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in: Hardware, TV game, Famiclones

UM6578

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UM6578 is an enhanced single-chip Famiclone (or NES-on-a-chip) that adds support for 16 color graphics, extra CPU and video memory, and 8-bit PCM audio. It was put into production some time in the late 1990s by UMC, a Taiwanese semiconductor company that would previously produce various hardware clones of the Famicom and pioneer the production of single-chip versions of these clones. The UM6578 would also be sold by Sinowealth as the SH6578 and by Novatek as the NT6578.

Specifications[]

While the UM6578 uses similar hardware to the original Famicom/NES, it has enhanced video and audio hardware that is completely different in comparison. According to the SH6578 datasheet provided by Sinowealth, the UM6578 consists of a 1.78 MHz 6502 CPU, 10 KB of built-in CPU and video memory each, a graphics processor, and a sound generator. Both the CPU and video memory can be extended, with both being able to access up to 64 KB of memory, although for the graphics processor in particular, only 42 KB can be used at a given time.

Both the graphics processor and sound generator are similar to the picture and audio processing units on the Famicom/NES respectively. The sound generator is virtually identical to the APU of the original consoles, possessing three programmable sound channels (two pulse wave and one triangle wave), one noise channel, and one channel for PCM audio, which supports 8-bit PCM and ADPCM-encoded sound. The graphics processor still uses tiles (referred to as "fonts" in the official SH6578 documentation) and sprites to render graphics, and like the original Famicom/NES, the dimensions of a single tile are 8x8 pixels and the UM6578's graphics processor still imposes a limit of 64 sprites and renders frames at 256x240 pixels. The way the graphics system is designed, however, is completely different from how the picture processing unit of the Famicom/NES operates, namely in that it supports both a 4-color mode, and unique to the UM6578, a 16-color mode. Specifically, the background layer supports both modes for tiles, while sprites can only use 16 colors. For both modes, up to 53 colors in a master 64-color palette can be displayed at once.

In terms of peripherals, the UM6578 has native support for multiple types of peripherals. In addition to regular controller input, it also has native support for keyboards, mice, printers, and floppy disk drives. The UM6578 can address 1 MB of program data at a time and has 8 built-in program banks that can be used for larger programs.

Notable uses[]

  • Bandai Gamepad - Plug and play unit with 10 original built-in games. Released in Japan by Bandai in 1997. One of the earliest known uses of this chipset. Dumped and emulated in MAME and NintendulatorNRS.
  • Go! Go! Connie-chan! Asobou Mouse (ゴー！ゴー！コニーちゃん！あそぼうマウス) - Dedicated plug and play unit based on a licensed property that uses a mouse as its primary input. Released in Japan by Bandai in 1997. One of the earliest known uses of this chipset. Dumped and partially emulated in MAME.
  • Wik!d Joystick 14 in 1/Air Blaster - Plug and play unit with 14 games built-in. Many of the games share aspects with various plug & play dance mat games (e.g., Hot Dance 2000) that have their development attributed to ex-Subor developers. Dumped and emulated in MAME and NintendulatorNRS.
  • Console TV Challenge - An additional plug and play unit featuring games attributed to ex-Subor developers.
  • Handy Boy 11-in-1 - Plug and play unit with 11 built-in games. Produced by JungleTac and sold by Techno Source under the "TV Play Power" brand name. Dumped and emulated in MAME and NintendulatorNRS.
  • Handy Max 15-in-1 - Plug and play unit featuring Jungletac games.[1]
  • Hunting Park - Plug and play unit featuring five lightgun games by Jungletac.[2]
  • Spectron TV Game Computer - Steering wheel-shaped plug and play unit featuring 15 Jungletac games, some of which use a lightgun.[3]
  • Timetop TV Game - Proprietary TV game console released by Timetop that plays both UM6578-enhanced games that use unique control methods and standard Famicom games. It is unknown if the latter is handled by the UM6578 or not.
    • City Patrolman - Lightgun game. Dumped and emulated in MAME and NintendulatorNRS.
    • Play TV Pingpong / Super Ping Pong Game
    • Super Fighters
    • TV Baseball Game
    • Interactive Bowling
    • Interactive Tennis
    • World Cup
    • 超级知识 大富翁 - Released across two cartridges. Appears to be a trivia game.
  • Mix Party 3 / Mix Party 2nd Edition - Dance mat game for plug & play systems. Dumped and partially emulated in MAME and NintendulatorNRS.

Gallery[]

See also[]

External links[]

  1. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBT7geV_Ti0
  2. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ny5EleCZRMc
  3. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3UJ1fsl_y4
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