Newsgroups: alt.cd-rom Path: cdrom.com!barrnet.net!agate!boulder!csn!csus.edu!netcom.com!cdsale From: cdsale@netcom.com (Todd Ostrer) Subject: ADULT CD-ROM REVIEW: GIRLS OF VIVID Message-ID: Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 261-4700 guest) X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.2 PL1] Date: Wed, 1 Jun 1994 19:04:55 GMT Lines: 185 Girls of Vivid - Volume 1 ========================= This review is broken up into several posts and contains four major sections: General - Miscellaneous comments that didn't seem to belong in any other section; Statistics - the quantitative, measurable characteristics of the CD; Operations - a more qualitative analysis of the "usability" aspects of the CD which tries to consider factors of interest to both the sysop and the end-user; and Visual - a purely qualitative opinion of the intrinsic qualities of the images themselves. Note that section boundaries are not inviolate. To those of you who have read some of my previous reviews of adult CDs, you will be familiar territory with this one as well. If you're a "new" reader, let me iterate: I am NOT an expert (whatever that is) on adult (or any other kind of) CDs. Accordingly, what follows is ONE PERSON'S OPINION. General ======= This CD is the product of Vivid Digital, apparently a separate marketing arm of the adult movie company called Vivid Video. This CD's packaging is as slick as it gets. The front insert is folded double - the outside providing and interesting cover while the inside does some marketing for other Vivid Digital products. There is also a warranty registration page. The back insert has system requirements (stated as a minimum of a 386-20 with 2Mb RAM, VGA monitor, DOS 5.0 with 2 Mb expanded memory, and a 100% SoundBlaster, AdLib, or MediaVision sound card, and a mouse). These requirements are incomplete and are an understatement to say the least, as we shall see in Operations. Interestingly enough, this CD is supposed to be Macintosh-compatible as well. Minimum Mac requirements are given as a 68020 CPU, 2Mb RAM, 16-bit video and monitor, and System 6.x or 7.x. There is a one-line installation instruction which is mostly correct. Finally, the edge of the back inserts shows the title of the CD making it easy to identify in a stack or when stored on its edge. Thanks, Vivid, for this small but much appreciated touch. Statistics ========== The GOV1 CD is unlike any other adult CD I've seen. All 505 of its images are in compressed TIF (CTIF) format. In all they occupy some 636,687,610 bytes making their average size about 1,260,768 bytes. This is an important point, as we shall see. There are 15 directories on GOV1, 13 for the CTIF images, one (ASCII) for the file descriptions, and one (INSTALL) that holds the viewer programs before installation. There was no need to look for duplicates nor to make a comparison against the GIF name data base. The files in each of the 13 CTIF image directories are simply numbered 1.TIF, 2.T1F, etc. While there's not an equal number of files in each directory, arithmetic tells us that there are about 40 images in each one - though some have over 50. At any rate, this is a relatively unimportant matter. The directory names are apparently shortened forms of already released Vivid Video adult movies. Examples are: ARMYBRAT, TORRID, and ENDLESS to name a few. Again, this is of little or no consequence in the full scheme of things. Operations - Sysop ================== This is a null topic for several reasons, the most obvious being that all of this CD's images are copyrighted by Vivid Digital and therefore extremely unlikely to be legitimately usable on a BBS. That aside, the single file description text file in the ASCII directory is practically worthless being in a completely foreign format, not even within shouting distance of FILES.BBS. Finally there's the matter of the images being in CTIF format. Few viewers are available which can decode and display a compressed TIF image. BBS users accustomed to the convenience of GIFs would likely be turned off (see below!). Operations - End User ===================== The installation procedure is (almost) correct. Simply log to the CD and enter INSTALL. Gotcha! Just like the procedure for Erotic Encounters 2, one must provide the drive letters for the CD-ROM drive and the HDD where the programs necessary for viewing will be copied. That being done, no less than about 1.3 Mb of files are placed in the PICBASE directory (created on the fly) of the installation drive. Entering "GO" at this point gets things moving. This is the point where one discovers that one's video setup must VESA compliant for "true color". This important bit was left out the requirements printed on the back insert of the jewel case. Having met that requirement, I pressed on undaunted (Silly me!). Aside from some support files (actually for both GOV1 and GOV2), the installation procedure copies just two programs to the HDD: PICVIEW (a viewer) and PICBASE (a menu program savvy about the configuration of GOV1). At "GO", PICBASE loads and sucks up the file description file from the ASCII directory. In spite of the stated mouse requirement, I could only get the PICBASE to respond to the cursor movement keys. As the complete list of 505 files appears in the single menu table, there's no need for, nor any provision for navigation around the various directories. One simply highlights the desired file by moving a "bar" with the keys, hits Enter and then.... waits... and waits... and waits... and waits... and waits... and finally waits some more before a faded, bluish, somewhat smallish still from one of Vivid's adult movies appears on the screen. (More on this in Visual) Now my PC's not the fastest in the world but it doesn't exactly crawl either. It's a 486-DX2/66 with 8 Mb RAM - 3Mb given over to Smartdrv and the rest to XMS memory. My first selection (and damn near my last as well) was a file listed as 1815 Kb in size. It took PICVIEW 2:09 to decode it and display it. That's TWO MINUTES AND NINE SECONDS!! I tried a smaller file - 596 Kb. It required a "mere" 43 seconds to display. Recalling that the average size of these CTIF images is about 1,261 Kb, we're lookin' at an average decode time of 90 seconds. Friends and neighbors, if *I* am going to wait 90 seconds to see an picture of ANY kind appear on my computer screen - it'd better be a wingdinger! Unfortunately, IMO, the images of GOV1 don't make the cut. Understand, painful as it was, I did do more than 1-2 measurements. I also watched the access light on my "normal speed" Sony drive - it flickered a lot indicating that it wasn't the sole source of the delays. Maybe PICVIEW is just a poor implementation of the CTIF decoding algorithms - can't say because (a) there's no information provided about the program (not even a READ.ME file) and (b) I don't know a thing about the technology. (Perhaps some graphics guru on the echo can fill us in.) Whatever the causes, the stated requirements of a 386-20 with 2Mb of RAM and 2 Mb of expanded memory would seem to be somewhat understated - kinda like saying that Windows will run on a '286. PICVIEW does warn the user each time a file is selected for display that decompression may take a few minutes. My opinion is that Vivid Digital goofed big time in selecting CTIF for its CDs. I certainly don't have the patience for these protracted waits and I doubt many others will either. I should add that PICVIEW provides a slide show capability (but can you imagine USING it?), and a "magnification" capability via the +/- keys. There"s also some rather limited image movement capability while viewing and image via the cursor keys. To complete this section, it's worth recalling that the minimum system requirements also called for one of three sound cards, presumably to play back sound recorded with each of the images. don't have a sound card so I couldn't evaluate this aspect of the Visual ====== The several files whose laborious decoding I endured so I could write this review were all eventually displayed to me as very bluish, washed-out images with little color, but surprising detail The help file said if this happened (i.e. the bluish coloring), it was probably the fault of my video setup not being VESA-complaint for "true color" presentation. Well, I have news for them. VPIC thinks it's compliant; GDS thinks it's compliant; Diamond (it's maker) thinks it's compliant. Sooo... Blue coloring aside, the images (all that I saw) appear to be stills taken from adult movies released by Vivid Video. The descriptions that PICBASE gives are only somewhat appropriate IMO; I'd rather them say what movie/scene they were taken from, who was in the scene, etc. but that's a personal preference of mine. ------------------------------------ Review by Bob Jackson: Houston, Tx. ------------------------------------ Pacific Data Graphics / Your Adult CD-Rom Source 2473 S.E. 135th / Portland , Oregon. 97233 (503) 257-7255 '24' Hr. Voice# for Questions/Orders 1-800-400-7255 '24' Hr. Voice# for ORDERS Only: Email: cdsale@netcom.com For Our Latest 350+ Title Adult List: -- Pacific Data Graphics Inc. 'your cd-rom disk source 1100 titles' 503-257-7255 '24' Voice# for Questions,Orders 1-800-400-7255 '24' # for Orders Only: