Found a mint, dust-free 35" trinitron bubble screen today. I'm sure many of you know why a CRT is special, and why a Sony Trinitron is special among CRTs. If you don't and you're into vintage gaming or old analog video sets (as I am) it's very interesting technology well worth reading about if you never have before. 
Trinitron - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Any other Trinitron lovers, or CRT lovers, for that matter, out there?
Fat chicks need love too, right?
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe this was the biggest bubble-screen Sony ever sold, and 2000 or 2001 was the last year they made it. So this unit is low hours (guessing by the lack of dust INSIDE the unit, and I can tell it hasn't been opened) and fresh as can be! Optimal! I'm enthralled to have saved her from the landfill!
Trinitron - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Any other Trinitron lovers, or CRT lovers, for that matter, out there?
Fat chicks need love too, right?
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe this was the biggest bubble-screen Sony ever sold, and 2000 or 2001 was the last year they made it. So this unit is low hours (guessing by the lack of dust INSIDE the unit, and I can tell it hasn't been opened) and fresh as can be! Optimal! I'm enthralled to have saved her from the landfill!
A little more reading for those interested Aperture grille - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Well, I don't - clue me in,
!! A colour balanced, well adjusted LCD does it for me - what am I missing, ?
Well, I don't - clue me in,
I couldn't explain it in one post, but the Trinitron revolutionized CRT technology and was never replaced with a better CRT before the variety had completely disappeared. In fact, new Trinitrons are the ONLY CRT still in production today for professional video editing applications.
Here is a great read on the tech and the story of how it came to be, which was very Sony and all-over-the-road as they are.
Obsolete Technology Tellye !: Search results for trinitron
LCD technology has gotten excellent now, but CRTs had perfect color, scaling, and response time from day one. In the meantime, LCDs have only been playing catch-up in those areas.
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Well, I don't - clue me in,
An awful lot is what you are missing.
You know how you find that certain amplifiers can do a great job even if the source is perhaps an MP3, whereas other sound harsh, gritty and unpleasant.
So the Trinitron (and not forgetting the rest of the circuitry) can do a fantastic job on less than perfect digital sources. Pixilation and visual artifacts... now remind me... what are those
A well set up and converged Trinitron will blow an LCD into the dust.
It has only been recently that I have stopped using CRT's. Both my TV and my computer monitor are under cover in the garage now.
My TV a loewe Xelos 81CM is superior to the current LG LCD TV that has taken it's place. My wife had been saying for a LONG time that I had to get rid of my loewe because it was not modern. I kept telling her the picture quality would suffer.
My father in law came to stay with us for a while and asked if he could bring his TV. I said yes and it takes the place of the Xelos for now. Two days after putting the flat screen in my wife comes to me and says.
"I have to appologize" I said what for. She said "Your TV is much better than this one!" I didn't say I told you so
The computer monitor was a different story. I had an old Sony 19" Trinitron that I had had for at least 10 years. It was a great monitor and because I do photography I had not wanted to replace it with an LCD. Well the wife said it had to go, because we needed to downsize the desk. LCD it was. I got a Dell Ultrasharp 27" (top of the range) and all I can say is WOW!! It is far superior to my old Sony.
The colour is fantatic, it is so Sharp, the dynamic range is better than the CRT, and it is so high resolution! No turning back.
Now if I could get an LCD TV that is as good as this monitor I might change my mind on flat screen TV's as well, but so far, I've not seen a TV that I like as much as my good old Loewe.
edit: Just saw Mooly's post and this is not something I had considered, but yes the LCD's do show a lot more artifacts, especially big ones when displaying Standard definition broadcasts!!
Tony.
My TV a loewe Xelos 81CM is superior to the current LG LCD TV that has taken it's place. My wife had been saying for a LONG time that I had to get rid of my loewe because it was not modern. I kept telling her the picture quality would suffer.
My father in law came to stay with us for a while and asked if he could bring his TV. I said yes and it takes the place of the Xelos for now. Two days after putting the flat screen in my wife comes to me and says.
"I have to appologize" I said what for. She said "Your TV is much better than this one!" I didn't say I told you so
The computer monitor was a different story. I had an old Sony 19" Trinitron that I had had for at least 10 years. It was a great monitor and because I do photography I had not wanted to replace it with an LCD. Well the wife said it had to go, because we needed to downsize the desk. LCD it was. I got a Dell Ultrasharp 27" (top of the range) and all I can say is WOW!! It is far superior to my old Sony.
The colour is fantatic, it is so Sharp, the dynamic range is better than the CRT, and it is so high resolution! No turning back.
Now if I could get an LCD TV that is as good as this monitor I might change my mind on flat screen TV's as well, but so far, I've not seen a TV that I like as much as my good old Loewe.
edit: Just saw Mooly's post and this is not something I had considered, but yes the LCD's do show a lot more artifacts, especially big ones when displaying Standard definition broadcasts!!
Tony.
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A good test for colour (if you've ever once seen an original) are the old London Busses. Very few CRT TV's can get the red correct because of the rare earth phosphors used. Red is often the first gun to fail on a CRT too, partly because its the hardest driven to make the luminance balance correct.
Its many years since I worked on a Loewe, or any TV come to that And they are just so heavy too, particularly the Sonys. You can't really move above a 27" on your own its just asking for trouble.
Artifacts are a problem on TV's with standard definition sources. Its there where the CRT comes into its own, a standard res digital broadcast can rival some HD sets for "viewability". Many LCD TV's suffer from "crushed whites" where there is no dynamic range shown. Clouds and overcast sky are a good example. Many sets just show a uniform image with no detail and the whites bottoming out.
Its many years since I worked on a Loewe, or any TV come to that
And they are just so heavy too, particularly the Sonys. You can't really move above a 27" on your own its just asking for trouble. Artifacts are a problem on TV's with standard definition sources. Its there where the CRT comes into its own, a standard res digital broadcast can rival some HD sets for "viewability". Many LCD TV's suffer from "crushed whites" where there is no dynamic range shown. Clouds and overcast sky are a good example. Many sets just show a uniform image with no detail and the whites bottoming out.
It has only been recently that I have stopped using CRT's. Both my TV and my computer monitor are under cover in the garage now.
My TV a loewe Xelos 81CM is superior to the current LG LCD TV that has taken it's place. My wife had been saying for a LONG time that I had to get rid of my loewe because it was not modern. I kept telling her the picture quality would suffer.
My father in law came to stay with us for a while and asked if he could bring his TV. I said yes and it takes the place of the Xelos for now. Two days after putting the flat screen in my wife comes to me and says.
"I have to appologize" I said what for. She said "Your TV is much better than this one!" I didn't say I told you so
The computer monitor was a different story. I had an old Sony 19" Trinitron that I had had for at least 10 years. It was a great monitor and because I do photography I had not wanted to replace it with an LCD. Well the wife said it had to go, because we needed to downsize the desk. LCD it was. I got a Dell Ultrasharp 27" (top of the range) and all I can say is WOW!! It is far superior to my old Sony.
The colour is fantatic, it is so Sharp, the dynamic range is better than the CRT, and it is so high resolution! No turning back.
Now if I could get an LCD TV that is as good as this monitor I might change my mind on flat screen TV's as well, but so far, I've not seen a TV that I like as much as my good old Loewe.
edit: Just saw Mooly's post and this is not something I had considered, but yes the LCD's do show a lot more artifacts, especially big ones when displaying Standard definition broadcasts!!
Tony.
I think this is the monitor you are searching for Amazon.com: Sony GDM-FW900 Flat Widescreen 24" FD Trinitron CRT Monitor: Computers & Accessories
A good test for colour (if you've ever once seen an original) are the old London Busses. Very few CRT TV's can get the red correct because of the rare earth phosphors used. Red is often the first gun to fail on a CRT too, partly because its the hardest driven to make the luminance balance correct.
Its many years since I worked on a Loewe, or any TV come to that
Artifacts are a problem on TV's with standard definition sources. Its there where the CRT comes into its own, a standard res digital broadcast can rival some HD sets for "viewability". Many LCD TV's suffer from "crushed whites" where there is no dynamic range shown. Clouds and overcast sky are a good example. Many sets just show a uniform image with no detail and the whites bottoming out.
That is very interesting to know. The best reds I have seen come off of a vintage mini Zenith set I scooped up at the thrift in mint condition. It has a "color" dial that only seems to change the luminance of reds (and bleed red into whites if turned up too high). The TV was a QVC TV special back in the day, I bought it because it was totally space-age for its time.
Mine is bright red, a rare color for this set apparently since I can only find pictures of the pink one, which seems to be the most popular. No name for the thing either, just "Zenith Portable Color TV". Really cool 80s piece. Pic creds to retrothing.
Sorry, I have never seen a Trinitron (Mom still has one in good repair that I watch when visiting her) that can equal the picture quality of a contemporary flatscreen. Then there is the need to have a weightlifter standing by to help place it...large CRTs are not only hernia-inducing heavy but most of the weight is forward so they are also awkward as hell to move. Then there is the depth required behind the screen.
After waiting nearly 20 years for my last CRT (36" Proscan) to die I finally took it to Goodwill last fall (yep - they took the boat anchor!) and replaced it with a Samsung LED SmartTV with twice the screen area, 1/6th the weight, 1/3rd the cost (in those smaller 2013 dollars vs bigger 1994 dollars), streams music from my NAS to my Linkwitz LXmini TV speakers, order of magnitude better viewing experience, etc. Happy to have CRTs in the dustbin of technological history where they belong!
After waiting nearly 20 years for my last CRT (36" Proscan) to die I finally took it to Goodwill last fall (yep - they took the boat anchor!) and replaced it with a Samsung LED SmartTV with twice the screen area, 1/6th the weight, 1/3rd the cost (in those smaller 2013 dollars vs bigger 1994 dollars), streams music from my NAS to my Linkwitz LXmini TV speakers, order of magnitude better viewing experience, etc. Happy to have CRTs in the dustbin of technological history where they belong!
While size and weight, as well as features, may be important to you, your last statement concerns me. It shows you clearly don't understand many important features of CRT technology that fixed-resolution screens will always lack! For one thing: CRTs will scale any picture. Put a one pixel signal to it and the whole screen will turn the color of that pixel, you'll be looking at a true 1x1 image. On a modern screen literally one pixel would display, say green, against a black background. It can't scale it! There are a fixed amount of pixels! Worthless for retro gaming when you want to fill the whole screen with a 480p image and have it look good. Also I hate 16:9, that aspect ratio makes a monitor into a sort of light strip rather than a viewing window in my opinion. 16:10 is marginally better but you can't beat the academy standard (well, 4:3 is darn close to the academy standard aspect ratio
).
While size and weight, as well as features, may be important to you, your last statement concerns me. It shows you clearly don't understand many important features of CRT technology that fixed-resolution screens will always lack! For one thing: CRTs will scale any picture. Put a one pixel signal to it and the whole screen will turn the color of that pixel, you'll be looking at a true 1x1 image. On a modern screen literally one pixel would display, say green, against a black background. It can't scale it! There are a fixed amount of pixels! Worthless for retro gaming when you want to fill the whole screen with a 480p image and have it look good. Also I hate 16:9, that aspect ratio makes a monitor into a sort of light strip rather than a viewing window in my opinion. 16:10 is marginally better but you can't beat the academy standard (well, 4:3 is darn close to the academy standard aspect ratio
I will grant you that I spend no time whatsoever retro-gaming (please tell me you don't go all the way back to Pong) or even contemporary gaming and I have no compelling need to look at a single pixel covering my whole screen. In addition to the practical issues I raised, the fundamental limitation of CRTs are the result of the non-linear process of steering an electron beam around a screen while attempting to maintain focus and color convergence. In my experience these adjustments, which are highly interactive and iterative require fairly frequent tweaking for optimum picture quality and still can't match a well designed flatscreen when perfectly adjusted. Many decades ago I built a 25" Heathkit CRT TV that I owned for about 20 years. It got a pretty fine picture for its time and I could dial that thing in pretty well, but no way I'd want to spend my time in the back of that thing dialing in the corners. To each his/her own!
Yes. In fact, you can't even adjust the convergence in a Trinitron. It uses fixed magnets and is good for life per Mooly. Combined with the instant response time of a CRT, the better contrast, the better colors, the lack of motion blur or input lag, and the ability to scale 480p up to 32" viewable area makes N64 and similar early 3D systems a dream vs. a modern LCD. Now as for typing up this post, I'll keep my nice little 15.6" 1080P wide gamut multi-touch IPS
Funnily enough for me if the red gun goes I don't notice
I have protanopia (no red colour receptors in my eyes). I've been happily using computer CRT's or TV's where the red has gone out for whatever reason, and not noticed until someone else has come in to the room and said "what on earth is wrong with the colour on that screen!"
Tony.
The artifacts would typically be the "fault" of the transmited source - the level of compression applied is altered in the studio, for various reasons. The CRT would naturally blur these, but the digital TV will show them, sharp as a tack - so, a "blurring" algorithm is needed in the latter to smooth these out; not a fault of the set.
Lack of dynamic range in the whites is an adjustment issue - a calibration disk allows one to set for visible gradations at the top and bottom of the range; makes for a better viewing experience.
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