![]() | |
Release date | 1982 |
---|---|
Manufactured by | Plantronics Enhanced Graphics Products |
Designed by | Frederick Electronics |
Architecture | Motorola MC6845 |
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, first sold in 1982. It implements a superset of the then-current CGA standard, using the same monitor standard ( 4-bit digital TTL RGBI monitor) and providing the same pixel resolutions. [1] It was produced by Frederick Electronics (of Frederick, Maryland), a subsidiary of Plantronics since 1968, and sold by Plantronics' Enhanced Graphics Products division. [2] [3]
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. [4]
It uses the same Motorola MC6845 display controller as the previous MDA and CGA adapters. [1]
The original card also includes a parallel printer port.
CGA compatible modes:
, ▌
, ▐
and █
)In addition to the CGA modes, it offers: [4]
The "new" font was actually the unused "thin" font already present in the IBM CGA ROMs, with 1-pixel wide vertical strokes. This offered greater clarity on RGB monitors, versus the default "thick" / 2-pixel font more suitable for output to composite monitors and over RF to televisions but, contrary to Plantronics' advertising claims, was drawn at the same 8 × 8 pixel resolution.
Few software made use of the enhanced Plantronics modes, for which there was no BIOS support.
A 1984 advertisement [2] listed the following software as compatible:
Some contemporary software has added support for Plantronics modes:
Some third-party CGA and EGA clones, such as the ATI Graphics Solution and the Paradise AutoSwitch EGA 480, [10] could emulate the extra modes (usually describing them simply as 'Plantronics mode').
The Thomson TO16 (a PC-XT compatible) [11] and the Olivetti M19 supported Plantronics modes, [12] along with CGA.
![]() | |
Release date | 1982 |
---|---|
Manufactured by | Plantronics Enhanced Graphics Products |
Designed by | Frederick Electronics |
Architecture | Motorola MC6845 |
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, first sold in 1982. It implements a superset of the then-current CGA standard, using the same monitor standard ( 4-bit digital TTL RGBI monitor) and providing the same pixel resolutions. [1] It was produced by Frederick Electronics (of Frederick, Maryland), a subsidiary of Plantronics since 1968, and sold by Plantronics' Enhanced Graphics Products division. [2] [3]
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. [4]
It uses the same Motorola MC6845 display controller as the previous MDA and CGA adapters. [1]
The original card also includes a parallel printer port.
CGA compatible modes:
, ▌
, ▐
and █
)In addition to the CGA modes, it offers: [4]
The "new" font was actually the unused "thin" font already present in the IBM CGA ROMs, with 1-pixel wide vertical strokes. This offered greater clarity on RGB monitors, versus the default "thick" / 2-pixel font more suitable for output to composite monitors and over RF to televisions but, contrary to Plantronics' advertising claims, was drawn at the same 8 × 8 pixel resolution.
Few software made use of the enhanced Plantronics modes, for which there was no BIOS support.
A 1984 advertisement [2] listed the following software as compatible:
Some contemporary software has added support for Plantronics modes:
Some third-party CGA and EGA clones, such as the ATI Graphics Solution and the Paradise AutoSwitch EGA 480, [10] could emulate the extra modes (usually describing them simply as 'Plantronics mode').
The Thomson TO16 (a PC-XT compatible) [11] and the Olivetti M19 supported Plantronics modes, [12] along with CGA.