Jump to content
IGNORED

Is the TutorVision rarer than the Keyboard Component?


boxpressed

Recommended Posts

If I recall the tech info about the Tutorvision, the half sized font was white-only text overlayed the normal video by improved video hardware. My guess is that they either took advantage of an unused feature of the normal Intv video hardware or they reused similar circuitry that was in the Keyboard Component.

 

In short, the updated EXEC is needed but so is the updated video hardware.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If I recall the tech info about the Tutorvision, the half sized font was white-only text overlayed the normal video by improved video hardware. My guess is that they either took advantage of an unused feature of the normal Intv video hardware or they reused similar circuitry that was in the Keyboard Component.

 

In short, the updated EXEC is needed but so is the updated video hardware.

The screenshots that I have seen lead me to believe that the Tutorvision had the same basic stic chip as the original Intellivision, but had more gram memory.

 

With 2k of gram memory, the STIC chip could display a unique character in every position on the screen, so the screen could be treated as a bitmap.

Smaller characters could be drawn into this bitmap in any color, as long as the whole line of characters used the same color.

post-14916-0-55819800-1416726876_thumb.jpg

 

 

The small font seems to have the same height limitation as the original (12) rows of characters, but more characters can be drawn in a line.

 

Joe Z. has proved that the original STIC chip could address more gram memory if the memory was available. The trick would be disabling this extra memory for compatibility when running older games....

Edited by catsfolly
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Joe Z. has proved that the original STIC chip could address more gram memory if the memory was available. The trick would be disabling this extra memory for compatibility when running older games....

 

Sounds like a fantastic idea for a homebrew PCB. We could do some pretty slick things with that much GRAM available (as opposed to 64 cards at a time).

 

Still stuck with 2 colors per card I suppose, but it's a start.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello again!

 

I just read that several of you are interested in creating your own enhanced INTV/TutorVision PCB boards... how about me helping y’all to put it all together to create our own BRAND-NEW INTV console—to be named the ROBBOVISION.

 

The new ROBBOVISION is to be designed along the lines originally slated for Mattel’s INTELLIVISION III and GIGA INTELLIVISION models (none of which were ever released publicly)—the option for USB-wired or wireless new style joykeypads (like on Atari’s 5200 and 7800 VCS systems; 12 button keys, 4 side action buttons, a souped-up multidirectional joystick/paddle controller + 4 additional button keys [sTART/SELECT/PAUSE/NEW GAME]), a new PC-like console featuring a cartridge port, a 1 Tbyte hard drive with IntyOS and its utilities thereon, 1 Tbyte RAM, integrated audio/video circuitry, VGA+ color graphics enabling 17,600,000 unique colors and sharper, more lifelike graphics; there’ll also be a BluRay/DVD/CD optical reader/writer drive, a datacard drive station, USB ports, an enhanced 102+ key keyboard (with the 102nd key assigned to the cent ¢ and Euro € signs—located to the right of the <" '> key on the home row), a 4-button IntyMouse, and a stick style IntyMedia remote controller. It’ll play both the latest CDs/DVDs/BluRays as well as the original INTELLIVISION 8-bit game cartridges!

 

STAY TUNED for updates. Thank You!

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just read that several of you are interested in creating your own enhanced INTV/TutorVision PCB boards... how about me helping y’all to put it all together to create our own BRAND-NEW INTV console—to be named the ROBBOVISION.

Those of us with long memories of other similarly "ambitious" projects can already see where this is going:

 

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/26594-the-knight-rider-2600-project/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Those of us with long memories of other similarly "ambitious" projects can already see where this is going:

 

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/26594-the-knight-rider-2600-project/

I hear it's being redesigned as a Blu-Ray disc for the Intellivision, but it will need a 1 TB hard drive and 17,600,000 unique colors to run properly. I've already got mine reserved.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Hello, ACFinPGH!

 

Yes—I am interested in taking your extra TUTORVISION console; does it have the composite A/V jack modification applied?!

It should (at least) have the TUTORVISION (white-cased) educational game cartridges, and enclosed documentation. Would you accept a payment of in-between $10 - $15?!

Thank You! Merry Xmas!

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

RT12 productions - thank you for the completely appropriate offer (and the 3 separate PMs) for my extra Tutorvision. Does that include shipping?

 

Sad news though. Last week, while I was out tending to my unicorn, my mom went into my room and threw out my Tutorvisions. I know what you're thinking - why does my mom have keys to my room? Well, simple answer, someone has to do my laundry.

 

I do have a couple extras Air Raids that I would consider selling you for $10 if you would be interested.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...

Is there a way to put more GRAM on a cartridge and get the data accessible to the STIC? Even if it's crazy hard, I am interested in reading about the possibility. I can imagine all types of game possibilities even with only a the modest improvement on text generation the and vertical resolution.

 

The screenshots that I have seen lead me to believe that the Tutorvision had the same basic stic chip as the original Intellivision, but had more gram memory.

 

With 2k of gram memory, the STIC chip could display a unique character in every position on the screen, so the screen could be treated as a bitmap.

Smaller characters could be drawn into this bitmap in any color, as long as the whole line of characters used the same color.

wordcalc_ttrip.jpg

 

 

The small font seems to have the same height limitation as the original (12) rows of characters, but more characters can be drawn in a line.

 

Joe Z. has proved that the original STIC chip could address more gram memory if the memory was available. The trick would be disabling this extra memory for compatibility when running older games....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think intvnut did a good deal of investigation into this. IIRC it required some soldering within the console itself. I may be misremembering, but I thought that some address lines needed to be physically connected. Maybe this was in the INTVPROG newsgroup on Yahoo….

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is there a way to put more GRAM on a cartridge and get the data accessible to the STIC? Even if it's crazy hard, I am interested in reading about the possibility. I can imagine all types of game possibilities even with only a the modest improvement on text generation the and vertical resolution.

 

The gram/grom/stic is on a different data bus than the cartridge and other memory.

 

Edit: The 16 bit ram chip is on both data buses

Edited by mr_me
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is there a way to put more GRAM on a cartridge and get the data accessible to the STIC? Even if it's crazy hard, I am interested in reading about the possibility. I can imagine all types of game possibilities even with only a the modest improvement on text generation the and vertical resolution.

 

For higher vertical resolution of the background I think it would need an updated stic and more system ram. I wish they designed the original intellivision so it could support full resolution by upgrading ram. Ram was very expensive but they new it was coming down in price. The stic was a good system it just needed more memory. They ended up adding high res for the keyboard component by essentially adding a second computer which was a waste.

 

Edit: i think the tutorvision has the exact same resolution as a standard intellivision, it only has access to more defined graphic cards/tiles

Edited by mr_me
Link to comment
Share on other sites

They ended up adding high res for the keyboard component by essentially adding a second computer which was a waste.

 

 

And all of these "wouldn't it be cool if we could add X to the Intellivision?" discussions inevitably end up with exactly this - if you'd like add another computer to the Intellivision, that's what you'll get.

 

Without major surgery you're not going to turn an Intellivision into an NES. Any why would you want to? Just use an NES if that's what you're after :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

How rare is the Tutorvision? Maybe its not as rare as you think.

 

Here is possibly a photo of the Tutorvision mainboard.

post-43287-0-35894900-1470664923_thumb.jpg

This photo came from here. http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=144540.0

And more info on that board here. https://console5.com/techwiki/index.php?title=INTV_System_3

It looks just like this photo of a Tutorvision here. http://old-computers.com/MUSEUM/photos.asp?t=1&c=1214&st=2

 

Its marked 1988 INTV but Its missing the combined STIC/ram/sound chip. Note that there is a single exec chip labelled wbexec. Intvnut previously pointed out that wbexec could be worldbook exec. He also suggested that if INTV was to make a revised Intellivision for World Book it would make sense to make a common board for both Tutorvision and the INTV Super Pro system (or whatever it was called at the time). The Tutorvision is known to be backward compatible with Intellivision cartridges.

 

On this page (http://www.intellivisionlives.com/media/newsletters/news030831.html) Intellivision Productions describes their Tutorvision prototype as a modified INTV system. Its probably a prototype, but could it just be a standard INTV system?

 

So could it be possible that some INTV systems manufactured and sold in 1989 and 1990 are actually Tutorvisions?

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was/am interested in understanding if there is any possible, possible, possible, way to get more functionality from the stock hardware using just a cartridge and still keep it "Intellivision-y".

 

Right now, we (collectively) can do many things that were not possible in the Inty heyday because we have access to more ROM and state-saving: doors are opened up for things like music and graphics swapping and even audio sample playing. If there was a way to get a Tutorvision's incremental improvements without needing a Tutorvision, it would be cool. I definitely don't want to know about jamming a Pi into a cartridge and then going around the whole Inty hardware, just knowing if there was a way to make Intellivison games better in never-done-before ways.

 

Now I know, the answer is basically "no". :)

 

The trick will be to record this somehow so the next dude that comes along doesn't ask the same exact question.

 

 

 

 

And all of these "wouldn't it be cool if we could add X to the Intellivision?" discussions inevitably end up with exactly this - if you'd like add another computer to the Intellivision, that's what you'll get.

 

Without major surgery you're not going to turn an Intellivision into an NES. Any why would you want to? Just use an NES if that's what you're after :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is there a way to put more GRAM on a cartridge and get the data accessible to the STIC? Even if it's crazy hard, I am interested in reading about the possibility. I can imagine all types of game possibilities even with only a the modest improvement on text generation the and vertical resolution.

I think that the Intellivision memory map has 2k memory reserved for GRAM, but the built in GRAM is mapped 4 times into the memory map so that a request for GRAM card 1 displays GRAM card 1, but a request for GRAM card 65 or 129 or 193 also displays GRAM card 1.

 

This was actually a good thing for memory starved Intellivision programmers back in the day -- it meant that the top two bits of the GRAM address in a Color Stack BACKTAB word were ignored, and the programmer could use these bits to store whatever information they wanted.

 

But it means that to add GRAM the Intelliivision would have to be modified so that Internal GRAM only responds to the 0-63 part of the GRAM memory map (and this would have to be something that could be disabled or enabled for compatibility with existing games...)

 

Catsfolly

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think that the Intellivision memory map has 2k memory reserved for GRAM, but the built in GRAM is mapped 4 times into the memory map so that a request for GRAM card 1 displays GRAM card 1, but a request for GRAM card 65 or 129 or 193 also displays GRAM card 1.

 

This was actually a good thing for memory starved Intellivision programmers back in the day -- it meant that the top two bits of the GRAM address in a Color Stack BACKTAB word were ignored, and the programmer could use these bits to store whatever information they wanted.

 

But it means that to add GRAM the Intelliivision would have to be modified so that Internal GRAM only responds to the 0-63 part of the GRAM memory map (and this would have to be something that could be disabled or enabled for compatibility with existing games...)

 

Catsfolly

 

I agree. At reset, only 2k (64 cards/tiles) would be enabled to maintain compatibility. A cartridge would have to explicitly bang some registers to enable the extra GRAM memory.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...