Philips NMS 8280

The Philips NMS 8280 was an audiovisual MSX2 workstation with dual floppy drives and video input, digitising and superimposition facilities.

It was one of the most distinctive European MSX systems, aimed at desktop video, titling and creative work before such capabilities became common on personal computers.

Notable Features

• Video digitiser and superimposition hardware
• Dual 720 KB floppy drives
• Professional MSX2 desktop format

Historical Significance

• It was one of the most distinctive European MSX systems, aimed at desktop video, titling and creative work before such capabilities became common on personal computers.

Collector’s Notes

• Video hardware, cables and original creative software strongly affect completeness; fragile front plastics need careful shipping.
• Memory, storage, displays and expansion hardware should be documented because configurations often changed during a system’s working life.

Specifications

Technical Information
Name	Philips NMS 8280
Manufacturer	Philips
Launched	Thursday, January 1, 1987
Country	Netherlands
CPU	NEC D780C-1 / Z80A compatible
Units Sold
Video	Composite video input/output with digitising and superimposition
Form Factor	Desktop with separate keyboard
Power	Mains AC
Networking	None built in
Operating System	MSX BASIC 2.0 and MSX-DOS
Expansion / I/O	Two cartridge slots, cassette, printer, two joystick ports, RGB and composite video
Keyboard	Separate keyboard with numeric keypad
Storage	Two built-in 720 KB 3.5-inch floppy drives
Sound	YM2149 three-voice PSG plus noise
Colours	512 palette; up to 16 or 256 onscreen by mode
Graphics	Yamaha V9938: up to 512 x 212 pixels with sprites
Display	Television or RGB monitor
ROM	MSX2 BIOS, BASIC and disk ROM
RAM	128 KB main RAM and 128 KB video RAM
CPU Speed	3.58 MHz