Video Display Controller - List of Example VDCs

List of Example VDCs

Examples of Video Display Controllers are:

Video shifters

• The RCA CDP1861 was a very simple chip, built in CMOS technology (which was unusual for the mid '70's) to complement the RCA 1802 microprocessor, it was mainly used in the COSMAC VIP. It could only support a very low resolution monochrome graphic mode.
• The "Television Interface Adapter (TIA) is the custom video chip that is the heart of the Atari 2600 games console, a very primitive chip that relied on the 6502 microprocessor to do most of the work, also was used to generate the audio.

CRT Controllers

• The Intel 8275 CRT controller was not used in any mainstream system, but was used in some S100 bus systems.
• The Motorola 6845 (MC6845) is a video address generator first introduced by Motorola and used for the Amstrad CPC, and the BBC Micro. It was later used for almost all the early video adapters for the PC, such as the MDA, CGA and EGA adapters. The MDA an CGA use an actual Motorola chip, while the EGA has a custom IBM chipset of five LSI chips; one of those chips includes IBM's reimplementation of the CRTC, which operates like an MC6845 but differs in a few register addresses and functions so it is not 100% compatible. In all later VGA compatible adapters the function of the 6845 is still reproduced inside the Video Chip, so in a sense all current IBM PC compatible PC's still incorporate the logic of the 6845 CRTC.

Video Interface Controllers

• The Signetics 2636 and 2637 are video controllers best known for their use in the Interton VC 4000 and Emerson Arcadia 2001 respectively.
• The MC6847 is a video display generator (VDG) first introduced by Motorola and used in the TRS-80 Color Computer, Dragon 32/64, Laser 200 and Acorn Atom among others.
• The MOS Technology 6560 (NTSC) and 6561 (PAL) are known as the Video Interface Controller (VIC) and used in the Commodore VIC-20.
• The MOS Technology 6567/8562/8564 (NTSC versions) and 6569/8565/8566 (PAL) were known as the VIC-II and were used in the Commodore 64.
• The MOS Technology 8563/8568 was used in the Commodore 128 to create the 80 column text mode, together with the normal VIC-II chip for the C64 compatible video modes.
• The MOS Technology 7360 Text Editing Device (TED) was used in the Commodore Plus/4, Commodore 16 and Commodore 116 computers and had an integrated audio capability.
• The Philips Semiconductors SCC66470 was a VSC (Video- and Systems Controller) used in conjunction with their 68070-Microcontroller e.g. in CD-i systems.

Video Coprocessors

• The Picture Processing Unit was a video co-processor designed by Ricoh for Nintendo's use in the Famicom and Nintendo Entertainment System. It was connected to 2048 bytes of dedicated video RAM, and had a dedicated address bus that allowed additional RAM or ROM to be accessed from the game cartridge. A scrollable playfield of 256×240 pixels was supported, along with a display list of 64 OBJs (sprites), of which 8 could be displayed per scanline.
• The ANTIC (Alpha-Numeric Television Interface Circuit) was an early video system chip used in the Atari 8-bit family of microcomputers. It could read a "Display list" with its own built in CPU and use this data to generate a complex video signal.
• The TMS9918 is known as the Video Display Processor (VDP) and was first designed for the Texas Instruments TI-99/4, but was later also used in systems like the MSX (MSX-1), ColecoVision, Memotech MTX series, and for the Sega SG-1000 and SC-3000. The Sega Master System uses an enhanced VDP based on the TMS9918, and the Sega 315-5313 VDP used in the Sega Genesis and some arcade machines is a further advancement of the Master System VDP with the original (inferior) TMS9918 modes removed.
• The NEC µPD7220. Used in some high-end graphics boards for the IBM PC in the mid 80s, notably in products from Number 9 Computer Company.
• The Yamaha V9938 is an improved version of the TMS9918, and was mainly used in the MSX2.
• The Yamaha V9958 is the Video Display Processor (VDP) mainly used in the MSX 2+ and MSX turbo R computers.