Forgotten fun: Texas Instruments TI-99/4A computer

[@ParanoidFactoid]

This machine was a popular bluebox back in the early 80s because its BASIC command for two-tone sound generation took frequencies directly in hertz.

[@schmootheonly]

My grandfather got this at a flea market around 1986. I was 6 when he showed it to me. However we had a Tandy 1000 at home with the 5.25 floppy and to me, tapes were for listening to music. So it was confusing.

[@Foxonian]

The first computer I ever had. Got it as a graduation gift from high school in '83. Had a lot of fun with it back in the day.

[@JustinLeeper]

This was my first game-playing machine - given to my parents by my uncle. I have strong nostalgia for TI, having never owned an Atari 2600. I went on to work at a game shop, then as a game reviewer, and later (now) as a game designer!

[@mheermance]

I bought the beige model off eBay years ago. The graphics are fairly respectable and Parsec was fun. I haven't played it in years, although my kids noodle around with it from time to time.

[@anabainein]

I had this as kid. Fully kitted out. I wasn't allowed a Nes, so I had to program my games over the weekend 😅

[@Alex-jb5tb]

When I was young, I always admired the TI-99/4A presented at my local department store, but as a child could not afford it.

[@rillloudmother]

In 1984 I had to decide between a TI99 and a Vic20, I went with the Vic.

[@GenerationX1984]

I didn't forget the TI. My dad had this computer when I was growing up. My favorite games were Munch-Man, Parsec, and TI Invaders. Now that I'm older I'm starting to feel nostalgic, I guess.

[@Yarach]

Those old keyboards typed like a dream. No even apple nor logitech can get close

[@mysticvirgo9318]

ahh.. memories of middle school computer club back in 82 :)

[@dockdrumming6873]

This was my first love, er rm, computer. The TI-99/4A. I my dad got it for us in September of 1983.

[@jennilithgow7924]

I remember when we got this brand new when I was a kid! OMG, Parsec was life! Ha ha ha! And I remember my Dad playing around with a little bit of Basic programming. I was so fascinated, and I think it's partially why I ended up becoming a programmer. Thanks for this trip down memory lane!

[@Skraeling1000]

I got an intro to programming on a college course a few years before home computers really caught on, so I had a sort of head start when I bought the TI. I played around coding stuff for my own amusement, but after buying a game on cassette tape which was total crap ( I was expecting great stuff!) I decided I was good enough to write and sell my own games, which I did for a year or two. Had great fun doing it!

[@staticcharges]

Nice. I purchased mine in 1983 for around $100. It was my first computer. It cames with manuals for programming in TI Basic. I taught myself basic and have been programing ever since. Thank you for your demonstration of the TI 99/4a. I still have mine.

[@jacknedry3925]

Got one for $8.00 at a thrift store with the TI99/4A, RF Modulator, and power supply.

[@fjccommish]

My father used to calculate his bowling league averages on this, using a program my brother wrote. It took over an hour to calculate averages for about 30 teams, 120 people.

[@ddostesting]

I really lusted after the TI-99/4A. What a kooky model #. So many expansions.

[@nicholasweaver9550]

I had one of the black and silver ones, with the voice synthesizer. I had Atari joysticks and tones of games, including Donkey Kong, Ms. Pac-man, Pac-man, Centipede . All of these looked closer to the arcade version then versions for Atari. All of my friends were jealous of this.

[@WonderfulWino]

loved the ti99-4a so much, the games were great and spending rainy days typing in code from books and magazines and then altering those games. Kinda want to play Parsec again.

[@dan69p]

2020, pandemic thoughts, I really should set that old friend up again, pure nostalgia 😊 I wonder if my tapes still hold any data, after all these years 🤔

[@bcing75]

I love this computer. I have two of them my dad purchased in the early 80s. Many memories playing those games. Parsec was awesome! Your video inspired me to break it out. I just need to pick up a CRT TV from goodwill.

[@danieldaniels7571]

bcing75 if you can find a composite monitor cable you can run it to a modern TV

[@PipenFalzy]

Great video! TI was my first computer. The great thing about games back then was you could just play most of them easily. Now a days you need to read the manual and figure out all the moves. Thanks for the memories! I haven't seen those games munch man /invaders which I had in 30 years. Wow.

[@El-Ritmo]

Thank you so much for this demonstration! I'm so glad KZbin offered up this video as a suggestion - when I was very wee my dad had one of these, and I so clearly remember the box, the silver computer with the flat area for the cartridge door, and even, for some reason, but particularly vividly, the cover of the manual, but I had no memory whatsoever of the computer in operation (except, somehow, the home screen with the colour blocks - that rang a whole cacophony of bells for me). He replaced it with an Amstrad CPC 464, the computer I grew up with, but from what you show here it feels like that may have actually been a downgrade in many ways - I'm particularly impressed with the sound for the time. Thanks, Kevin.

[@rockasoowork]

Found one of these last weekend for on $20 and it WORKS!

[@jgrant5255]

I had a TI calculator back in 1978. I went on to acquire a Timex Sinclair 16K computer (1981),and then, eventually a TRS 80 Model 4(dual disk drive) computer (1984). Those early days of personal computers were great.

[@DelilahThePig]

I have one in the attic. Took me a while to figure out how to use the speech synth. I wrote a program which mainly blurted out obscenities. Takes about 30-60 seconds to load a simple program from cassette, only to blurt out nonsense and obscenities. If I ever get around to it, I'll post a session.

[@fibersilkington]

+DelilahThePig You gotta show me it. XD

[@krnlg]

My Grandparents had one of these when I was a kid - I guess it must've been late 80s or early 90s. It is still around somewhere. Massive trip down memory lane here, thanks!

[@mrkengage]

Love the TI! Fun video! At the very end, I remember the TI-99 4/a being closed out for $50 with a $50 mail-in rebate. We bought a second one as a back up. They went fast!

[@RosePhoto1]

My first computer!! I love the TI-99/4A! It's a real computer, not a toy like the Vic 20 and the C-64. Parsec is one of the best computer games ever. I could play Parsec for hours, I once rolled the score counter.

[@IgkuitBBswm]

I just got one of these today in a Craigslist deal for Commodore parts. The guy threw this in with the other things I was buying. I never had one of these, so I'm excited to try it all out. It came with two working joysticks and the speech synthesizer, too.

[@vwestlife]

That is a twin-lead 300 ohm antenna connection. The round coaxial antenna connector used on modern TVs is 75 ohm, so you need a 300 to 75 ohm antenna adapter. You can get one at Radio Shack or practically any hardware store.

[@ian_b]

Back in 1980, the only reason I wanted a games console was to play Space Invaders. At the end of the year, aged 14, I did my first proper work, as a followspot operator at my town's theatre on the pantomime (Mother Goose, hehe) and flush with cash bought a console. Unfortunately what I bought was a Prinztronic MPU2000 (one of the Radofin/Acetronic/etc range) because they had it as a package with the Space Invaders cartridge. And as it turns out, it was one of the worst versions of Space Invaders ever brought to market and on what was, frankly, a pretty rubbish system in general. Just reminded me, watching you play this rather good Invaders port in the video.

[@amthomas0412]

I painstakingly pieced mine together through ebay. The unit itself, power cord, tv cable-actually found a guy who makes tv cables for a regular tv so i didnt have to find an old one, and Parsec:) I love it.

[@vwestlife]

@yushatak It's basically the same sound chip that was used in the IBM PCjr, Tandy 1000 series, and Sega Master System. All of these used later revisions or clones of the TI sound chip.

[@2157AF]

ahh this brings back memories,1982 I think we had the beige model. Thanks for uploading this.

[@trevorbrent5092]

Ohh the hours i wasted playing on this machine. Many of the games i played were on cassette.

[@lmoore3rd]

This was my first home computer, taught myself BASIC programming as we didn't have many game cartridges after it died out in the mid 80's. We did have Hunt the Wumpus which became one of my favorites.

[@moogandfender]

I remember the Parsec game very well as being one of the more challenging games to master. There were many elements that made this game difficult. You couldn't constantly fire your laser weapon at enemy ships without it over-heating which would cause your ship to blow up. You had to position and line up head on with enemy ships that were flying toward you in order to destroy them. As the game progressed they would fire back and you had to dodge their fire as well as avoid colliding with them. This often caused you to completely miss destroying them the first time around, only for the enemy to fly past you and come back around at you once again - flying faster and faster each time. Advanced levels made it easier for your laser to overheat so your firing had to be more precise. Enemy ships flew very low and you had to avoid collisions with many obstacles on the ground in order to fire at and destroy them. Refueling your space ship required you to fly through a refueling tunnel. The refueling tunnel would appear once you flew ahead. To completely refuel your ship you had to successfully navigate through the tunnel by entering and exiting it without hitting stalactites and stalagmites on the ceiling and floor. If you missed the entrance you would have to fly to the next tunnel. This caused you to lose more fuel and running out of fuel also caused your ship to crash. Advanced levels made it extremely difficult for you to enter and also navigate the refueling tunnel successfully. You were very likely to crash inside the tunnel early on as the tunnel would get narrower and narrower with each succeeding level. One would think all these obstacles in a single game would only make one frustrated, but these obstacles were not impossible to overcome.They certainly required more skill, and one grew more skillful as they continued to play. Couple all these obstacles including lights, dramatic sound effects along with speech synthesis and you had one very addictive game. There was no other game on the market at the time like Parsec that incorporated all of these elements. It was a time when video games were advancing and increasing in popularity, much apart from the popular Atari pong game of the same era. In fact, it was the Parsec game that sold many people (me included) on purchasing the TI 99/4A home computer. TI's marketing strategy was to sell the computer as inexpensively as possible but to make up sales revenue by selling their own brand of game cartridges and software for it. It was a marketing strategy that back fired as no other game cartridge TI produced thereafter could compare and compete with Parsec. Third party companies then started producing their own software and game cartridges for the TI 99/4A, and most surpassed the ones produced by Texas Instruments in both content and quality. Texas Instruments not only lost revenue on the sale of the computer, but likewise lost revenue by not being able to compete with their game cartridges and software. This was only the beginning of the end for the Texas Instruments TI 99/4A home computer.

[@MrShiffles]

I had a 99/4a growing up (the silver one) with speech synthesizer and a few games like parsec, TI Invaders, blasto, car wars, etc...i learned alot of BASIC programming on it, and i still wish i had it...thanks for posting this...it brings back alot of good memories!

[@donletter9299]

A few years back I felt a little nostalgic and picked up three on ebay for an average price of $15 ea including shipping. It took that many tries to get one that actually works perfectly, as they were all sold "as is". Along with those I also got several cartridges, joysticks, RF modulators, and a speech synthesizer, and all three had the original boxes. Not bad for less than $50!

[@MetalSonicodraco7342]

I will bought my own TI99/4a with a pair of working Joysticks, a Spliter/adapter, the voice synthetizer, bunch of games (I will search them in his box), and the system itself in his box, also I will search for his Floopy Disk Drive and the cassete tape reader. Thanks for the video, I will start my collection with this machine and some others

[@vwestlife]

Actually it has three sound channels plus one noise channel (and the voice synthesizer). I don't know why they programmed Burgertime to interrupt the music whenever a sound effect happens, because the TI-99/4A does have the capability to do both music and sound effects simultaneously.

[@amythediva]

This really brought back memories...I had all of these games as a kid and LOVED this computer. Thanks for sharing this!

[@thomasleemullins4372]

My first computer was a TI-99/4A computer. I had the expansion box with different cards (one had a floppy disk drive - had a dual floppy disk drive in it), plus a lot of accessories for it. There was a section in Computer Shopper (a section for each computer which had its own operating system - it was huge but it got smaller as there were fewer computers and operating systems around - not sure if CS is still around). There was a club and shows for it but I don't they are around any longer.

[@danieldaniels7571]

Thomas Lee Mullins Computer Shopper was my main source for TI stuff after TI dropped support and normal retailers like KMart cleared everything out.

[@lmull3]

TI Invaders....why do I picture giant TI-83 Plus calculators looming in over Earth....I need to go to bed.

[@thealternativej7994]

+lmull3 Me too...

[@matthewbalberchak9510]

lmull3 ii

[@Jimfoxyboy]

Grew up on this machine. Actually had a couple of them, both the metal and plastic case versions. We weren't quite as fortunate to have joysticks or the speech box. Though we did have a few game carts. Later, I did sort of try my hand at learning to program on it.

[@dieterrommerskirchen8990]

Yes, this was my first Homecomputer, it was absolutely fascinating. But later i bought an VC64 ;-)

[@MrShiffles]

Thanks for the flashback...I had one of these back in the early 80s before an unfortunate plague of midwinter static electricity made my poor 99/4A give up the ghost prematurely...I had a lot of fun gaming on it...but I learned BASIC as well...and just about every Cart you demoed I had...loved Parsec...tolerated Munchman...hated Alpiner. ..loved the Speech Synthesis Module...borrowed a friends Terminal Emulator II cart and taught my TI how to curse \m/

[@airingcupboard]

The voice synthesiser is surprisingly good. Would have loved to have heard it in Swedish.

[@JeffreyPiatt]

Same one used in the Speak and spell and Speak and Math toys.

[@Skraeling1000]

This takes me back! This was the first home computer I had and I loved it, especially after I got the extended basic cartridge with sprites etc! I started up a company selling games, and eventually re-wrote them for other computers of the time - at one point I owned the TI, a Dragon, an Oric, an Aquarius, a Memotech and a Sinclair ZX81. I wish I still had them!

[@danieldaniels7571]

Skraeling1000 that was my dream to do as a kid. I made some neat stuff that got shared in user groups, though. Once you got the hang of it it was so much more fun to program graphics and sound than other computers of the era. CALL CHAR, CALL SCREEN... damn, that crap is still in my head!

[@nicholas_scott]

Great memories. We had one as our family computer back in 1980-84, along with a tape (cassette) drive and decoupler modem! My favorite game was "Hunt the Wumpus" which was sorta like Minesweeper.

[@vwestlife]

@Lachlant1984 I found this info: "The original intent was to release small cartridges that plugged directly into the synthesizer unit, which would increase the vocabulary. However, the success of software text-to-speech in the Terminal Emulator II cartridge cancelled that plan. (Most speech synthesizers were still shipped with the door that opened on the top, although very few had the connector inside. There are no known speech modules in existence for those few units with the connector.)"

[@scottmantooth8785]

a fun first computer...mom and dad got this one because it had the voice synthesizer option so my brother who was blind could use it...we still have this one and a few of the games including the ones that had to be loaded from cassette tape (those text based games were cool....many were real buggers to complete but still fun and challenging...parsec was good...frustrating at times...crashed a lot of times in the refueling cavern... never really got past level five on that one...only saw the killer satellites a few times...Moon Mine was fun we laughed at the taunting of the Zygonaut and its laugh....

[@derekchristenson5711]

Interesting video! I just bought a TI-99/4A and some games, myself, and I look forward to trying it out. Playing "Tunnels of Doom" on an emulator was what sold me on the idea. :-) The prices have definitely risen on this system in the last eleven years, but it still seems to be surprisingly cheap compared to other vintage machines.

[@cyndicorinne]

This was the computer on which I learned to program and had a ton of fun for years.

[@DyenamicFilms]

This was my first computer (the silver version. Didn't even know there was a beige). I got it as a gift in 1984 along with the cassette player. I remember they were selling for about $50 brand new around that time. Just a few years earlier they were selling for $900. One of the games I had for this was Defender by Atarisoft which was actually pretty impressive. Kind of wish I kept it, but I gave it to my cousin after I got my first IBM compatible PC around 1988.

[@triangleofdeath6246]

DynamicFilms The beige one is a rare, final year version, made only in 1983. It was made to reduce cost, and compete with commodore in the price war. even the games in 1983 had the same beige color in their cases.

[@Wallyworld30]

I just bought one of these CIB with about 40 games and tape 2 tape cassette attachements. I never used one before today I just wanted it because it was unique. I was very pleasantly surprised how awesome the games are. Mine is the Black and silver version. It works great. My favorite game is the TI Invaders.

[@jamesfaulkner9926]

i have programs i made on the texas instruments computer in 1983 on tape.

[@danieldaniels7571]

james faulkner I wish I still had mine :(

[@vwestlife]

@pcwalker It shouldn't be too difficult for you to find one locally, since it has your state's name on it! :-)

[@mcondiff]

My family had this computer. I'm a big Parsec fan. I played Burger Time a lot and some racing game. My dad had written me a math flash card game and I used that for a portion of my early youth to practice arithmetic. This video brings back a lot of memories.

[@vwestlife]

My Tac-3 feels rather loose, so maybe it's worn-out, but I prefer something smaller and more responsive. My favorite is the Suncom Slik-Stik, and even the original Atari CX-40 joystick is pretty good, if you get one that's in good condition.

[@vinniegiovanni]

I had manny hours playing Parsec. Thanks for the video

[@darinandrade]

This computer will never be forgotten.

[@jamesleslie4833]

I had this computer (my first ever computer actually). I didn't have any games but I had the cassette player for data storage mostly and the voice synthesizer tho. We got the black and silver one Christmas 1982 and used it primarily in 1983. I wrote a music trivia game in BASIC (mostly based off KISS). At 8 years old, I thought I was awesome.

[@SergioQ-S-80]

the music playing in the background is Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21?

[@electonehs-8817]

Brought back many memories. Thanks for posting!

[@enotstudio]

Wow brings back the memories. Used to get magazines that had games you could code using BASIC and then save to a cassette player.

[@arcadeshopper]

not forgotten by many.. active user groups around the country have kept it alive for many years including the chicago group having it's annual TI Fest on Nov 5th.. Also there is an active online user group on yahoo groups

[@UraniumMan]

I still have one of these. I even have the expansion setup, that has a floppy disk drive. Anyway, for anyone interested in playing the games, without needing to pick up the console, there is an PC emulator and ROM collection out there in internet land...

[@xmodsgaming]

I had one TI/99/4A bad ass computer made in USA

[@jamesslick4790]

For a while I had Scott Joplin's "Maple Leaf Rag" from the TI-99/4(A) version of "Yahtzee" (recorded from an actual 99/4A) as my ringtone!

[@AGiantSloar]

I had two of these because the cartridge port on the first one wore out. My dad bought the computer, most of the peripherals and a ton of games when TI announced they were discontinuing the system. I guess everything was going for cheap. One of my favorite games was Shamus, made by Atari and based on Berzerk. I still have all this stuff in the basement somewhere along with my old Transformers and a few Star Wars toys, haha.

[@alicecolleenflynn]

I have one of these with 2 of the voice synthesizers, the cords to hook up to a tv, and some games, like Adventure, which was a pirate text game if I remember. I was in my early 30's at the time, and got it when I signed up to sell them. Has been stored since 1982. It is like new... thinking of putting it in my Etsy vintage shop.

[@vernonbishop]

One of these was my first computer. It was my best friend's first one too. :-)

[@thedebug3866]

I got a suncom tac-2 with my Atari 2600 that I just got. Very nice joystick. I gues suncom made some pretty nice joysticks.

[@unchainedwiththecapt]

Great video. Really takes me back.

[@dashcamandy2242]

OMG I still have mine! The special "cassette cord" actually only connected to earphone, mic, and remote jacks on a standard desktop tape recorder, so nearly all standard dictation-type recorders were directly compatible, although I had the actual TI-branded recorder. Broke my heart when the keyboard's #2 key died, I had to stop using it except for BASIC. No more "Alien Addition" for me!

[@kd8opi]

We had one of these computers. Frankly, it was great. The games were fun and I learned Basic on it. Parsec was a good game, and they had a D&D like game in '83 that was pretty fun. I think they failed because the computer kept dropping in price during its run to $99, and the peripherals (disk drive) cost 4x more than the computer. It really didn't suck, a lot of kids had them; but after TI pulled the plug everyone I knew moved to the Apple IIe.

[@find-me-at-Clumslay]

Hey thanks for the video. Taking me back! I just bought"Hunt the Wumpus"for my phone because the *music popped into my head one day.

[@creatorTWin]

never growing up with a computer this was actually my very first computer i bought one in the the early parts of 1998/1999. Was pretty fun to mess around on!

[@bubba99009]

A silver and black one of these was my first computer - also with the speech synth - no idea what happened to it - probably given or thrown away in the early 90s. Man I remember parsec - also had a burger time and alpiner - I think eventually you have to deal with bats and stuff swooping in.

[@plbuster]

Hey...I had one of those... You could save programs you created on cassette tapes.

[@danieldaniels7571]

Patrick Leonard you could also save them on floppy disks, but the drive and expansion box you put it in was EXPENSIVE. Way more than the computer itself

[@XWingLuke2684]

Awesome video! Brought back so many memories! And you kinda sound like Joe Pera 😄

[@QuaaludeCharlie]

Just bought my 3rd one and it came with a bunch of documentation , I got the badge one too :) QC

[@stefanobaron]

Very gooddemonstration of such nice vintage computer. Here in Brazil it is very rare. Actually I never saw one, even when I went to Disneyworld at 1983 and 1985. Best Regards!

[@danieljamesmcgorry2192]

I had two of these with a tape cassette drive the voice expansion carts books and the Atari 2600 controllers plug and played right in. My first endeavor in programming 10 r=100 20 print "r" 30 r=r+1 40 print "r" 50 goto 30 Fun times.

[@Mr1p0d]

@vwestlife The sound chip used in these 2 computers and the Sega Master System is the SN76489 and it haves 3 tones of square waves and white noise. Is a PSG chip.

[@DavidGridley]

My first home computer, then moved up to the Commodore 64 and Amiga 1000

[@HappyJigg]

The voice synthesis on this computer sounds very similar to the voice used on the DSC ESCORT phone module for their power series line of security systems. They probably used a similar chip from TI since they started production in the late 80's or early 90's. It's interesting knowing all of the places that these voice synthesizers were used in.

[@blackterminal]

Hi West nice review. The silver ones look very retro stylish I recon. Gutted about the cable. Ive done things like that too. It happens.

[@wwyyllyy]

For joining the cut cable i recommend 3 RCA inputs and 3 RCA outputs. It will keep the impedance at right value so video signal will work. RCA is the same as cinch.

[@182RG]

Trivia: At 5:46 Initials and nickname of programmers Jim Dramis and Paul Urbanus. Wonder where the names for the enemy Dramites & Urbites came from?

[@natebham]

Loved this I can't believe it didn't last long. I loved this, wish I had one

[@emilecrausaz8535]

J'en ai encore un avec les accessoires. Que de bon souvenir, y compris avec la programmation et l'installation des programme sur disquette 5 1/2 spéciales. Une pièce de musée.

[@captaincorleone7088]

Burger Time looks and sounds identical to the arcade machine! I remember an 80s TV programme about computers where a schoolboy in Dallas was using one of these to create animated images. If he's reading this, say hi! :)

[@RetroGamerVX]

That's a dam good looking box :o) Off to work and don't have time to watch it all here so downloading to watch at work :o)

[@herbmyers805]

This was my first computer but I plugged into 220v when in Germany. A 120 machine burned out fast. I had a couple carts so bought C128.

[@unchainedwiththecapt]

This was my first computer! I think I got it back in 1982 or 1983.

[@JerryDLTN]

I had an Atari 2600 then got a TI-99/4a and then a Commodore 64 and then a 286SX-16MHz PC.

[@ironman7261]

I had a couple of them years ago fun fact the processor was used in a tecktronic lab oscilloscope that cost like 12000. Someone has ported a TI/99 emulator that turns Nintendo DS into a ti computer