Plantronics Colorplus

Plantronics Colorplus
Release date 1982 (1982)
Cards
Entry-level Plantronics Colorplus
High-end ATI Graphics Solution, Paradise AutoSwitch EGA 480
History
Predecessor CGA
Successor EGA

The Plantronics Colorplus is a graphics card for IBM PC computers,[1] first sold in 1982. It is 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 has twice the memory of a standard CGA board (32k, compared to 16k). The additional memory can 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 uses the same Motorola MC6845 display controller as the previous MDA and CGA adapters.[2]

The original card also includes 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

References

  1. ↑ "Colorplus High Resolution Color Graphics Adapter from Plantronics (1984)". Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  2. 1 2 PC Mag Jul 1983, p. 435, at Google Books
  3. ↑ "Colorplus High Resolution Color Graphics Adapter from Plantronics (1984)". Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  4. ↑ PC Mag, p. 203, at Google Books
  5. ↑ http://cd.textfiles.com/clipart1996/UTILS/CSHOW860/ABOUT860.TXT
  6. ↑ PC Mag, p. 218, at Google Books
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