#: 17359 S15/Hot Topics
    12-Jan-93  05:02:39
Sb: CD-I in Trouble
Fm: Eric Crichlow 71051,3516
To: All


    Just back from a Vegas Consumer Electronics Show that was very interesting
(and somewhat disturbing.)

    Conspicuous by their absence was Philips, with CD-I. Surprising, at least
to me, since they've actually started promoting it in tv ads yet they don't
show up to the first, and probably the biggest trade show of the year.

    This bodes especially badly since one of the biggest displays at the show
was Panasonic, which has joined forces with a company whose name escapes me, to
produce a product called, if memory serves me correctly, 3D-O. Basically 3D-O
is, well ... CD-I. It basically has everything that CD-I does, except that it
uses a 32 bit RISC processor made by a company that I've never heard of, and it
doesn't (at least I don't think) use our favorite Op Sys. Its got expansion
ports on it for *possible* future expansion into a computer. And Panasonic
seems to be pretty strong in support of it as they have already contracted with
over 60 software companies to produce CD titles for it.

    Probably the most discouraging thing about the show was seeing the
incredible detail, work, and quality that are apparent in the upcoming crop of
computer and CD games and software products. Disturbing because it became
apparent to me that the single, or even dou or trio of programmers can't hope
to produce anything competive with, or even remotely interesting in comparison
with the stuff being brought out by the big companies with teams of
programmers. Make no doubt about it, the stuff coming out on CD in the next
year is unbelieveable.

..Eric...

P.S. As an aside, at least somebody out there is using CD-I. I just today
discovered that the Ramada Reservation Center (where I work) is using a Philips
CD-I player to familiarize its agents with the hotels they're selling. Go
Ramada!