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664:. VideoBrain was the first personal computer to be packaged and sold through department stores as a consumer product. Unfortunately the idea of buying and using a computer (or even touching it in the store) was intimidating to most consumers. To those familiar with computers, VideoBrain did not offer enough capability and flexibility to be useful. It could not be user programmed, the keyboard was limited, and the 1K of RAM could not be expanded. On the other hand, VideoBrain was too expensive to compete with video games.
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255:(Europe) scanning video frames for the TV set. The PAL version of the UM2 was never manufactured or brought to market. Though a much simpler chip than the UM1, getting the UM2 into manufacturing was difficult because any flaw in timing, even once in millions of cycles, could bring the entire system down.
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capitalized on Umtech’s experience a few years later when it came out as a system where the user was not expected to open the case to add or delete hardware. With glamorous marketing, Apple made consumers comfortable that, as intended for VideoBrain, they could bring a computer home, plug it in, and
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January 1978 – Umtech introduces VideoBrain to an enthusiastic response on the show floor at the winter CES show in Las Vegas. All aspects of marketing are high quality and professional – product packaging, show booth, brochures, displays, and employee presentations. The company garners more orders
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The company never sold the computer by itself but always packaged it as a “system” with some software cartridges. The System 100, with three cartridges, sold for $ 500. The systems were initially delivered in a colorful, consumer-oriented box. The box was later changed to a larger, plainer, box to
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Umtech developed and marketed fourteen software programs, six in the
Education Series, six in the Entertainment Series, and two in the Money Management Category. The company developed but never offered for sale a cartridge with 1k of onboard RAM that made the computer programmable in a variation of
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The company developed two chips to facilitate displaying the computer’s output on a standard color television set. The UM1 chip controlled sixteen rectangular objects on the screen that could be manipulated in size and shape, placement on the screen, and image within the rectangle. Software could
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designate the color of the image and of the remaining space within the rectangle, usually the background color of the display which was also software selectable. The UM1 was in turn controlled by an F8 processor. The UM1 fed a stream of pixels into a
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labeled “Master
Control”. The keys were level with each other and had very little travel when they were struck. This made typing somewhat difficult and also emphasized to anyone familiar with computers that the system’s capabilities were limited.
579:. In 1977 the company moved to larger facilities on Wolfe Road in Sunnyvale and later added adjoining space in the same building. Here the company began low volume manufacturing. In 1978 Umtech moved to larger space on Patrick Henry Drive in
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and 1K of resident software on ROM. Though the computer’s capabilities were very limited by today’s standards, it is impressive how much the developers were able to accomplish with this seemingly minuscule amount of memory.
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Umtech was introduced to
Interstate Electronics, a distributor of consumer electronics located in Chicago, Illinois, and to a major distributor of consumer electronics in Germany by a Hong Kong businessman, Raymond Koo of
514:. The computer is introduced at retail with a special promotion in a dedicated room at Macy's San Francisco. Macy's later reports that it was the biggest sales day in the electronics department in the history of Macy's.
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in the late seventies, there were business people who believed passionately that personal computers would be an enormous market with tremendous impact. They were right in the long run but they were ahead of their time.
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VideoBrain was a visionary attempt to skip years ahead in personal computers - before consumers were ready for it and before technology was prepared to support the vision. Although the public was largely oblivious to
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of San
Francisco. To pull the product through retailers, Umtech advertised the product in popular and computer-oriented magazines. VideoBrain's first position as a "family computer" was changed to "
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155:, consumers did not adopt it as readily as hoped. The company halted manufacturing in the spring of 1979 and was folded into the structure of its largest financial backer, the Cha Group.
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and set up a volume manufacturing facility. When the company cut back its operations and moved to a small space in Palo Alto, it very profitably sub-leased the
Patrick Henry facility to
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the keyboard was built into the computer. Taking a lesson from video games, VideoBrain was the first home or personal computer where software programs were stored on
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Spring, 1977 – Umtech first meets with a manufacturer’s rep and with
Interstate Electronics, an electronics distributor that becomes an important business partner
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January 1979 – VideoBrain does not appear on the floor at CES. Some manufacturer’s reps do not even pick up their commission checks from the Umtech hotel suite.
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than most television sets could support. The UM1 chip (Patent #4,232,374) was designed by John Cosley and Len Chen under the direction of Dr. Chung.
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While consumer channels regrouped after VideoBrain, personal computer manufacturers turned their attention from hobbyists to business. It seems the
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language, and an educational program called Old Regime that allowed users to simulate being a wealthy landowner in seventeenth century France.
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March 1978 – VideoBrain begins shipping but many department stores have cancelled their orders due to the absence of shipments since
January.
151:, sold in department stores. Although VideoBrain generated major excitement and strong orders when it was introduced at the January 1978
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The company created the name VideoBrain for the computer it developed and then used the name VideoBrain
Computer Company in marketing.
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chips and loaded into the system in cartridges. This was much easier and more reliable for consumers than loading software from
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563:" during 1978. In both cases the suggestion of multiple users within a household sought to justify the price of the product.
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555:. After the 1978 CES show, Apple insisted that the agency resign the Umtech account, which it did. Umtech then hired
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VideoBrain was the first personal computer to make loading and running software easy and reliable. In an era when
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At one point in 1979 Umtech grew to over 100 employees. Key managers and personnel included the following:
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Personal recollections by former Umtech employees Ted Haynes, Niall
Shapero, John Cosley, and Jack Moynihan
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industrial fair. Presents a mockup of the product and demonstrates software capabilities using a portable
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of the TV, rather than using the same pixel stream for every two or more adjacent lines as in then current
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and a port on the back that could connect to an extender product using proprietary signaling over an
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used to create the proprietary chips were drawn by hand. The company tested its chips using its own
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physical interfaces. The extender product, and ROM cartridge that turned VideoBrain into a
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375:. The external case was molded plastic, designed for low-cost high-volume manufacturing.
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The First Entry-level Home
Computer, Business Week, December 26, 1977, Industrial Edition
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at the show ($ 2.5 million) than Apple. Orders come from Federated Department Stores (
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buffer which passed them along to be converted into signals that were delivered to the
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February 1978 – VideoBrain, presented by a representative of Interstate, appears on
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January 1977 – Marketing research trip to Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Chicago
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The company began research and development in 1976 in David Chung’s living room in
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and from many other department stores, computer stores, and electronics retailers.
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360:. A switch on the back panel directed the TV signal to channel 3 or channel 4.
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who became Umtech’s President, and Dr. David Chung who led development of the
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The progress of marketing and sales can be seen in the following timeline:
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market that developed, manufactured, and marketed the first computer,
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and other retailers in a hotel suite at the CES show in Las Vegas.
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June 1978 – VideoBrain appears again in a booth at the CES show.
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191:. The company was backed financially by Dr. Yu’s father-in-law,
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were uncommon and expensive, VideoBrain loaded software via
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April 1977 – Umtech meets with a German distributor at the
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then moved in October to a small space on Sobrante Way in
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Home Computer and Video Game Museum article on VideoBrain
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David Chung - Vice President of Engineering and Marketing
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Technology companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area
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John Cosley – Chief Chip, Hardware, and System Engineer
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Defunct companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area
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638:Ted Haynes – Marketing Manager and Product Manager
451:Traveling Prototype for Demonstrating Capabilities
195:, the principal of the Cha Group headquartered in
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547:in Palo Alto, which also handled advertising for
171:Umtech was founded in 1976 by Dr. Albert Yu, an
28:Logo of the company doing business as VideoBrain
1188:Defunct computer companies of the United States
1100:Knowledge article on VideoBrain Family Computer
1117:Obsolete Computer Museum article on VideoBrain
611:Bob Frankovich – Director of Design Automation
302:or the notoriously fallible 5.25” diskettes.
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643:Umtech’s place in personal computer history
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1178:Computer companies disestablished in 1979
1158:American companies disestablished in 1979
421:A list of software programs can be found
1168:Companies based in Sunnyvale, California
1163:Companies based in Palo Alto, California
635:Darhsiung (Dash) Chang – Product Manager
623:Bruce Mackay – Director of Manufacturing
617:Pavel Stoffel – Senior Software Engineer
614:Niall Shapero – Senior Software Engineer
433:better protect the computer from shock.
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367:was enclosed in a metal shield to meet
1173:Computer companies established in 1976
1153:American companies established in 1976
632:Richard Melmon – Director of Marketing
543:Umtech’s first advertising agency was
428:Packaging, distribution, and marketing
387:Software Cartridge with Box and Manual
1091:Halt Output, Cut Staff at Video Brain
629:Ed Alemany - Customer Service Manager
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1148:1979 disestablishments in California
1123:Atari Protos web pages on VideoBrain
620:Mike Hall - Senior Software Engineer
1193:Defunct computer hardware companies
928:"Executive Profile: Y. C. Yu Ph.D."
734:"VideoBrain: The Consumer Computer"
711:"Executive Profile: Y. C. Yu Ph.D."
626:Bob Samuel - Manufacturing Engineer
321:VideoBrain featured a non-standard
1198:Defunct computer systems companies
341:The system supported four plug-in
14:
1143:1976 establishments in California
1093:, Electronic News, April 23, 1979
369:Federal Communications Commission
228:. Because the UM1 delivered the
240:, the VideoBrain produced finer
608:Len Chen – Chip Design Engineer
153:Consumer Electronics Show (CES)
917:Memo to Managers July 26, 1978
467:June 1977 – Umtech meets with
167:VideoBrain Computer Front View
143:, was an early entrant in the
1:
232:needed for every line on the
732:Peak, Mike (February 1978).
567:Facilities and manufacturing
557:Wilton, Coombs & Colnett
141:VideoBrain Computer Company
67:; 48 years ago
41:VideoBrain Computer Company
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371:requirements for limiting
274:Hardware and system design
119:VideoBrain Family Computer
599:Dr. Albert Yu - President
373:radio frequency emissions
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309:Bottom View of Cartridge
930:Bloomberg Business Week
713:Bloomberg Business Week
185:Fairchild Semiconductor
175:engineering manager at
1096:VideoBrain User Manual
827:VideoBrain User Manual
800:VideoBrain User Manual
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337:Back Panel of Computer
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282:Cartridge Carrier Open
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689:"About the Cha Group"
573:Palo Alto, California
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286:Like the later Apple
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189:Sunnyvale, California
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110:Merged into Cha Group
78:Sunnyvale, California
691:. Mingly Corporation
485:Associated Dry Goods
130:Over 100 (1979)
972:"Robert Frankovich"
395:was written in F-8
325:with 36 keys and a
224:antenna input of a
211:Integrated circuits
187:. It was based in
137:Umtech Incorporated
126:Number of employees
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17:Umtech Incorporated
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406:to produce binary
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242:display resolution
173:integrated circuit
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1062:. Haynes & Co
1038:"Darhsiung Chang"
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397:Assembly language
145:personal computer
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1064:. Retrieved
1060:"Ted Haynes"
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193:Cha Chi Ming
181:F8 processor
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46:Company type
1018:. Linked In
996:. Linked In
974:. Linked In
952:. Linked In
581:Santa Clara
512:Jane Pauley
497:Goldwater's
365:motherboard
358:transformer
268:chip tester
238:video games
234:raster scan
1137:Categories
676:References
530:Raitronics
469:RadioShack
462:breadboard
251:(USA) and
206:Technology
149:VideoBrain
36:Trade name
591:Employees
577:Sunnyvale
501:Nordstrom
493:Robinsons
351:timeshare
343:joysticks
288:MacIntosh
197:Hong Kong
87:Albert Yu
57:Computers
1040:. Yatedo
908:Moynihan
890:Moynihan
881:Moynihan
379:Software
354:terminal
323:keyboard
115:Products
54:Industry
1066:22 June
1044:22 June
1022:22 June
1000:22 June
978:22 June
956:22 June
934:22 June
845:Shapero
717:22 June
695:22 June
264:stepper
159:History
97: (
92:Defunct
84:Founder
70: (
62:Founded
49:Private
899:Haynes
872:Haynes
863:Haynes
836:Cosley
818:Haynes
809:Cosley
791:Cosley
782:Cosley
773:Haynes
764:Haynes
477:Macy’s
347:RS-232
230:pixels
1078:Notes
553:Apple
549:Intel
510:with
260:masks
177:Intel
1068:2014
1046:2014
1024:2014
1002:2014
980:2014
958:2014
936:2014
752:2018
719:2014
697:2014
585:ROLM
551:and
423:here
414:the
393:code
391:The
363:The
266:and
258:The
249:NTSC
218:FIFO
183:for
107:Fate
99:1979
95:1979
72:1976
65:1976
499:),
483:),
416:APL
315:RAM
296:ROM
253:PAL
76:in
1139::
742:.
736:.
587:.
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