V.Flash

**This page is marked Under Construction**

What needs to be done: Document the designs of the console more better.

Image of the US V.Flash Console, A Controller & A V.Disc

### Media

V.Disc (A CD in a custom caddy), CD, CD-R, CD-RW (All via blank caddy included with the console)

### Display

?x?, 4-Pin Mini Din Connector to AV (Stereo)

### Input

1-2 Controllers

**V.Flash** (known as **V.Smile Pro** in Europe, and other countries) is a 32-bit console released in September 2006. It was a commercial failure and was discontinued in 2007. The console had a very small library of only 10 released games, three of them were never released.

## Features

Unlike the V.Smile, the **V.Flash** has a system menu which features the following.

 V.Flash CD Player
 Picture Viewer

## Design

### Pre-Release

The controller design was slightly different from the final unit. The eject button at the top is not present, probably being in a different location.

### Generation 1

The Design of the **V.Flash** is a rectangular unit with a Grey/Blue color scheme and a front panel with an organic (curvy) style to it which vaguely resembles a small DVD player or set-top box. On top of the unit, the right side has a pop-open door which provides access to the tray of the unit's V.Disc drive.

In Europe the console had an clear orange piece on the tray & had orange feet.

## Kiosk #1 (2007-2009)

The kiosk shown on VTech's Spain website uses the V.Smile mascot, V.Pal which usually isn't seen on the branding for the **V.Flash** consoles.

## Trivia

* Console was announced on January 26, 2006 on there site
	+ Earlier on January 4th, 2006 they filed the trademark with the TESS (Trademark Electronic Search System)
	+ The trademark was opposed on October 7, 2007
	+ Trademark abandoned on June 29, 2009, only lasting 4 years in total
* Before the console's release, it was given away from July 24 2006, to August 18, 2006 during a contest known as the Chief **V.Flash** Officer Challenge. The CVO would receive $10,000 in college funds, a trip to VTech's Chicago headquarters, and go on a shopping spree. The CVO also will write a letter from the "Desk of the VTech CVO" which was posted on one of there sites.
	+ To enter you would have to write an essay in 200 words or less describing someone who they think meets the requirements.
	+ First round had 25 kids be selected who will receive an early copy of the **V.Flash** console. These kids would test the system with it's games, share news on the product, and come up with the next **V.Flash** game
	+ Round 2 had three to five members be selected, and will be voted on by various people in America online for the overall winner.
* This console is the most powerful, and advanced VTech console.
* The **V.Flash** is the second most failed console in the V. series of consoles, with the first being the V.Smile Baby.
* The German releases of the console has a unique V.Pal character design not seen anywhere else
* The console has no copy protection outside of the V.Disc's design, meaning you can play pirated games via the included empty disc caddy, and with the disc in the console to have the button in the disc tray held down which is usually only pressed by the V.Disc inside the console

### Technical Info

* Format of the V.Disc are ISO-9660
* The console includes the following technology
	+ LSI Zevio
	+ Mascot Capsule (Java 3D)
	+ Koto 2D/3D Graphics Core
	+ Access Co. Ltd. MicroMore OS
* The image files on the discs are .PTX format in 1024x128 15-bit (xBBBBBGGGGGRRRRR) with a 44 byte header.
	+ To view the images on a PC the order of the color bytes must first be swapped, then the file must be converted to 24-bit. A utility to automate this process can be found here.
		- Use the following to use the program "DecodePTX Infile.ptx Outfile.raw"
	+ After the above has been done, you can view the image in Photoshop with the following settings
		- 1024x128, Channel Count: 3, Interleaved, 8 Bits
* The videos are in MJP (Motion JPEG) format, and to use you have to byte swap the file, and clip everything up to "R r" in the file (offset 76).
	+ VLC seems to have issues with Motion JPEGS, even with MJPEG driver installed. (See if this is fixed in latest VLC Player version)
* The audio files are in SND format, which are just PCM WAV files.
	+ Some games also use .AIF files, which can be played with VLC Player
* Running "strings" on the binary reveals "MORE v4.0 SDK ARM9T version"
* The console is rated at 1.5 million polygons, and power wise is comparable to consoles like the Sega Saturn.

## Gallery

### Operating System

V.Flash startup-2Console's Startup AnimationThe main menu of the consoleThe memory card management menuA picture viewer for the consoleThe music playback function of the console
### Misc

Vtech Vflash Commercial 2006-2008V.Smile Pro Spanish Commercial-2
## External Links

1. Spanish VTech commercials page from 2007
2. Wikipedia article on the console
3. The console's page on a site dedicated to reverse engineering.
4. The console manual off of the official Vtech site
5. An article talking about the system's capabilities. Was from a Chinese site.
6. The V.Flash page on the Multimedia wiki
7. A page on Emuvibes.com talking about technical details about the system's file format, and converting them for viewing on PC.

## Reference

1. ↑ August 10, 2006 Advisory Consul Update
2. ↑ V.Smile product line announcement PDF from February 10, 2006
3. ↑ Press Room announcement PDF of the console from 2006
4. ↑ TESS Serial Number: 78785133
5. ↑ VTech Chief V.Flash Officer Challenge Announcement