Amiga CD-500, CDTV, and CD32 Technical Specifications
CD-500 Standard Specifications
| Case Type: | Set Top Box / VCR |
| Processor: | Unknown |
| MMU: | Unknown |
| FPU: | Unknown |
| Chipset: | ECS (plus additional chips Grace and Beauty) |
| Kickstarts: | V2.05 |
| Expansion Slots: | 1 x FMV slot 1x Video Slot 1 x PCMCIA styled connector. Note, this is NOT a true PCMCIA connector, only very early experimental units ever contained a true PCMCIA slot |
| Standard CHIP RAM: | 2MB |
| RAM sockets: | Unknown |
| Hard Drive Controllers: | 1 x (2.5"??) IDE Controller |
| Drive Bays: | 1 x 3.5" 1 x 5.25" |
| Expansion Ports: | 1 x Mini-Din Serial 1 x 25pin Parallel 1 x 23pin RGB Video 1 x S-Video 1 x Composite 1 x 23pin External Floppy 2 x RCA Audio (Left/Right) 1 x MIDI IN/OUT 1 x 3.5mm Heaphone Socket |
| Floppy Drive: | 1 x Internal 880k Floppy Drive |
| Motherboard Revisions: | Unknown |
| Battery Backed Up Clock: | Unknown |
The CDTV-II, perhaps correctly called the CDTV-CR (CR = Cost Reduced) was intended as the successor to the original CDTV. Unfortunately like many of Commodore's projects it was never officially released to the public. Like the original, the CDTV-II also includes an infra-red remote controller but it also has a digital LCD display on the front and a built-in floppy drive which the original doesn't have. The CDTV-II does not have a keyboard port, or a mouse port like the original model.
CD32 Standard Specifications
| Case Type: | Custom Console |
| Processor: | 020@14.7Mhz |
| MMU: | None |
| FPU: | None |
| Chipset: | AGA (with additional Akiko chip) |
| Kickstarts: | V3.1 |
| Expansion Slots: | 1 x 182pin Expansion Slot. |
| Standard CHIP RAM: | 2MB |
| RAM sockets: | None |
| Hard Drive Controllers: | None, however the system does have a custom CDROM controller. |
| Drive Bays: | None |
| Expansion Ports: | 1 x S-Video 4pin mini DIN 1 x RF 1 x RCA Composite 2 x 9pin Joypad/Mouse 2 x RCA Audio (Left/Right) 1 x 3.5mm Headphone Socket 1 x 6pin DIN AUX (Serial) 1 x 182pin Expansion Slot |
| Floppy Drive: | None |
| Motherboard Revisions: | Rev 1 (Developer Board) Rev 2 (Developer Board) Rev 3 (First Public Release) Rev 4 Rev 4.1 |
| Battery Backed Up Clock: | None |
The CD32 was Commodore's attempt at entering the console market. The CD32 is fully Amiga compatible and with the addition of other hardware such as a floppy drive or hard disk can also play games intended for more conventional machines such as the A1200. It does however have a chip called Akiko, which as well as handling some functions of the CD-ROM (twin speed) is also responsible for handling chunky to planar conversion. Many CD32 games are also compatible with other Amigas, providing they don't rely on Akiko (although there are Akiko emulators available). The CD-32 has a rather unique kickstart screen. Unlike most other Amiga models which show a simple hand holding a disk (Kickstart 1.3 and earlier) or an animated disk being inserted into a floppy drive (Kickstart 2 to Kickstart 3.1) the CD-32 has a fully animated intro with a spinning CD, glorious colours and an intro sound. It also has built-in software for playing audio CDs. The CD-32 can also boot from CD-ROMs unlike more conventional Amigas. At the time of release, the CD-32 was probably the only console in the world with a 32bit pre-emptive multitasking operating system. There are several expansions for the CD32 which can effectively turn it into a fully expanded Amiga with hard drives, extra RAM and faster processors. The CD-32 was supplied with either one or two joypads which are also compatible with all other conventional Amigas.
During the development phase of the CD32, Commodore provided registered Amiga developers with the development versions of the CD32. These versions usually contained a Rev 1 or 2 motherboard. The first public release of the CD32 used a rev 3 motherboard. Apparently the developer versions may also have been supplied with a "debug" card which gave the CD32 much of the standard ports that the A1200 had. This was intended to help the developers port software to the CD32.
CDTV Standard Specifications
| Case Type: | Set Top Box / VCR |
| Processor: | 68000@7.14Mhz |
| MMU: | None |
| FPU: | None |
| Chipset: | OCS ECS |
| Kickstarts: | V1.3 (for OCS chipset) V1.3 or V2.04 (for ECS chipset) |
| Expansion Slots: | 1 x Diagnostic slot 1 x DMA Expansion slot 1 x Memory Card slot 1 x Video module port |
| Standard CHIP RAM: | 512K (OCS Chipset, not confirmed) 1MB (ECS Chipset) |
| RAM sockets: | ZIP Sockets |
| Hard Drive Controllers: | None, however it has a custom controller for the CDROM |
| Drive Bays: | 1 x 5.25" CDROM bay. |
| Expansion Ports: | 1 x 25pin Serial 1 x 25pin Parallel 1 x 23pin RGB Video 1 x SVideo 1 x RF 1 x Mouse (not standard Amiga, PS/2 style) 1 x 23pin External Floppy 2 x RCA Audio (Left/Right) 1 x MIDI IN/OUT 1 x Keyboard Connector |
| Floppy Drive: | None |
| Motherboard Revisions: | Rev 2.1 Rev 2.2 Rev 2.2B Rev 2.2.1 Rev 2.3 |
| Battery Backed Up Clock: | None |
The CDTV was Commodore's attempt to build a multimedia entertainment station. It was designed to run interactive entertainment software or be used to manage multimedia displays, such as point of information terminals. The CDTV was also supplied with a wireless infrared controller. The CDTV is fully Amiga compatible and is capable of running the same software as conventional Amigas. Some versions of CDTV motherboard may have been upgraded by Commodore, so you may find a different revision mentioned underneath the sticker.
CDTV (Cost Reduced) Standard Specifications
| Case Type: | Set Top Box / VCR |
| Processor: | Unknown |
| MMU: | Unknown |
| FPU: | Unknown |
| Chipset: | ECS (plus additional chips Grace and Beauty) |
| Kickstarts: | V2.05 |
| Expansion Slots: | 1 x FMV slot 1x Video Slot 1 x PCMCIA styled connector. Note, this is NOT a true PCMCIA connector, only very early experimental units ever contained a true PCMCIA slot |
| Standard CHIP RAM: | 2MB |
| RAM sockets: | Unknown |
| Hard Drive Controllers: | 1 x (2.5"??) IDE Controller |
| Drive Bays: | 1 x 3.5" 1 x 5.25" |
| Expansion Ports: | 1 x Mini-Din Serial 1 x 25pin Parallel 1 x 23pin RGB Video 1 x S-Video 1 x Composite 1 x 23pin External Floppy 2 x RCA Audio (Left/Right) 1 x MIDI IN/OUT 1 x 3.5mm Heaphone Socket |
| Floppy Drive: | 1 x Internal 880k Floppy Drive |
| Motherboard Revisions: | Unknown |
| Battery Backed Up Clock: | Unknown |
The CDTV-II, perhaps correctly called the CDTV-CR (CR = Cost Reduced) was intended as the successor to the original CDTV. Unfortunately like many of Commodore's projects it was never officially released to the public. Like the original, the CDTV-II also includes an infra-red remote controller but it also has a digital LCD display on the front and a built-in floppy drive which the original doesn't have. The CDTV-II does not have a keyboard port, or a mouse port like the original model.