It's the month of CDTV/CD32!Do you know what month it is? Do you have any idea what good times await you this month on Armchair Arcade? It's the Month of CDTV/CD32, of course! Brace yourself!

That's right--this month at Armchair Arcade, your friendly editors will be focusing our attention on Commodore's intriguing duo of CD-ROM based platforms. We'll be bringing you historical information, hands-on looks at emulation and gaming, videos, editorials, collector information...Good God, it's practically like owning one of these units yourself! Please share with us all of your stories and thoughts about the CDTV and the CD32. Do not hold anything back. This is The Month of the CDTV/CD32.

In case you haven't guessed it, each month we'll be covering a new platform, so if you have any ideas for future months please let us know.

From Bill Loguidice:
I'd just like to point out for those who are totally new to the platforms, what to make of the Commodore CDTV and Commodore CD32.

The Commodore CDTV was released in 1991 and was a large and expensive set-top-box (it looked much like an oversized component CD player or large modern DVD/Blu Ray player), when such things were still a novelty. Other such contemporary boxes included the failed Memorex VIS (essentially a 386 PC running a proprietary version of Windows; as an owner I can tell you it's painfully slow), distributed in Radio Shack stores, and Philips CD-i, which was fairly long-lived, but not necessarily considered a success. The idea was to combine the prowess of a game console with the amazing versatility of a multimedia PC, the latter meaning the then-fresh concept of interactive encyclopedias and other similar reference works. The nifty thing with the CDTV though was that it was essentially a set-top-box version of the popular Amiga 500 computer. You simply add the mouse, keyboard and disk drive, and you have an Amiga 500 running AmigaOS 1.3, with the added bonus of the CD-ROM drive (which was a clunky add-on for the Amiga 500).

A good selection of software was released for the CDTV, though, as was par for the course with early CD-ROM technology, many were just disk conversions with CD soundtracks or animated cut scenes. Of course many reference works were released.

Due to both system cost and roughness of early set-top-box concepts, the unit was not a success. Further, being limited to Amiga OCS/ECS (generally 32 to 64 colors), rather than Amiga AGA architecture (generally 256+ colors), may have also played a factor. Regardless, none of the set top boxes of the time made it, so Commodore was certainly not alone.

Enter the CD32, which came out in 1993. This was less of a set top box - though it still served that function - and more of a game machine, eschewing the CDTV's remote control for a gamepad. It also wasn't quite as fancy, featuring a simple flip top CD reader versus the CDTV's caddy-based system. Much like the CDTV was a converted Amiga 500, the CD32 was a converted Amiga 1200. However, unlike the CDTV, it took a bit more to turn it back into a computer than just adding a keyboard, mouse and disk drive, instead requiring a separate add-on prior to the addition of the extra accessories. Needless to say, the add-ons are quite valuable on eBay these days and show up infrequently. There was also an MPEG add-on for the CD-32, which allowed it to play Video CD's (CD-i format) and supported better motion video for cut scenes in the few games that supported it. This type of add-on also appeared on systems like the Philips CD-i (later units had it built in) and the 3DO, back when Video CD's were hoped to take the role that DVD's did several years later (Video CD's are roughly VHS quality, but don't degrade over time like tapes do).

As with the CDTV and Amiga 500/2000 games, many Amiga 1200 disk games were simply converted to a CD, often with little or no concessions for extra features besides the occasional enhanced sound or cut scenes. The CD32 did better in Europe than it did in North America, but it really didn't stand a chance as the Commodore as we knew it ceased to be in 1994, ending any of the platform's potential (and frankly, it wouldn't have stood a chance anyway against the coming Sony PlayStation juggernaut).

Today, working CDTV units can be had for between $100 - $150, and working CD32 units can be had for between $60 - $100. Just like the Amiga 1200 (and its AGA-based architecture) can play many Amiga 500/2000 (OCS/ECS) software, the CD32 can play many CDTV titles without issue. When I'll be going over the real hardware for my part in this month's feature platform, since I only own the CD32 at the present time, I will be focusing on that unit, but I do have some software that was intended for the CDTV.

With all that said, I'll reiterate what Matt said above, in that we're very excited by "theme months" at Armchair Arcade and look forward to everyone taking an active role. Enjoy!