Classic Game Room - FAIRCHILD CHANNEL F console review
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- čas přidán 6. 06. 2014
- Fairchild Channel F system II review! classicgameroom.com/vaultpages...
Classic Game Room reviews the FAIRCHILD CHANNEL F video game system from the 1970s! Originally released in 1976 the Channel F is one of the first cartridge based video game systems in the universe! It looks like a VCR but it plays old school video games! The Fairchild Channel F is one of the earliest video game consoles and boasts a fine wood grained finish and enormous buttons. It plays a small library of mostly two-player games on cartridges that look like 8-tracks, groovy!! - Zábava
My sister has one of those Fairchild Channel F controllers in her room. She seemed embarrassed when I found it.
That poor, poor controller.
Maybe you two can game together. Mind if I watch?
Infernape7890 Oh my god....
Infernape7890 Ahahahahahahaha!!! XDDDD It can be used outside of gaming. XDDD
TheCRTman plus lube, definitely......
It seemingly has the same sound-chip as the barcode scanner in supermarkets
+Julian Dymer haha, i spit a little coffee out reading that.
Screw all of those Sound Blaster 16 compatible chips, we need barcode scanner sound chips! It's like a piezo beeper, but *better!*
You made me choke on my own spit while reading that
Idk.. the one at my gas station makes Sonic ring sounds. Lol no jk I always make fun of it when I'm there.
I buy cigs just to hear Sonic rings.
My dad worked on that project as well as the watches. Led and liquid Chrystal. I have a couple of of the consoles and all the original cartridges
How many unique buttons do the controllers have?
This game console was also being used for TV stations where they used to ran segments during the afternoon blocks under the title "TV Powww" which was a game show where young viewers can call the station where you can win prizes as you can play the game where a caller can shout "POW!" as you can shoot for points. After you rack all of your points, you get a prize. Many TV stations like WGN-TV, KTXL-TV, KTVH-TV and others ran "TV Powww". But in New York City, WPIX-TV (channel 11) ran a similar version of "TV Powww" called "TV Pixxx" where you can call the station and play a game and win a prize by shouting out "Pixxx" as you can shoot to rack up with score. Both "TV Powww" and "TV Pixxx" ran a short life until it ended by 1982.
Brandon, where you alive in 1976?
- I was not.
...
He's guarantee to loose.
Now imagine the PS4 in a retro woodgrain design.
I already own a ps4 but i would sell it and buy a woodgrain one if and when it would come out haha
ApenBaard theres also a fan image of an "atari ps4" floating around on the interwebz...that one would suffice too :D
Someone get me a woodgrain Wii u, sega genesis and N64 now
I want a woodgrain everything. o:
Delfino224 same and also #CZcamsAfterDark
I had one and it was amazing. Thanks for the trip back in time.
I'm impressed - back when it was first released, this thing must have blown minds. The "graphics" look much more crisp and colorful than those of most VCS games, IMO.
Also, I kinda like the horrible sound effects. There's a definite PC speaker vibe to them :D
I think the Fairchild Channel F is an underrated console. Many people say the 2600 was the "first" console to use cartridges, yet even though the 1972 Magnavox Odyssey didn't actually use them, the Fairchild did before the 2600. If I ever get a chance to play one of these, I will. Also, it has the worlds most epic Pong game ever.
TheCRTman Heh, those people are wrong then. The Channel F is (fact) the first 2nd generation videogame console, it predates the Atari VCS and, even if it couldn't compete against it, we gotta give the Fairchild credit.
Alaska1925 Exactly. It's kinda sad that Fairchild barely gets credit for being the first 2nd gen. game console. Everyone just thinks "ATARI."
TheCRTman the fair child is the first modern consle
andrew geffeller Pretty much.
Atari improved the 2600 before releasing it to make it better than the Fairchild. If there had been no Fairchild the Atari console would have been a lot weaker.
Groovy Wood Grain sounds like a classic Rock Band that went Gold in 1972 XD
Their #1 hit song "Wavy Gravy Oh Baby" could be heard across world even onboard Huey Helicopters over the jungles of North Vietnam.
The original model, which was renamed Channel F from Video Entertainment System, was a lot better-looking than the System II shown in this video. It even came with a fancy smoked plastic case to cover the controllers and cables.
I remember playing a cousin's Channel F back when they were new. I was amazed at how cool that thing was.
Grand Theft Auto 5? Screw that, I'm playing Videocart-5!
4:20 that sweet sweet 70's first gen sound of victory
I was alive when these came out. They sold them at JC Penney in my area. They were hella expensive like $300 in 1978 do the math on that with inflation it probably cost as much as a used '05 Mustang. Bad sounds, maybe but consider the TV shows out at the time weren't much better. I remember an Armor Battle game of some sort that JCP had running in the demo unit and it was the bomb. I drooled over that system but alas Santa never brought one. I did get a Pong game though. :)
Pong is cool
Fun fact, Fairchild started out making airplanes before it got in the semiconductor biz. That's epic.
Happy 82nd Birthday, Gerald "Jerry" Lawson (1940-2011)
(Creator of the Fairchild Channel F)
Love it when Brandon is in the reviews. He looks like he enjoys it as well.
@ 3:12 RIP David Bowie... :(
+Robert Santellan (Your Geeky Tipster) That made me sad when I heard that too. :'(
+Robert Santellan (Your Geeky Tipster) it just HAD to be Bowie, didn't it :(
I still have one of these, the original with hardwired controllers, power adapter, and coax, almost as retro as you can get in gaming and it's older than me. Originally found it in the backroom of my Dad's old house carelessly stored with a bunch of 8-track carts, thought the 2 games were 8-tracks as well. I feel...privileged to own such a machine! Made in the USA too!
OMG! MY Dad was an engineer at FairChild in the early 70's helped develop this system and we had it before it hit the market. Was fun, i love cat and mouse maze games. These youngster don't even know how far gaming has come! LOL!
Hey... who was he?
Jerry Lawson maybe? EDIT- oh, your name; Ron Smith or Mr. Talisfore maybe. It could be one of the two guys from Alpex that invented the prototype.
The same company that made the A-10 Warthog made this system - when I found that out I thought "of course!" It may not be exactly the same team that worked on aircraft, but it definately has the feeling of that straight forward and sturdy design you'd see in a military aircraft's cockpit. And maybe the control stick design choice was simply a coincidence that they are a facsimile of a flight stick, but still.
I'm pretty sure this is my favorite console review that you guys have done.
Hell yeah! A green screen with "G?" on it is my favorite game!
Yeah those graphics ,are amazing!
Graphics actually look pretty impressive. Nice to see the Fairchild Channel F in action. Thanks for the vid!
"An elegant controller for a more civilized age" ROFL
I have ones od these. I lived near a fairchild chip waffer making factory and after it failed the people that worked there in the neighborhood andcity was handing them out like candy for free or next to nothing.
SodaGumX Lucky!
Man that must have been cool
After watching this I feel like my 2600 is modern.
My lovely smooth sounding TIA chip.
And Genesis controller! "The killer must have Atari device."
I had one of those! The department store Robinson's sold them at the Puente Hills Mall in California ( where they filmed the scene in Back To The Future where Marty first drives the Delorean ). I'd call the store to see if they had any new games before I rode my bicycle the 3-4 miles to the mall. I think got tired of me calling.
MangoHombre sweet story
Rebranded as the Adman Grandstand Video Entertainment Computer in the UK. They still show up on ebay at sensible prices, which is nice.
It seems like they're impossible to find. I only see three right now. I really want one, but I've heard that they can get expensive.
Depends. The one on ebay in the UK right now is a "buy it now" which is no indication of the real going rate.
Mark's right though, the Atari 2600 and Philips Videopak G7000 / Odyssey II play better games.
Like the fisher price cartridges though lol
***** 2600 and videopac plays better games. yea, maybe thats why they are cheaper.
If I remember correctly, the CPU isn't actually a single chip, but two chips working in tandem.
The Fairchild Channel F IS the first cartridge based system.
No it's not. The Magnavox Odyssey's "cartridges" are actually jumpers that slightly change the game. The game is already programmed into the console. So technically the Fairchild Channel F is. You can't program on the Odyssey. You can on the Channel F.
SonicBoone56 THANK YOU! Nobody gives them credit. Even parents say the 2600 was, but nope Fairchild beat them. Bad asses...
3:52 to answer your question Mark, it was JCPenny who sold The Fairchild Channel F in 1977.
Whoever knew space was gray?! LOL!
I never even heard of or saw this system before. I love this channel. I knew there were quite a few consoles back in the day, but clearly I was not as geeked on games as I thought I was
.
I knew of Atari 2600/5200/7800, Intellivision, ColecoVision, Vectrex, Magnavox Odyssey, and even one from Bally, which, if I recall correctly, had keypads on their controllers, like Intellivsion did, and much like the latter Atari consoles would. I'm gonna have to delve deeper into this channel. :)
Thank you again, for sharing. Sorry this comment is 5 years too late.
every Since I started Watching This Guy I LOVE WOODGRAIN YEAH!
I had the original that was featured with Milton Berle doing the commercial. It was the first cartridge game. The first version had the controllers on the top under a dark plastic panel. Also one button was yellow.
Looks like one of those 70's modular analog synthesizer keyboards, really nice.
R.I.P bowie. Resting in star dust 🌠
The sounds from the Channel F sounded awesome with that spacey reverb you put on everything :D
Man that sound is better than anything I have ever heard. That has to be Blue Ray quality!
The first console my household had when I was a kid.
You look great for 59 years old
I have the first version of the Channel F. I believe the main differences are one, on the old one the sounds come out of the console itself (it just sort of beeps and boops) instead of coming out of the tv speakers and two, the first version hooks up with a built-in coax cable instead of having an av port. If you are ever looking to buy one of these the second version is probably the way to go.
This thing cost $169.95 in 1976
Equivalent to $700 in 2014
Mr. Scale ouch!
Damn
Fairchild sounds like a snobby English Richman name. Now it all makes sense. Ahh yes.. thy child is fair.
Hell yeah, this console is awesome. Its probably my most wanted console at the moment.
I begin to imagine this 1st gen console is more enjoyable than PS4 and XBOX One at this point.
Lol are you insane?? Ps4 offers way more than 80's video game consolw ever could. Ps4 is superior to any console to date.
And no pc is not a console.i know pc is an console buster machines.
basicbodybuilding "Ps4 is superior to any console to date" tech wise yes in terms of the shear amount of fun you can have no. Not enough games out for the PS4 for it to actually reach it's potential.
basicbodybuilding Tell me more than two games which are exclusive, non-indie and worth buying a PS4.
Until today, both PS4 and XBOX One sadly have little to offer, especially since many games also are still getting released for their predecessors of which I own both.
I really hope Sony and Microsoft have a good E3 because so far, Nintendo seems to be the only company trying to make something out of the 8th gen, even if it's not that much.
basicbodybuilding
".i know pc is an console buster machines" .. . ... what?
jeremysart a pc is a console buster.how evermuch people think console power is. pc could out do it,and destroy console.thats what i mean.
This is a great channel karnage has reviewing lots of great game consoles that most of the youtubers just make fun of qnd not really going indept of how great the consoles are, glad i found you karnage keep up the great work
Fairchild Semiconducter lives on in AMD and Intel since these companies are considered to be 'Fairchildren' from the Traitorous Eight. And since AMD tech powers all 3 of the current gen consoles, you could say that the Fairchild console lives on even today!
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traitorous_eight
I got one of these at a garage sale in 1992 when I was 5. I wanted a Super Nintendo but my parents didn't have the money. Wish I still had it now, but my cousin broke the joystick on the controller. ugh.
Nice, a new system review!
Thank you so much for this video. Now I can truly appreciate what I have missed out on. They should have kept it in development a while longer.
That's what Atari did after seeing the Fairchild released. If the Fairchild hadn't been released when it was, Atari would have released its console in a more primitive state.
What people don't realize is how advanced the Fairchild VES was when it came out. It could have been better but it was very impressive for 1976.
Good to see Super Dave Osborne again.
Very disappointed to not see you explain their joystick.
It's really a marvel masterpiece. In it, you can do the following:
1. Push in direction left.
2. Push in direction right.
3. Push in direction up.
4. Push in direction down.
5. Counter-clockwise rotate.
6. Clockwise rotate.
7. Push down on it usually to fire a weapon.
8. Pull up on it to fire a 2ndary weapon.
9. Push the little silver button (at the top) down for a 3rd firing weapon.
Ok I was -14 years old in 1976 so I have 0 nostalgia but damn the Channel F look good!
I was also -14 in 1976. xP
I was -40 years old
I was 3
WOW! 1976, I am impressed. I can't believe this was around or conceptualized in '76.
Best sounds in video game history, I want to use that thing to make angry techno. Also best game review ever.
This console was in the original National Lampoon's Vacation, but I never recognized it until now.
The glorious wood grain finish :)
holy crap this thing is old but still cool maybe I'll run into one of these days
I saw a Digital Press sticker!!! I love that store
these vintage games and cartridges will out-live all of us. they were built to last unlike this modern crap we repeatedly buy every couple months.
That NS exactly. My parent's console tv still works and they got that thing in 1982.
I used to play Space War on our Fairchild original system. That brings back some memories. That sweet "wood" trim went along with console televisions that were quite popular at the time. Strange thing though...my toaster has "wood" trim. Not sure if I would put that on a console television.
i had one of them i was a kid in the 70s. 1976 I was 11 years old
Fairchild Channel F damn cool name for a console!
As far as I can tell, the only difference between the FC-F model one and two is that the first had an internal speaker for the sound, whereas the model two, shown in the video, passes the sound through the RF cable/adapter to the TV
The original system is more aesthetic. The buttons on the console have a metallic surface. It came with a smoked plastic case, etc. The System II was made to be cheaper to produce. The controllers on the System II are also detachable. The original unit required people to send the console to Fairchild to fix bad controllers. The wire used was very thin so the left controller would stop being able to go up.
Re: TV connections. I suspect that the designers of the console assumed that no shelf would be wide enough to fit both the front and the back of the console, so the connections would always stick out of the bottom. Also, the first version of the Channel F had the sound output coming from a built-in speaker in the console, among other drawbacks. Overall, I'd say the second model of the Channel F is what curious folk should go for. I myself have wanted one for a long time.
I really want one of these.
that one maze game sounded like the check out computers at Boscov's where the cashier scans the price tags.
Kinda crazy that the old woodgrain look is looking kinda cool now.
when i get some monies i'm gonna get a ps4 or xbone and put wood paneling on it. maybe i should do that to my PC too.
My PS3 super slim has wood grain finish! I added it the day after I got it, looks really nice and makes me wonder why it didn't come with it.
The Channel F System II was actually sold by Zircon International, best known for their StudSensor tools!
The Model 1 Channel F had a plastic cover on top for controller storage purposes.
Someone might have pointed out the difference in the comments since this is an old video. But the system II version Simply sends the audio through the TV speaker. Previously the sound came out of the console itself similar to pong consoles of the time. I myself have only learned this recently.
I miss the different console, cartridge, and controller designs that boasted a unique feel and quirkiness that CD consoles seemed to leave behind in the 1990s. People boast about PC's being more powerful, but I don't think they have the heart.
The original Fairchild Channel F came out in 1976. After Zircon international bought the rights to the system, they redesigned it, and came out with the Fairchild Channel II in 1979.
The System II, shown here, is uglier - but it does have detachable joysticks which is a benefit. It also has slightly improved sound.
The Channel F was Fairchild Semiconductor's attempt to enter the growing video game market. It was the world's first microprocessor-based video game console, and the very first product to use the marginally successful Fairchild F8 processor.
+douro20 www.fastcompany.com/3040889/the-untold-story-of-the-invention-of-the-game-cartridge
I had one when I was a young child..
That one game with the big red squares you were shooting to deflect them... what was it called? Reminds me of a tabletop game called "Crossfire" from back in the 90s...
I had a Channel F back in the day. Got it as a Xmas present from my parents because it was cheaper than the Atari 2600 [doh!!!]. Anyone remember the old Two Guys discount department store, a forerunner of Target? They sold the Fairchild system.
My God that sound is brutal!
I got lucky and got both the system 1 and 2 and games all CIB from people cleaning out their attics back in the late 90's. I just wish I wonder what happened to the demo kiosk that was at the Montgomery Wards (where I got to first play it).
great video, very funny, made me laugh, thumbs up!
Damn, it's actually very nice looking.
5:02 see the screen where it says G? I saw somewhere if you entered in a reallll long chain of numbers, it would display one of the programmers names...hence, video games first Easter egg! But I don't know how you can enter numbers and I forget the cartridge it was on, let me check google again. Im sure theres button combo or something too to trigger it.
RIP my ears
I feel the pain, my friend.
The sound FX remind me of my old ZX Spectrum, sounds jut like it!
the woodgrain and stuff I'd like this console just to have on my shelf idk looks super cool haha
They should've made wood grain 8 tracks
I love my Fairchild system. I got most of the games but its very hard to find anything for it here in Sweden.
The old games were far less forgiving then the games of today. example if you touch a asteroid its instant death, no shield bar or chance of survival. pretty much all those old games were tough and unforgiving like Defender, berserk, joust, and donkey kong, u touch anything bad its instant death
+carlace777 Which made the old games challenging. Nowadays games are too easy.
Digital press sticker at 3:05 Mark did you acquire it from Digital press or was it donated from someone?
Oh wow what an awesome system! The games seems soooo fun! I definitely want one! It seems waaaaaaaaaay better than the xbox one or ps4!
FYI... things in the mid 70's weren't "groovy" - they were "far out." :)
Fairchild? SABRINA!!!!!! Oh God, I love that movie.
Ugh, the legendary beeps!
My brother and I played with one of these at Sears at Cherry HIll Mall! Never got one though. And why does this video abruptly end without showing Labryinth? :-(
vertical landing. They knew it would catch on.
What is the music that is playing in the background? So good,
We will probably never know.
The Minecraft: Wii U edition Mash Up Pack Ad showed up before this video, and I'm totally confused by their use of the Super Mario 64 menu music. Just throwing that out there.
I wish I had one of these
FINALLY! WOOHOO! Making a party tomorrow.
I had no idea half of these consoles existed. And I thought the Jaguar was obscure.
Needs more Cowbell!