VOGONS


First post, by manbearpig

User metadata
Rank Newbie
Rank
Newbie

I found this list in an old 3.1 book from 1993, thought you guys might be interested in these specs. These are the so-called Multimedia PC Marketing Council's Requirements for a Multimedia PC.

part: min. spec | rec. spec

Computer
CPU: 80386sx, 16Mhz | 80386, 25MHz
RAM: 2 M | 4 M
Diskette: 3 1/2-inch, 1.44 M capacity | Same
Fixed disk: 30 M | 80 M
User input: 101-key keyboard, mouse | Same
I/O: 1 serial, 1 parallel, 1 joystick* | Same

Graphics
Display: VGA, 640x480, 16 colors | Same, 256 colors

Audio
Sampling type: Linear PCM | Same
Resolution: 8-bit | 16-bit
Sampling rate, DAC**: 11.025 and 22.05 kHz | 44.1 kHz
Sampling rate, ADC**: 11.025 kHz, microphone input | 22.05 and 44.1 kHz
Melody notes/ timbres: 6/3 simultaneous | 16/9 simultaneous
Percussive notes/ timbres: 2/2 simultaneous with melody | 16/8 simultaneous
External audio input: Microphone | Added stereo input
Internal mixing: CD, synthesizer, and DAC | Added aux. input
Audio Output: Line level, -10db, stereo*** | Same
MIDI I/O: In, Out, Thru, interrupt-driven | Same

CD-ROM Drives
Transfer Rate: 150kB/second, 16kB blocks | 64kB(with buffers)
Seek time: 1 second | Same
MTBF: 10,000 hours | Same
Mode: 1 | 2, Form 1 and 2
Subchannels: Q | P and R-W
Driver: Microsoft MSCDEX 2.2 | Same

*joystick input usually is provided by the audio adapter card.
**DAC is an abbreviation for digital-to-analog converter, a device that converts digital data to audio signals. ADC stands for analog-to-digital converter, which converts audio input signals to digital data.
***Referenced to standard consumer audio line level -0 db = 1 milliwatt into 600 ohms.

Reply 1 of 4, by HunterZ

User metadata
Rank l33t++
Rank
l33t++

Interesting that resolution was considered more important than color depth. 320x200x256c looks better than 640x480x16c to me in most cases.

I think there were other MPC specifications released as time went on, like MPC2 or whatever.

Reply 2 of 4, by swaaye

User metadata
Rank l33t++
Rank
l33t++

I put some of this up on Wikipedia a few years back. I can't remember where I found the specs listed.... It may have been an issue of CGW.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multimedia_PC

Reply 3 of 4, by leileilol

User metadata
Rank l33t++
Rank
l33t++

Funny how my 486 totally exceeds MPC Level 3. MPC was a very simple way for OEMs to simplify the explanation of internals. Had it still been around... we'd have MPC Level 17 computers on the shelves.

apsosig.png
long live PCem

Reply 4 of 4, by HunterZ

User metadata
Rank l33t++
Rank
l33t++

I think it's funny how much detail they went into regarding things like music playback specifications. Makes me wonder how much of it was put in there due to lobbying from hardware addon manufacturers/vendors trying to get people to spend money on extra accessories.

My 486 probably beat MPC Level 3 as well, except that the AMD 486DX4-120 CPU was probably slower than a 75MHz Pentium in some ways.