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 Philips VideoWriter 450 (1988) with German keyboard | |
| Developer | Philips Home Interactive Systems (PHIS) |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Philips |
| Type | word processor |
| Release date | 1985 (1985) |
| Introductory price | US$799 (equivalent to $2,300 in 2024) (U.S.) |
| CPU | Hitachi HD64180 orNational Semiconductor NSC800N |
| Memory | 16KBRAM 64 KBROM |
| Removable storage | 3-1/2" floppy disk drive |
| Display | 10"CRT amber screen |
| Graphics | NCR 7250video controller |
ThePhilips/Magnavox VideoWriter (styledVideoWRITER) is a standalone, fixed-application,[1]electronic typewriter /dedicated word processor produced by Philips Home Interactive Systems (PHIS), a division of the Dutch electronics companyPhilips. It includes a 10"CRTamber screen with a wideaspect ratio (i.e. more than4:3), ablack and whitethermal transfer printer, a3.5" floppy drive for saving documents, and dedicated computing hardware, all enclosed in a single case. The keyboard is separate and a custom design whose unusual features include aSTYLE key and not just anUNDO key but also aDO key.[2] The VideoWriter is not a freely programmable computer but a typewriter replacement appliance. It is not a laptop machine but was designed to be transportable in either a cloth or hard plastic carry case accessory.
First released in 1985, the VideoWriter was sold with a moderate degree of success for several years, with worldwide sales in the mid-hundreds-of-thousands. Notable users included PortugueseNobel Prize WinnerJosé Saramago and American poetLucille Clifton.[3] Some units were primarilyMagnavox-branded and some were justPhilips-branded, and there were several models. With the VideoWriter, Magnavox/Philips competed withColeco,Brother,Smith-Corona andCanon, all of which offered similar inexpensivededicated word processors. The VideoWriter appeared in the movies52 Pick-Up,Broadcast News, and repeatedly inLicence to Kill.
The VideoWriter became the principal product of Philips Home Interactive Systems after management decided to discontinue all development of video game consoles and home PCs (even though in 1984, theMagnavox Odyssey held 55% of worldwide console market share[citation needed]). This system was intended to bring $10,000 professional word processors to consumers, targeting high school and college students in particular. While in design, it was nicknamed the PWP, or the "Little Orange" (as the localUniversity of Tennessee sports nickname was "Big Orange"), but this was dropped when Coleco started using the name PWP. The 100+ column amber screen was selected for the very best in readability, along with extra space for on-screen help to the right of the typing area. Similarly, the keyboard was designed with quality ease of typing in mind in all aspects.
After the original version was released in 1985, it waslocalized to and sold in 11 European countries, although the character set originally included support for Spanish. About a dozen software engineers from the Magnavox Odyssey video game console group (which became PHIS) worked on the product; overall, PHIS at this time employed over 70. Not only were there follow-up models, but also a sheet feeder accessory was released for the VideoWriter.
Recognizing that theink cartridges and the special VideoWriter floppies (which included a 50,000 word dictionary) were ephemeral, the application designed included the ability for the VideoWriter to recognize blank 3-1/2" floppies andformat them for VideoWriter use (although without the dictionary feature). Also, the non-reusable thermal transfer ink cartridge can be removed from the printer mechanism, in which case the VideoWriter will print to standardthermal paper sheets, thus allowing the system to be used up to the current day. Although the VideoWriter has the capability to accept program disks, none were ever sold, although game designerBob Harris designed several entertaining apps, such as anacrostic solver.
The groups that became PHIS included the Philips division that inventedlaser disc technology and designed the first laser video disc player (Bob Gepp was the project manager of this effort). After specifying, along with partnerSony, the fundamental specs forCD music andCD-ROM (the so-called Red, Yellow, and Green Books), the storage area was split off into Philips LMS (Laser/Magnetic Storage), which eventually moved from the PHIS office location to Colorado, forming the nucleus of what would become the storage products industry there. Meanwhile, the Odyssey group had finished designing the next generation Odyssey console as well as the C9000 personal computer system, which would have been the first CD-ROM-based andGUI-basedUnix-family system in thepersonal computer industry. According to PHIS president Lou Arpino, referring to game consoles and PCs: "It's just aCabbage-Patch Doll phenomenon"—and thus dropping all products except the VideoWriter.
Based on a 1984motherboard design by PHIS engineer Dan Murphy, that was elegantly simple and able to be manufactured for $25, the VideoWriter used theHitachi HD64180 orNational Semiconductor NSC800N[4] CPU, clones of theZilog Z80 with a unique pinout, along with an NCR 7250video controller. The system included 16K RAM, 64K ROM, a 3-1/2"floppy disk drive (possibly the third system to use one after the 1983ACT Apricot then the 1984Macintosh), and an integral thermal transferdot matrix printer. While designed originally to sell for $399, parts were sourced in Europe and Asia that were greatly affected by the inflation that plagued this period in time, and thus it ended up selling in the U.S. for $799 (less than theIBM PC at $1500 or Mac at $2500).
The industrial design for the exterior was created by Duncan Copeland, a Philips designer from Europe assigned to the PHIS operation inKnoxville, Tennessee. The application and thus keyboard layout was designed by Greg L. Weinstein, inspired by the Ashton-TateMultiMate Advantage software for the IBM PC. Project Manager was Robert S. (Bob) Gepp, lead software engineer was Rexford A. (Rex) Battenberg, and lead developer of the customoperating system was Nicholas (Nick) Vigorito. It was manufactured at the Philips factory in Vienna, originally at the rate of 11 systems/hour, although some of the inventory was remanufactured at the master Magnavox North American warehouse inJefferson City, Tennessee (an hour away from the PHIS offices).
The 3-1/2" floppy disk format wasproprietary, utilizing single-sided, double-density (80 tracks, 18 sectors/track, 256 byte sectors) resulting in 360 KB storage.
Although never released, an accessory, named the VideoWriter Smart Keyboard, was well under design at the time of PHIS's shut-down in 1988, principally by Greg Weinstein. The Smart Keyboard was to be roughly 8-1/2 by 11 inches, one inch thick, with a flip-open and adjustable 8-row by 80-column display, a full keyboard, and specialfunction keys. It included the ability to hold over 20 pages of typing, and would have provided a calculator, multi-alarm clock, calculator, and several other convenience functions. When connected to the VideoWriter itself through theRJ14 keyboard connector, documents could be uploaded to the VideoWriter's floppy disk and printed. The hardware chassis was fromKyocera, and was essentially the same as theRadio ShackTRS-80 Model 100 portable computer.
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