GUIDE TO THE SINCLAIR ZX SPECTRUM | Octav1us
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6 жыл бұрынOverview of the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, its models and peripherals.
What an awesome computer :D I wish I had time to cram in all the nerdy gubbins about it, but the video would then be about 200 years long.
My lovely assistant was Nostalgia Nerd / nostalgianerdvideos
DISCLAIMER: the owner of the intellectual property featured in the video ("Horace") has objected to the nature of the character’s portrayal but has agreed not to enforce a removal of the content under KZfaq’s content infringement rules as long as this objection is made clear.
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Sometimes I am a bit daft and I forget to credit gameplay footage or uploaded gaming-related content (such as adverts). It takes a huge amount of time to make my videos and using these helps immensely, but if you see your footage and I didn’t credit you, PLEASE let me know so I can put it right.
Thank you for taking the time to check out my channel :3
@CJJC 6 жыл бұрын
True fact: I auditioned for that advert at 13:30. I assume I lost out to the other kid with the glasses.
@markbailey5673 6 жыл бұрын
Ah, nostalgia. Convinced my dad to buy me a zx81 'for school work'. Then convinced him to buy me a 48k spectrum for the same reason. Obviously never did any school work on it - but as I've been a senior analyst programmer for the last 20+ years I'd say those two little machines worked out pretty well.
@danjohansson6695 3 жыл бұрын
Indeed that is exactly how it payed off for a lot of us. Went through zx16, zx48, zx128, C Amiga 500, built PCs for years for fun, went into the IT-business, been working as a network engineer since. It just wont stop paying off spending the childhood playing with Sir Clives awesome devices :)
@pbarratt73 6 жыл бұрын
Maybe its just me but I got to 3:46 and my concentration side tracked.... am now looking for Horace for some... errr... lets say exclusive merchandise
@bigjenks9665 6 жыл бұрын
Yes Horace, I do want to buy some photos ! Just name your price !
@larryplympton9727 6 жыл бұрын
Thank you for the very informative and absolutely entertaining video Ms. Kitten! I (and I'm sure many others) really appreciate all the time and effort you take in creating these videos.
@georgekostaras 6 жыл бұрын
your work just makes my day better :) and that intro is so special to me now.
@heidirichter 6 жыл бұрын
That was really well done, funny, entertaining and even educational. Great work. Love your sense of humor too.
@rasberrycast 6 жыл бұрын
Awesome video Octav1us. Your video was so well edited and researched. Well worth waiting for.
@yaktaur 6 жыл бұрын
Great video, I loved the depth and how much work you obviously put into it
@005AGIMA 5 жыл бұрын
Just letting you know, I found out about your channel while chatting to a random bloke in a retro-game market store (Beyond Retro) in....Perth, Western Australia. Kudos!
@Asobitech 6 жыл бұрын
Excellent stuff, informative and entertaining. So many nostalgia feels.
@RetroPiero 6 жыл бұрын
You sure come a long way since you started you're channel. Congratz, you're above the standard reviewer and your special effects/acting/editing really show it.
@kmannzl 6 жыл бұрын
Awesome video - keep up the great work. Many Sinclair products are close to my heart. The ZX eight one was my first computer :)
@samuelvictor9958 6 жыл бұрын
Great video Sarah, and great to see Pete helping out with hardware (ooh-er misses) and the return of Horace.
@TrashfordKent 6 жыл бұрын
Neat video, I like the personality you've given horace, it suits him. Looking to catch up with the speccy when my ZX Next arrives, patiently waiting.....
@paulb4uk 6 жыл бұрын
Stefan Turner I backed the spectrum next as well looking forward to it.
@chaospoet 5 жыл бұрын
"I've never had a boyfriend." You don't need one. What you need is a KZfaq video that's 10 hours of nothing but a ZX Spectrum loading screen sound. Listen to it over your phone with headphones at work or at home or driving it'd be the equivalent of injecting it in your veins. Let's be honest, could a boyfriend match that? Didn't think so.
@starsiegeplayer 3 жыл бұрын
is that what they call ASMR?
@NomenLuni1975 6 жыл бұрын
Brilliant video. I really enjoyed watching it. Well done Octavius. :)
@chinosts 6 жыл бұрын
Another brilliant and smile inducing video... Keep going!
@TheVetoSkreeemer 6 жыл бұрын
Great review of of the Zx line. I got lost on some of your technical explanations but you're a great teacher. And it shows you work hard for this video. Ps: Horace is great.
@Profoundemonium 6 жыл бұрын
My little sister snapped the door off of my Speccy +2 and the hinge was too warped to glue back together. It still works with a little persuasion, but I have never emotionally recovered from the incident.
@zh84 6 жыл бұрын
And I grabbed my big sister's Sindy doll to stir the "soup" I was making of Lego bricks. She never recovered from the incident physically. I'm not sure if my sister recovered from it emotionally.
@ErectedGasCan 5 жыл бұрын
And i smacked my brothers Darth Maul Boxing target-toy with a plastic VHS-casette box... It deflated quite splendidly, and was beautifully fixed with adhesive tape. He was a bit pissed of then.. at some point he checked what it costs *now* on Ebay and let's just say that he would erase me from existance if he could.. But the fucker wrecked my Baywatch RC-car on my 4th birthday so serves him right.
@ThisIsPete 5 жыл бұрын
Hi Octav1us, new subscriber here -- became aware of you via a random post on Twitter a few weeks back and subsequently via my completely unrelated delving into Ashens/Barshens' work. Small world and all that. Just wanted to say that, going by this video (the first of yours I've watched) you're doing a great job and I'm really looking forward to exploring the rest of what you've covered. You seem to have an interest in and a passion for aspects of computing and gaming history that I'm especially into (though I was an Atari boy, Spectrum was always "the enemy"), so it's always nice to come across a new content creator who covers that sort of stuff. And particularly a fellow Brit too! Thanks again for the great vid, looking forward to watching more.
@chadgarrett6947 6 жыл бұрын
I love stuff like this, good show. Brilliant patches, professor.
@madmattman5675 6 жыл бұрын
Very funny and informative! Thanks for being awesome! X
@georgelea4297 6 жыл бұрын
Awesome video as always
@blackphoenix77 6 жыл бұрын
I always hear Guru Larry banging on about the ZX Spectrum on his videos, so it's nice to see an in depth look at it. Thanks!
@WildHuntRH 3 жыл бұрын
Your videos are criminally underrated. I will say, definitely missing Horace in the newer videos.
@pocky-chan766 5 жыл бұрын
I have do an essay on ZX Spectrum's and this has helped me out a lot, it even helped me gain a proper understanding of them. Thank you so much! :3
@joeyparkhill8751 6 жыл бұрын
Greetings from the U.S. Sarah!! With every new video you make, it's better than the one you made before it! You are a true hidden gem on KZfaq!
@TAGMedia7 6 жыл бұрын
I've only just discovered you, but I'm already a massive fan.
@angushodge1 6 жыл бұрын
Bloody Brilliant Video as always x
@spwolftech 3 жыл бұрын
Decided to do a 5 year Anniversary channel marathon so here is my HI to try and make the algorithm be nice. Fun and great no matter how many times i have watched them.
@gophbuddy1 6 жыл бұрын
new subscriber here! i was born in 78 in Scotland and my first computer was a commodore 16, then i got a rubber keys 48k and eventually a mighty spectrum 128k! my childhood was all about 8bit games! i luv following retro stuff on youtube, am a big kim justice and nostalgia nerd fan as well as a few others doing the retro scene, but seeing more spectrum videos is mega! cant wait to see more of your content, keep up the good work!
@nameless5413 5 жыл бұрын
happy kitten good kitten, i am very fond of these epissodes as you can clearly see Oktavius mus have had absolute blast of a time making them. best wishes and manny fantastic epissodes that will be fun to make to you lady Oktaviaus
@SLHellGirlFan 6 жыл бұрын
Loved this video 😁 learned a lot more than I did before being someone new to the zx spectrum history thank you for making this video to enrich my knowledge of its history and loved the humor as well 😂😂😂
@DaveRepairs 6 жыл бұрын
The Spectrum Next will be showcasing at Retro Revivals Events in Walsall's Banks Stadium on May 19-20th, come along. :)
@thejavatar 6 жыл бұрын
I just discovered your channel rather randomly. Really entertaining. I love vintage gaming due to being mid-old. You are great. :)
@tomkoo 6 жыл бұрын
I just love this opening song, great job!
@R_T_Ralph 6 жыл бұрын
love the video. Well, if after trading with horace for the photos, i went blind. Keep up the amazing vids .
@Popmetalj 6 жыл бұрын
Great video: informative and funny. I was always a C64 guy but my best friend had a Speccy. For some reason, I now have his Spectrum and it's here 3500 miles away from where it started. A restoration challenge awaits. Some of the games for the Speccy were incredibly good.
@L8ugh1ngm8n1 5 жыл бұрын
Well finally a 30 year old mystery solved. I owned a +2A as a kid, my mate next door had a 48k and it used to puzzle me why certain games would work on his Spectrum while not working on mine and now you've answered that mystery. Thanks.
@skelkankaos 5 жыл бұрын
finally someone else describes that tape loading noise as sexy
@thehypebear 6 жыл бұрын
awesome video, it brought back many memories
@robbyxp1 6 жыл бұрын
One of your best!
@soggyhydrox 6 жыл бұрын
Been looking for a good overview on this and other U.K. Computers since I don't know much about them and you are in the same circle of a lot of other people I already sub to so subscribed
@megamancards 6 жыл бұрын
Amazing job. You have the most wonderful humor.
@stewsretroreviews 5 жыл бұрын
Great video and Horace is a legend!!
@oneofthenorth 6 жыл бұрын
I had a speech synthesizer for my Amstrad cpc464.... this video brought back all the memories of trying to get it to say words properly! Absolutely brilliant :)
@kristianTV1974 6 жыл бұрын
As a fellow one-eyed depressive who only found your videos today - glad to see you back, and happy.
@ErinPlays 6 жыл бұрын
Hi there fellow Slopes feature-ee (I think thats a word? Anyway,) This video was SO well done and I love your love for the ZX Spectrum. It shows. Keep it up!
@coyoteartist 6 жыл бұрын
You crammed the most important Nerdy bit in. Your lovely assistant. Whose kinda creeping me out now.
@hamishthepolarbear614 6 жыл бұрын
I loved my Currah µSpeech. (Which I also mispronounced as "yew speech" at the time). It was massively impractical but truly reflected the spirit of exploration and adventure in computing at the time. BTW 8-bit CPUs can address 64K of memory not 68K but I suspect other pedants have already told you this. This video made me feel a bit like I was your professor watching you do a presentation from research on something I know from memory. Damn, I am old! Another cracking video :-D
@trelard 3 жыл бұрын
Good guide. I was a Commodore kid back in the day, but my mates had Speccys, so I know odds n bobs about the system and it's offspring. This helped build a bit around the community I missed.
@geezerdiamond 6 жыл бұрын
Well that was bloody brilliant! Fab job!
@ratcom 6 жыл бұрын
great video ! enjoyed it
@jamiek4731 6 жыл бұрын
Love your videos an you keep it up x
@jdbarker32 5 жыл бұрын
I never knew about ZX Spectrum games being transmitted over radio. That's insane. Just imagine a person coming across the station, not knowing what the context of the broadcast is. They'd go into a freakout about the situation. Good video! Definitely a good retrospective on the computer.
@PennPal573 5 жыл бұрын
Horace is amazing and utterly hilarious
@Zobbster 6 жыл бұрын
Great video this one! I actually learnt a thing or two :D
@chavhunterofcalne2443 6 жыл бұрын
This was really interesting - this is coming from an ex Amstrad fanboy. I can now understand your love you had for it - it's quaint, cute and undeniably British. This video was also really educational, too. I didn't know what the loading bars meant specifically. Plus I also love your use of music. Capital stuff!
@spodula 6 жыл бұрын
I always thaught of the Amstrad as what the Speccy was when it was all grown up :-). Always liked both machines, although always found the Amstrad more hard work for some reason. Not like those horrible C64 things :)
@chavhunterofcalne2443 6 жыл бұрын
spodula Ha ha ha, you've put me on a nostalgia trip now. Back in the day, I used to own an Acorn Electron and I was a little envious of my big cousin who had a C64. :)
@progbloke6655 6 жыл бұрын
Loving your videos - WAY more entertaining than the crap on tv right now. I remember building a ZX81 years ago, the "touch sensitive" keyboard was SHITE !!!
@MrMortull 6 жыл бұрын
All of the keyboards up to and arguably including the +2 were shite so far as I know. I was only ever exposed to the +whatever range built by Amstrad (the shame of liking them over actual Sinclairs haunts me) and the original speccy before the turn of the millennium and could never understand dad's love of the dead-flesh keyboard until much later. All I knew about it was that those keys were squidgy, often unresponsive and "just didn't feel right". Even later down the line I encountered the 80 and 81 which finally made me understand why the OG Spectrum was so loved; an actually halfway capable little micro with keys that were God-awful but at least not completely heinous and evil.
@DouglasTitchmarsh 6 жыл бұрын
I feel old now, I printed things on a ZX printer and still have my Spectrum(s). Great video, loads of facts without it being boring
@thesadken 6 жыл бұрын
Love the video, and the snippets of secret life of machines 😂
@JCBeastie 6 жыл бұрын
The ZX Spectrum +2 James Bond Action Pack was my first computer! This is giving me a case of the nostalgias.
@AlistairMaxwell77 6 жыл бұрын
1st time on channel..... your pretty funny! good work!
@boulderdashc6425 6 жыл бұрын
Great to watch thank you.
@harryalfie8149 6 жыл бұрын
Nostalgia nerd luukkking lol great vid again Sarah
@helenFX 6 жыл бұрын
That was another wonderful video. I had a zx81 and a 48k+ back in the day.
@jane1975 6 жыл бұрын
We had the 48K model, my favourite game was Attic Attack. We had lots of games though, Factory Breakout, Lunar Jetman [and JetPac] Halls of the Things, Ant Attack, Corridors of Genon ( damn Bogle always got us), Sabrewolf, Nodes of Yessod. Yes some fond 1980's memories with the Spectrum, we also had an Amiga too in 1990's ( games: Flashback, Little Big Adventure, James Pond [loved that one] James Pond Robocod, G.O.D.S, Turrican 2 ( played that one all the time)). I remember Knightlore too. Great video.
@paulanderson79 6 жыл бұрын
Great times Jane. I pre-date you by around 5 years but remember that era very fondly. Sadly I was bloody rubbish at playing the games but I loved the magic of waiting for 'em to load up.
@ciphermatrix 6 жыл бұрын
Yay, new Octavius video :D
@ciphermatrix 6 жыл бұрын
Horace is one lucky set of weirdly shaped pixels.
@drakon32 6 жыл бұрын
Great video. Awesome intro. Do you happen to have an extended version of it? Subbed.
@petrolhead0387 4 жыл бұрын
I had the plus 3. It was a present for me when I was born, I had to wait a few years before I learnt to play it. However it meant that by the time I was old enough to fully understand it, I had amassed a lot of games. My favourite one was Ade Edmondsons - How to be a complete bastard.
@chrisbomber101 6 жыл бұрын
saw the words "ZX SPECTRUM" and had to click, im an older gamer (36) so the 48k spectrum was my first gaming platform, very nice video i subbed
@hjalfi 2 жыл бұрын
"I was in love once. A Sinclair ZX81. People said, no, Holly, she's not for you. She's cheap, she's stupid and she wouldn't load, well, not for me anyway."
@AttitudeGames 6 жыл бұрын
I had one of these along with the ZX81 before we upgraded to a Spectrum +2 and then to the Spectrum +3. Ah the good old days :)
@xXTheoLinuxXx 6 жыл бұрын
I never had a Spectrum back in the day, but played a lot on it. Great little machine, which was awesome for it's price.
@Alibm80 6 жыл бұрын
Great video! :D
@Nostalgianerd 6 жыл бұрын
Luuuukkkkeinnggggggggggg
@duncanward6226 6 жыл бұрын
Most of your speccys look pretty beaten up. That poor +3.
@veganmonter 6 жыл бұрын
A full video of the struggles with that voice synthesizer would be entertaining.
@punkpieuk 5 жыл бұрын
Is this a weird world where you can't have women as friends?
@devil8975 5 жыл бұрын
Octavius and nostalgia nerd in the same video. Nice!
@watkinator4413 5 жыл бұрын
@@boobio1 he wishes.
@scapegoat42 6 жыл бұрын
Cracking video as usual, any clues as to which system you're doing next?
@RetroTuna 3 жыл бұрын
Nice video entertaining and full of good information.
@nerfspartanEBF25 3 жыл бұрын
Fun fact: The Spectrum was actually very popular in the USSR as a home computer. Well, not necessarily the British-made ones because foreign stuff was basically banned (because, you know, Iron Curtain) but various Soviet-manufactured clones of the ZX Spectrum were popularly used in Russia up until the fall of the USSR up until the mid-nineties. Yes, that means that people in Russia were still using Spectrums when everyone else was getting on 486's.
@cakeisamadeupdrug6134 6 жыл бұрын
Holy interlacing, Batman! Edit: also this is more... sexual than I was expecting a video about the ZX Spectrum to be xD
@UXXV 6 жыл бұрын
Did you render this out in interlaced mode? Weird motion on your hands moving
@Classicgamer73 6 жыл бұрын
Had a Spectrum and its still works today. Some Speccy game reviews would be nice. Great video by the way.
@amphetamineblue4172 6 жыл бұрын
One good thing about the Spectrum ( and coming from Sinclairs kit computer history ) was that they were easily upgradeable. We started with a 16K Spectrum, upgraded with a kit to 48K, and then upgraded that to the 'proper' later plastic keyboard.
@ModelsExInferis 3 жыл бұрын
I know this video is a few years old now, but what the heck, it was fun to watch! I had the ZX Spectum Plus in my early teens. My Aunt worked as a nurse in Saudi Arabia and she'd bring all sorts of crap home with her, usually bootleg cassettes and Casio watches! But one year she brought the Speccy home for me... And I HATED the bloody thing! It's quality was comparable with the bootleg cassettes! I swear it was knackered on arrival because it barely ever actually worked. My Mum would let me have a whole hour's worth of play time on it, which usually went like this: Turn computer on, Insert cassette into external cassette player, Commence loading, Wait five minutes, Loading failed, Repeat above, Play five minutes of game before crashing, Repeat above, Loading failed, Repeat, Play ten minutes of game before crashing, Throw stupid piece of shite out the window, Go to bed livid! I did actually get another one a few years ago but haven't gotten around to playing anything yet! Not sure my heart could take the strain at my age!
@HaydenTheHistorian 6 жыл бұрын
I love the intro!
@MarcWeertsMusic 5 жыл бұрын
Brilliant video again! 😂
@SevenDeMagnus 4 жыл бұрын
Thanks for sharing.
@LoLzZ85 6 жыл бұрын
One of the most significant enhancement on the 128k Spectrum, in addition to more memory, was the inclusion of the AY sound chip. Lack of decent sound made it stick out like a sore thumb among its competitors.
@Sr19769p 4 жыл бұрын
Great nostalgia, informative and pretty funny too! With the +2, I always had to adjust the screw in the tape deck to get Elite games to load like Ghosts & Goblins etc; apparently it was a design fault making the volume to loud?!
@Sonic2kDBS 6 жыл бұрын
Amazing Video :D
@gordonpearce7963 6 жыл бұрын
Good job! No ... excellent job. Great video. Really well done.
@theodorehsu5023 5 жыл бұрын
I remember back when I was younger, I had an Apple II. The 48 K version I was lucky to expand to 64 K with a big gift from my dad back in the day. You all in the UK had the ZX Spectrum, I had the Apple II. And I LOVED all I could play with it. Then I graduated to PCs, and Macs. Later the PS2, PSP and Nintendo DS. Now I have an iPad. But love all the Long play vids around.
@DeadLinkChain 5 жыл бұрын
Hey Horace do you have any of those "special" items left for sale?
@lightssky9874 6 жыл бұрын
that was that was brilliant. Octav1us Kitten .my fist computer was ZX Spectrum .. back in the 80s .Great video ..more plz thanks
@AstraVex 3 жыл бұрын
I actually had a ZX Spectrum +2 growing up (along with an entire medicine box of about 100+ games, some worked, some didn't), around the same time people were playing SNES and PS1! 😅
@retrotechandelectronics 6 жыл бұрын
Outstanding! I struggled getting my commodore 64 to do the speech for an entire video once.... twas no easy feat.
@SelfIndulgentGamer 6 жыл бұрын
Love the speccy..need to have another rubber keyed one back in my life. :)
@Bitscreed 6 жыл бұрын
6:05 - And theeeeeere's the beautiful baby I owned as a young 'un. 48K of RAM, proper plastic keys and the actually-really-quite-handy reset switch. I played so many Dizzy games on it I wore out the connector on the "O" key. Also kudos for using the Speedball 2 theme at around 8:30. I'd know that tune anywhere.
@mistie710 6 жыл бұрын
Nice but one error detected. The ZX series all used Z80 family processors, 8-bit processors that could access a maximum of 64KB, not 68KB as you said around the 7 minute mark. Bank switching was a pretty popular way of extending the lifespan of 8-bit systems though, including the Speccy and the various 6502 beasts from Acorn, Commodore and others.
@aaronstepien2363 4 жыл бұрын
that's what I thought, the ZX was to the UK what the C= was in the US
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