Plantronics Colorplus
 | |
| Release date | 1982 |
|---|---|
| Cards | |
| Entry-level | Plantronics Colorplus |
| High-end | ATI Graphics Solution, Paradise AutoSwitch EGA 480 |
| History | |
| Predecessor | CGA |
| Successor | EGA |
The Plantronics Colorplus was a graphics card for IBM PC computers,[1] first sold in 1982. It was a superset of the then-current CGA standard, using the same monitor standard and providing the same pixel resolutions.[2] It was produced by Frederick Electronics, of Frederick, Maryland.
The Colorplus had twice the memory of a standard CGA board (32k, compared to 16k). The additional memory could be used in graphics modes to double the color depth, giving two additional graphics modes—16 colors at 320×200 resolution, or 4 colors at 640×200 resolution.
It used the same Motorola MC6845 display controller as the previous MDA and CGA adapters.[2]
The original card also included a parallel printer port.
Output capabilities
CGA compatible modes:
- 160×100 16 color mode
- 320x200 in 4 colors from a 16 color hardware palette. Pixel aspect ratio of 1:1.2.
- 640×200 in 2 colors. Pixel aspect ratio of 1:2.4
- 40×25 with 8×8 pixel font text mode(effective resolution of 320×200)
- 80×25 with 8×8 pixel font text mode(effective resolution of 640×200)
In addition to the CGA modes, it offers:
- 320x200 with 16 colors
- 640x200 with 4 colors
- New high-resolution text font
Software support
Few programs made use of these modes, for which there was no BIOS support. A 1984 advertisement[3] listed as compatible software Color-It, UCSD P-system, Peachtree Graphics Language, Business Graphics System,[4] Graph Power, The Draftsman, Videogram, Stock View and GSX. In addition, Canyon State Systems CompuShow[5] supports the 320×200 mode.
Hardware Clones
Some third-party CGA and EGA clones, such as the ATI Graphics Solution and the Paradise AutoSwitch EGA 480,[6] could emulate the extra modes (usually describing them simply as 'Plantronics mode').
See also
- Tandy Graphics Adapter, a graphics board with similar capabilities.
References
- ↑ "Colorplus High Resolution Color Graphics Adapter from Plantronics (1984)". Retrieved 16 July 2014.
- 1 2 PC Mag Jul 1983, p. 435, at Google Books
- ↑ "Colorplus High Resolution Color Graphics Adapter from Plantronics (1984)". Retrieved 16 July 2014.
- ↑ PC Mag, p. 203, at Google Books
- ↑ http://cd.textfiles.com/clipart1996/UTILS/CSHOW860/ABOUT860.TXT
- ↑ PC Mag, p. 218, at Google Books
External links
- "+COLORPLUS Shatters The Mold.", an original advertisement.
- A USENET posting describing the Plantronics Colorplus
- The technical documentation for the Paradise EGA chipset in the Amstrad PC-1640 describes its Plantronics compatibility mode.
