etc.: Hybrid CD-ROM

by Stephen Muratore
Fall 1997

This is a new type of disc-based product that marries the storage capacity of the compact disc (CD), the processing power of the computer and the timeliness of the information on the World Wide Web. T

he user buys the CD-ROM and uses it in his computer or PCTV. When arriving at various pages or "places" on the CD-ROM, he is instructed, in any of a number of ways, to "click here for an update or download." When so clicking, he receives up-to-date information from a site on the World Wide Web that pertains to the subject he was researching or the game he was playing. Launch is the name of one early hybrid product. It allows the user to surf through a virtual city, finding such places as theaters, stores, and night clubs. At key points in any of these locations he could click to download music or video clips or new information pertaining to the film, music or subject he is exploring.
Soon, program developers will release hybrid titles on DVD-ROM. These will store far more material such as video clips, than is possible with CD-ROM. They will also make use of the new MMX architecture of Intel's Pentium chips for more rapid delivery and use of such multimedia files. Stephen Muratore is Smart TV's executive editor.