Spea Software

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Spea Software AG
Company typePublic ( Aktiengesellschaft )
Founded1985;40 years ago (1985) in Starnberg, Bavaria
FounderUlrich Seng
DefunctNovember 1995;29 years ago (1995-11)
FateAcquried by Diamond Multimedia
Divisions Video Seven (1993)

Spea Software AG was a German computer hardware and software company based in Starnberg, Bavaria. Founded in 1985, the company produced graphics cards for the IBM PC and compatibles. In 1995, Spea Software was acquired by Diamond Multimedia.

Contents

History

TIGA-based Spea Fire, featuring a i860 processor Grafikkarte-Tiga.jpg
TIGA-based Spea Fire, featuring a i860 processor

Spea Software AG was founded in Starnberg, Bavaria, in 1985 by Ulrich Seng. [1] The company's name is an acronym standing for Systeme für Professionelle Elektronik und Automation (Systems for Professional Electronics and Automation). [2] The company chiefly produced graphics cards for the IBM PC and compatibless, at first producing ISA cards before branching out to VESA Local Bus and PCI cards in the 1990s.

In 1992, the company went public on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. [3] Some time in the late 1980s or early 1990s, the company established an American subsidiary by the name of Computer Visualization Technologies, Inc. (CVTI), headquartered in Fremont, California. [4] In May 1993, Spea through CVTI acquired Video Seven, a major American graphics cards manufacturer based in Silicon Valley, from LSI Logic. This gave rise to the product line Spea/V7. [5] Simultaneously with the acquisition of Video Seven, Seng stepped down as chairman of Spea. [6]

After encountering difficulty marketing graphics cards under the Spea/V7 brand name, Spea had the Video Seven division shuttered in 1993. [5] Spea themselves continued to sell multimedia peripherals such as sound and graphics cards with the Video Seven trademark into 1995. [7] [8] Sales at the company peaked at 174 million DM in 1994. [9] In November 1995, Spea itself was acquired by Diamond Multimedia of the United States. [10]

Products

Although the company is considered a German graphics card pioneer, the company did not develop graphics chips itself (like Matrox, for example). Instead, it used chipsets from various manufacturers (including S3, Tseng Labs, and Avance Logic) for its graphics and multimedia cards. The drivers were developed by Spea itself.

Name Bus Chipset Chipset manufacturer
Fire GL PCI GLINT GX300, S3 Vision968 3Dlabs, S3
ShowTime Plus PCI, VLB ET4000/W32(i/p) Tseng Labs
V7-Mercury ISA, VLB, PCI S3 928 S3
V7-Mercury Lite PCI S3 928 S3
V7-Mercury Pro ISA, VLB S3 928 S3
V7-Mercury P-64 PCI, VLB S3 Vision964 S3
V7-Mercury P-64 V PCI, VLB S3 Vision968 S3
V7-Mirage ISA, VLB S3 801/805 S3
V7-Mirage P-32 PCI, VLB S3 Trio32 S3
V7-Mirage P-64 PCI, VLB S3 864 S3
V7-Mirage P-64 (with S3 Trio64) PCI, VLB S3 Trio64 S3
V7-Mirage P-64 V PCI, VLB S3 868 S3
V7-Mirage Video PCI S3 Trio64V+ S3
V7-Mirage Video TV PCI S3 Trio64V+ S3
V7-VEGA ISA, VLB CL-GD542x Cirrus Logic
V7-VEGA Pro PCI, VLB TGUI9440 Trident
V7-VEGA Plus PCI, VLB ALG2301, ALG2228 Avance Logic
V7-VEGA Video PCI, VLB ALG2302 Avance Logic
V7-Storm PCI, VLB Power 9100 Weitek
V7-Storm Pro PCI, VLB Power 9100 Weitek

References

  1. ↑ "Kleiner Fehler" [Small Mistake]. Der Spiegel (in German) (25). Spiegel-Gruppe: 107–109. 20 June 1988. Archived from the original on 8 August 2013.
  2. ↑ "Zeitzeugen – sie waren von Anfang an dabei!" [Contemporary witnesses – they were there from the beginning!]. Mensch und Maschine (in German). 2014. Archived from the original on 20 December 2014.
  3. ↑ Staff writer (26 June 1992). "Trotz ungünstiger Zeit für Neu-Emissionen: Börsengang der Spea Software AG ist jetzt eine beschlossene Sache" [Despite unfavorable timing for new issues: Spea Software AG's IPO is now a done deal]. Computerwoche. IDG Publications. Archived from the original on 7 December 2024.
  4. ↑ Corcoran, Cate (31 August 1992). "LSI's Video Seven bought by German graphics company". InfoWorld. 14 (35). IDG Publications: 29. Archived from the original on 21 February 2024. Retrieved 21 February 2024– via Google Books.
  5. 1 2 Schroeder, Erica (19 July 1993). "Graphics board maker Video Seven shuts doors". PC Week. 10 (28). Ziff-Davis: 135. Archived from the original on 21 February 2024. Retrieved 20 February 2024– via Gale.
  6. ↑ Staff writer (12 December 1993). "Hauptaktionaer Seng tritt vom Vorsitz zurueck: Spea Software AG formt wegen Geschaeftsausbau Vorstand um" [Major shareholder Seng resigns from chairmanship: Spea Software AG restructures board due to business expansion]. Computerwoche. IDG Publications. Archived from the original on 8 December 2014.
  7. ↑ Glass, Brett (13 June 1994). "If your system arrives all shook up, consider sending it back". InfoWorld. 16 (24). IDG Publications: 42. Archived from the original on 21 February 2024. Retrieved 21 February 2024– via Gale.
  8. ↑ Staff writer (1 March 1995). "Windows '95 – SPEA Intros Enhanced Graphics Card". Newsbytes. WP Company. Archived from the original on 21 February 2024. Retrieved 21 February 2024– via Gale.
  9. ↑ Staff writer (24 February 1995). "Neue Produkte von Fast, Miro und Spea Sprach – und Videoverarbeitung auf dem Weg zum PC-Standard" [New products from Fast, Miro and Spea Speech – and video processing on the way to becoming a PC standard]. Computerwoche. IDG Publications. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
  10. ↑ Staff writer (6 November 1995). "Diamond to acquire software company". HFN. 69 (45). BridgeTower Media: 58. Archived from the original on 21 February 2024. Retrieved 21 February 2024– via Gale.
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