website/content/museum/spectravideo-svi-728.md

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

title	categories	types	origins	years	cpus	params
Spectravideo SVI 728	Computers	Home Computer	U.S.A.	1984	Zilog Z80	name image company company_name specs tabs forum_thread photos adverts hardware emulators links related oc_id source SVI 728 /media/museum/photos/spectravideo_svi728_3.jpg /companies/spectravideo Spectravideo label value NAME SVI 728 label value MANUFACTURER Spectravideo label value TYPE Home Computer label value ORIGIN U.S.A. label value YEAR May 1984 label value BUILT IN LANGUAGE Microsoft Extended Basic (MSX Basic V1.0) label value KEYBOARD QWERTY, mechanical enhanced keyboard\ Numeric keypad, 90 keys label value CPU Zilog Z80 label value SPEED 3.58 MHz label value CO-PROCESSOR VDP Texas Instruments TMS9929A (PAL/SECAM)\ VDP Texas Instruments TMS9918A (NTSC) label value RAM 64 kb (max. 144 kb) label value VRAM 16 kb label value ROM 32 kb (max. 96 kb) label value TEXT MODES Mode 0 : 40 x 24\ Mode 1 : 32 x 24 label value GRAPHIC MODES Mode 2 : 256 x 192 with 16 colors (Hires mode)\ Mode 3 : 64 x 48 with 16 colors (Multi colour mode)\ 32 sprites label value COLORS 16 label value SOUND General Instruments AY-3-8910 Programmable Sound Generator\ 3 channels, 8 octaves label value I/O PORTS 2 joystick sockets\ 1 cardridge slot\ Tape-recorder (Specialised interfaced, 2400 bps)\ RGB & Monitor video output\ Centronics port label value OS MSX DOS label value PRICE 532 (France, january 85)\ 452 (France, august 85) photos adverts hardware emulators links 239 title subtitle text image SVI 728 /media/museum/photos/spectravideo_svi-728_3.jpg title subtitle text image ANOTHER PICTURE /media/museum/photos/spectravideo_svi_728.jpg title subtitle text image NEW-ZEALAND ADVERT (OCT. 1985) from Bits & Bytes magazine... null title subtitle text image SOME EXTENSIONS RAM expansion and Disk Drive This is a SVI-728 with the SVI-707 5"1/4 Disk Drive (double sided, double density, 40 tracks), a SVI-747 64kb RAM extension and another one... /media/museum/hardware/spectravideo_svi728_extensions.jpg title subtitle text image SVI-767 Tape-recorder /media/museum/hardware/spectravideo_svi767-taperecorder_1.jpg title subtitle text image SVI-787 3.5'' disk drive This drive is a 3.5", single-sided, double-density, 80-track drive and was produced in 1985. /media/museum/hardware/spectravideo_svi787_1.jpg title subtitle text image NATIONAL CF-2131 16 KB RAM expansion /media/museum/hardware/national_cf2131_16k-cart.jpg title subtitle text image CASIO OR-216 - 16 KB RAM EXPANSION Box /media/museum/hardware/casio_or216_16kbramexpansion_box.jpg title subtitle text image PHILIPS RAM EXPANSION RAM expansion and LOGO language cartridges. Thanks to Daniele from Italy /media/museum/hardware/philips_vg8020_cartridges_s1.jpg title subtitle text image MEGA RAM DISK 256 from DDX (Brazil) This is the famous Megaram cartridge made in Brzail, used to play all Konami cracked Megarom games.6401999243 /media/museum/hardware/msx_megaram256-ddx_1.jpg title subtitle text image PANASONIC FS-IFA1 & FW-RSU1W Scanner/Printer interface The FS-IFA1 is the printer/scanner interface (left on the picture) and the FW-RSU1W is the handheld scanner (right on the picture). These expansions are for MSX2 systems. /media/museum/hardware/msx_fs-ifa1_fw-rsu1w.jpg title subtitle text image SONY HBI-232 RS232c cartridge Used to connect serial printers. /media/museum/hardware/sony_msx_rs232c-cartridge.jpg title subtitle text image YAMAHA MOUSE #1 This mouse was compatible with all MSX systems. It connects to the first Joystick port. Thanks to **www.zonadepruebas.com** /media/museum/hardware/yamaha_mouse_s2.jpg title subtitle text image YAMAHA MOUSE #2 Brand new! Thanks to **www.zonadepruebas.com** /media/museum/hardware/yamaha_mouse_s1.jpg title subtitle text image PHILIPS VW0020 80-col dot-matrix printer This printer was a rebadged version of the Seikosha GP-500.\ It was a 80-column, 50 CPS model with a 7x5 dot matrix head.\ Commodore and Atari used same hardware basis for their MPS-801 and 1029 printers. /media/museum/hardware/philips_vg8020_printervw0020_s1.jpg title subtitle text image SANYO PHC-DR II Side /media/museum/hardware/sanyo_phc-drii_side_1.jpg title subtitle text image SANYO PHC-DR II Front /media/museum/hardware/sanyo_phc-drii_front_1.jpg title subtitle text image SANYO DR-202 The ADSS system allowed to quickly search a specific program in a cassette tape and load it. Seach time for a C60 cassette was less than 1 minute. /media/museum/hardware/sanyo_phc28_dr202tapedrive_s1.jpg title subtitle text image NATIONAL RQ-8030 tape-recorder /media/museum/hardware/national_tape_rq8030.jpg title subtitle text image BIT-CORDER Cassete recorder dedicated to Hit-Bit MSX systems, though it could be used with any home computers. /media/museum/hardware/sony_hb201_bitcorder_1.jpg title url platform text fMSX for MS DOS Homepage http://www.komkon.org/~dekogel/fmsx.html MS DOS title url platform text BlueMSX http://www.bluemsx.com/ Windows Excellent free MSX emulator title url platform text BrMSX http://www.lsi.usp.br/~ricardo/brmsx.htm Windows A Bresilian MSX Emulator written in 100% assembler title url platform text CompuJunk's MSX Emulator http://ftp.castel.nl/msx/ Windows A MSX1 and MSX2 Emulator title url platform text RuMSX http://members.eunet.at/lexlechz/msx.html Windows A MSX Emulator for Win95 and Win NT + Direct X title url platform text fMSX for MAC OS Homepage http://www.emulation.net/msx/index.html Apple title url platform text fMSX official Homepage http://www.komkon.org/fms/fMSX Multiplatform fMSX is a portable MSX emulator ported on : Amiga OS, Mac OS, MS DOS, OS/2, Sony Playstation, Risc OS, Towns OS, Unix / X, Win95 / NT, X68K. title url platform text openMSX - The MSX emulator that aims for perfection. http://openmsx.sourceforge.net/ Multiplatform This new MSX emulator can reproduce, among many other MSX, MSX2and MSX2+ machines, both Panasonic Turbo-R models. Be sure to get the catapult frontend and the system roms from FUNET. title url text Baboo! http://www.baboo.net/baboo.shtml MSX dedicated Yahoo clone. Essential ! title url text FILE-HUNTER.COM http://www.file-hunter.com/ Excellent! All MSX emulators, sources and utilities! title url text FTP da MSXBr-L/MSX.Org.Br http://www.caetano.eng.br/msxsoft/ Excellent brasilian software archive title url text MOAI TECH http://www.moai-tech.com/ Spanish/English website with interesting content title url text MSX Hardware List http://www.faq.msxnet.org/hardware.html An impressive list of MSX hardware. The Bible !!! title url text MSX Ressource Center http://www.msx.org/ Essential site ! title url text Possi's Konami MSX Page http://dynamo.geol.msu.ru/MSX/ Nice page dedicated to all Konami MSX games (roms, scans, mids, etc.) title url text The MSX Games Box http://www.msxgamesbox.com All about MSX gaming (games, covers.etc.). More Fun, Less Mhz! title url text The MSX Museum BOX http://www.msxmuseumbox.com More than 190 different MSX models in pictures. title url text The ultimate MSX Faq http://www.faq.msxnet.org Here, you can find near all hardware pieces related to MSX. title url text Web Wiz CAPTCHA http://www.webwizcaptcha.com The MSX home computer system /museum/canon-v-10 /museum/canon-v-20 /museum/canon-v-8 /museum/casio-mx-10-mx-101 /museum/casio-pv-16 /museum/casio-pv-7 /museum/epcom-sharp-hotbit-hb-8000 /museum/fujitsu-fm-x /museum/general-paxon-pct-50 /museum/goldstar-fc-80-fc-200 /museum/gradiente-expert-plus /museum/gradiente-expert-xp-800 /museum/hitachi-ah-200 /museum/hitachi-h1-h1e /museum/hitachi-h2 /museum/mitsubishi-ml-f110-ml-f120 /museum/mitsubishi-ml-f48-ml-f80 /museum/mitsubishi-ml-fx1-fx2 /museum/mitsubishi-ml-g10 /museum/msx-1 /museum/national-cf-2000 /museum/national-cf-2700 /museum/national-cf-3000 /museum/national-fs-4000 /museum/national-fs-4500 /museum/olympia-phc-2 /museum/panasonic-cf-2700 /museum/philips-nms-801 /museum/philips-vg-8000-8010 /museum/philips-vg-8020 /museum/philips-vg-8235 /museum/pioneer-palcom-px-7 /museum/sanyo-mpc-100 /museum/sanyo-phc-28 /museum/sanyo-phc-30 /museum/sanyo-phc-33 /museum/sanyo-wavy-10-mpc-10 /museum/sanyo-wavy-23 /museum/sanyo-wavy-3 /museum/schneider-philips-mc-810 /museum/sony-hit-bit-10 /museum/sony-hit-bit-101 /museum/sony-hit-bit-20 /museum/sony-hit-bit-201 /museum/sony-hit-bit-501 /museum/sony-hit-bit-55 /museum/sony-hit-bit-75 /museum/toshiba-hx-10-pasopia-iq /museum/toshiba-hx-20-hx-21-pasopia-iq /museum/toshiba-hx-52 /museum/victor-hc-6 /museum/yamaha-cx5 /museum/yamaha-cx5m-music-computer /museum/yamaha-sx-100 /museum/yamaha-yis-303 /museum/yamaha-yis-503-diabolik /museum/yashica-yc-64 /museum/yeno-dpc-64 /museum/yeno-mx-64 229 url date https://web.archive.org/web/20230609172057/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=229 2023-06-09

Spectravideo was the only american MSX manufacturer, but they were later bought back by their manufacturer based in Hong-Kong.

For their first computers, the SV-318 and 328, Spectravideo asked naturally Microsoft to develop a Basic. Then, when Microsoft developped the MSX Basic, they used their previous work with Spectravideo. That's why there's always been a rumour saying that the SV-318 and 328 were MSX compatible. But that's wrong, the first Spectravideo MSX is truly the SVI-728.

The SVI-728 is not really different from the other MSX 1, apart maybe from the keyboard which is very complete with its numeric keypad and also the fact that it was one of the first MSX to come with some serious extensions.

Spectravideo also made a portable version of the SVI-728: the Spectravideo SVI-738.

---

More information from Taneli Lukka (Finland):
SVI-728 does have a very complete keyboard, but it's also probably the worst mechanical keyboard in history. It can be best described as putting your hands in to a pile of jelly and trying to type something.

The build quality of this computer is also very poor when compared to Japanese MSX machines. The machine is mainly put together using hot glue. You can't even disconnect the keyboard from the mainboard because it has no connector, it's just soldered and glued in place!

Some of the machines are also not 100% MSX compliant because they don't run Konami's MegaROM/SCC-soundchip games like they are supposed to. Some machines don't run these games at all and all the others have sound problems because SVI used a wrong type of condensator next to the machines sound chip. Because of this the PSG sound chip is so loud that Konami's SCC chip can't be heard. Replacing the condensator cures the problem.

Another fact is that the machine actually has two cartridge ports, but the second port on the backside has a non-standard connector, so you can only connect SVI's own disk drive into it. The pin-outs are the same as in the regular port, though.

Different opinion from Mark Dodd:
Mmmm, the Australian SVI-728's must have been different that the Finnish ones. At the User Group meeting in Australia we had up to 100 or more happy SVI-728 users running just about every piece of MSX1 software porduced on cartridge, tape or floppy. I can't recall a single MSX title that didn't run correctly.
I agree the machine was harder to dismantle than than the Sony HitBit or Toshiba equivalents but hey, they had nowhere near the peripheral support and who wanted to pull apart thier machine anyway?
And once again I would have to disagree about the keyboard. I still have my SVI-728 at home and its keyboard feel is equivalent to this Microsoft keyboard I am typing this with.