--- title: Spectravideo SV 318 categories: - Computers types: - Home Computer origins: - U.S.A. years: - '1983' cpus: - Zilog Z80A params: name: SV 318 image: /media/museum/photos/spectravideo_sv-318_2022_1s.jpg company: /companies/spectravideo company_name: Spectravideo specs: - label: NAME value: SV 318 - label: MANUFACTURER value: Spectravideo - label: TYPE value: Home Computer - label: ORIGIN value: U.S.A. - label: YEAR value: January 1983 - label: BUILT IN LANGUAGE value: SV Extended Basic (by Microsoft) - label: KEYBOARD value: 71 keys, rubber keyboard with built-in joystick - label: CPU value: Zilog Z80A - label: SPEED value: 3.6 MHz - label: CO-PROCESSOR value: TMS9918A graphics chip, and AY-3-8910 sound chip - label: RAM value: 16 KB (up to 144 KB), 12 KB free for programmation with Basic - label: VRAM value: 16 KB - label: ROM value: 32 KB - label: TEXT MODES value: 40 x 24 - label: GRAPHIC MODES value: 256 x 192 in 16 colors / 64 x 48 in 16 colors - label: COLORS value: '16' - label: SOUND value: AY-3-8910 sound chip offering 3 channels and 8 octaves - label: I/O PORTS value: video output, cartridge slot, expansion port, tape, joysticks (2) - label: OS value: CP/M optional with disk-drives - label: POWER SUPPLY value: External power supply. 9V AC & 16V AC out - label: PERIPHERALS value: SVI-903 Data Cassette Recorder, SV-601 Super Expander, SV-602 Single Slot Expander, SV-902 Floppy Disk drive (external), SV-901 Dot Matrix Printer, SV-805 RS-232 Interface, SV-105 Graphic Touch Tablet, SV-803 16K RAM Pack, SV-807 64K RAM Pack, SV-802 Centronics Interface, SV-701 Smart Modem, SV-801 Dual Disk Drive Controller, SV-806 80-Column Display adapter, SV-603 Coleco Game Adapter, SV-101 Quickshot Joystick - label: PRICE value: $299 (USA, 1983) tabs: - photos - adverts - hardware - emulators - links forum_thread: 237 photos: - title: FRONT VIEW subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/photos/spectravideo_sv318_face.jpg - title: SIDE VIEW subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/photos/spectravideo_sv318_side2.jpg - title: REAR VIEW subtitle: '' text: We can spot the two expansion connectors and the RGB video output (DIN) on the right. image: /media/museum/photos/spectravideo_sv318_rear.jpg - title: INSIDE SV-318 subtitle: '' text: |- A traditional and clear design despite some cheeseparing: the keyboard cable, rigid and without connectors must be carefully handled during a disassembling, the graphic circuit cooler is coarsely glued. The left part, much more packed, is the video interface module which can differ, depending of the country where the computer was sold. **(1)** Integrated joystick or arrows keypad when the stick is removed.\ **(2)** SIO 8255 circuit in charge of interfaces management (internal and external joysticks, cassette...).\ **(3)** Sound generator AY-3-8910 chipset. (3 voices, 8 octaves and white noises for special effects), same as MSX standard.\ **(4)** 16 memory chips holding 32 Kb. of RAM memory.\ **(5)** Texas Instruments TMS 9929 video chipset with its glued cooler, same as MSX standard.\ **(6)** Spectrvideo cassette recorder connector. A standard recorder can't be used.\ **(7)** RGB video out connector.\ **(8)** Z80 microprocessor.\ **(9)** Expansion connector for Spectravideo expansion units.\ **(10)** Two ROM circuits holding the Microsoft Basic interpreter.\ **(11)** Connector and housing for ROM cartridges. image: /media/museum/photos/spectravideo_sv318_inside.jpg - title: LUXURIOUS BASIC MANUAL subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/photos/spectravideo_sv318_manual_1.jpg - title: SV-318 MKII subtitle: '' text: In 1984, Spectravideo released a revised version of the SV-318, named SV-318 MKII. The colour of area around the keyboard is different, but more importantly the motherboard has been redesigned, surely for production costs reason. image: /media/museum/photos/spectravideo_sv318_mk2_1.jpg adverts: - title: US AD (JULY, 1983) subtitle: '' text: Thanks to Eric Buczynski for this advert image: /media/museum/pubs/spectravideo_sv318_pub_us_1.jpg - title: FRENCH AD (DEC.1983) subtitle: '' text: Valric-Laurène was the french importer of the Spectravideo SV-318. image: /media/museum/pubs/spectravideo_sv-318_pub_valric-laurene_1.jpg - title: FRENCH AD (DEC.1983) subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/pubs/spectravideo_sv-318_pub_les-bornes_2.jpg - title: FRENCH ADVERT. subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/pubs/spectravideo_sv318_pub_bornes.jpg - title: GERMAN AD subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/pubs/spectravideo_sv318_german-pub_1.jpg - title: SV-318/328 ADVERT (FEB. 1984) subtitle: '' text: from New-Zealand Bits & Bytes magazine image: null hardware: - title: SVI-777 subtitle: External disk-drive text: '' image: /media/museum/hardware/spectravideo_svi777-diskdrive_1.jpg - title: SVI-904 subtitle: Tape recorder text: Courtesy **www.zonadepruebas.com** image: /media/museum/hardware/spectravideo_svi328_904taperecorder_1.jpg emulators: - title: SVI-318 / SVI-328 emulator url: http://www.acc.umu.se/~yarin/sviemu/ platform: MS DOS text: '' - title: blueMSX url: HTTP://WWW.BLUEMSX.COM platform: Windows text: Excellent free MSX emulator that can reproduce MSX, MSX2, MSX2+, and Turbo-R. The emulator also supports the SVI318/328, and ColecoVision systems ! links: - title: Roger's Spectravideo page url: http://www.samdal.com/spectravideo.htm text: The best site about Spectravideo. You want to go there ! related: - /museum/spectravideo-sv-328 oc_id: 227 source: url: https://web.archive.org/web/20230604032054/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=227 date: '2023-06-04' --- The SV-318 was launched in january 1983, at the Winter CES show in Las Vegas, as the same time as the Spectravideo CompuMate, an keyboard add-on for the Atari 2600. The Spectravideo SV-318 is the system at the origin of the MSX standard, and such, has characteristics very close to the [MSX systems](/museum/msx-1/) (same video, sprites, sound, I/O, etc.). It was even sold as an MSX computer in some places, but it is not fully MSX compliant and can't use MSX programs. Notice that instead of using cursor keys, the Spectravideo uses a small joystick, which emulates cursor keys. An "expansion base" addon was available. This provides 64 KB RAM, a 80 column video and a floppy disk controller and its floppy drive (5.25"). With all these peripherals, the SV318 can run under CP/M. In 1984, Spectravideo released a revised version of the SV-318, named SV-318 MKII. The colour of area around the keyboard is different, but more importantly the motherboard has been redesigned, for production costs reason. Among the changes was a single ULA chip instead of several TTL chips, reducing the motherboard footprint and cost. A more professional version of the SV318 was launched a while later: the [SV-328](/museum/spectravideo-sv-328/) (which has 80 KB RAM and a numeric keyboard and the [SV-728](/museum/spectravideo-svi-728/) case).