Re: [stella] PAL/NTSC issues

Subject: Re: [stella] PAL/NTSC issues
From: Chris Wilkson <cwilkson@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, 18 May 1998 14:16:36 -0700 (PDT)
> ROMs like this, if I remember right, are called PROMs.  Or, at least, chips
> like them.  While the physical theory behind them may be different, I'm
> certain that PROMs and EPROMs are both burned in similar ways (with
> supervoltages).

Two fundamentally different technologies, but if you're using a OTP eprom,
then yeah, it looks like a PROM.  There is a significant difference though,
even to the user.  An OTP eprom is still an eprom, and will eventually start
to exhibit bit rot.  But proms are programmed by burning out fuses, and
therefore will NEVER lose data.  (barring nuclear strikes and other such
annoyances)
 
> I could be mistaken if it turns out that it's cheaper to manufacture
> EPROMs without the windows than it is to manufacture actual PROMs.
>
> What I'd like to see is a reference to where I can see just how long EPROMs
> and other decay-prone media will last.  Some definitive study, or something.

I don' know if PROMs are cheaper, but I know that eproms are easier to find.
As far as how long various media retain their data, I don't know.  It would
actually depend on several production process parameters, the use method
(ie do you access the data electrically, optically, or machanically), etc.

Find somebody who still makes all the media in question and call 'em up.

-Chris


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