It has been suggested that MOS Technology 8568 be merged into this article or section. (Discuss)

The 8563 Video Display Controller (VDC) was an integrated circuit produced by MOS Technology. It was used in the Commodore 128 computer to generate an 80-column (640×200 pixel) RGB video display. The D/DCR models of the C128 used the later 8568 [D]VDC chip. Image File history File links Please see the file description page for further information. ... The MOS Tech 8568 VDU was the Visual (or Video) Display Unit controller chip responsible for the secondary (80-column or RGBI) display on the Commodore 128 personal computer. ... Integrated circuit showing memory blocks, logic and input/output pads around the periphery A monolithic integrated circuit (also known as IC, microchip, silicon chip, computer chip or chip) is a miniaturized electronic circuit (consisting mainly of semiconductor devices, as well as passive components) which has been manufactured in the surface... MOS Technology, Inc. ... The Commodore 128 (C128, CBM 128, C=128) home/personal computer was Commodore Business Machines (CBM)s last commercially released 8-bit machine. ... This example shows an image with a portion greatly enlarged, in which the individual pixels are rendered as little squares and can easily be seen. ... The RGB color model utilizes the additive model in which red, green, and blue light are combined in various ways to create other colors. ... The MOS Tech 8568 VDU was the Visual (or Video) Display Unit controller chip responsible for the secondary (80-column or RGBI) display on the Commodore 128 personal computer. ...

History and characteristics

The VDC was designed with office suite applications in mind. Shown here is SpeedScript 128, a word processor.

This Ultra Hi-Res demo showcases the VDC's blitter capabilities with a simple 3D animation of a wire frame model of a cube.

Originally intended for a planned (but unreleased) UNIX-based business computer, Commodore designed the VDC into several prototype machines. Of these, only the Commodore 128 ever saw production. Unlike earlier MOS video chips such as the popular VIC-II, the VDC had its own dedicated video RAM (16 KB in the original C128 and 64 KB in the C128D, rather than sharing the main system memory. The chip was more difficult to produce than most of the rest of the MOS Technology line, and initial yields were very low. [1] Image File history File links SpeedScript_128_In_Action. ... Image File history File links SpeedScript_128_In_Action. ... In computing, an office suite, sometimes called an office application suite, productivity suite, offimatic suite or integrated offimatic program, is a software suite intended to be used by typical clerical and knowledge workers. ... A word processor (also more formally known as a document preparation system) is a computer application used for the production (including composition, editing, formatting, and possibly printing) of any sort of viewable or printed material. ... Image File history File links Ultra_Hi-Res_Cube_Demo. ... Image File history File links Ultra_Hi-Res_Cube_Demo. ... A frame part of an animation displayed in real time. ... A Blitter (acronym for BLock Image TransferrER) is a chip that specialises in bitmap data-transfer using bit blit methods. ... The rewrite of this article is being devised at Talk:3D computer graphics/Temp. ... A wire frame model is a visual presentation of an electronic representation of a three dimensional or physical object used in 3D computer graphics. ... A cube [1] (or regular hexahedron) is a three-dimensional Platonic solid composed of six square faces, facets or sides, with three meeting at each vertex. ... Unix or UNIX is a computer operating system originally developed in the 1960s and 1970s by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, and Douglas McIlroy. ... Commodore is the commonly used name for Commodore International, a West Chester, Pennsylvania based electronics company which was a vital player in the home/personal computer field in the 1980s. ... The VIC-II (Video Interface Chip II), specifically known as the MOS Technology 6567/8562/8564 (NTSC versions), 6569/8565/8566 (PAL), is the integrated circuit chip tasked with generating composite video graphics and DRAM refresh signals in the Commodore 64 and C128 home computers. ... VRAM an acronym for Video RAM. Generally a term used in computers to describe RAM dedicated to the purpose of displaying bitmap graphics in raster graphics hardware. ... The Commodore 128 (C128, CBM 128, C=128) home/personal computer was Commodore Business Machines (CBM)s last commercially released 8-bit machine. ... The Commodore 128 (C128, CBM 128, C=128) home/personal computer was Commodore Business Machines (CBM)s last commercially released 8-bit machine. ... MOS Technology, Inc. ... NASAs Glenn Research Center cleanroom. ...

Officially, the VDC was a text-only chip, although a careful reading of the technical literature by MOS Technology that was given to the early C128 developers did indicate that a high-resolution bitmap mode was possible—it simply wasn't described in any detail. BASIC 7.0, the Commodore 128's built-in programming language, only supported high-resolution graphics in 40-column mode via the legacy VIC-II chip. MOS Technology, Inc. ... The Commodore 128 is a home/personal computer, also known as the C128. ... Suppose the smiley face in the top left corner is an RGB bitmap image. ... Commodore BASIC is the dialect of BASIC used in Commodore Internationals 8-bit home computer line, stretching from the PET of 1977 to the C128 of 1985. ... The Commodore 128 (C128, CBM 128, C=128) home/personal computer was Commodore Business Machines (CBM)s last commercially released 8-bit machine. ...

Shortly after the release of the C128 the VDC's bitmap mode was described in considerable detail in a Data-Becker (German) book (published in late 1985), and an assembly language program was provided by the authors, in which it was possible to set or clear any pixel or, using BASIC to perform the necessary calculations, generate bitmapped geometric shapes on the 80 column screen. In February 1986, less than a year after the Commodore 128's release, RUN magazine published "Ultra Hi-Res Graphics", an article describing the VDC's bitmapped mode and including a type-in program (written in 8502 assembly language) that extended BASIC 7.0's capabilities to support 640×200 high-resolution graphics using the 8563. [2] Author Lou Wallace later developed the Ultra Hi-Res utility into a commercial package, BASIC 8. One of the most popular third-party utilities for the C128, this offered more advanced VDC high-resolution capabilities to a wide audience of programmers. The Commodore 128 (C128, CBM 128, C=128) home/personal computer was Commodore Business Machines (CBM)s last commercially released 8-bit machine. ... Suppose the smiley face in the top left corner is an RGB bitmap image. ... Screenshot of Atari BASIC, one of the first BASIC languages for small computers. ... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Commodore 128 (C128, CBM 128, C=128) home/personal computer was Commodore Business Machines (CBM)s last commercially released 8-bit machine. ... Look up run in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A type-in program, or just type-in, is a computer program listing printed in a computer magazine or book, meant to be typed in by the reader in order to run the program on a computer. ... The MOS Technology 8502 was MOSs microprocessor used as one of the two¹ CPUs in the Commodore 128 home/personal computer. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... BASIC 8. ...

Commodore finally offered complete official documentation on the VDC in the Commodore 128 Programmer's Reference Guide. VDC bitmap modes were used extensively in the Commodore 128 variant of the GEOS operating system. The Commodore 128 (C128, CBM 128, C=128) home/personal computer was Commodore Business Machines (CBM)s last commercially released 8-bit machine. ... GEOS (Graphic Environment Operating System) was an operating system from Berkeley Softworks (later Geoworks). ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

The VDC lacked sprite capabilities, which limited its use in gaming applications. However, it did contain blitting capabilities to perform automatic block memory copies within its dedicated video RAM. These functions were extensively used within the 0xC000 video portion of the C128 Kernal ROM to rapidly scroll or clear screen sections. In computer graphics, a sprite is a two-dimensional image or animation that is integrated into a larger scene. ... A computer game is a game composed of a computer-controlled virtual universe that players interact with in order to achieve a defined goal or set of goals. ... A Blitter (acronym for BLock Image TransferrER) is a chip that specialises in bitmap data-transfer using bit blit methods. ... The Commodore 128 is a home/personal computer, also known as the C128. ... The KERNAL is Commodores name for the ROM-resident operating system core in its 8-bit home computers; from the original PET of 1977, via the extended, but strongly related, versions used in its successors; the VIC-20, C64, Plus/4, C16, and C128. ... Look up ROM in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Technical specifications

• 16 or 64 KB address space for screen, character and color memory (dedicated, separate from system memory)
• 640×200 pixel video resolution (640×400 in interlaced mode)
• 80×25, 80×50, 40×25 characters text resolution
• 16 colors

Bold textItalic text [edit] Headline text A kilobyte (derived from the SI prefix kilo-, meaning 1000) is a unit of information or computer storage equal to either 1024 or 1000 bytes. ...

External links

• Ultra Hi-Res self-extracting archive - Volume I
• Ultra Hi-Res self-extracting archive - Volume II

Video/sound chips from MOS Technology and second source/clone vendors

6545 CRTC ● 6560 VIC ● 6567 VIC-II ● 6581 SID ● 7360 TED ● 8563 VDC ● 8568 VDC Image File history File links MOS_Technology. ... GeForce 6600GT (NV43) GPU Radeon 9800 Pro (R350) GPU A Graphics Processing Unit or GPU (also occasionally called Visual Processing Unit or VPU) is a dedicated graphics rendering device for a personal computer, workstation, or game console. ... A sound chip is an integrated circuit (i. ... Integrated circuit showing memory blocks, logic and input/output pads around the periphery A monolithic integrated circuit (also known as IC, microchip, silicon chip, computer chip or chip) is a miniaturized electronic circuit (consisting mainly of semiconductor devices, as well as passive components) which has been manufactured in the surface... MOS Technology, Inc. ... The Motorola 6845 (commonly MC6845) is a video address generator first introduced by Motorola and used in the CGA and EGA video adapters, Amstrad CPC and BBC Micro. ... The VIC (Video Interface Chip), specifically known as the MOS Technology 6560 (NTSC version) / 6561 (PAL version), is the integrated circuit chip responsible for generating video graphics and sound in the Commodore VIC-20 home computer. ... The VIC-II (Video Interface Chip II), specifically known as the MOS Technology 6567/8562/8564 (NTSC versions), 6569/8565/8566 (PAL), is the integrated circuit chip tasked with generating composite video graphics and DRAM refresh signals in the Commodore 64 and C128 home computers. ... MOS Technology SIDs: The right image shows a 6581 from MOS Technology, at the time they were known as the Commodore Semiconductor Group (CSG) and the left image shows an 8580 from MOS Technology. ... The 7360 Text Editing Device (TED) was an integrated circuit made by MOS Technology. ... It has been suggested that MOS Technology 8568 be merged into this article or section. ... The MOS Tech 8568 VDU was the Visual (or Video) Display Unit controller chip responsible for the secondary (80-column or RGBI) display on the Commodore 128 personal computer. ...