ColorDMD Announces New Platform for 128x16 Games and 100th Title!

New ColorDMD Platform For 128x16 DMD Games!

Beginning in August, ColorDMD will be releasing a new platform designed specifically for games using 128x16 DMD displays! These games released by Data East in the early 90's include

• Checkpoint
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
• Batman
• Star Trek
• Hook

The color ROM for Batman is complete and will be available at time of release. Work is currently in progress on the four remaining titles, with the target to provide support for all titles in 2020.

The ColorDMD H-LED platform (for half height games) features a new mounting bracket and brand new board design that incorporates the display controller that was integrated with the factory display. To ensure replacement modules will be readily available, the ColorDMD H-LED platform uses the same P2.5 64x32 LED modules featured in standard size ColorDMD LED displays. Only 16 rows are illuminated with the remaining rows hidden by the speaker panel or backglass.

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An onboard 32-pin socket is used to support relocation of the display ROM from the original display to the ColorDMD. This socket supports two mounting positions for 28-pin and 32-pin display ROMs. The 28-pin ROMs were used for Checkpoint and TMNT, while 32-pin ROMS were used for Batman, Hook, and Star Trek.

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Significant effort was placed in the design of a new integrated display controller to eliminate frame tearing in the original factory controller. Frame tearing results when the controller's graphics rendering operations overwrite the previous frame as it's being drawn to the display. This unique new design ensures proper color rendering and display by the ColorDMD H-LED.

We are now accepting orders on our store site, and displays will begin shipping the week of August 3.

Please follow us on Facebook, or join our mailing list for an upcoming preview of the Batman color ROM and information on other new product releases and updates!

Our first title on the new ColorDMD H-LED platform! Display shown mounted in Ed VanderVeen's tricked out BATMAN! Originally planned to debut at the Texas Pinball Festival in March, we didn't quite make it this year but looking forward to 2021!

Thanks to Ed for all the support and testing that helped us get to release!

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ColorDMD's 100th Title is Batman!

ColorDMD is excited to announce that Batman is it's 100th supported title and first 128x16 game to be supported by the new ColorDMD H-LED platform!

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To commemorate our 100th completed title since the company was founded in 2012, we wanted to do something a little special by creating a new platform that could support Data East's early DMD games. Originally planned for a March preview at the Texas Pinball Festival, it took a little time to complete testing and production for the new platform.

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With the new platform came new challenges, not the least of which was that the early DMD games feature a unique display where the controller that renders the graphics and the display device are completely integrated. This involved new hardware design that would integrate the entire display controller subsystem with our coloring engine.

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But then before coloring could begin, we found a second challenge. Frame tearing from the display controller was much worse than we had experienced with prior platforms. Later Data East, Sega, and Stern controllers would make greater use of offscreen graphics buffers where full images can be rendered before they are output to the display.

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In contrast, the early Data East control system renders to the onscreen buffer as rows are scanning out to the display. This produces an undesirable (and unpredicatable) mix of the new and previously rendered frame data. To an observer, the distortion is barely noticeable. For a machine that needs to identify frames in order to direct color operations, it's a near impossible task.

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Solving this problem required development of a new enhanced display subsystem specific for 128x16 games that was capable of eliminating frame tearing, and producing a high-quality color output. It ended up being a lot more work than we first envisioned, but we feel the results are worth it and we're excited to share them with the pinball community.

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While Batman is the first supported title for the new ColorDMD H-LED platform, we have already started work on four other titles and are targeting release for all five 128x16 games by the end of 2020. The ColorDMD H-LED is shipping now from our store site, and the color ROM for Batman can be downloaded from our firmware SUPPORT page.

Please follow us on Facebook, or join our mailing list for future announcements including new product releases and updates! There's more to come in August!

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