldn't record on them.

As games consoles from Sony and Microsoft would later prove, there's nothing wrong with CD-based games, but Philips wanted CD-i to be seen as a respectable family platform and marketed it with a heavy emphasis on educational games, bypassing the teenage market and effectively guaranteeing its failure.

The CDTV, meanwhile, was technically compatible with the large existing base of Amiga software; but with no floppy drive it relied on publishers producing special CD-based versions of their software to service the nascent market. Not surprisingly, few did.

Before its time? The Amiga CDTV (Image: Wikipedia)

Copyright © 2009 Dennis Publishing
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