# From big to giant: Behemoth TVs start to take off



## Mark Holtz (Mar 23, 2002)

From AP via Yahoo:

*From big to giant: Behemoth TVs start to take off*


> Supersized isn't just for french fries.
> 
> Americans increasingly are replacing their once-enviable 50-inch TVs with even bigger screens. Think: 65-inches and up.
> 
> People are snagging big screens - pushing sales of them up 50 percent in the past year while overall TV sales have faltered. As prices fall, hardcore TV watchers and video gamers are finding sets affordable that a few years ago would have been playthings for wealthier people.


FULL ARTICLE HERE

Sigh... the bigger the television, the harder it is to get into your home. Plus, it's only increases the screen size, not change the program content. I'm now barely watching television thanks to external factors.


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## Drucifer (Feb 12, 2009)

As long as they reasonable affordable I'm all for the larger the better.

But I have a second issue, their weight. If it takes more than one strong person to set it up, I'll be at a disadvantage.


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

But bigger screen size says you gotta sit back further; otherwise you'll be noticing individual pixels. (Most sit too far away so for them, no problemo)


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## billsharpe (Jan 25, 2007)

I had to cut into a support post on my entertainment center to get a 40-inch HD set to fit. We're happy with the results, sitting about ten feet away from the screen.


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

billsharpe said:


> I had to cut into a support post on my entertainment center to get a 40-inch HD set to fit. We're happy with the results, sitting about ten feet away from the screen.


That's the important part, if one is happy.

For me, I sit 7 1/2 feet away from a 58" TV. I think I'd be fine with being a lot closer, but that'd make the room look odd and cut down on how many could view.


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## Drucifer (Feb 12, 2009)

Behemoth screens are great for my two favorite sports -- baseball & hockey.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

Mark Holtz said:


> From AP via Yahoo:
> 
> *From big to giant: Behemoth TVs start to take off*FULL ARTICLE HERE
> 
> Sigh... the bigger the television, the harder it is to get into your home. Plus, it's only increases the screen size, not change the program content. I'm now barely watching television thanks to external factors.


And many of the same people bought the latest smart phone so they could watch TV and movies on it.


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## lparsons21 (Mar 4, 2006)

I likes me some bigger screens!! 

Currently 73" DLP (sigh, last of the breed), my buddy has an 82" and thinking 100" in the near future.

Unfortunately it is looking more and more like all of them will be LED/LCD.


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## billsharpe (Jan 25, 2007)

I remember trying to watch hockey on a black-and-white 7-inch TV in the late 1940's. There was no way you could follow the puck. Baseball wasn't much better then, either.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

billsharpe said:


> I remember trying to watch hockey on a black-and-white 7-inch TV in the late 1940's. There was no way you could follow the puck. Baseball wasn't much better then, either.


1948 was the first year we had a TV. Also the first year all three teams in NYC telecast their games. Just missed seeing Mr. Robinson's historic first year. All of a sudden, that year, everyone we knew bought a TV. Seems odd, now that I think about it.

Rich


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

billsharpe said:


> I remember trying to watch hockey on a black-and-white 7-inch TV in the late 1940's. There was no way you could follow the puck. Baseball wasn't much better then, either.


I thought it was magical, still do.

Rich


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## 4HiMarks (Jan 21, 2004)

lparsons21 said:


> I likes me some bigger screens!!
> 
> Currently 73" DLP (sigh, last of the breed), my buddy has an 82" and thinking 100" in the near future.
> 
> Unfortunately it is looking more and more like all of them will be LED/LCD.


I have probably the same set. Was it made by a Japanese company starting with "M"? I picked one up just as they were being discontinued. Had it delivered on Super Bowl Sunday 2013. Did NOT go with the 3D model.


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## lparsons21 (Mar 4, 2006)

Yep, Mitsi was the last of the dlps. Mine is the 73742 which is a Smart TV and is 3D.

Sent from my Surface with Windows 8 Pro using Tapatalk


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

Rich said:


> 1948 was the first year we had a TV. Also the first year all three teams in NYC telecast their games. Just missed seeing Mr. Robinson's historic first year. All of a sudden, that year, everyone we knew bought a TV. Seems odd, now that I think about it.
> 
> Rich


One of my earliest recollections of TV was watching _Howdy Doody_ on a DuMont B&W in the mid-50's.

Today, I mostly watch a 2013 65" Panny plasma.


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## boukengreen (Sep 22, 2009)

Steve said:


> One of my earliest recollections of TV was watching _Howdy Doody_ on a DuMont B&W in the mid-50's.
> 
> Today, I mostly watch a 2013 65" Panny plasma.


 one of my earliest was playing blades of steel for the nes on my grandfather's black and white tv


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Steve said:


> One of my earliest recollectio195ns of TV was watching _Howdy Doody_ on a DuMont B&W in the mid-50's.
> 
> Today, I mostly watch a 2013 65" Panny plasma.


There wasn't much of a selection in 1948. Of anything I considered worthwhile. I wanted movies and I got them a bit later. Lots of westerns. Hopalong Cassidy, Tom Mix, Roy Rogers, The Lone Ranger and then the Million Dollar Movie. I was really sad when they stopped that broadcast. Still remember the opening music.

I saw my first color TV in...1956, perhaps. Great big thing, tiny screen and about a bzillion buttons and dials to adjust the color. Didn't work worth a damn, but we certainly spent a lot of time adjusting it. Cost a small fortune. A friend of mine's stepfather was in the Merchant Marine and he always returned home loaded with money, so one day he bought the thing.

Rich


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

Rich said:


> I saw my first color TV in...1956, perhaps.


My grandfather bought a color set the year _Bonanza _premiered, IIRC. Maybe '59 or '60. I want to say it was an Andrea, but I can't seem to find a picture of one, to be sure. We lived in a 4-family building, and they were upstairs, so I got to watch it all the time.


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

Rich said:


> the Million Dollar Movie. I was really sad when they stopped that broadcast. *Still remember the opening music. *


Same here:


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Steve said:


> My grandfather bought a color set the year _Bonanza _premiered, IIRC. Maybe '59 or '60. I want to say it was an Andrea, but I can't seem to find a picture of one, to be sure. We lived in a 4-family building, and they were upstairs, so I got to watch it all the time.


I remember going to the Little Tun Tavern on the Marine base in Norfolk to see Bonanza in color. We (the Navy) also had color video machines from Europe that played some pretty risque music videos for half a buck a video in one of our EM clubs. They played continuously. Simply couldn't get enough of them. Kind of a video jukebox.

Rich


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Steve said:


> Same here:


Wow, did that bring back memories. I think it was on Saturday nights.

Rich


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## yosoyellobo (Nov 1, 2006)

The March of The Wooden Soldier, A Walk In The Sun, One Touch Of Venus, King Kong are just a few of the movies I remember watching with my brother and sister, sometimes up to 5 times a week.


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

Rich said:


> I remember going to the Little Tun Tavern on the Marine base in Norfolk to see Bonanza in color. We (the Navy) also had color video machines from Europe that played some pretty risque music videos for half a buck a video in one of our EM clubs. They played continuously. Simply couldn't get enough of them. Kind of a video jukebox.
> 
> Rich


ScopeiTones?


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## dennisj00 (Sep 27, 2007)

Boy, this has gotten off-topic, but a 12" round black and white in a 3' console taller than my grandmother in 1953-54. Had a green piece of cellophane that we taped on the screen on a Saturday morning for 'color' cartoons.

First real color was at my uncle's, a 21" Round RCA in a console wider that what my 60" is now on and cost about as much in 1958/9. 10 times more if you consider inflation. Disney on Sunday night was the only color program.


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

Same round- or was it oval? TV at my cousin's. My parents said we'd get a dishwasher before a TV, and we did. First set at home was rectangular, and unmemorable.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Laxguy said:


> ScopeiTones?


I have no idea what they were named. Had big projector screens. Think of a 40" CRT. All European videos. Never saw or heard of them again. Big money makers. There were a bunch of them scattered around a huge EM club. First time I saw an HD TV it made me think of them. Not only half naked girls, but a really good picture.

Rich


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## dennisj00 (Sep 27, 2007)

If I remember correctly, 25" rectangular picture tubes started appearing around 1964 or so. I know I replaced a lot of them for $200 each. . . 100 for the tube, 100 for labor, in 1968- 72 while I was in college.

Good money then for a college student. Took about an hour. And an hour for pickup / delivery.


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## Drucifer (Feb 12, 2009)

Our family first color was a Zenith in Dec '59. I can be specific because that is when we were paid to move.

My first large screen was a 46" DLP. Got it around '76. When I moved out of the City in 1990, it ended up in my new home guest room where it remains still. Mainly because I have no idea how to get ri of it.

I was also a _Howdy Doody_ fan. As well as a _Hopalong Cassidy_ fan. Which when I think about it now, got to be the strangest name for any cowboy. But as a kid we never question it.


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## MysteryMan (May 17, 2010)

Drucifer said:


> Our family first color was a Zenith in Dec '59. I can be specific because that is when we were paid to move.
> 
> My first large screen was a 46" DLP. Got it around '76. When I moved out of the City in 1990, it ended up in my new home guest room where it remains still. Mainly because I have no idea how to get ri of it.
> 
> I was also a _Howdy Doody_ fan. As well as a _Hopalong Cassidy_ fan. Which when I think about it now, got to be the strangest name for any cowboy. But as a kid we never question it.


Prior to the TV series there were a series of of films about the Cassidy character beginning with "Hop-along Cassidy" (1935). In that film Cassidy got shot in the leg and acquired the name Hop-along.


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## yosoyellobo (Nov 1, 2006)

MysteryMan said:


> Prior to the TV series there were a series of of films about the Cassidy character beginning with "Hop-along Cassidy" (1935). In that film Cassidy got shot in the leg and acquired the name Hop-along.


I never question it before and now thanks to you I never will.


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

As a child in the 50's, I was a big Hopalong Cassidy fan.

Then, in the early '70's the _framily_ and I were watching "Jeopardy" one evening
when a two-word puzzle came up in the category 'Person', as follows:

"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _"

With a blank puzzle on the screen and before the first letter was guessed, out of no-
where I heard myself shout out, "HOPALONG CASSIDY"! As the puzzle progressed
and the answer became apparent, my sweet young wife, sitting next to me on the sofa
looked at me in awe, asking me how _on earth_ I guessed the answer from a blank puzzle.

To this day I still have no idea where that prophetic answer came from.


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

Nick said:


> As a child in the 50's, I was a big Hopalong Cassidy fan.
> 
> Then, in the early '70's the _framily_ and I were watching "Jeopardy" one evening
> when a two-word puzzle came up in the category 'Person', as follows:
> ...


Only to be obnoxiously obvious: Your childhood! 

But I know that's not the answer you seek.... but an interesting tale. Was it Topper you channeled??

Also, interesting to me, Hoppy wasn't a person; he was a character played by William Boyd! Shame on Jeopardy......


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## 4HiMarks (Jan 21, 2004)

Drucifer said:


> My first large screen was a 46" DLP. Got it around '76.


That has to be a typo. DLP wasn't invented until 1987, and the first projector wasn't produced until ten years later.


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

4HiMarks said:


> That has to be a typo. DLP wasn't invented until 1987, and the first projector wasn't produced until ten years later.


Can someone explain the arc of DLP production/sales? I never had one, but it seemed a superior technology to most, but, wha' happened?


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## lparsons21 (Mar 4, 2006)

DLPs are a great technology!

But early ones went through lamps like a hot knife through butter. The later ones were much better about that. My 2012 Mitsui Dip is about 1.5 years old and is on the original lamp, and I have it on about 6 or more hours per day.

Another reason for them going away os that there is really no practical way to mount them on the wall. Too thick and they need room behind them to discharge the heat.

Sent from my Surface with Windows 8 Pro using Tapatalk


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Laxguy said:


> Can someone explain the arc of DLP production/sales? I never had one, but it seemed a superior technology to most, but, wha' happened?


I almost bought one, a Mitsubishi that had a great picture. The bulb thing in them kinda bothered me and I never got one.

Rich


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

lparsons21 said:


> DLPs are a great technology!
> 
> _*But early ones went through lamps like a hot knife through butter.*_ The later ones were much better about that. My 2012 Mitsui Dip is about 1.5 years old and is on the original lamp, and I have it on about 6 or more hours per day.
> 
> ...


Yup, that's what bothered me. It was pretty big, but I had plenty of room for it. I watched it for awhile and I swear I could see depth in that picture. Kinda 3Dish.

Rich


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

Laxguy said:


> Only to be obnoxiously obvious: Your childhood!
> 
> But I know that's not the answer you seek.... but an interesting tale. Was it Topper you channeled??
> 
> Also, interesting to me, Hoppy wasn't a person; he was a character played by William Boyd! Shame on Jeopardy......


Forgive me, but on further reflection, the Jeopardy category may have been 'Fictional Character' -- that was 40 years ago.


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## dettxw (Nov 21, 2007)

It wasn't until I was out of school and bought my own that I had a color TV - a 19" RCA with both VHF & UHF tuner knobs (no remote).
Before that it was all B&W. 

I'd really like a larger living room TV. Got a 64" plasma now which is nice enough, but I'm usually watching from the kitchen so bigger would be better.
Don't want to buy now what with 4Ks getting cheaper (but not cheap enough just yet).
Wish I could have waited to upgrade my old 27" RCA (to a 32" Sony) but it crapped out and the new flatscreens were too expensive (still $5K - $10K).
The 32" SD was NOT a better picture, just larger obvious pixels. And the damn thing was HUGE and HEAVY. 

Kiddo just had an Epson 6030 projector installed along with a 120" screen. Looks pretty good, the sound system is great! But one really needs a media room for such a setup.


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

> The 32" SD was NOT a better picture, just larger obvious pixels. And the damn thing was HUGE and HEAVY.


I know...I once had a 31" CRT that I could barely lift to put on a wheeled stand. Right now, a friend has a 36" monster CRT advertised for sale for only $50. Even tho' she tells callers that it is _very_ heavy and the buyer will need two strong men with a truck, people still show up alone and in cars. Two men with a truck actually came, but even they walked away.

Thank God I got rid of all my tubes, even a RPTV, before I moved into my new home almost 6 years ago.



> Kiddo just had an Epson 6030 projector installed along with a 120" screen. Looks pretty good, the sound system is great! But one really needs a media room for such a setup.


Color me 'green' with envy, and my congrats to your kiddo!


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

Nick said:


> Forgive me, but on further reflection, the Jeopardy category may have been 'Fictional Character' -- that was 40 years ago.


No excuse!!!! 

I thought it was excellent that you recalled all that you did!


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## dennisj00 (Sep 27, 2007)

I may have posted this story before but in 95 we went to buy a washer for our house that we just moved to.

We came home with a washer and a 46" Mitsi SD - which I think was the largest picture tube in production.

Two large black guys delivered both, they huffed and puffed much more with the TV. Finally placing it in the new assembled stand we had bought, one stepped back, obviously winded and wide-eyed and said, " If your house gets broken into, this TV will still be here"!

He obviously knew what he was talking about!


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## dennisj00 (Sep 27, 2007)

Our local dairy that delivered milk to the house every morning, gave promotions for the milk caps that we saved. I had everything 'Hopalong Cassidy' that they offered. Complete cowboy suit, neckerchief, hat, cap guns/holsters, and timex watches. No Topper.

I even dis-assembled 3 timexes to re-assemble 2 working ones!


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

I owned a Sony 40XBR800, which weighed over 300 lbs! When I sold my home in 2002, the buyers wanted it. Thank goodness we didn't have to move it.

It had a 1080i-capable CRT display and displayed a beautiful picture.


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## Drucifer (Feb 12, 2009)

4HiMarks said:


> That has to be a typo. DLP wasn't invented until 1987, and the first projector wasn't produced until ten years later.


What were those large box TV that bounce an imagine off mirrors internally called? I'm probably off on '76, but the set was a lot older than 3 years when I move in 1990.

Been Googling -- my monster is a 42" rear projection television.


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

^ Rear Projection Television (RPTV) - a CRT-based internal projection
system. Unlike DLP, was very heavy with 3 RGB CRT "guns". I bought
a new Panny 53" RPTV in 2003 for ~$900, sold it in 2008 for $500.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

dennisj00 said:


> I may have posted this story before but in 95 we went to buy a washer for our house that we just moved to.
> 
> We came home with a washer and a 46" Mitsi SD - which I think was the largest picture tube in production.
> 
> ...


I had a 40" Mitsubishi and a 40" Sony, both CRTs. The Sony was much heavier. When I traded it for some contracting work it took 3 guys to get it up six steps to the front door and then to their truck. Lesson learned, I'll never buy a TV that my son and I can't lift easily again. One act of utter stupidity is usually enough for me.

Rich


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Steve said:


> I owned a Sony 40XBR800, which weighed over 300 lbs! When I sold my home in 2002, the buyers wanted it. Thank goodness we didn't have to move it.
> 
> It had a 1080i-capable CRT display and displayed a beautiful picture.


That might have been the same one I had. I had the last 40" set they made, I think. Couldn't really tell from the link. MSRP was about $4,000 with the stand.

Rich


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Drucifer said:


> What were those large box TV that bounce an imagine off mirrors internally called? I'm probably off on '76, but the set was a lot older than 3 years when I move in 1990.
> 
> Been Googling -- my monster is a 42" rear projection television.


My brother had one of them. A Sony. He was gonna throw it away because the picture got blurry, but his son opened it up, looked at the dust on the mirrors, got the leaf blower out and cleaned the mirrors off and the set looked like it did when it was new. He was really careful with the blower.

Rich


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

Rich said:


> That might have been the same one I had. I had the last 40" set they made, I think.


I think you're right, that was the last big CRT they made. When I moved in 2002, I bought a Sony rear projector. Might have been a 45" 4:3. Probably weighed a quarter of the CRT.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Nick said:


> ^ Rear Projection Television (RPTV) - a CRT-based internal projection
> system. Unlike DLP, was very heavy with 3 RGB CRT "guns". I bought
> a new Panny 53" RPTV in 2003 for ~$900, sold it in 2008 for $500.


My brother bought his in 1993. Paid about $2,500 for it IIRC. Huge thing.

Rich


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Steve said:


> I think you're right, that was the last big CRT they made. When I moved, I bought a Sony rear projector. Might have been a 45" 4:3. Probably weighed a quarter of the CRT.


Remember what you paid for it? I got mine with the stand for $1,700. Sales Lady attacked my son verbally (he was just a little kid at the time and wandered up the wrong aisle) and really aggravated me. I was gonna call the cops and the manager at our local PC Richards intervened and kept dropping the price until I finally calmed down and bought it. He fired her shortly after that. Everytime I see him we talk about that day. Seems funny now...

Rich


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

Rich said:


> Remember what you paid for it? I got mine with the stand for $1,700.


That was a great price, IIRC. I think I paid close to $2k, with the stand.


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

Rich said:


> The Sony was much heavier. When I traded it for some contracting work it took 3 guys to get it up six steps to the front door and then to their truck. Lesson learned, I'll never buy a TV that my son and I can't lift easily again.





> Imagine the scene: You're about to move house and you've got a gigantic 60-inch TV to carefully ferry across town to your new home, so you just roll it up like a poster and shove it into the back of your van. According to LG, this could be a reality by 2017. [_*more*_]


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Steve said:


> That was a great price, IIRC. I think I paid close to $2k, with the stand.


I think they had it on sale for a bit over 3 grand. You must have gotten in at the end of the run, no?

Rich


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Huh, didn't expect to lose your comments. Anyhow, did you ever take that thing apart? I had to in order to replace the power fuse that Sony technical non-support said wasn't in there. There was a rather large sub-woofer riding on the back of the thing.

I thought I was gonna have to take it apart to get rid of it and I was really happy when the contactor I was using fell in love with that monster. After I had the cover off, I saw how hard it was gonna be to take it apart and get it to the dump. Was an act of genius to get everything under the hood in that thing. I don't remember seeing any unused space inside.

Rich


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

Rich said:


> Huh, didn't expect to lose your comments. Anyhow, did you ever take that thing apart?


Yah. You can't quote quotes.

Never had to take it apart, thank goodness!

That roll-up screen sounds amazing. Sounds like 10 years from now, we may be hiring wallpaperers to install our home theater displays!


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Steve said:


> Yah. You can't quote quotes.
> 
> Never had to take it apart, thank goodness!
> 
> That roll-up screen sounds amazing. Sounds like 10 years from now, we may be hiring wallpaperers to install our home theater displays!


Whole lot of differences between the CRTs and the plasmas. The plasmas seem to be a bunch of printed circuit cards screwed into the back panel. Not nearly as complicated as a CRT. I had to have one of those cards fixed, that's the only reason I know what a plasma internally looks like. The fix was to put in longer screws.

Rich


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Steve said:


> _*Yah. You can't quote quotes.*_
> 
> Never had to take it apart, thank goodness!
> 
> That roll-up screen sounds amazing. Sounds like 10 years from now, we may be hiring wallpaperers to install our home theater displays!


Wow. You'd think I would have known that by now. :nono2:

Rich


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## Drucifer (Feb 12, 2009)

Rich said:


> I had a 40" Mitsubishi and a 40" Sony, both CRTs. The Sony was much heavier. When I traded it for some contracting work it took 3 guys to get it up six steps to the front door and then to their truck. Lesson learned, I'll never buy a TV that my son and I can't lift easily again. One act of utter stupidity is usually enough for me.
> 
> Rich


Yeah, behind the cabinet, my Sony 36" CRT sat on never got cleaned. My mom, a clean freak, ***** and and moan on being unable clean back there.

Gave the set away to the nurse that was caring for my mother after an operation. The set was for her 6 year old.

Took two guys to get it out and loaded into a pickup.

My first LCD size was decided by its weight and not its screen size.


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## Christopher Gould (Jan 14, 2007)

I have a Sony wega 32" flat picture tube 175 lbs very rarely gets moved and the 36" was 236 lbs according to manual


Sent from my iPhone using DBSTalk


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

I had the Mitsubishi 40 inch diamond, the last one they made, 300lbs or more. its crazy heavy.

The last sonys where heavier even since they where flat and hd


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Drucifer said:


> Yeah, behind the cabinet, my Sony 36" CRT sat on never got cleaned. My mom, a clean freak, ***** and and moan on being unable clean back there.
> 
> Gave the set away to the nurse that was caring for my mother after an operation. The set was for her 6 year old.
> 
> ...


I had one of those made especially for SD. Had quite a picture on it. I think they weighed in at 250 pounds. Too big and unwieldy for one strong person to carry. Sony really stretched the CRTs as far as they could before finally giving up on them.

Rich


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

inkahauts said:


> I had the Mitsubishi 40 inch diamond, the last one they made, 300lbs or more. its crazy heavy.
> 
> The last sonys where heavier even since they where flat and hd


I think that was the one I had. Didn't seem that heavy tho.

Rich


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

I am of the opinion that any tv or flat-panel display that is too heavy
to lift or move* should be on wheels. I have followed this philosophy
ever since I got my first pair of 31" CRTs in 1995. I added decorative
casters to fixed stands I bought at BB. My next tv, a 53" RPTV had its
own wheels. For my Iiving room LCD, a 42-incher, I made a custom
rack out of a cut-down wire shelf system, adding casters for mobility.
My housekeeper just pulls it out to clean behind, but never missing
a chance to complain about the rat's nest of wires that, as she says,
looks dangerous and makes a thorough dusting almost impossible.

*my ability to lift and move heavy things has diminished over time.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Nick said:


> I am of the opinion that any tv or flat-panel display that is too heavy
> to lift or move* should be on wheels. I have followed this philosophy
> ever since I got my first pair of 31" CRTs in 1995. I added decorative
> casters to fixed stands I bought at BB. My next tv, a 53" RPTV had its
> ...


That huge Sony slid along our rug, on the stand, quite easily. Getting up the stairs was the problem. Wheels would have helped, no doubt. I learned from the experience.

Rich


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## 4HiMarks (Jan 21, 2004)

The 32" Phillips Magnavox that was my last CRT is never leaving my Mom's basement as far as I'm concerned.


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## acostapimps (Nov 6, 2011)

This was our first TV.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

Mark Holtz said:


> Sigh... the bigger the television, the harder it is to get into your home. Plus, it's only increases the screen size, not change the program content. I'm now barely watching television thanks to external factors.


If I get a bigger TV I'll have to cover a window. I've seen others do that. My house and others in the neighborhood were designed at a time when people looked out of their windows. I have one bedroom window that is permanently blocked now (I can't get to it to look out) - but I'm not ready to block off a window in the living room for a TV set.


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

Use your imagination. In my living room, which is my primary viewing room, I have
a wall-wide bank of south-facing triple windows. I also have remote-controlled
light-blocking wood shutters (blinds) covering those windows that I control at the
touch of a button. In addition, I have all lamps shaded and ceiling fixtures placed
so that there is no direct artificial light hitting the screen. Finally, as a practical matter,
I only buy tvs with non-reflective screens.

An added bonus: I don't have the WAF to deal with.


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

Time to move?


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

James Long said:


> If I get a bigger TV I'll have to cover a window. I've seen others do that. My house and others in the neighborhood were designed at a time when people looked out of their windows. I have one bedroom window that is permanently blocked now (I can't get to it to look out) - but I'm not ready to block off a window in the living room for a TV set.


I'm stuck with a fireplace right where a TV should be. Or a huge projector screen. Great room has a vaulted ceiling. Never use the fireplace. Great selling point, tho. To others as dumb as we were. Downstairs, I have a 58" TV in front of that room's fireplace. Filthy things they are.

Rich


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## Drucifer (Feb 12, 2009)

acostapimps said:


> This was our first TV.


Screen size probably the same, but our cabinet was wider.

Similar to this one . . .


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## billsharpe (Jan 25, 2007)

Our first 7-inch TV looked like this back in 1948:

http://antiqueradio.org/art/RCA630TS37.jpg

We moved up to a 10-inch set a couple years later.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

billsharpe said:


> Our first 7-inch TV looked like this back in 1948:
> 
> http://antiqueradio.org/art/RCA630TS37.jpg
> 
> We moved up to a 10-inch set a couple years later.


My father must have bought a couple dozen TVs between 1948 and 1950. All different configurations. I remember an Admiral that had push buttons on it for channel changes. None of them worked very well.

Rich


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## Drucifer (Feb 12, 2009)

billsharpe said:


> Our first 7-inch TV looked like this back in 1948:
> 
> http://antiqueradio.org/art/RCA630TS37.jpg
> 
> We moved up to a 10-inch set a couple years later.


My parents had one, but I was too young to remember it. I do remember the magnifying glass. My father kept it, but it worked its way into the garbage on its own, if you want to believe my mother.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Drucifer said:


> My parents had one, but I was too young to remember it. I do remember the magnifying glass. My father kept it, but it worked its way into the garbage on its own, if you want to believe my mother.


My father tried the magnifying (distortion glass?) glass too. And he went for the glass sheet you could write on with crayons and the glass sheet that was supposed to turn B&W TVs into "color" TVs. Just different bands of color to distort the picture even more. I was too scared of the consequences to say anything negative about this silliness. We just sat and suffered while all this was going on.

Rich


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## billsharpe (Jan 25, 2007)

Rich said:


> My father tried the magnifying (distortion glass?) glass too. And he went for the glass sheet you could write on with crayons and the glass sheet that was supposed to turn B&W TVs into "color" TVs. Just different bands of color to distort the picture even more. I was too scared of the consequences to say anything negative about this silliness. We just sat and suffered while all this was going on.
> 
> Rich


I remember both the magnifying glass and the color screen. Bottom part of color screen was green to show grass; top part was blue to show sky, and middle, if I remember correctly, was yellow/orange to show skin texture. Of course very few tv shots met those criteria. The early stations often showed just a test pattern, occasionally accompanied by music, but usually just a tone.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

billsharpe said:


> I remember both the magnifying glass and the color screen. Bottom part of color screen was green to show grass; top part was blue to show sky, and middle, if I remember correctly, was yellow/orange to show skin texture. Of course very few tv shots met those criteria. The early stations often showed just a test pattern, occasionally accompanied by music, but usually just a tone.


Correct, just another thing my father got sucked into buying. Close up shots: Oh, look his head's blue! :rolling: d

Rich


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