Interesting article on the creation of game cartridges

[+SpiceWare]

http://www.fastcompany.com/3040889/the-untold-story-of-the-invention-of-the-game-cartridge

[CatPix]

It's interesting, tho.. I feel it kibnda says that Fairchild created the cart.

Truely, those guys were starting from scratch, and they had nothing except the Odyssey to take inspiration from.

However, the article doesn't mention that one cart based (tho not ROM based) system came before, and had so solve all the problem of removable carts:

 

 

 

This system is the Interton Video 2000, and was released in Germany in 1975.

Much like the Odyssey, it's based on TTL chips, but unlike the Odyssey, most of them are located on the carts, allowing for more complex games, with sound effect, and (for Super football at least) score keeping.

 

 

Philips, a much more famous company, also released a cart-based discrete-based system in late 75, the Tele-spiel.

Gamre were more basic than the Interton, but still, it's also predating the VES.

 

It would be interesting to read about Radofin and the creation of the Advanced Programmable Video System :

It was released in 1976? Before, or after the VES? No one seems to know for sure. Sadly, no ones care, too.

 

It would be interesting, as it's probably a Philips product. At the time, European fashion was still in the "plastic Era" with TV's looking more like this :

So they had more liberty. Also, the 8 track never caught on, so they had no cart based equivalent media to draw inspiration from.

[Albert]

Interesting article, thanks for sharing!

[Torr]

That TV only goes up to Channel 6?

 

I know it's old, but even old North American TVs go up to 13 and then UHF.

[CatPix]

That TV only goes up to Channel 6?

 

I know it's old, but even old North American TVs go up to 13 and then UHF.

AAah the differences

 

European TV never had the "hard-tuned" selectors that exists in North America.

 

This one is electronic, but earlier TV would have 6 to 8 mechanical tuners (or as low as 2 for 50's and 60's TVs). Both works the same way : let's say you select the first channel on this TV. you tune it up to the local emitter of your nationwide television programme, like Television Francaise 1. you save it (for electronic tuner) or you just, let it tuned here for mechanical tuner. Then you move to the Second channel selector and you tune in France 2.

 

Tuners on a mid-60's Philips TV.

 

Unlike North America, European TV developed as national programmes; in almost all European countries, you'll find a logic of numbered channels that continue up to this day (France : TF1, France 2, France 3, Canal+, France 5, M6, Arte, Direct 8, W9...).

 

The reasons seems to be that up to the 60's, most countries would have one national program, on some powerful emitters. Thus, for cutting cost, you'd put one tuner in the TV, covering all the VHF band (for France, England and Russia mostly) or UHF band (all the others).

When more programs appeared, it appeared more convenient to include a second tuner with a swtich button to select the tuner, as people were not moving up, and as they would gain nothing from tuning on another meitter, since because of the nationwide program, any other emitter of the same network would provide you the exact same things. It was true especially in France and England as the newer programs would be on UHF and not VHF; in this case, the double tuner was technically needed.

 

Also, television and radio emitters are much more powerful in Europe. I read somewhere that AM emitters are limited to 100MW in the USA. In Europe there isn't such limits (thos most station don't go crazy anyway as it would cost alot for not much benefits) but for example, France Inter emit in the LW band at 2000MW at day and 1000MW at night. This allow them to cover whole whole French metropolitan territory with ONE emitter (and on some occasion, radio DXers have reported beign able to listen to France Inter asfar away as Sweden, and even the US Atlantic coast).

This mean that the signal can shift a bit. A hard-tuned selector like you have in the US couldn't tune on a channel, whereas on an European TV you can adjust the tuner on the wanted frequency (this usually mean that for analog TV, you'll have a poor quality picture, but heh, better than nothing.)

 

 

You can see on this vid I made (because I was amazed to get analog TV by acble, I though all analog TV signals were dead in France) I browse through pretuned channels, then I tune the TV at about 1mn30. And you get to see the funky colors effects of SECAM ;p

Edited January 24, 2015 by CatPix

[Torr]

Wow, after 1:40 it's like tuning an AM/FM Radio!

Which, I know is what old TVs did anyway with pre-programmed frequencies, but to actually be "tuning" in the channels, that's cool! Only ever seen that on mini/portable TVs!

We still have one channel floating on the airwaves here in Newfoundland, NTV (Newfoundland Television). I can even pick it up on my Game Gear TV Tuner! We also had CBC on the airwaves until about 5 years ago!

[CatPix]

Yes, that's exactly that. You tune like a radio, and once it's set, you choose another selection button for pre-tuning another channel.

 

Anyway, that was just a side-note on TV