While exploring how CDTV titles store preferences and save data, we found ourselves reconstructing a mostly forgotten part of the platform: the bookmark and cardmark ID numbers. With no official records surviving from the Commodore era, we’ve compiled everything we know into a new community resource: the CDTV Bookmark & Cardmark ID Registry!
Continue reading “Introducing the CDTV Bookmark and Cardmark Identifier Registry”
Is your Amiga 500 refusing to boot with the A570 CD-ROM drive attached? Or are certain CDTV titles mysteriously failing to load? Don’t worry, your A570 is probably fine! This frustrating issue is often caused by corrupted bookmark memory, and the good news is: you can fix it easily!
We’re saddened to share the news that Gail Wellington, a key figure in the creation of CDTV, passed away on May 14th, 2025. As an ex-Commodorian and one of the driving forces behind the platform, Gail played a vital role in bringing the vision of CDTV to life.
To learn more about Gail’s remarkable contributions and career, we highly recommend Dave McMurtrie’s in-depth tribute:
You can also watch a wonderful interview with Gail on AmigaBill’s YouTube channel:
She will be remembered with deep respect and gratitude by the CDTV and Commodore communities. Our sincere condolences to her loved ones. ■
The CDTV Land edition of The Secret of Monkey Island has received a fresh update, allowing owners of CDTV systems to enjoy the game in not just English, but also in German, French, and Italian — all from a single disc!
Part of the visual impact of the CDTV Title Screen is the captivating animation of the three rotating CDTV logos. You would be forgiven for thinking that this animation was made with 3D software. These letters were actually made by hand, then rotated and photographed, imported into an Amiga, cleaned up, and turned into the animation you see on the Title Screen and in the CDTV screen saver. Read on to learn about this intriguing piece of CDTV history!
Limitation breeds creativity, the saying goes, and the CDTV title screen is a classic example of this. Creatively speaking it is both an artistic and a technical achievement, and CDTV Land will be showing you why, as we uncover how this intriguing artifact of Commodore history came to be and how it works under the hood.
Arrr, matey! The Secret of Monkey Island gets the CDTV Land treatment. In the first of what will be an on-going series of CDTV-specific improvements for this game, this unofficial and unlicensed fan release allows you to play and save the game on a CDTV player without a CDTV keyboard. You only need a floppy drive and your standard CDTV remote controller. It also allows you to run the game in 60Hz mode and removes the copy protection screen at the start of the game. Shiver me timbers! Continue reading “Secret of Monkey Island for CDTV”
To upgrade your CDTV player to the latest and greatest CDTV OS version 2.35 you normally need to open up your CDTV player, remove the original ROMs and install the new ROMs. But what if there were an easier way to upgrade your CDTV player to 2.35 without even opening it? Well, if you happen to own one of those elusive CDTV memory cards, now you can!
Continue reading “CDTV OS 2.35 for Memory Cards”
The A570 CD-ROM drive is a fascinating part of Commodore’s legacy, as it is inextricably linked with CDTV: it makes the A500 compatible with CDTV titles. The original CD1000 CDTV player turned out to be an unmitigated disaster for Commodore with approximately just 80,000 units manufactured and Commodore hardly being able to sell them. So how did the A570 fare in comparison, and how many units did Commodore make? And what’s up with that A690 drive? Join me for another excursion into the fascinating world of Commodore’s CDTV history! Continue reading “How Many A690/A570 Drives Did Commodore Make?”
The merciless price slashing that Commodore employed on their ill-fated CDTV line in the early 1990s is the stuff of legends. I decided to take a closer look at how CDTV retail prices developed during those turbulent years and try to place the price cuts in a historical context.
