''New'' Spectrum

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Socoder -> Off Topic -> ''New'' Spectrum
Thu, 05 May 2016, 04:39
therevillsgames	A new spectrum is coming... not much info on the site though... Linkage
Thu, 05 May 2016, 04:39
steve_ancell	I eagerly await a new Amstrad CPC to hit the market, probably never happen though.
Thu, 05 May 2016, 06:01
Jayenkai	If they did something like Armiga, basically a 3" disk drive you plug into your telly and hook up a keyboard to, then I'd be all for it. Any way to get my old disks archived is a good thing!! -=-=- ''Load, Next List!''
Thu, 05 May 2016, 06:31
Krakatomato	What interested me is the use of the Raspberry Pi Zero for its HDMI capabilities. For the little 6502 project I've been working on (amongst various others), I'd looked at a multitude of options to get a decent video signal out. I wanted it to connect to a TV, so it had to be HDMI - not many TV's with composite support these days. And HDMI is, well, not at all easy. So, I tried using a Rasp Pi, but it's large, costly (relative to the cost of the thing I'm making) and had the Linux OS running on it - so you couldn't just power it off and on. When I saw this Spectrum Next it had me thinking - they must be doing Bare Metal programming and avoiding the Pi's OS completely. Interesting. And using a Pi Zero reduces the cost and size. Double interesting. So, I cracked a zero out and started doing some bare metal programming for it. I now have that working along with a framebuffer so I can chuck data straight through it onto an HDMI display. Unfortunately, this method is a bit crap in the FPS department so I need to do more work to gain access to shaders etc. Bleh. Still, it works. But bloody hell - bare metal programming on a Pi is a World of hurt, but rather nice when something does <eventually> work //Andy
Thu, 05 May 2016, 07:03
Jayenkai	Sounds like fun! Basically using the Zero in the way we used to have TV Modulators!! .. You should build it a little box, and market it as a HDMI Modulator. You'd make a fortune!!! -=-=- ''Load, Next List!''
Thu, 05 May 2016, 07:15
Krakatomato	I'm not sure about "fortune" - especially considering the Zero is as rare as hens teeth at the moment! But I am hoping it will be the little "modulator" for a good few projects I have planned
Thu, 05 May 2016, 10:41
steve_ancell	The price will need to be right for this new Spectrum to take off, maybe the BBC will fund craploads of them for schools just like they did with BBC Micros back in the day. \|edit\| That would help to justify the bloated cost of the TV licence. \|edit\|
Thu, 05 May 2016, 11:46
Jayenkai	BBCs already funding those MicroBit "like a gimped RPi" devices. They're doing their bit. .. A bit.. -=-=- ''Load, Next List!''