The MOS Technology 8568 Video Display Controller (VDC) was the graphics processor responsible for the 80 column[1] or RGBI display on the Commodore 128DCR personal computer.[1][2][3][4][5]

The VDC was designed with office suite applications in mind. Shown here is SpeedScript 128, a word processor.

In the Commodore 128 service manual, this part was referred to as the "80 column CRT controller." The 8568 embodied many of the features of the older 6545E monochrome CRT controller plus RGBI color.[2] The original ("flat") Commodore 128 and the Commodore 128D (European plastic hausing) used the 8563 video controller to generate the 80 column display. The 8568 was essentially an updated version of the 8563, combining the latter's functionality with glue logic that had been implemented by discrete components in physical proximity to the 8563. Unlike the 8563, the 8568 included an unused (in the C-128) active low interrupt request line (/INTR), which was asserted when the "ready" bit in the 8568's status register changed from 0 to 1. Reading the control register would automatically deassert /INTR. Owing to differences in pin assignments and circuit interfacing, the 8563 and 8568 are not electrically interchangeable.[3]

The Commodore 128 had two video display modes, which were usually used singularly, but could be used simultaneously if the computer was connected to two compatible video monitors. The VIC-II chip, also found in the Commodore 64, was mapped directly into main memory—the video memory and CPUs (the 8502 and Z80A processors) shared a common 128 kB RAM, and the VIC-II control registers were accessed as memory locations (that is, they were memory mapped).

Unlike the VIC-II, the 8568 had its own local video RAM, 64K in the C-128DCR model (sold in North America) and, depending on the date of manufacture of the particular machine, either 16 or 64K in the C-128D model (marketed in Europe). Addressing the VDC's internal registers and dedicated video memory must be accomplished by indirect means. First the program must tell the VDC which of its 37 internal registers is to be accessed. Next the program must wait until the VDC is ready for the access, after which a read or write on the selected internal register may be performed. The following code is typical of a register read:

         ldx #regnum       ;VDC register to access
         stx $d600         ;write to control register
 loop    bit $d600         ;check bit 7 of status register
         bpl loop          ;VDC not ready
         lda $d601         ;read from VDC register
         ...

The following code is typical of a register write operation:

         ldx #regnum       ;VDC register to write to
         stx $d600         ;write to control register
 loop    bit $d600         ;check bit 7 of status register
         bpl loop          ;VDC not ready
         sta $d601         ;write to VDC register
         ...

Owing to this somewhat cumbersome method of controlling the 8568, the maximum possible frame rate in bit-mapped mode is generally too slow for arcade-style action video games, in which bit-intensive manipulation of the display is required.

The final versions of the 8568 had the revision codes R9a or R9b appended to the part number, apparently indicating undocumented improvements.

Features

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  • 80 × 25 characters text resolution
  • 720 × 700 pixels maximum video resolution[6]
  • Interlaced up to 80 × 50 text, 640H × 480V bitmap
  • 3 character modes: standard, semigraphic and graphic, double width & HiRes bitmap.
  • Output: digital RGBI with 16 colors or 16 gray shades, plus limited monochrome composite.
  • Features: Interlace mode, horizontal & vertical scrolling, Light pen input, hardware cursor, underline, blink, reverse video, 2 character sets of 256 each, update ready interrupt
  • Can access 64 KB of memory, programmable to interface either 4164/4464 or 4416 DRAM
  • 48 pins, +5 Volt DC supply[7]

Register listing

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This information was adapted from the Commodore 128 Programmer's Reference Guide[8]

Register Hexadecimal Bit 7 Bit 6 Bit 5 Bit 4 Bit 3 Bit 2 Bit 1 Bit 0 Description
0
$00
HT7
HT6
HT5
HT4
HT3
HT2
HT1
HT0
Horizontal Total
1
$01
HD7
HD6
HD5
HD4
HD3
HD2
HD1
HD0
Horizontal Displayed
2
$02
HP7
HP6
HP5
HP4
HP3
HP2
HP1
HP0
Horizontal Sync Position
3
$03
VW3
VW2
VW1
VW0
HW3
HW2
HW1
HW0
Vertical/Horizontal Sync Width
4
$04
VT7
VT6
VT5
VT4
VT3
VT2
VT1
VT0
Vertical Total
5
$05
VA4
VA3
VA2
VA1
VA0
Vertical Adjust
6
$06
VD7
VD6
VD5
VD4
VD3
VD2
VD1
VD0
Vertical Displayed
7
$07
VP7
VP6
VP5
VP4
VP3
VP2
VP1
VP0
Vertical Sync Position
8
$08
IM1
IM0
Interlace Mode
9
$09
CTV4
CTV3
CTV2
CTV1
Character Total Vertical
10
$0A
CM1
CM0
CS4
CS3
CS2
CS1
CS0
Cursor Mode, Cursor Start Scan Line
11
$0B
CE4
CE3
CE2
CE1
CE0
Cursor End Scan Line
12
$0C
DS15
DS14
DS13
DS12
DS11
DS10
DS9
DS8
Display Start Address High Byte
13
$0D
DS7
DS6
DS5
DS4
DS3
DS2
DS1
DS0
Display Start Address Low Byte
14
$0E
CP15
CP14
CP13
CP12
CP11
CP10
CP9
CP8
Cursor Position High Byte
15
$0F
CP7
CP6
CP5
CP4
CP3
CP2
CP1
CP0
Cursor Position Low Byte
16
$10
LPV7
LPV6
LPV5
LPV4
LPV3
LPV2
LPV1
LPV0
Light Pen Vertical Position
17
$11
LPH7
LPH6
LPH5
LPH4
LPH3
LPH2
LPH1
LPH0
Light Pen Horizontal Position
18
$12
UA15
UA14
UA13
UA12
UA11
UA10
UA9
UA8
Update Address High Byte
19
$13
UA7
UA6
UA5
UA4
UA3
UA2
UA1
UA0
Update Address Low Byte
20
$14
AA15
AA14
AA13
AA12
AA11
AA10
AA9
AA8
Attribute Start Address High Byte
21
$15
AA7
AA6
AA5
AA4
AA3
AA2
AA1
AA0
Attribute Start Address Low Byte
22
$16
CTH3
CTH2
CTH1
CTH0
CDH3
CDH2
CDH1
CDH0
Character Total Horizontal, Character Display Horizontal
23
$17
CDV4
CDV3
CDV2
CDV1
CDV0
Character Display Vertical
24
$18
COPY
RVS
CBRATE
VSS4
VSS3
VSS2
VSS1
VSS0
Vertical Smooth Scrolling
25
$19
TEXT
ATR
SEMI
DBL
HSS3
HSS2
HSS1
HSS0
Horizontal Smooth Scrolling
26
$1A
FG3
FG2
FG1
FG0
BG3
BG2
BG1
BG0
Foreground/Background color
27
$1B
AI7
AI6
AI5
AI4
AI3
AI2
AI1
AI0
Address Increment per Row
28
$1C
CB15
CB14
CB13
RAM
Character Base Address
29
$1D
UL4
UL3
UL2
UL1
UL0
Underline Scan Line
30
$1E
WC7
WC6
WC5
WC4
WC3
WC2
WC1
WC0
Word Count
31
$1F
DA7
DA6
DA5
DA4
DA3
DA2
DA1
DA0
Data Register
32
$20
BA15
BA14
BA13
BA12
BA11
BA10
BA9
BA8
Block Start Address High Byte
33
$21
BA7
BA6
BA5
BA4
BA3
BA2
BA1
BA0
Block Start Address Low Byte
34
$22
DEB7
DEB6
DEB5
DEB4
DEB3
DEB2
DEB1
DEB0
Display Enable Begin
35
$23
DEE7
DEE6
DEE5
DEE4
DEE3
DEE2
DEE1
DEE0
Display Enable End
36
$24
DRR3
DRR2
DRR1
DRR0
DRAM Refresh Rate
37[9]
$25
HSYNC
VSYNC
SYNC Polarity (undocumented)

Notes

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  1. ^ In Commodore 128 terminology, the VIC-II display was called the 40 column display, and the VDC, 80 column, due to the number of columns of fixed-pitch text that could be natively displayed.
  2. ^ Commodore service manual 314001-08 (1987).
  3. ^ The 8563/8568 hardware is always visible on the address and data buses regardless of which mode in which the C-128 is operating. Hence it is possible to generate an 80 column display while running in C-64 compatibility mode. There is, of course, no C-64 operating system support.

References

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  1. ^ "MITH's Vintage Computers | MOS 8568 Graphics Microprocessor". archive.mith.umd.edu. Retrieved 2022-11-18.
  2. ^ "Commodore 128D Computer System - Player's Choice". www.playerschoicevideogames.com. Retrieved 2022-11-18.
  3. ^ Tabke, Brett (1996). "Commodore 8-bit IC Technical Ref".
  4. ^ "Video display controller List of example VDCs - Exhibition". PANASYS. Retrieved 2022-11-18.
  5. ^ "Commodore 128 (D)". www.storiainformatica.it. Retrieved 2022-11-18.
  6. ^ "empty". Graphic Booster 128
  7. ^ "empty". Archived from the original on 2009-10-28. 090425 geocities.com
  8. ^ Commodore Capital, Inc., (1986). Commodore 128 programmer's reference guide. p.294, New York, NY: Bantam Books, Inc.
  9. ^ "Uncovered: The VDC 8568's 38th register". Archived from the original on 2012-02-19. Retrieved 2008-12-30.