Vintage Canadian Video Hardware Becomes Homebrew Computer
Summary
Cameron Kaiser explores the retrocomputing world by repairing and reverse-engineering the 1980s Scriptovision Super Micro Script. His innovative work transforms it into a programmable device, complete with a MAME emulator, now accessible on GitHub for vintage computing enthusiasts.
Key Insights
What is the Scriptovision Super Micro Script?
The Scriptovision Super Micro Script is a 1980s Canadian video titler, a self-contained device from 1985 that overlays 32×16 small or 10×4 large characters with 64×32 block graphics in eight colors onto composite video signals using built-in genlock technology.
Sources:
[1]
What technical components power the Super Micro Script, and how was it transformed into a programmable computer?
It uses a Motorola 6802 microcontroller from the 6800 family and a Motorola MC6847 Video Display Generator (VDG) chip, similar to 1980s home computers. Cameron Kaiser repaired and reverse-engineered it, enabling programmability with a MAME emulator, with code available on GitHub.
Sources:
[1]