Those of us who enjoyed the 1980s in Europe will remember that there were a lot of 8-bit microcomputers, but the one that particularly stood out was the ZX Spectrum, in particular for the excellent marketing work of its distributor in our country: Investronica. Although it is not necessary to harm its material. The ZX Spectrum, thanks to its simplicity at the hardware level, was very easy to program. This last element made it a success, especially in Europe and the United Kingdom. In both countries, the ZX Spectrum gave birth to a small video game industry, of which we can highlight the appearance of mythical companies such as Ultimate, currently Rare, in the United Kingdom and the Spanish Dinamic.
Unfortunately, Sinclair, the company that created the original ZX Spectrum, disappeared to be bought by Amstrad from Alan Sugar. Company that also exited the personal computer market, leaving its computers as part of a historical legacy. Well, the ZX Spectrum Next is not a hardware replica of a cell phone with a computer, but rather a true successor to the classic ZX Spectrum if it had had a successor. Which makes it a unique and extremely interesting piece of hardware.
Introducing the Next ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum Next main processor and support are based on FPGA technologyso these were configured or programmed via languages like Verilog and VHDL to function as a particular processor, as well as all ancillary hardware around it. This means that its creators are not going to mass produce it and it is a very exclusive device because its creators are not looking to mass produce said computer. Let’s not forget that there are cases in which FPGAs have an outlet as commercial processors, as is the case with units with a very limited print run, as is the case with which we find ourselves.
the main processor is a Z80Nwhich is based on the same processor used by the original ZX Spectrum, but can go up to 28 MHz speed and has additional instructions. It therefore runs the original software natively. This means that we are dealing with a processor with 16-bit addressing and therefore it only supports up to 64 KB of RAM. Fortunately, in the main FPGA, a multi-bank mechanism which allows you to access up to 2048 KB of memoryeven though 256 KB is for ROM where things like BASIC and the simple operating system it uses are stored.
Graphics and sound on the ZX Spectrum Next
Similarly, the original video hardware has also been added, but now with the ability to support up to a resolution of up to 640 x 256 pixels. The system supports different layers of backgrounds and sprites with settings that can range from 16 colors to 256 colors depending on the video mode currently in use.
Although the biggest new feature is a sprite generator, supporting up to 16 simultaneous sprites with a maximum size of 16 x 16 pixels eachyes This was one of the biggest handicaps of the original system which was fixed in the ZX Spectrum Next. Also, sprites have multi-color support, so they can support more than one color. The graphics it can achieve can be seen in the images above, and as you can see it’s a step up from the classic 80s computer, but it doesn’t reach the levels of a Commodore Amiga.
As for the sound, we have integrated both the classic internal speaker, as well as 3 General Instruments AY-3-8910 that each of them grants 3 square wave channels and one noise channel. So this gives original games stereo capability on the ZX Spectrum Next. In addition to having two 8-bit DACs for PCM soundtrack playback.
Thought to replace the original
The creators of this computer have given the system a series of modern interfaces, such as the fact that it has a SD card slotbut it is also compatible with the tape drive of the original Spectrum, as well as any other type of storage system used, including the MicroDrive.
As for the other ports, we can find the following:
- And mini jack connect a tape drive where to load original ZX Spectrum games from.
- Other mini jack as audio output for headphones or speakers.
- Nail VGA/RGB video output to connect a CRT monitor to your computer or an old television.
- Nail HDMI output in case we want to use our ZX Spectrum Next on a modern monitor or TV.
- Sinclair-style joystick connectors
- And PS/2-like port connect a mouse.
- Same expansion port as the original ZX Spectrum
- Some models have a module Built-in Wi-Fi.
So, if you are a fan of the mythical 8-bit computer and you still have the games at hand, but you cannot play it because it has been broken by time. Then the ZX Spectrum Next is a great opportunity to enjoy the experience again, with the same experience as the original system. And in case you didn’t live back then and want to experience a computer like this, then you have everything you need to do so right out of the box.
If you’re interested in one, you’ll have to wait for it to become available again, but be prepared to shell out £300 for this unique piece of hardware or even more.
