Spectravideo, or SVI, was a U.S. computer

Computer

A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...

 company founded in 1981 as "SpectraVision" by Harry Fox. They originally made video games for Atari 2600

Atari 2600

The Atari 2600 is a video game console released in October 1977 by Atari, Inc. It is credited with popularizing the use of microprocessor-based hardware and cartridges containing game code, instead of having non-microprocessor dedicated hardware with all games built in...

 and VIC-20. Some of their computers were MSX

MSX

MSX was the name of a standardized home computer architecture in the 1980s conceived by Kazuhiko Nishi, then Vice-president at Microsoft Japan and Director at ASCII Corporation...

-compliant or IBM PC compatible

IBM PC compatible

IBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT. Such computers used to be referred to as PC clones, or IBM clones since they almost exactly duplicated all the significant features of the PC architecture, facilitated by various manufacturers' ability to...

. They ceased operations in 1988.

History

SpectraVision was founded in 1981 by Harry Fox and Oscar Jutzeler as a distributor of computer games, contracting external developers to write the software. Their main products were gaming cartridges for the Atari 2600 VCS, Colecovision and Commodore VIC-20. They also made the world's first ergonomic joystick, the Quickshot. In late 1982 the company was renamed to Spectravideo due to a naming conflict with OnCommand's Hotel TV system called SpectraVision.

In the early 1980s, the company developed 11 games for the Atari 2600

Atari 2600

The Atari 2600 is a video game console released in October 1977 by Atari, Inc. It is credited with popularizing the use of microprocessor-based hardware and cartridges containing game code, instead of having non-microprocessor dedicated hardware with all games built in...

, including several titles of some rarity: Chase the Chuckwagon, Mangia

Mangia

Mangia is a 1983 video game by Spectravision for the Atari 2600 video game console...

and Bumper Bash.
A few of their titles were only available through the Columbia House

Columbia House

The Columbia House brand was introduced in the early 1970s by the Columbia Records division of CBS, Inc. as an umbrella for its mail-order music clubs, the primary incarnation of which was the Columbia Record Club, established in 1955. It had a significant market presence in the 1980s and early...

 music club.

The company's first attempt at a computer was an add-on for the Atari 2600

Atari 2600

The Atari 2600 is a video game console released in October 1977 by Atari, Inc. It is credited with popularizing the use of microprocessor-based hardware and cartridges containing game code, instead of having non-microprocessor dedicated hardware with all games built in...

 called the Spectravideo CompuMate

CompuMate

The Spectravideo CompuMate SV010 was a home computer expansion for the Atari VCS / 2600 video game system.It consists of a membrane keyboard unit with interface connectors. These connectors were placed in the module slot and both controller ports of the Atari console. As the user could place the...

, with a membrane keyboard

Membrane keyboard

A membrane keyboard is a computer keyboard whose "keys" are not separate, moving parts, as with the majority of other keyboards, but rather are pressure pads that have only outlines and symbols printed on a flat, flexible surface...

 and very simple programmability.

Their first real computers were the SV-318

SV-318

The SV-318 was the basic model of the Spectravideo range. It was fitted with a chiclet style keyboard, difficult to use, alongside which sat a combination cursor pad/joystick. This was a curious disc-shaped affair with a hole in the centre; put a red plastic 'stick' in the hole and you had a...

 and SV-328

SV-328

The SV-328 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Spectravideo in June 1983. It was the business-targeted model of the Spectravideo range, sporting a rather crowded full-travel keyboard with numeric keypad. It had 80 kB RAM , a respectable amount for its time...

, released in 1983. Both were powered by a Z80 A at 3.6 MHz, but differed in the amount of RAM (SV-318 had 32KB and SV-328 had 80KB total, of which 16KB was reserved for video) and keyboard style. The main operating system

Operating system

An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...

, residing in ROM, was a version of Microsoft Extended Basic, but if the computer was equipped with a floppy drive, the user had the option to boot with CP/M

CP/M

CP/M was a mass-market operating system created for Intel 8080/85 based microcomputers by Gary Kildall of Digital Research, Inc...

 instead. These two computers were precedent to MSX

MSX

MSX was the name of a standardized home computer architecture in the 1980s conceived by Kazuhiko Nishi, then Vice-president at Microsoft Japan and Director at ASCII Corporation...

 and not fully compatible with the standard, though the changes made to their design to create MSX were minor. The system had a wide range of optional hardware

Hardware

Hardware is a general term for equipment such as keys, locks, hinges, latches, handles, wire, chains, plumbing supplies, tools, utensils, cutlery and machine parts. Household hardware is typically sold in hardware stores....

, for example an adapter making it possible to run ColecoVision

ColecoVision

The ColecoVision is Coleco Industries' second generation home video game console which was released in August 1982. The ColecoVision offered arcade-quality graphics and gaming style, and the means to expand the system's basic hardware...

 games on the SVI.

A later version, the Spectravideo SVI-728

SVI-728

The SVI-728 was the first home computer from Spectravideo that complied fully with the MSX home computer specification. It was introduced in 1985...

 was made MSX compatible.

SVI-738

SVI-738

The Spectravideo SVI-738 X'Press was an MSX1 compatible home computer manufactured by Spectravideo from 1985. Although compatible with the MSX 1.0 standard, it incorporates several extensions to the standard ; many are hardware-compatible with the MSX 2.0 standard but the system as a whole is not,...

, also MSX compatible, came with a built-in 360 KB 3.5" floppy drive.

The last computer produced by Spectravideo was the SVI-838

SVI-838

The SVI-838, also known as X'press 16 was the last microcomputer produced by Spectravideo . Although it was a PC clone, it had the standard sound and video coprocessors of the MSX2, making it a hybrid system...

 (also known as Spectravideo X'Press 16). It was a PC and MSX2 in the same device.

Legacy

Today the Spectravideo name is used by a UK based company called SpectraVideo Plc, formerly known as Ash & Newman. That company was founded in 1977, and bought the Spectravideo brand name from Bondwell (SVI owner) in 1988. They sell their own range of Logic3 branded products, and do not have any connection to the old Spectravideo products.