--- title: Video Technology Laser 350 / 500 / 700 / 750 categories: - Computers types: - Home Computer origins: - Hong Kong years: - '1985' cpus: - NEC D780c params: name: Laser 350 / 500 / 700 / 750 image: /media/museum/photos/vtech_laser500.jpg company: /companies/video-technology company_name: Video Technology specs: - label: NAME value: Laser 350 / 500 / 700 / 750 - label: MANUFACTURER value: Video Technology - label: TYPE value: Home Computer - label: ORIGIN value: Hong Kong - label: YEAR value: '1985' - label: BUILT IN LANGUAGE value: Basic v3.0 (Microsoft Basic) - label: KEYBOARD value: |- AZERTY / QWERTY, 77 mechanical keys\ 10 function keys\ INS / DEL / DEL LINE / CLS HOME keys\ 4 cursor keys, CAPS LOCK key with led\ 2 SHIFT keys - label: CPU value: NEC D780c (Z80A compatible) - label: SPEED value: 3,58 MHz - label: RAM value: |- Laser 350 : 16 KB, up to 128 KB\ Laser 500 / 700 : 64 KB (30 KB free), up to 128 KB\ Laser 750 : 128 KB - label: ROM value: 32 KB - label: TEXT MODES value: |- 40 x 24 in 16 colors\ 80 x 24 in 2 colors among 16 - label: GRAPHIC MODES value: |- GR0 = 160 x 96 in 16 colors\ GR1 = 160 x 192 in 2 colors among 16\ GR2 = 320 x 192 in 2 colors\ GR3 = 160 x 192 in 16 colors\ GR4 = 320 x 192 in 2 colors among 16\ GR5 = 640 x 192 in 2 colors - label: COLORS value: '16' - label: SOUND value: 1 voice, 6 octaves (Beeper) - label: SIZE / WEIGHT value: 40 x 23 x 7 cm - label: I/O PORTS value: |- Tape-recorder (600 bauds)\ RGB DIN plug\ Composite monitor out\ Expansion port\ Laser 350 / 500 : Memory expansion port\ Laser 700 / 750 : 2 floppy disk drive ports\ Laser 700 / 750 : Centronic port - label: POWER SUPPLY value: |- Laser 500 : 9v 500mA - -(o- +\ Laser 700 / 750 : Power supply built-in - label: PERIPHERALS value: |- Disk drive\ 64 KB & 128 KB memory expansion\ Centronic Interface\ RS232 Interface\ Joysticks\ Lightpen\ Analogic/Digital converter\ Digital/Analogic converter - label: PRICE value: 'Laser 500 : 457 with diskdrive (France, may 85)' tabs: - photos - hardware - emulators forum_thread: 445 photos: - title: THE LASER 500 subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/photos/vtech_laser500.jpg - title: THE LASER 700 subtitle: '' text: Thanks to Stephan Walgenbach image: /media/museum/photos/vtech_laser700.jpg - title: LASER 500 SIDE subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/photos/vtech_laser500_side.jpg - title: LASER 500 REAR subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/photos/vtech_laser500_rear.jpg - title: LASER 500 OPENED subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/photos/vtech_laser500_opened.jpg - title: LASER 500 MOTHERBOARD subtitle: '' text: |- We can easily spot the CPU, the 2 ROMs and the memory chips... The mother board is quite small and can easily fit in a Laser 350 case. image: /media/museum/photos/vtech_laser500_inside.jpg hardware: - title: LASER 700 CONNECTIVITY SKETCH subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/hardware/vtech_laser700_schema.gif - title: CENTRONIC EXPANSION subtitle: '' text: This was for the Laser 350 / 500 as the Laser 700 / 750 had a built-in Centronic port on their side. image: /media/museum/hardware/vtech_laser500_centronic.jpg emulators: - title: MESS url: http://mess.emuverse.com/ platform: Other platform text: MESS emulates the Laser 350/500/700 ! oc_id: 449 source: url: https://web.archive.org/web/20230601001043/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=449 date: '2023-06-01' --- Technically the Laser 350 / 500 / 700 / 750 are completely different from the Laser 100 / 200 / 300 family and thus non compatible with them. All 4 computers are nearly identical but the Laser 350 uses a Laser 300 case while the Laser 500 / 700 / 750 use a "new" case. Though the CPU is still a Z80A compatible one (the D780c from NEC), its capabilities are better. There are now 6 graphical modes, ranging from 160 x 96 in 16 colors to 640 x 192 in 2 colors. The memory size is also bigger compared to the old series and ranges from 16K RAM for the Laser 350, to 128K RAM for the Laser 750. The Laser 500 and 700 have 64K.