VT220
Computer terminal from Digital Equipment Corporation
The VT200 series is a family of computer terminals introduced by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) in November 1983. The VT220 was the basic version, a text-only version with multi-lingual capabilities. The VT240 added monochrome ReGIS vector graphics support to the base model, while the VT241 did the same in color. The 200 series replaced the successful VT100 series, providing more functionality in a much smaller unit with a much smaller and lighter keyboard. Like the VT100, the VT200 series implemented a large subset of ANSI X3.64. Among its major upgrades was a number of international character sets, as well as the ability to define new character sets.
The VT200 series was extremely successful in the market. Released at $1,295, but later priced at $795, the VT220 offered features, packaging and price that no other serial terminal could compete with at the time. In 1986, DEC shipped 165,000 units, giving them a 42% market share, double that of the closest competitor, Wyse. Competitors adapted by introducing similar models at lower prices, leading DEC to do the same by releasing the less-expensive $545 VT300 series in 1987.
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The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as computer terminal from Digital Equipment Corporation. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 30, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3553018. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1983, 1986 and 1987.
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This entry incorporates text from “VT220” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.