1981 Sony Trinitron Kv-3000r: the Most Luxurious Trinitron [video]
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Retro TechnologyCrt TvsSony Trinitron
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Retro Technology
Crt Tvs
Sony Trinitron
The post showcases a 1981 Sony Trinitron KV-3000R, considered the most luxurious Trinitron, sparking nostalgia and discussion about the evolution of display technology and retro tech.
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10 PRINT "FART!"
20 GOTO 10
Not my finest code, I'll admit.
That was 40 years and a continent away.
Although I would suggest adding a space after the exclamation point and a semi colon after the end of the string for a better screen filling UX.
The monitor shelf on that computer table had about a 2” sag in it after years. Think that think weighed about 80lbs.
I did have to contribute floating point emulation support to the Linux sparc32 kernel code, as otherwise the X server would occasionally crash when it hit a denormal number in the font rendering...
There was a Sun on the desk over with lots of SCSI stuff in a nice cabinet.
They weighed a ton, were painful to move and basically consumed the entirety of any desk they were set on.
I seem to remember my Sony G220 had a native resolution of 1024x768 and I could run it up around 100Hz. I think the max was 1600x1200@60Hz.
Often my maximum refresh rate was limited by my graphics card's dot clock rather than the CRT specs.
That’s 5:4. The correct 4:3 resolution is indeed 1280x960.
Maybe there was a popular professional monitor at some point that was 5:4 and had this resolution?
What was the original 5:4 CRT that gave us this resolution?
That thing would do 1600x1200 at about 85Hz if I remember correctly.
A couple of years ago I got my hands on a Lacie Electron 22 Blue IV. I have to say as good as my Sony was I think the Lacie crushed it. I guess that would be expected since the Lacie was made for graphic designers.
A 27" TV weighed just under 100 pounds (45kg) if I remember correctly.
Yes, a little short of 100lbs. The heaviest part of the set is the CRT, but more precisely, the front of the tube. It's very thick glass.
Also travel. Travel got even cheaper.
Lodging and home ownership on the other hand...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfZxOuc9Qwk
There were lots of reasons why you wouldn't want to buy one of these behemoths at the time (cost, weight, heat) but maybe the most significant was how bad NTSC video looked when you spread it across a 40" screen. I recently pulled out an old laserdisc player and connected it to a 65" OLED set and it looks absolutely terrible.
Short intro here https://www.retrorgb.com/upscalers.html , be prepared for endless ramblings of what is best why for what in countless other places.
That aside, all that stuff was made for CRT technology, with dot/slit masks, and phospors with varying intensity of afterglow. Bigger computer CRT screens worked similar in principle, just not interlaced(mostly), and higher resolutions.
What they both have in common is resolution independency within their technical limits.
Flat displays of today don't have that, no matter which panel technology they are based on.
Their internal upscalers may compensate for the resolution, but not for the effects of phosphor, and it's afterglow, after the beam raced over them, until its hitting them again, through the mask.
There is a reason that hardware stuff exists, more so than much so called 'audiophile' stuff, though it's still 'niche'. Once you have seen it in direct comparison, with, or without, you'll know.
Or you've been lucky, and have a really good screen.
Or bad eyesight/perception, not noticing the difference. ^^^^ Not meant to be condescending, but I've seen that IRL.
Looks like this https://www.ukaudiomart.com/details/649142996-faroudja-vp250...
Felt like a real baller with a giant HDTV on my desk, but less fun was watching test scenes from Titanic at 1FPS over and over.
Broke down after a long time. Repaired it by resoldering some simple capacitors.
During the repair I had a look at the chips. One (or two?)had that Faroudja label on it.
At the time I didn't know about that, and just wondered WTF is that? Searched the net and "got it". They meanwhile got bought up by someone, Wiki as of now says STMicroelectronics. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faroudja
That display is still working but mostly gathering dust, some 8800 km away from me, atop a 4x kvm, managing some old stuff, also gathering dust :)
In my opinion, even though it was really quite a good set, you're absolutely right about NTSC looking horrible on big screens. From day one I noticed that the scan lines very much made it look like watching through very fine Venetian blinds.
Upscaling NTSC and putting it on a big flat panel isn't really so great either.
A couple of thinner "speaker tables" with a small subwoofer + plate amplifier built in and a pair of full-range drivers. Not really a full console but does keep the wires to a minimum [1]. Just add an amp and sound source. (Sub is down-firing and underneath — so not visible.)
I built a taller version with storage for albums underneath (now we're getting closer to a console stereo [2]. (Sub is also down-firing.)
Additionally I built one for the TV that has a mid (full range) driver as well. With the integrated sub it's fully 3.1 with no external wires [3]. (Like previous, sub is also down-firing.)
FWIW, the "cavities" allowed for the drivers within the body of the furniture were designed to match the drivers in terms of volume (usually sized for a bass port as well). So there was a little more thought than to just slap speakers on a box.
[1] https://imgur.com/nqTy6Bi
[2] https://imgur.com/RIVRfea
[3] https://imgur.com/a1tbhB1
Tried to find a build photo — this is the taller stereo version being built. Full-range drivers on each end, dual subs left-center, bass port in center, plate amplifier (for sub only) right-center: https://imgur.com/ZZtP2qp
I then emptied out the insides as with the lid it made a nice box to keep stuff in. A few years later I worked a 2.1 computer speaker amp and drivers in there (sadly I'd used the original speakers for a project), and added a Bluetooth receiver, an ipod touch and an additional aux cable - then mounted the whole thing on hair pin legs.
It is now a cute coffee table, chest and basic speaker system - but no where near as polished as yours!
So I already some wood-working experience before starting these. Still though, not a thing anyone else couldn't learn to build.
LCDs were a thing (tho they were not great back then) and Plasma was the new hotness ( literally, they required external cooling units). The market for a thin, flat "CRT" like display was in extreme hot or cold environments, aviation, marine, stuff like that.
I heard they actually built one, but I never saw it. I was gone as soon as my paycheck bounced. This place was actual crazy. All sorts of bizarre shenanigans.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surface-conduction_electron-em...
Yes, the cylindrically-curved screen is distinctively Trinitron. It’s easy to spot one at-a-glance, whereas the later fully-flat models look much more like those from other brands.
> I miss those buttery-smooth pans
This motion clarity is a big reason why CRTs are still the best way to play retro side-scrolling games.
Modern displays are better at this than those CRTs, you're playing back the wrong thing the wrong way. i.e. framerate conversion, badly streamed video or it's trying to sync to an external clock like your audio output.
I happen to have a 36 inch Trinitron in my garage. It stays there because moving it is impossible.
Was working a Samsung exhibit where they were showing off their latest TV, some quarter million dollar beast. Part of the price tag was delivery and installation, as there was just no way a mere mortal could install this.
The problem wasn't that it was heavy -- it wasn't. Just fragile. The TV was made up of an array of much smaller borderless panels.
Think they sold a few to a coupla professional football players.
If you want to install your $200,000 143” TV yourself here’s a video: https://youtu.be/oSpX2aZDPng
I've tired of scrolling, but do you see any installation vids?
https://www.instagram.com/samsung
Last year I got bitten by the retrogaming bug and ended up getting now one, but two 17” Trinitrons, one for a MAME machine in our office's cantine, and one for my retro PC. Even after 25 years those beasts look gorgeous, old games really look great on them.
I really wish I had the space for another CRT. One day I hope to have a second for two player time crisis.
On the PC side, I had a Sony CPD-1304 Trinitron monitor, and later an Iiyama Vision Master Pro 17 (with a Mitsubishi Diamondtron tube) which was possibly the finest CRT monitor ever made.
And now people just leave these displays of humanities wildest engineering capabilities... on the side of the road. There is not a factory left on the planet with the experience or equipment to make them anymore, and these tubes have a limited lifespan.
I recently setup 30+ game consoles in my garage, along with a modular a/v synth and switchboard equipment and 30+ CRT TVs of every size ever mass produced in a big amorphous blob floor to ceiling. No one else wants these beautiful things? MORE FOR ME :D
It is glorious, and as a security engineer it is how I detox and remember that I actually do enjoy playing with technology when it does not require user tracking or the internet to function.
Something akin to how one might feel looking at the design of a clipper ship.
IIRC CRTs are still being manufactured in small quantities for military and aviation equipment.
Photos of it plus Trinitrons in my CRT buying guide: https://opticalgarbage.com/wiki/index.php/Gaming/CRTBuyingGu...
They're going on the 'bay now for $1200. Time is a flat circle, etc. etc.
Edit: I'm picking on Apple because they're so sanctimonious about it, but of course it's not an issue unique to them.