C64 Direct-to-TV
The C64 Direct-to-TV, called C64DTV for short, is a single-chip implementation of the Commodore 64 computer, contained in a joystick (modeled after the mid-1980s Competition Pro joystick), with 30 built-in games. The design is similar to the Atari Classics 10-in-1 TV Game. The circuitry of the C64DTV was designed by Jeri Ellsworth, a computer chip designer who had previously designed the C-One. Tulip Computers (which had acquired the Commodore brand name in 1997) licensed the rights to Ironstone Partners, which cooperated with DC Studios and Mammoth Toys in the development and marketing of the unit. Released in late 2004, QVC purchased the entire first production run of 250,000 units and sold 70,000 of them on the first day that they were offered. Versions There exist multiple versions of the C64DTV. DTV1 (NTSC television type) comes with 2 MB ROM. It first appeared in late 2004 for the American/Canadian market. DTV2 (called ''C64D2TV'' sometimes) is a revised version for the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Digital-to-analog Converter
In electronics, a digital-to-analog converter (DAC, D/A, D2A, or D-to-A) is a system that converts a digital signal into an analog signal. An analog-to-digital converter (ADC) performs the reverse function. DACs are commonly used in music players to convert digital data streams into analog audio signals. They are also used in televisions and mobile phones to convert digital video data into analog video signals. These two applications use DACs at opposite ends of the frequency/resolution trade-off. The audio DAC is a low-frequency, high-resolution type while the video DAC is a high-frequency low- to medium-resolution type. There are several DAC architectures; the suitability of a DAC for a particular application is determined by figures of merit including: resolution, maximum sampling frequency and others. Digital-to-analog conversion can degrade a signal, so a DAC should be specified that has insignificant errors in terms of the application. Due to the complexity ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
RCA Connector
The RCA connector is a type of electrical connector commonly used to carry analog audio and video signals. The name refers to the popular name of Radio Corporation of America, which introduced the design in the 1930s. Typically, the output is a plug type connector and the input a jack type connector. These are referred to as RCA plug and RCA jack respectively. It is also called a phono connector, referring to its early use to connect a phonograph turntable to a radio receiver. As home audio systems became more complex, RCA cables became a standard way to connect components such as radio receivers, amplifiers, turntables, tape decks, and CD players. Their ubiquity led to them also being used for video: connecting analog televisions, videocassette recorders, DVD players, and game consoles. They remain in use as a simple, widely supported means of connection. In some European countries such as France and Germany, the name ''cinch'' is still used as an antonomasia of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Monaural
Monaural sound or monophonic sound (often shortened to mono) is sound intended to be heard as if it were emanating from one position. This contrasts with stereophonic sound or ''stereo'', which uses two separate audio channels to reproduce sound from two microphones on the right and left side, which is reproduced with two separate loudspeakers to give a sense of the direction of sound sources. In mono, only one loudspeaker is necessary, but, when played through multiple loudspeakers or headphones, identical audio signals are fed to each speaker, resulting in the perception of one-channel sound "imaging" in one sonic space between the speakers (provided that the speakers are set up in a proper symmetrical critical-listening placement). Monaural recordings, like stereo ones, typically use multiple microphones fed into multiple channels on a recording console, but each channel is " panned" to the center. In the final stage, the various center-panned signal paths are usually mix ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Composite Video
Composite video, also known as CVBS (composite video baseband signal or color, video, blanking and sync), is an analog video format that combines image information—such as brightness (luminance), color (chrominance), and synchronization, into a single signal transmitted over one channel. It is most commonly used for standard-definition television, and is sometimes referred to as ''SD video''. The signal is typically carried on a yellow RCA connector, with separate connectors used for left and right audio channels. In professional equipment, a BNC connector is often used instead. Other connector types may appear in compact consumer devices like digital cameras. Composite video supports several line resolutions, including 405-line, 525-line, and 625-line interlaced formats. It exists in three major regional variants based on analog color encoding standards: NTSC, PAL, and SECAM. The same format can also be used to transmit monochrome (black-and-white) video. Signal comp ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
AA Battery
The AA battery (or double-A battery) is a standard size single cell cylindrical Dry cell, dry battery. ANSI and IEC battery nomenclature gives several designations for cells in this size, depending on cell features and chemistry. The Battery nomenclature, IEC 60086 system calls the size R6, and American National Standards Institute, ANSI C18 calls it 15.Classic (LR6) datasheet from energizer.com It is named UM-3 by Japanese Industrial Standards, JIS of Japan. Historically, it is known as D14 (hearing aid battery), U12 – later U7 (standard cell), or HP7 (for zinc chloride 'high power' version) in official documentation in the United Kingdom, or a ''pen cell''. AA batteries are common in portable Electronics, electronic devices. An AA battery is composed of a single electrochemical cell that may be either a primary battery (dispos ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
MOS Technology CIA
The 6526/8520 Complex Interface Adapter (CIA) was an integrated circuit made by MOS Technology. It served as an Memory-mapped I/O and port-mapped I/O, I/O port controller for the MOS Technology 6502, 6502 family of microprocessors, providing for Parallel communication, parallel and Serial communication, serial I/O capabilities as well as Programmable interval timer, timers and a Time-of-Day (TOD) clock. The device's most prominent use was in the Commodore 64 and Commodore 128, Commodore 128(D), each of which included two CIA chips. The Commodore 1570 and Commodore 1571 floppy disk drives contained one CIA each. Furthermore, the Amiga home computers and the Commodore 1581 floppy disk drive employed a modified variant of the CIA circuit called 8520. 8520 is functionally equivalent to the 6526 except for the simplified #Time-of-Day (TOD) Clock, TOD circuitry. Predecessor to CIA was Peripheral Interface Adapter, PIA. Parallel I/O The CIA had two 8-bit bidirectional parallel I/O po ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
MOS Technology 6581
The MOS Technology 6581/8580 SID (Sound Interface Device) is the built-in programmable sound generator chip of the Commodore CBM-II, Commodore 64, Commodore 128, and MAX Machine home computers. Together with the VIC-II graphics chip, the SID was instrumental in making the C64 the best-selling home computer in history, and is partly credited for initiating the demoscene. History The SID was devised by engineer Bob Yannes, who later co-founded the Ensoniq digital synthesizer and sampler company. Yannes headed a team that included himself, two technicians and a CAD operator, who designed and completed the chip in five months in the latter half of 1981. Yannes was inspired by previous work in the synthesizer industry and was not impressed by the current state of computer sound chips. Instead, he wanted a high-quality instrument chip, which is the reason why the SID has features like the envelope generator, previously not found in home computer sound chips. Emphasis during ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
MOS Technology VIC-II
The VIC-II (Video Interface Chip II), specifically known as the MOS Technology 6567/6566/8562/8564 (NTSC versions), 6569/8565/8566 (PAL), is the microchip tasked with generating Y/C video signals (combined to composite video in the RF modulator) and DRAM refresh signals in the Commodore 64 and Commodore 128 home computers. Succeeding the original MOS Technology VIC used in the VIC-20, the VIC-II was one of the key custom chips in the Commodore 64 (the other being the MOS Technology 6581 sound chip). Development history The VIC-II chip was designed primarily by Albert Charpentier and Charles Winterble at MOS Technology, Inc. as a successor to the MOS Technology 6560 "VIC". The team at MOS Technology had previously failed to produce two graphics chips named ''MOS Technology 6562'' for the Commodore TOI computer, and ''MOS Technology 6564'' for the Color PET, due to memory speed constraints. In order to construct the VIC-II, Charpentier and Winterble made a market survey of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
MOS Technology 6510
300px, Internals of a Commodore 64 showing the 6510 CPU (40-pin DIP, lower left). The chip on the right is the 6581 SID. The production week/year (WWYY) of each chip is given below its name. The MOS Technology 6510 is an 8-bit microprocessor designed by MOS Technology. It is a modified form of the very successful 6502. The 6510 is widely used in the Commodore 64 (C64) home computer and its variants. It is also used in the Seagate ST-251 MFM hard disk. The primary change from the 6502 is the addition of an 8-bit general purpose I/O port, although 6 I/O pins are available in the most common version of the 6510. In addition, the address bus can be made tri-state and the CPU can be halted cleanly. Use In the C64, the extra I/O pins of the processor are used to control the computer's memory map by bank switching, and for controlling three of the four signal lines of the Datasette tape recorder (the electric motor control, key-press sensing and write data lines; the read data ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Application-specific Integrated Circuit
An application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC ) is an integrated circuit (IC) chip customized for a particular use, rather than intended for general-purpose use, such as a chip designed to run in a digital voice recorder or a high-efficiency video codec. #Application-specific standard product, Application-specific standard product chips are intermediate between ASICs and industry standard integrated circuits like the 7400 series or the 4000 series. ASIC chips are typically semiconductor device fabrication, fabricated using metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) technology, as MOS integrated circuit chips. As feature sizes have shrunk and Electronic design automation, chip design tools improved over the years, the maximum complexity (and hence functionality) possible in an ASIC has grown from 5,000 logic gates to over 100 million. Modern ASICs often include entire Central processing unit, microprocessors, memory blocks including Read-only memory, ROM, Random-access memory, RAM, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |