Changes
[[Image:VG 5000.jpg|500px|right|thumb]]The VG 5000 is a computer created by Philips in 1984. Production ended in 1986. It was designed by [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiotechnique La Radiotechnique] and manufactured in Le Mans (France) by Radiotechnique (RTS) and . It was marketed under the Philips, Radiola and Schneider brands.This was a strategy aimed at making the VG 5000 appear as a standard like the [[MSX]] in the eyes of the general public. Philips was already familiar with such a strategy, having used it in its [[Videopac]] gaming console, which was sold under the Philips (Videopac/Odyssey), Radiola (Videopac), Schneider (Videopac), Siera (Videopac), Magnavox (Odyssey²), Brandt (Jopac), Continental Edison (Jopac) and Saba (Jopac). The Philips had a black casing while the Radiola and Schneider had a white casing: [[File:Vg5000 brands.jpg]] Approximately 73,000 units of the machine have been sold [http://vg5000bazar.free.fr/html/articles/carriere_commerciale.htm Source]. Very few programs and games were ever released for this machine. <br> == Specifications == *CPU: Zilog Z80A processor running at 4 MHz*RAM: 24KB, including 16KB of system memory (expandable to 48KB) and 8KB of dedicated memory for the video processor*ROM: 18KB, including 16KB containing the VG5000 BASIC (derived from Microsoft BASIC-80) and 2KB of character bitmaps built into the video processor*Video processor: SGS Thomson EF9345P*Graphics: semigraphics based on 8 × 10 pixel characters (equivalent to 320 × 250 pixels) in 8 colors*Sound: 1 voice, 5 octave range*Keyboard: Built-in 63 keys Minitel-like AZERTY keyboard with BASIC keywords*Ports: DIN5 cassette player connector (1200/2400 baud), DIN8 SCART connector*Expansion: 2×25 pins bus connector <br> == Peripherals == Several peripherals were developed during its commercial life: *VY0030: cassette player*VG5200: joystick interface*VU0001: joystick*VU0011: RF modulator*VU0022: power supply*VG5216: 16KB RAM memory expansion with joystick and printer ports*VU0031: 16KB RAM memory expansion*VW0010: 40 column printer*VW0020: 80 column printer*VW0030: 80 column printer New hardware expansions are built by hobbyists: [https://sites.google.com/view/vg5000-hardware/vg5k-new-hardware VG5K New Hardware] <br> == Links == *https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Philips_VG5000*[https://youtu.be/wAAzUzaUMYw TV advertisement VG5000]*[https://youtu.be/9DxtZqa5fmA Over 40 VG5000 games in under 30 minutes]*[https://web.archive.org/web/20191009031832/http://vg5k.free.fr/ VG5K website] web archive*[http://vg5000bazar.free.fr/ VG5000 bazar]*[http://vg5000.free.fr My VG5000 website]*[http://vg5000.free.fr/docs/tech/docs.htm Internal technical documentation]*[[Media:EF9345 datasheet.pdf|SGS-Thomson EF9345 datasheet]] same graphics processor as in the Minitel*[http://dcvg5k.free.fr/ DCVG5K] Emulator for Windows and collection of 55 programs and games <br> [[Category:Non CPC Computers]]
