website/content/museum/acorn-computer-bbc-master-aiv.md

title, categories, types, origins, years, cpus, params

title	categories	types	origins	years	cpus	params
Acorn Computer BBC Master AIV	Computers	Home Computer	United Kingdom	1986	65C02	name image company company_name specs tabs forum_thread hardware emulators links related oc_id source BBC Master AIV /media/museum/photos/acorn_bbc-master-aiv_1s.jpg /companies/acorn-computer Acorn Computer label value NAME BBC Master AIV label value MANUFACTURER Acorn Computer label value TYPE Home Computer label value ORIGIN United Kingdom label value YEAR 1986 label value END OF PRODUCTION 1986-7? Very small run. label value BUILT IN LANGUAGE BBC BASIC. BCPL provided with package. label value KEYBOARD Standard QWERTY, 10 function keys + arrows, plus numeric keypad label value CPU 65C02 label value SPEED Unknown label value CO-PROCESSOR MOS 65C102 at 4MHz, Turbo co-processor model label value RAM 128 KB label value VRAM Taken from main RAM, up to 44K? label value ROM 48K-128K, expandable, includes LVFS (Laservision Filing label value TEXT MODES 80 x 32/25 (2 colors) / 40 x 32/25 (2 or 4 colors) / 20 x 32 (16 colors) / 40 x 25 (Teletext display) label value GRAPHIC MODES 640 x 256 (2 colors) / 320 x 256 (4 colors) / 160 x 256 (16 colors) label value COLORS 16 (8 colors + flashing option), True colour from the video data on LV-ROM label value SOUND 3 channels + noise & envelope control, 7 octaves label value SIZE / WEIGHT Complete set - heavy ;) label value I/O PORTS 1MHz BUS, Analogue, RGB, Disk, RS423, User port, Econet, Tape, Parallel printer. Captive SCSI lead. label value BUILT IN MEDIA None label value OS Master Operating System (MOS) label value POWER SUPPLY Built-in PSU, 240V AC label value PERIPHERALS Philips VP415 LV-ROM, Acorn AKF-11 monitor (SCART), Acorn Trackerball (Marconi RB2). label value PRICE £4,000+ (UK, 1986) hardware emulators links 963 title subtitle text image VOLTMACE DELTA CONTROLLERS Voltmace modified its Database videogame system controllers to be sold for micro-computers, mainly Acorn systems : BBC and Electron (with Plus-1 interface). As the keypad was of no use anymore, it was reduced to only 3 fire buttons. /media/museum/hardware/voltmace_joysticks.jpg title url platform text The BBC Lives ! http://www.nvg.org/bbc/emulators.php3 MS DOS This excellent site has a complete list of Acorn systems emulators title url text Acornusers.org http://www.acornusers.org/ The acornusers.org server hosts several Acorn web sites title url text Chris's Acorns: BBC Master AIV & Domesday Project http://acorn.chriswhy.co.uk/Computers/Domesday.html Info and pictures of the AIV system title url text comp.sys.acorn.games FAQ http://www.landfield.com/faqs/acorn/games/ newsgroup FAQ title url text Nice page about the BBC AIV system. http://www.dmc12.demon.co.uk/retrotech/abc.htm title url text RetroBBC http://www.strafom.force9.co.uk/bbc/Retrobbc/Index.htm Mainly a software archive. Cool ! title url text The BBC and Master Computer Public Domain Library http://8bs.com/ Lots of stuff to see and download title url text The BBC Lives! http://bbc.nvg.org/ The net's largest site catering for enthusiasts of Acorn's range of 8-bit micros title url text The Stairway to Hell http://www.stairwaytohell.com/ Electron and BBC support. Excellent site with a lot of stuff ! title url text The Unofficial Acorn Computer User WWW Server http://www.poppyfields.net/acorn/ title url text Web Wiz CAPTCHA http://www.webwizcaptcha.com Programming of Acorn computers /museum/acorn-computer-atom /museum/acorn-computer-bbc-master /museum/acorn-computer-bbc-master-compact /museum/acorn-computer-bbc-model-a-b-b /museum/acorn-computer-electron 989 url date https://web.archive.org/web/20230608163555/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=989 2023-06-08

In 1986, the 900th Anniversary of the Norman Domesday Book, the BBC and the National Curriculum, amongst other UK bodies, endeavoured to produced a 20th Century equivalent. Recently the Domesday project has had renewed interest, as the sense of producing such an ambitious undertaking then storing the results on a strange, and now forgotten, format has been called into question many times since!

For old-computers.com readers, the interesting bits are not terribly interesting - but they are scarce. The presentation was viewable on one of two platforms - the main, and the one most associated with it, was the BBC Master AIV (Advanced Interactive Video). This isn't an 'official' term - as far as Acorn and the BBC were concerned, they wanted schools to purchase the system in the belief that it was essentially what they were used to. The BBC Master was an off the shelf Master Turbo, with an additional SCSI interface (possibly electronically derived from the SCSI interface built into the ACW), and an additional filing system to access the LV-ROM.

The VP415 LV-ROM was an industrial Philips Laservision player, already 'programmable' according to the Laservision standards. The storage was broken down into volumes, with data encoded along with the video content (which can be played separately). The SCSI interface allowed data retrieval but this was also possible via the RS-232 interface - and a module to allow the other machine popular in schools at the time access - the RM Nimbus. The actual data format on the disc was controlled by LV-DOS in the player, and VFS in the BBC series computer. Whilst the Master AIV was most definitely marketed for this application, the documentation is quite vague about whether a BBC B could be used, implying that merely the VFS ROM is required!

Video from the laserdisc was mixed using a genlock incorporated in the base of the VP415 with data generated by the Domesday applications and displayed on a SCART monitor.

Applications allowed searching of film content, further exploration of the information, such as going into a house pictured (within limitations, of course!), and statistical analysis of data gathered in a project that involved schools all over the UK. It's quite likely that many people of my generation contributed, in some small part, to the Domesday project.

Additional discs were produced for educational purposes, hoping to expand the applications of the AIV system, but the late 80s was to see the advent of Microsoft's "Multimedia PC" standard, Philips' own CDi, and many other CD (rather than LD) based systems. LV-ROM, in addition to the video and still frames, could store just under 400Mb of data on a 12" optical disc - whilst the video would take up more space on CD, the media was physically fragile and was eventually to be rendered obsolete with the end of the VP415.

Projects to restore the Domesday project are hampered by copyright law and the restrictions of accessing the data, The most successful is Leeds University's CAMeLION project, an emulated system, with some PC-based applications. I am undertaking my own 'accessible' project, to attempt to make the material useable in a wide range of consumer friendly appliances, but like everyone else, am tied by the fragility of the hardware (if anyone has parts for the VP415 I need spares!) and of course, copyright law.

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Thanks A LOT to Richard Kilpatrick for all this info.

We need more info about this computer ! If you designed, used, or have more info about this system, please send us pictures or anything you might find useful.