The CDTV (for Commodore Dynamic Total Vision) was the first computer to come with a CD-ROM drive as standard.

CDTV was made by Commodore International and launched in March 1991. Designed and marketed as a set-top box to go along with your VCR and be used as a CD-player and games console, it was created as a direct competitor to CD-i, with neither having any real commercial success.

The CDTV was essentially an Amiga 500 with a single-speed CD-ROM drive. But unlike its progenitor, CDTV was intended as a media appliance, rather than a personal computer. As such, its housing had dimensions and styling compatible with most stereo components, and came only with an infrared remote control. Similarly, the lack of a keyboard, mouse, and floppy drive as standard peripherals (which could be added separately) was a conscious marketing decision, but their absence was regarded by many as a disadvantage. Commodore chose Amiga enthusiast magazines as its chief advertising channel, but the Amiga community on the whole avoided the CDTV in the expectation of an add-on CD-ROM drive for the Amiga, which eventually came in the form of the A570.

The CDTV was a commercial failure and was eventually replaced by the Amiga CD32. One possible reason for its failure was that it used the already-obsolete AmigaOS 1.3, rather than the much more advanced 2.0.

Specifications

• CPU: Motorola 68000 @ 7.14 MHz.
• Memory: 1 Meg Chip RAM.
• Chipset: Original Chip Set. (OCS)
• OS: AmigaOS 1.3 + CDTV module.
• Debuted: March 1991 (At CES, Las Vegas)
• Launch price: £499 (CDTV, Joypad & 2 titles)

Versions

• CDTV: CDTV unit & joypad.
• Pro pack: keyboard, mouse & diskdrive, along with Almathera CDPD Public Domain software compilation on CD-ROM

CBM hardware | Commodore Amiga | Fourth-generation video game consoles | Computer and video game flops

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