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What were the earlier non-home computers displaying on?
by IIAOPSW 7y ago
What were the earlier non-home computers displaying on?
- tyingq 7y agoCRT, but not via RF modulators, NTSC, PAL, etc.
- IIAOPSW 7y agoThat's very odd. Why did they invent a new CRT format and spend the cost of the hardware to implement it instead of using an off the shelf TV?
- tyingq 7y agoBecause TVs didn't have high quality video inputs. Old Apples, C64s, etc, came with a "tiny tv broadcaster" (RF modulator) that broadcast the signal on channel 3. In shit NTSC or PAL quality, which is lower resolution than what the CRT can display.
- IIAOPSW 7y agoI understood that. I'm old enough to remember VCR's / game consoles required you to turn to channel 3 or 4. But what were the older, non-personal terminals using? Was there some sort of RF modulated raster pattern optimized for displaying text? Were they drawing everything as vectors? Did they use off the shelf CRT's?
- tyingq 7y agoDirect manipulation of the beam with analog voltage to a CRT driver for the x and y axis. Same as what the TV does inside.
- PixyMisa 7y agoThey just took a regular B/W CRT and wired it up directly - leaving out all the PAL/NTSC decode circuitry. That allowed for a much sharper picture.