Chromatics Inc.
| File:Logo for Chromatics, color graphics computer manufacturer.png | |
| Industry | Electronics |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1976 |
| Headquarters | Tucker, Georgia |
Key people | Terry Hughey, Roger Moonen, Dave Scott |
| Products | Color graphic display systems |
Chromatics Inc. was a manufacturer specializing in color graphics display technology based in Tucker, Georgia. Prior to the widespread availability of low-cost personal computer graphics, their products mainly served as peripheral devices interfacing with mainframe and minicomputer systems. Certain models operated independently as workstations equipped with disk storage and dedicated operating systems.
The company concentrated on demanding sectors such as flight simulation and air traffic control, securing a variety of governmental and military contracts. Several of their offerings achieved Tempest certification, while others were designed with rugged features to withstand harsh conditions involving shock and vibration.
History
Chromatics was established in 1976 by Terry Hughey, who had previously worked at Intelligent Systems Corporation. The firm aimed at the high-end market within the graphics terminal industry. Key leadership included Dave Scott as Vice President of Digital Engineering and Roger Moonen as Vice President of Analog Engineering. In 1990, Chromatics became part of Barco NV, with Dave Scott appointed to lead Barco’s U.S. division.
CG Series
The CG line integrated graphical displays with onboard processing units and memory resources. These devices typically connected to host computers through an RS-232 serial interface and utilized a proprietary graphics command language developed by Chromatics to generate multi-colored primitive shapes, enabling intricate image construction. For instance, the command <02> C 256,256,100 directed the system to render a circle at specific coordinates.
Some configurations included 8" floppy disk drives along with a disk operating system to facilitate image storage. They also incorporated a version of Microsoft BASIC, allowing the units to function autonomously without reliance on a host machine. Subsequent upgrades introduced a Color Lookup Table that extended the palette to over 16 million colors and added an arithmetic processing unit.
CGC 7900
Following the CG series, the CGC 7900 featured an enlarged 19" screen supporting a resolution of 1024x768 pixels at a 60 Hz refresh rate, powered by a Motorola 68000 CPU offering enhanced performance. It was capable of displaying 256 colors selected from a palette of 16.7 million via a Color Lookup Table, facilitating smooth gradient effects though not achieving full photographic realism. A text overlay framebuffer allowed for an 85x48 character display in eight colors superimposed on the graphical output.
This system could be outfitted with storage options such as disk drives, including a Quantum 8" hard disk boasting 40 MB capacity. It also supported Idris, a Unix-like operating environment. The starting price for entry-level models was $19,995, making it competitive compared to emerging XGA display solutions.
CT Series
The CT series represented an economical lineup centered on the NEC μPD7220 graphics controller integrated into a single circuit board. In contrast to other Chromatics offerings, this series did not include disk drives or support disk-based operating systems.
Specifically, the CT4100 was designed for the process control terminal sector, directly competing with Intelligent Systems, the former employer of Hughey. This model utilized character-cell graphics rather than pixel-addressable displays and supported downloadable character sets to allow user-defined symbols, though its graphical capabilities remained somewhat limited.
CX Series
The CX series marked a progression in Chromatics’ high-resolution display technology, featuring models such as the CX1536 (1536x1152 resolution), CX2000 (1280x1024), and the CX2500 (2560x2048 resolution paired with a 29-inch monitor). These units were driven by Motorola 68020 processors and operated Unix within a VMEbus framework.
Feature Comparison
| Launch Year | Display Resolution | Bits per Pixel | Color Depth | Processor | Bus Architecture | Operating System | Screen Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CG Series | 1978 | 512x512 | 3 | 8 | Z80 | Proprietary | Proprietary | 14" |
| CGC 7900 | 1980 | 1024x768 | 8 | 256 | 68000 | Versabus | Proprietary, Idris | 19" |
| CT Series | 1981 | 1024x768 | 8 | 256 | Z80 | None | None | 13" |
| CX Series | 1984 | From 1536x1152 upward | 8-24 | 256 to 16 million | 68020 | VMEbus | Unix | Starting at 19" |
In popular culture
The CGC 7900 system played a role in creating early wire-frame animations for Disney’s film Tron. Both the CG and CGC 7900 models were equipped with large keyboards featuring dedicated function keys that facilitated interactive image generation without requiring programming skills. The keyboard of the CGC 7900 notably appeared on the cover of Scientific American magazine.
External links
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- American companies established in 1976
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- Computer companies disestablished in 1990
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- Manufacturing companies based in Georgia (U.S. state)
- Companies based in Tucker, Georgia
- Tucker, Georgia
- 1976 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)
- Electronics companies disestablished in 1990
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- Defunct computer companies of the United States
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