The Pioneer PX-7 is a beautifully designed computer with a seperate keyboard and computer unit. The computer itself is instantly recognizable as a Pioneer component. It resembles the design of Pioneer HiFi equipment of that same era.

The PX-7 was designed to work with Pioneers LaserDisc system. The PX-7 had superimpose capabilities, so that the MSX image could be overlaid on the LaserDisc video, creating stunning effects in video games that were truly unparalleled for the time.

Two different designs were produced, the PX-V7, which had a silver case and lilac keyboard keys, and the PV-7BK, a black version of the same machine.

MSX was announced by Microsoft and the ASCII Corporation on June 16th 1983. It was marketed by Kasuhiko Nishi, who was Vice-President at Microsoft and a director at the ASCII Corporation. MSX was an attempt to create a hardware and software standard among various home computers, similar to what VHS had accomplished for the Home Video market.

The MSX Standard defines specifications for:

• CPU and Memory
• Video Output hardware
• Audio hardware
• Cassette and Disk drives
• Keyboard, mouse and joysticks
• Expansion and I/O ports

As a result, sofware and hardware are interchangable between machines from different manufacturers. The standard sets rules for the minimum, but manufacturers are free to expand beyond that and make their machines unique.

The standard became a success in Japan, with many big software houses such as Konami creating games for it. Outside of Japan, the adoption rate was low. In the USA, Microsoft actively pushed the PC compatibles, since they sold the operating system for it, and in Europe the MSX computers had stiff competition from Commodore and Atari. The Netherlands and Spain have the highest rates of MSX users in Europe.

The MSX Standard calls for all MSX computers to have a standard data-cassette port. This port transports the audio-in/out signals to and from the datarecorder and the computer has a relay-switch on board to turn the recorder on and off.

The MSX Cartridge system uses a 50-pin flat-edge connector to connect to the systems expansion bus. The cartridge slot maps into one of the main- or sub-slots.

The Z80 quickly became popular in the personal computer market, with many early personal computers, such as the TRS-80 and Sinclair ZX80, using the Z80 as their central processing unit (CPU). It was also widely used in home computers, such as the MSX range, SORD, and the Amstrad CPC, as well as in many arcade games. Additionally, it was also used in other applications such as industrial control systems, and embedded systems. The Z80 was widely used until the mid-1980s, when it was gradually replaced by newer microprocessors such as the Intel 80286 and the Motorola 68000.

The Z80 microprocessor was developed by Zilog, a company founded by Federico Faggin in 1974. The Z80 was released in July 1976, as a successor to the Intel 8080. It was designed to be fully compatible with the 8080, but also included new features such as an improved instruction set, more powerful interrupts, and a more sophisticated memory management system.

The Z80 quickly became popular in the personal computer market, with many early personal computers, such as the TRS-80 and Sinclair ZX80, using the Z80 as their central processing unit (CPU). It was also widely used in home computers, such as the MSX range, SORD, and the Amstrad CPC, as well as in many arcade games. Additionally, it was also used in other applications such as industrial control systems, and embedded systems. The Z80 was widely used until the mid-1980s, when it was gradually replaced by newer microprocessors such as the Intel 80286 and the Motorola 68000. The design was licensed to Synertek and Mostek as well as the European SGS.

The Z80s instruction set is binary compatible with the Intel 8080, so that 8080 code such as the CP/M Operating System and Intel's PL/M compiler for the 8080 can run unmodified on the Z80. The Z80 had many enhancements over the 8080 such as 16-bit data movement instructions, block copy and block I/O instructions, single bit addressing of all registers, IX/IY offset registers, better interrupt system and a complete duplicate register file for context switching during an interrupt.

Source: WikiPedia