THE COMMODORE CDTV
REVISITING THE FIRST COMPUTER WITH A CD-ROM READER
The CDTV, introduced in March of 1991, was the first CD-based experiment by Commodore in the consumer business. Basically it was an Amiga 500 with a CD-ROM reader designed to be directly plugged into the TV, sold without keyboard and mouse, but with a remote controller. The system had apparently been in development since the late-Eighties, going through different transformations, and the man at the helm of the project was none other than former Atari CEO Nolan Bushnell. The company wanted a direct competitor for the Philips CD-i, a ‘media appliance’, rather than a console, that could be used both for entertainment and education purposes. It debuted on the market with a price of $999, a high price that made little sense for previous Amiga owners, since Commodore would later release a stand-alone CD-ROM reader for Amiga systems as well. Because of poor developer support and even worse marketing by Commodore, the system died a quick death and, by 1993, it had already been replaced by its successor: the Amiga CD32. Historically, since it was really an Amiga 500 at its core, it can be considered the first computer to be sold on the market with a CD-ROM reader.