RCA CDP1861

[1] The CDP1861 was manufactured in a low-power CMOS technology, came in a 24-pin DIP (Dual in-line package), and required a minimum of external components to work.

In 1802-based microcomputers, the CDP1861 (for the NTSC video format, CDP1864 variant for PAL), used the 1802's built-in DMA controller to display black and white (monochrome) bitmapped graphics on standard TV screens.

The CDP1861 was also known as the Pixie graphics system, display, chip, and video generator,[2] especially when used with the COSMAC ELF microcomputer.

Other known chip markings for the 1861 are TA10171, TA10171V1 and a TA10171X, which were early designations for "pre-qualification engineering samples" and "preliminary part numbers", although they have been found in production RCA Studio II game consoles and Netronics Elf microcomputers.

Due to the discontinuation of the 1861 and its rarity, in 2004 a fully functional analogue called the Spare Time Gizmos STG1861 was made for use with the newly designed and produced ELF 2000 (Elf2K) computer.

Iconic COSMAC Elf computer Pixie graphics example screen snapshot of Star Trek-like spaceship and program code, via Octo Chip-8 emulator in 64x32 resolution.
Mastermind game start screen Pixie graphics example snapshot, via Octo Chip-8 emulator in 64x32 resolution.
Space Jam! game start screen Pixie graphics example snapshot, via Octo Chip-8 emulator in 64x32 resolution.