10 Amazing MSX Turbo R Facts

welcome D [Music] Runner I think it's fair to say that the MSX computer range has proved incredibly popular when it comes to my amazing facts videos we've already had episodes on the original MSX and MSX 2 and now we complete the set with a video on the very last machine in the range the 16-bit Turbo R I have to say that when I ran a poll for this one I really didn't expect the Turbo R to win and that's rare because nine out of 10 times I predict which machine will come out victorious in this poll it was up against the Enterprise Elan computers links Commodore pet and the computer I ultimately thought would win the Atari XL as it turns out the 16bit MSX beat the 8bit Atari by 11% meaning it wasn't even close released in 1990 the Turbo R was on the market for just 3 years and by far the least successful model in the MSX range and the only one to never be released in the west remaining exclusive to its home country of Japan but despite its relatively short life and distinct lack of success the Turbo R does leave a pretty interesting Legacy in home Computing there's some pretty interesting stories to be told so that's exactly what I'm going to be doing here giving you the lowdown on 10 tantalizing tip bits of Turbo trivia [Music] [Applause] he probably the most obvious thing to point out with regards to the MSX Turbo R is the fact that it's fully backwards compatible with the existing MSX Hardware this was part of the Forward Thinking philosophy of Bill Gates and KAS Nishi when they were developing the MSX standard back in the early 80s creating a lineage of compatible Hardware much like the modern IBM PC standard in fact of course the MSX wasn't alone in this regard as we've seen similar examples from other parts of the world like the coral 128 amstrad CPC plus a tari XL and XE and the syn Clair z x Spectrum 1 to8 that remained backwards compatible with their predecessors whilst adding lots of great new features but the Turbo R is somewhat special in this regard not just because those machines were merely afterthoughts well an upgrades being planned from the start with a clear road map in place as with the MSX standard but also because with the Turbo R we have a new much more advanced 16bit architecture retaining compatibility with all previous 8bit Hardware the the only other example I can think of that is similar to this is the acorn Archimedes being able to use bpc micro software but that was actually done fire emulation rather than it being baked into the hardware itself so if you're lucky enough to own an ms6 Turbo R you can use all the software designed for the 16 bitter as well as all cartridge disc and tape games that were produced the ms61 ms62 and m62 plus before it giving you an absolutely enormous library to W through [Music] [Applause] in the previous entry I talked about the evolution of the MSX standard that eventually led to the Turbo R but what I should point out before we continue any further is that the MSX road map originally went more logically from MSX 2 onto MSX 3 but that machine was actually cancelled resulting in the creation of what became the Turbo R and it's worth explaining just how that came about the original plan saw the 16bit msx3 being released in 1990 which was already quite late when you consider that the first generation 16-bit computers hit the market back in 1984 and machines like the sharp x68000 FM towns and NEC pc98 were already well established in the Japanese Market by the end of the 80s but as 1990 approached development of the new Yamaha VDP that was needed for the msx3 was well behind schedule and soon became clear that it wouldn't be ready in time for the proposed release date so the asy corporation who now had sole control of the ms6 standard after Microsoft pulled out to concentrate on Windows and the PC compatible had a tough decision to make after much soul searching KAS Nishi and his crew decided to completely cancel the ms63 just because the market was already full of well established 16-bit computers as already mentioned but also because sales of both the MSX hardware and software were in massive decline meaning that the many companies that previously supported the format were hesitant to sign up again however he soon had a change of heart and used the existing designs of the MSX 3 to create the Turbo R although the MSX Turbo R is quite similar to the msx3 in terms of design it's the video chip that differs most the originally proposed Yamaha v99 78 VDP features two different sets of video modes in bitmap modes it was capable of up to 768 * 240 resolution or up to 768 * 480 in interlace mode with up to 32,768 Colors as well as advanced features like superimposing Hardware scrolling multiple play Fields 128 Sprites with 16 per scan line and even a hardware cursor for Windows like os's however the most impressive feature with all these modes was the use of a high-speed bit block data mover like the msx2 video I see it was was also equipped with a hardware bit mover but this one would have been around 20 times faster it's been said that the Yamaha V 9978 was an evolution of the video chip found in the Sega Mega Drive which makes a lot of sense when you consider that the Sega consoles came from the same Origins as the MSX with the first Sega console the sg1000 being near identical to the MSX standard there are also interviews where KAS Nishi stated that Yamaha sold their designs onto Nintendo adapted it into the VDP found in the Super Nintendo but nobody has ever managed to confirm this and most people consider this story rather unlikely given that Yamaha worked closely with Sega and not to mention the many differences between the two chip designs the Yamaha V 9978 VDP was eventually delivered in 1992 2 years after its planned deadline by which time the market had moved on and nobody was interested in purchasing it in an attempt to reduce its Financial losses Yamaha stripped out the MSX VDP backwards compatibility and marketed the resulting v999 EV VDP 3 as a video chip set for PC VGA graphics cards with moderate success but more on this particular chip a bit later [Music] [Applause] on now by this point in the video you're probably wondering about the name why Turbo R and what does that ask stand for exactly so now would probably be a good time to address those points and explain the exact meaning of the MSX turbo arm Monica I did detail the MSX part in my previous amazing facts video on the original msx1 computers which is linked down in the description if you missed it but I'll repeat the main part of it here because it's somewhat important the general consensus is that MSX stands for Microsoft extended because the computer had an extended version of Microsoft basic built into the ROM there are some alternative meanings however so I do suggest watching the informtion video if you want to know about those twoo but what about that second part well let's break that down shall we first we have turbo this is down to it being a popular word in Japan at this time that already been used to rival systems like the sharp X1 turbo and indeed the Western version of the ncpc engine console which was renamed for the turbo Graphics 16 to emphasize its powerful 16bit Hardware however the origins of its popularity actually start in a very different market and that is automobiles I'm sure that most people watching this are more than aware of the popularity of the whole car racing and tuning scene in Japan especially for movies like Fast and Furious Tokyo Drift modifying assisting hatchbacks and saloon cars from the likes of nisson Mitsubishi and Honda to add things like fuel injection systems lower suspension and indeed turbos it wasn't long before these car manufacturers built their own turbo equipped cars and the rest as they say is history and onto the r which according to MSX Creator KAS Nishi stands for risk which itself stands for reduced instruction set Computing this is direct reference to the turbo R's custom 16bit r800 CPU so there we have it the more you [Music] know so now we've covered what the Turbo R could have been and how it lagged behind its 16bit rivals in terms of its release it's start to dig into what the computer actually was and what it offered to all those hardcore MSX fans who decided to take the plunge and purchase one I think the first thing we need to look at is the new 16-bit CPU the r800 that was specifically designed by ASI Corporation to interface with the Zog z80 which is also there as a co-processor in order to give the turbo while the backwards compatibility it needed this new chip runs at 7.2 MHz and is backed up by 256k of ram 48k RW and a memory mapper I've talked about the Yamaha V 9978 that's protracted development caused a delay of the new 16bit MSX already so I should now tell you about the chip that replaced it the VDP in the Turbo R is the Yamaha v99 58 which is a slightly cut down version of the previously mentioned video processor that was completely backwards compatible with the original TMS 9918 and TMS 9928 chips as well as the v9 9 38 from the msx2 probably the biggest Improvement present in this chip is the ability to do both vertical and horizontal Hardware scrolling an issue that plagued previous MSX machines it could also display 32 Sprites and 16 different colors with eight per scan line as well as the original MSX video mode it also offered up two new ones 512 * 212 resolution with 16 colors on screen add of a palette of 512 and 256 * 212 with over 19,000 colors there was also two Banks of video RAM 128k standard plus 64k expanded to make all this possible in terms of audio we had the original General instruments ay 38910 PSG for backwards compatibility as well as built-in MSX music Yamaha ym2413 9 Channel FM synthesizer and an additional PCM Channel for playing SED sound all this made the Turbo R very comparable with all of its rivals in fact more powerful in many cases it just all came a bit too [Music] [Applause] late by far one of the most interesting features of the MSX Turbo R is the new operating system that includes a host of different software programs alongside the latest version of Microsoft basic which had now been renamed MSX basic due to Bill Gates's company pulling all their support for the MSX standard during the previous generation this new software is accessed via a menu that appeared after the system are booted though you could bypass this by using a switch on the front of the machine and this included both Japanese and English word processors an address book business card maker label maker PCM sound recorder calculator clock calendar printer configuration Mouse and controller settings and and of course the aforementioned MSX basic some of these required further support from one of the two included system discs which also included the ability to use scanners and edit images too outside of the PC compatible and windows it was very unusual to find such an array of built-in software and this gave the turbo r a real point of difference over its Rivals especially when it came to productivity based tasks sadly it wasn't enough to save it especially as the PC began to take an ever increasing slice of of this particular [Music] [Applause] Market I think this next entry has to be my favorite fact because before I started researching this video I had no clue about the existence of this special MSX Turbo R computer and was rather fascinated by its unique application closely based on the m6 Turbo R the oret ni 2001 is a very specialized computer system owned purely at Japanese car dealers its primary purpose was as an online auction system for used cars that utilized both audio and visuals that was rooted through a satellite with the actual bidding being done via built-in modem the unit also came with all the software you would need including MSX basic 4.0 and a cartridge containing the oret program itself for all intents and purposes this is an MSX Turbo R except for two important changes firstly there is no PCM sound as it was felt this wouldn't be needed so it was removed to save costs and also the machine doesn't boot straight into basic it automatically looks for the allnet software on Startup and a complicated key combination is needed to abort this process and access the OS if it's turned on without the or connet cartridge inserted it will simply display an error message there are also some other Hardware differences that don't impact its operation including the removal of the built-in disc drive although an external one can be connected and the audio port for connecting a tape player has also been removed Ynet proved quite popular with Hugh car dealers and was very ahead of its time these computers now extremely sought after by hardcore MSX [Music] collectors earlier on in this video I talked about how the MSX Market was in Rapid decline by the time the Turbo R came along and how most of the original manufacturers would reluctant to support it of course we had already seen a massive drop in the amount of companies producing the computers when the msx2 arrived which I talked about in my previous amazing facts video on the msx2 which is linked down in the description but by the time the Turbo R was ready for release this list had dropped to just one Panasonic with MSX stalwarts Phillips Sony and Toshiba initially showing interest before deciding to out and go down the PC compatible route instead Panasonic felt that this gave them a chance to make the format their own and influence its development and no longer had to worry about other companies blocking them from adding extra features or trying to outdo them with features of their own they also introduced more harmonized branding as parent company matushita had previously used the national moniker for Japanese MSX machines but Panasonic branding for Western markets now all machines would carry very clear Panasonic branding they took their design cues for the turbo a from their previous msx2 machines except in Gray instead of black and it certainly looks very striking indeed Unfortunately they never got to dominate with this new 16bit MSX market like they hoped as 1993 rolled around they also decided to stop producing MSX compatible computers alog together bringing a sad end to the story some 10 years after it started but as they dropped out of one universal Hardware standard they signed up to another one being one of the first companies to agree to produce the 32-bit 3dio consoles they would also take control of this brand too eventually like they had with the MSX but this new Venture would prove even more disastrous with a Panasonic 3d2 console never even making it out the [Music] [Applause] door despite the Turbo R not exactly set in the world a light or should that be Japan a light sales-wise it did enough for Panasonic to produce a second version of the computer a year after the first one the fs A1 GT arriving in late 1991 it largely looks the same in terms of the case design but it does have some interesting new extras that weren't present on the fs A1 St before it the new MSX machine had double the amount of ram 512k instead of 256k and it also featured midi in and midi out connectors much like the Western notori s computer in fact extra instructions were added for these new midi ports in the built-in MSX music basic and this machine soon became popular with budding musicians much like the St had in the West in fact but on a smaller scale there were also some minor revisions to the motherboard and ROM which caused a few small bugs over most people would never encounter these perhaps rather strangely Panasonic also removed some features from the new model 2 as the fs A1 GT had no cassette connector meaning your old tape software was now useless it no longer had support for paddle controllers due to changes in the Bios and the composite video output was now provided by the RGB connector however the biggest problem with the fs A1 GT was the price at $99,800 Yen which was about $750 at the time it went against the philosophy of the MSX being affordable in today's money that would be the equivalent of $1,730 or nearly [Music] [Applause] ,400 remember that part about the unreleased msx3 earlier on in this video where I spoke about the Yamaha v999 VDP and mentioned how I would come back to it later well this is later because although a variation of this chip was never actually included in any model of the MSX only being available on PC compatible graphics cards it has since been implemented VI an add-on which is well worth mentioning in this video essentially the v999 is a stripped down version of the previously proposed v99 78 that removes all of the MSX compatibility which would obviously be a problem if you wanted to use it to replace the VDP in your MSX but not if you're using it as an add-on several companies have now release cartridges that contain a v999 that will work with any MSX computer and give it much more advanced graphical capabilities and there's a host of terrific new home brew games that support these add-on cards too though you can use these booster cartridges with any MSX it's actually recommended that you do use them with the Turbo R for two different reasons firstly because the turbo Hardware is better suited to running v999 software due to it having more RAM faster CPU and better audio capabilities and secondly because the special version of MSX basic the targets the v9 990 will only work on the Turbo R these v999 cartridges are a great way to bring new life and new possibilities to your MSX especially if you're lucky enough to own the Turbo R [Music] a [Music] [Music] [Music] that runs on my look at 10 amazing MSX Turbo R facts which one of these fabulous facts is your favorite or can you think of any other tantalizing tip bits of trivia that I didn't include we also have to hear the thoughts and viewers of my audience so please get typing in that comment section before I go though I must thank all of my L patrons and YouTube backers for continuing to support my channel and make videos like this possible however I must give special thanks to following people in particular for their much appreciated pledges Paul Daniel mins dos gamerman Luke MC Carl olssen Seth Robinson Frosty Mark Strickland clor trollor the burning Ator Daniel ssky Ben P Stein Tavi hitsun David Maddox your eyes are bleeding Joe casara classic gamer 74 Bernard santu Peter Grandam and electron star collapse if you also want to help support all my creative Endeavors including this YouTube channel then please go and check out my patreon right now you can get access to HRA content including downloads exclusive videos creative insights and much more besides I've been the lad I thank you for watching and I'll see you all again for another video very soon

Channel: The Laird's Lair

Views: 4,906

Keywords: MSX, Panasonic, Microsoft, Turbo R, Matsushita, 16-bit, Cartridge, BASIC, Kaz Nishi, Bill Gates, MSX2, FS-A1ST, FS-A1GT, Yamaha, V9990, Japanese, Japan, Hit Bit, National, Commercial, Advert, VDP, MSX View, Gameplay, ASCii Corporation, MSX2+, PSG, 8-bit, MSX Music, Zilog Z80, TMS, R800, Tecnobytes, MIDI, Aucnet, Philips, Atari ST, MSX3, Konami, TRH 9000, Kai Magazine, Protoype, Home Computer, Tech Specs, RISC, Disk, Upgrade, Tape, Car Dealer, Software, ROM, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Tokyo Drift, PC, Honda, Fast & Furious, IBM

Id: DsT4dejfVEU

Length: 23min 34sec (1414 seconds)

Published: Sat Jun 22 2024