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  #1  
Old 10-21-2014, 07:08 PM
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Kamakiri Kamakiri is offline
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Japan market rare television score!

Saw this one on eBay, made an offer to a somewhat local company that does electronics recycling, and won it for a song

This is a Toshiba Regza 20GL1 from 2011. It was the very first 3D HDTV ever made with no glasses required, and was only introduced to the Japan market...never brought to the US. Here's a press release from Toshiba about the set:

http://www.toshiba.co.jp/about/press/2010_10/pr0402.htm

The controls, being labeled in Japanese only, took me a little bit and the help of a couple friends to figure out. Many of the functions are controlled with the remote, which I unfortunately don't have....yet.

It wouldn't work on standard cable, and I figured out why. I had to investigate how TV in Japan works. The reason it won't work with cable TV is that it's not designed for that. The cable inputs are designed for the Japan CS1, CS2 and BS satellite bands. It's got 4 HDMI inputs and a couple I've never seen. All I had to do was plug in the HDMI out of the cable box, and done! WOW what a picture!

To those who have never seen 3D TV, it's more like a depth effect....the feeling that the TV is more of a window on a house rather than stuff flying out at you. It may only have a 20" screen, but I now own a very rare Japan market 3D HDTV!
Attached Images
File Type: jpg 100_4959.jpg (69.8 KB, 265 views)
File Type: jpg 100_4951.jpg (72.1 KB, 181 views)
File Type: jpg 100_4954.jpg (16.9 KB, 137 views)
File Type: jpg untitled.JPG (38.3 KB, 174 views)
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Old 10-21-2014, 07:53 PM
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Eric H Eric H is offline
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How in the world does it work with no glasses?
Does it require special 3-D content such as a Bluray?

There's a selection of 3-D movies on Netflix Streaming, I tried a couple of them just to see how it looked (my set requires glasses) it was pretty neat but I can live with 2-D just fine.
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Old 10-21-2014, 07:55 PM
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Eric H Eric H is offline
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Found this picture of the remote BTW. Also in Japanese.
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File Type: jpg remote.jpg (60.2 KB, 69 views)
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Old 10-21-2014, 08:40 PM
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Cool! Gotta love the more obscure sets huh? This one takes the cake in that regard.
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  #5  
Old 10-21-2014, 09:10 PM
JBL GUY JBL GUY is offline
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Wow, congratulations on your find.

The explanation of operation is interesting.
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  #6  
Old 10-22-2014, 04:13 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Eric H View Post
Found this picture of the remote BTW. Also in Japanese.
Where the heck did you find that? Here's hoping there's a shot of the back of it with a model number...I have a friend in Hong Kong that *might* be able to help me get one
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Old 10-22-2014, 08:45 AM
WISCOJIM WISCOJIM is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kamakiri View Post
Where the heck did you find that? Here's hoping there's a shot of the back of it with a model number...I have a friend in Hong Kong that *might* be able to help me get one
Looks like the remote model number is on the front, just under the Toshiba name.
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Old 10-22-2014, 10:36 AM
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Kamakiri Kamakiri is offline
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How the heck did I miss that?!?!?

Thanks! There's an ebay seller that has a ton of em!
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Old 10-22-2014, 12:51 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Eric H View Post
How in the world does it work with no glasses?
In the 80's Sony demonstrated a 3D system that required no glasses on a
regular off the shelf looking 21" Trinatron TV. It was on a local news broadcast
and then I never saw it again..... They had the camera, a tv, and people throwing
a ball, and Frisbee. The reactions from people made it sure look like it was
working..... For all I know it was a local NJ company and they just used a
Sony tv..... Maybe they couldn't get it sold to a tv maker....

I imagine it was too expensive, and no real market for it....

I for one don't have any interest in it. The few movies I have seen with 3D
effects were of no substance as it was just a showcase for the effect. Besides,
can you imagine how much more annoying car commercials would be in 3D...
and how tv news would have those noisy graphics jump out of the screen and
come dam near hitting you in the face every 4 minutes...... 3D needs to die
an expensive slow death....

thank you!

.

.
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Last edited by Username1; 10-22-2014 at 12:58 PM.
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  #10  
Old 10-22-2014, 07:16 PM
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stromberg67 stromberg67 is offline
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Congratulations on a wonderful score! Rare to this side of the Pacific makes it so collectible.
Kevin
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  #11  
Old 10-23-2014, 05:53 AM
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The more I use the set, the more I realize that (at least to me) it seems that the set's more of a test bed for an emergent technology (marketed to early adopters who have to have the first, latest, and greatest) than it is meant to be used as a daily set.

Take a look at the attached pic, this is taken from a YouTube video of an electronics trade show in Germany. In order to get the 3D effect, this is pretty much how you have to sit. With a 45 degree 3D viewing area, it doesn't leave much room for more than 2 people to watch at the same time.

My two sons, 11 and 14, aren't as impressed with it as I am.....of course when you're a teenager and have seen the 72" 3D sets at the box stores costing several thousand dollars, it's no wonder why I guess.
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File Type: jpg regza.JPG (33.3 KB, 142 views)
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  #12  
Old 10-23-2014, 06:22 AM
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This article seems to support that theory. Toshiba had expected to sell 1,000 per month, but only sold a total of 500 in 5 months. Almost like a modern day CT-100 story:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/02...ales_are_poor/
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Old 10-23-2014, 08:49 AM
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Neat score ! You have a knack for that, though... (grin)
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Old 10-25-2014, 07:15 PM
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Downloaded Google Chrome with an automatic translator to go on to Toshiba's Japan website, and downloaded a manual....so I now have a manual for my set!

This isn't going to get me too far though
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File Type: jpg 100_4986.jpg (58.6 KB, 74 views)
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  #15  
Old 10-30-2014, 10:33 PM
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"Regza" sounds mighty familiar...

Didn't Toshiba market the "Regza" flat screens in the US as well as in Japan, several years ago? It seems to me that Toshiba did have a line of large flat screens they marketed in this country under that name, built for the US ATSC television standard. I think the US versions of these TVs were something on the order of 32 inches up to perhaps 50 inches, nothing larger than 50 or smaller than 32. I'll look at Toshiba's US website to see if these sets are still being made.
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