website/content/museum/pizon-bros-visiomatic-101.md

---
title: Pizon Bros Visiomatic 101
categories:
- Pongs
origins:
- France
years:
- '1977'
cpus:
- AY-5-8500-G
params:
  name: Visiomatic 101
  image: /media/museum/photos/pizon_visiomatic_101.jpg
  company: /companies/pizon-bros
  company_name: Pizon Bros
  specs:
  - label: NAME
    value: Visiomatic 101
  - label: MANUFACTURER
    value: Pizon Bros
  - label: ORIGIN
    value: France
  - label: YEAR
    value: '1977'
  - label: BUILT IN LANGUAGE
    value: Tennis, Hockey, Hockey handicap, Practice, Squash, Ball-trap, Tir cible
  - label: KEYBOARD
    value: Two paddles
  - label: CPU
    value: AY-5-8500-G
  - label: SPEED
    value: Game selections, Serve, Reset, On/off, Ball speed pro/am, Ball angle pro/am, Paddle size pro/am, Service manual/auto, Robot on/off
  - label: CO-PROCESSOR
    value: None
  - label: RAM
    value: On panel using magnets and on screen
  - label: COLORS
    value: Black & white
  - label: SOUND
    value: Built-in beeper
  - label: I/O PORTS
    value: RF TV video output (2nd and 3rd channel)
  - label: OS
    value: 6 x 1,5v cells
  - label: POWER SUPPLY
    value: 9v DC
  - label: PERIPHERALS
    value: Yes, sold with the system. In fact a pistol wich can be turned into a shotgun
  tabs:
  - photos
  - adverts
  photos:
  - title: VISIOMATIC 101
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: /media/museum/photos/pizon_visiomatic_101_2.jpg
  - title: INSIDE
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: /media/museum/photos/pizon_visiomatic_101_inside.jpg
  - title: LIGHT GUN
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: /media/museum/photos/pizon_visiomatic_101_gun.jpg
  - title: SUITCASE
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: /media/museum/photos/pizon_visiomatic_101_valoche.jpg
  adverts:
  - title: 'FRENCH ADVERT #1'
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: /media/museum/pubs/pizon_visiomatic_101_pub1.jpg
  - title: 'FRENCH ADVERT #2'
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: /media/museum/pubs/pizon_visiomatic_101_pub2.jpg
  comments:
  - author: Yves Kien (France)
    date: Thursday 24th March 2011
    text: |-
      I was an Alcatel technician in charge of this design in 1973!!!!The product was designed by Alcatel and sold by Pizon Bros. We produced approximately 10000 of this type. You can remark that it is possible to play alone against a "robot" (this is a plus i added).

      The chipset is an hybrid circuit designed for that product. I still own one. After this i designed another type with colors (green for the tennis and red for soccer). This application was developped to start a new hybrid circuit prduction line in alcatel factory in Arcueil. This game is working on old TV set through the antenna UHF.
  - author: Sly DC (Canada)
    date: Thursday 15th July 2021
    text: The color version as described by Yves Kien was called the Colormatic 211 ans was going to be sold in 1978 but got cancelled. The story Yves is telling is true except for the year (not 1973...must be a typo). The "Robot" is in fact a small circuit add-on and not implanted in the GI chip. I still don''t know why that is has the "AY-5-8500-G" inscription instead of the usual "AY-3-8500" found in many European consoles.
  - author: Loup Solitaire
    date: Monday 12th April 2010
    text: I got this one from a cousin, I never was able to play with it (old antenna system), I checked ebay and found out it had no value (25$) so I gave it.
  - author: j4ck (us)
    date: Wednesday 30th March 2005
    text: that's a cool looking system. like something a 1970's French kid would play James Bond or Mission Impossible with
  oc_id: 716
  source:
    url: https://web.archive.org/web/20230613001132/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=716
    date: '2023-06-13'
---

One really nice and odd pong system. Designed by Alcatel, it was also sometimes distributed and sold under the Pizon Bros label. The system was sold in a brown suitcase so you could carry it easily and anywhere. In the upper part of the suitcase is stored the lightgun.

The buttons are very original and very cool to press (hehe, you can't imagine that feeling...). You can use the magnets sold with the system to keep the score by placing them on the sides of the metallic panel where numbered squares are drawn.

The console use a AY-3-8500G chipset from General Instrument offering 7 different games (Tennis, Hockey, Hockey handicap, Practice, Squash, Ball-trap, Tir cible). But there are two special options built-in the system which are quite uncommon :

\- A new game called Hockey Handicap. It's a classic hockey game where there's a third bat for one of the players.

\- But what makes the Visiomatic 101 quite special is a robot option that allows a single player to play vs the system in 4 games (Tennis, Hockey, Handicap Hockey and Squash). This function was not built-in the AY-3-8500G chipset, but hardware designed by Yves Kien, the Alcatel technician in charge of this project. The robot follow the ball movements but blinks on a fixed interval to give a chance to the human player. One of the first implementation of a robot feature in a pong system !

Later on, Yves Kien developped a color version of the Visiomatic 101,called the Colormatic 211. It displayed green for the tennis and red for soccer. It was going to be sold in 1978 but got canceled.

A definitely nice looking pong with original options and graphical designs !

<table> <tr> <td></td> <td>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.</td> <td></td> </tr> </table>