Exelvision Exeltel

A computer with a telephone voice

The Exeltel followed the EXL 100 in 1986, retaining dedicated TI speech hardware while putting greater emphasis on communications. Its built-in modem and telephone features gave the electronic voice a practical role beyond games or demonstrations.

TI speech remains at the heart

A February 1987 TILT review identifies the vocal processor as the TMS5220C, alongside TI processors for computing, I/O, and video. MAME’s hardware implementation also connects a TMS5220C to a serial speech-ROM device. The voice is produced by a dedicated LPC synthesizer, not by playing ordinary audio through a general-purpose sound chip.

Words, data, and CALL SPEECH

Exelvision’s response to the contemporary review described calling built-in words through CALL SPEECH. The review also discusses using speech files with CALL SAY. These are ways of selecting or supplying speech data; they should not be mistaken for unrestricted text-to-speech. Different firmware and software facilities matter when examining a surviving system.

Speaking across the phone line

The period review describes a 1200/75-baud modem for Minitel-style communication and using synthesized speech in a telephone-answering role. Speech, stored messages, and telecommunications were being brought together in one home machine. It is a close thematic companion to Atari 1400XL & 1450XLD, whose designers also explored combining a modem with an onboard voice.

Why it belongs beside the EXL 100

The Exeltel shows how the same speech-chip family could move from a talking game or educational program into a communications appliance. Together, the EXL 100 and Exeltel preserve a distinctive French branch of the hardware-speech story.

Specifications

Manufacturer

Exelvision

Period

1986

Speech installation

Built-in

Speech hardware

TMS5220C