Was wondering how many of us use a b&w set as a daily watching tv?

I personally can do without color tv, but I switch it up and favor color sets primarily. I know some AKers probably favor their B&W sets though....Am I right?

Was wondering how many of us use a b&w set as a daily watching tv?

I personally can do without color tv, but I switch it up and favor color sets primarily. I know some AKers probably favor their B&W sets though....Am I right?


I don't have a B&W TV but still enjoy watching old shows in B&W. I could do without color ok.

I can't stand not having color. I have a Silvertone TV sitting in my garage that I won't bother with because it's black and white.

With a color picture, there's more information in the image and it looks more realistic.

I hate B&W tv.

I like my13" color TV I bought at best buy for $59
2 years ago.
I only watch the news, weather, star base atlantis, and "the Shield" TV shows.
I never had a VCR.

I want a B&W HDTV set! :D

TV does suck these days, and man a b&w HDTV would be pretty neat!

Remember that junky '78 Magnavox b&w I posted about...I have a DTV converter hooked up to it and I'm letting it run the "City Drive Live" traffic camera channel 24/7 in my garage...just want to see how long it can go for. (Yes, I am nuts, since I was a kid I did things like this) Anyways, back to the original topic...

I want a B&W HDTV set! :D:lmao:

I watch a lot of history shows and also the late night shows. As the history shows contain mostly B&W pictures and the late night shows(Leno and such) always have the same background, watching B&W is not an issue for me. I do it all the time my old TVs.

However, I do not have a desire for B&W HDTV-that would seem to somewhat defeat the purpose.

I want a B&W HDTV set! :D
I have the closest thing available. Casablanca and other classic movies on HD DVD.

When the story in a movie (or TV show) is compelling enough, you don't even think about whether it is in B&W or color.

The answer is NO!
I went the first 20 years of my life without a color set, I'll be darned if I'm going to give it up now! :)

The only time not having color is a problem is when color is used to define something such as in a news program or documentary. For example "The red line on the graph indicates.... and the blue line is...., other than that, I can live without it. It is nice to watch my favorite shows in color such as Lost and House MD.

I don't know if I could go completely without a color set, but the lack of color on a black and white set doesn't _normally_ detract from the show. The exception here is modern shows, with their funny camra angles, jerky camera movement and odd lighting effects that make it hard to follow the action on a black and white set. For example, I was watching one of those crime investigation shows, NCIS I think. And they had this one scene where the camera kept circleing the action, and viewing it through various obstructions, like stained glass and chain link fence, and it was pretty hard to see what was going on, watching it on a 19" GE Accent-Line black and white table set.

But, for most things, and for well-written television, the black and white sets are fine. Color is nice to have, but not required. If the program is good, you hardly notice.

A side note, a lot of people these days haven't ever seen a black and white set. A couple years ago, I had just finished fixing up a dumpster find metal cabinet 23" Zenith tabletop (for big, strong tables). Big, metal, 1960's thing. I was watching the Twilight Zone marathon on the Sci-Fi channel, using an old VCR as a cable tuner. My friend Mike came over, and sat down on the couch next to me, and we watched for a few minutes, then a commercial came on. He turns and looks at me really funny, and said "What the heck? Why are the commercials in black and white too? Is this a black and white TV?"

-Ian

There have been times when I've moved, and just used my 3" Sony B&W set for up to a week or so 'til I got around to hooking up a color set. All I watch is the news, so color isn't a big deal to me. That is, unless I get the bug to see an old eposode of Bonanza, in which case I need to see it on a roundie :)

Charles

I want a B&W HDTV set! :D

I've though about building a HD B&W set before. High resolution B&W CRT monitors are out there and are still used for Medical imaging applications. Megascan, Dataray, Cornerstone, Siemens and others made them in resolutions of up to 8 megapixels (3200x2560).

The earlier 1.3 or 2 megapixel models should scan low enough to sync to either 1080p or 720p, so driving them with a HD set top box should be doable (and as this is B&W is doesn't even need to be one with a VGA output, the Y output will do).

Then add some amplified speakers for sound and build a suitable looking cabinet to house it all (this is where I'd probably fail).

Finding the monitor would be the hardest part now. I let the last one I had go when I sold the VAXstation system it came with.

B&W/Color who cares. As long as it's big and loud, like me.

I agree with retrohacker that the absence of color doesn't detract from most TV programs. If you're watching a talk show or a rerun of Friends or Cheers, they're not doing anything creative with color. You're focusing on the dialogue and the action (if any). Who cares whether Rachel's throw rug is azure or maroon?

I wish that more new movies were made in B/W. Good Night and Good Luck, for instance, was beautiful to watch, and I never heard anyone complain that it wasn't in color.

I think we have lost some things since color took over. If you watch a classic B/W movie, such as a Hitchcock or Orson Welles feature, the composition and lighting, etc., for every scene is breathtaking. Those movies actually look worse when they are "colorized."

In the post-MTV age, many movies and TV programs rely on a machine-gun pace and the shaky camera style. Much less interesting, visually. There is more to cinematography than jogging around with a digital camera on your shoulder. Name one contemporary director who could remake a classic Bergman film in B/W.

Anyway, to answer the original post, I do watch my bigger-screen B/W sets regularly (the Predicta and the 16" Zenith tabletop). Those with 7" and 8" screens don't get much use -- just enough to keep them healthy. Fun to restore, but not practical for daily use.

Phil Nelson
Phil's Old Radios
http://antiqueradio.org/index.html

I want a B&W HDTV set! :D

There will still be digital artifacts.....

It wouldn't kill me to watch B&W. The only B&W set I currently own is a 3" Panasonic but I've owned several larger screen B&W sets over the years. If I find a vintage B&W set of interest, I will use it.

I had an old friend that used to be in the repair business from the late '40's through the early '70's and he always said he didn't want any part of a color TV. He finally got a color set in the early '80's and after getting used to it, said he'd never watch a B&W TV again.

Grew up with B&W sets. I seldom watch tv that has color, or color tv shows for that matter. Mostly watch dvd's of old tv and movies. But, I do like to watch Bonanza on TV Land on my Color set.
Dan

One thing you do need color for is weather radar. This is especially important in Tornado Alley.

I do without color just about every night. My bedroom Tv until recently was a '56 Bugeye Zenith. (It didn't die, I just decided to change it up) Now I have a 1965 17" Zenith from Doug®.

My girlfriend (age 25) and I usually watch Law & Order, and a couple weeks back, we watched "Bad Day at Blackrock" on a Canadian UHF channel thats a bit fuzzy.

She doesn't complain, but she does like to crack jokes about "Do we HAVE to watch it on the old-timey TV set?" This comes after I shut off the color 1978 Zenith daily-watcher. Truly, she's told me she doesn't care. So there is a Gen Y'er that should skew the ol' age graph.

The only thing about watching my '49 Admiral 7" Bakelite set is that there is SO much extraneous BS in the video signal that wasn't around in 1949, it doesn't really like it, & I wonder if that's good for the TV...

I've taken to watching TV so little that when I do it's getting to be an event! Older color shows I want to see in color, but newer stuff or documentaries about WW2, well, any set will do.

All good points... I find myself watching the News alot and I could pretty much care less if its in color or not.... But of course I choose my color XL-100 over the b&w's for movies, etc.

Sandy, thats an interesting question regarding the extra information in a modern signal's vertical blanking area. Most sets built from the mid-70s and up don't show this (at least in my experience) but it can be real annoying on an older set.... I don't think the information can cause the set any trouble, except if you've got a steady line or two and have the contrast turned up to the point where it can burn the phosphor....unlikely IMO.

Even my 1980 RCA shows VBI lines with a DVD player.... just remembered. Not an issue with cable or converter box, though.

I still fire up the packard bell (avatar) When a good B/W movie comes on.

My first tv was a motorolla (below pic, brown case though) and i watched everything on it as a kid, color made no difference when Farrah, Jackylyn, and Kate were on the tv hehehe :D

Still looking for this tv or the 17p6 model..... (my first 2 motos) :huge:

Steve

I find that watching the old B/W sets for me tens to make TV watching more palitable. I don't care for the blood and guts but in B/W it's much easier to take. Sort of a kinder gentiler picture. Also nowhere near the bright flashing video of color
The B/W sets of course remind me of growing up in the '60s. My family had color early on about 1959 or so. It was a big strapping 21" RCA tabletop set in a light colored metal cabinet. I don't remember the model but it had two flaming hot 5u4's sticking out of the top of a large potted power transformer.I had color just about all my life (all most 52 years) and I can take it or leave it. Hey Sandy those 7"ers are eye killers for me, more like radios.
Terry

I like black and white sets. My 1949 Motorola 9VT1 is a pleasure to watch (I have to get it fixed). B&W sets seem to do better with weaker signals that cause color to be rendered incorrectly. I am partial to collecting 12" B&W sets because they were in every household when I was a kid, my first set was one and they are fun to work on and use. I am sorry that they ever went away.

I am currently restoring a 1978 GE 12" B&W "performance television", well made and in a black and yellow '70s style cabinet.

I like black and white sets. My 1949 Motorola 9VT1 is a pleasure to watch (I have to get it fixed). B&W sets seem to do better with weaker signals that cause color to be rendered incorrectly. I am partial to collecting 12" B&W sets because they were in every household when I was a kid, my first set was one and they are fun to work on and use. I am sorry that they ever went away.

I am currently restoring a 1978 GE 12" B&W "performance television", well made and in a black and yellow '70s style cabinet.

I like 'em too, my first set was a 12" Panasonic from about '67 or '68. I still have it and it still works. There is a bunch of 12 inchers laying around here and I like it that way! You're right about them picking up weak signals, I usually do my DXing with a B/W Zenith SC 300 from '66. I too am sad about them going away, seems like everything I like is going away, whats up with that?!

I agree with retrohacker that the absence of color doesn't detract from most TV programs. If you're watching a talk show or a rerun of Friends or Cheers, they're not doing anything creative with color. You're focusing on the dialogue and the action (if any). Who cares whether Rachel's throw rug is azure or maroon?

This quote pretty much sums up my opinion of color television and I have said it for years. I can't believe that most people I have told it to look at me as if I'm crazy. Of course these folks usually of the mindset of not watching tv at all if it werent color AND remote control. God forbid having to move a body part to adjust a television set!

I don't remember it being a big deal to get up and change the channel back when it was the more or less the norm. Of course we didn't have 200 channels. Now THAT could be a work out! Hey maybe thats why we need all of the abdominal workout info-mercials these days and the kids are pudgy....

I work on the computer a lot so most of my viewing is on a 1964 Sony 9 inch B&W set that has a Zenith DTV box on it. I could go without color if I had to.

I do without color just about every night. My bedroom Tv until recently was a '56 Bugeye Zenith. (It didn't die, I just decided to change it up) Now I have a 1965 17" Zenith from Doug®.

My girlfriend (age 25) and I usually watch Law & Order, and a couple weeks back, we watched "Bad Day at Blackrock" on a Canadian UHF channel thats a bit fuzzy.

She doesn't complain, but she does like to crack jokes about "Do we HAVE to watch it on the old-timey TV set?" This comes after I shut off the color 1978 Zenith daily-watcher. Truly, she's told me she doesn't care. So there is a Gen Y'er that should skew the ol' age graph.

I know the feeling, I see myself more of a "Generation Jones" type, I'll by 42 in July. I remember when we only had black and white, we had a 1959 Philco with no UHF tuner. I still have the rabbit ears, they serve as the antenna to the DTV box feeding my 1984 Commodore 1702 monitor that I use as a TV set. I get cracks myself, our newest set is a 1982 Zenith that we've been watching since 1983.

I'm 25 and have grown up with color. I can say thay since I have the TV "bug" I find it very easy to watch B/W as a primary TV. . . . In the bedroom or office.

I've got a nice 17 inch Setchell Carslon sitting on top of my Zenith Roundie. Got it tuned up nice and watching its picture is very enjoyable.

I've got a 10 inch GE locomotive in the office. Its picture is bright, but produces shadowing, outlines of the objects. I ignore it and watch it anyway.

I only watch B/w just for the fun fact that they are 50 year old TV's that I have fixed up and are working. I enjoy it, but everyone who visits finds it very unusual. They think its weird!!

Best regards,
Matt Davala

There is something to be said for moving away from reality when telling a story. HD TV taped at 60 frames per second is great for "you are there" sports, but for drama, you may begin to see the actors more clearly than the roles they are playing. Many directors prefer the 24 fps "film look" for story telling, and going to black and white can be a step further in that direction - but trying to convince modern audiences may be difficult. Our secretary at work opined that she doesn't or won't watch black and white movies. I just walked away - it surely shuts her off from some great films of the past, but no use arguing.

We had an RCA roundie in the house when I was a kid, but the first set I had in my room was a G.E. combo that my grandparents bought new in '52 (the
roundie had replaced it as the living room set a few years before I was born). So I spent a lot of time watching B&W. I can live without color, in fact I've only used a color set as a daily watcher for about 3 years or so. Until then, I was using a 21" Admiral console from '59. It's been replaced by a Zenith CC2,
which itself has been temporarily replaced by a early 80's Emerson (Zenith needing repair) as my wife won't watch B&W if she doesn't have to.

As a newbie I wouldn't usually post a late response, but since this thread picked up again anyway... How about B&W WIDE SCREEN HD TV! (See proposed solution below.)

(Not withstanding that the tubes in this thing barely handled the frequencies needed for 30Hz interlaced at 480 lines... lol)

To answer the question, though, I’m sorry to say no, I couldn’t live without color. I recently posted pics of the actual TV I grew up in front of back in the 60's, a Moto B&W, which I recently recovered from storage and am going to restore soon. I didn't actually own my own first color TV until the 1980's, in fact I watched the debut of MTV on a 12" B&W portable.

And if the projector shown below turns out to be restorable, as I hope, I *might* even be able to coax 50 or even 60 inches out of it, with a REALLY good rear projection screen (and a major dark room.)

BUT, my wife would *kill* me (and I’d have to grudgingly agree she's right) were I to suggest that we watch the next Pens playoff game on the 52" B&W projector, vs. the 52" plasma... (Sorry if that makes me a traitor to the cause – but the question was asked, and that’s my honest answer.)

However, Casablanca, or even better yet Forbidden Planet, in 52" B&W, would be an ENTIRELY different story... So hopefully I will be able to round up some additional info on the projector, and get it running again soon.

My goal is to get these examples running while they can still be demostrated with unaided rabbit ears... And that puts a definite limit on the timeframe! (This should be the last year anyone can make that happen, right?)

As a newbie I wouldn't usually post a late response, but since this thread picked up again anyway... How about B&W WIDE SCREEN HD TV! (See proposed solution below.)

(Not withstanding that the tubes in this thing barely handled the frequencies needed for 30Hz interlaced at 480 lines... lol)

To answer the question, though, I’m sorry to say no, I couldn’t live without color. I recently posted pics of the actual TV I grew up in front of back in the 60's, a Moto B&W, which I recently recovered from storage and am going to restore soon. I didn't actually own my own first color TV until the 1980's, in fact I watched the debut of MTV on a 12" B&W portable.

And if the projector shown below turns out to be restorable, as I hope, I *might* even be able to coax 50 or even 60 inches out of it, with a REALLY good rear projection screen (and a major dark room.)

BUT, my wife would *kill* me (and I’d have to grudgingly agree she's right) were I to suggest that we watch the next Pens playoff game on the 52" B&W projector, vs. the 52" plasma... (Sorry if that makes me a traitor to the cause – but the question was asked, and that’s my honest answer.)

However, Casablanca, or even better yet Forbidden Planet, in 52" B&W, would be an ENTIRELY different story... So hopefully I will be able to round up some additional info on the projector, and get it running again soon.

My goal is to get these examples running while they can still be demostrated with unaided rabbit ears... And that puts a definite limit on the timeframe! (This should be the last year anyone can make that happen, right?)

Cool, another AKer from Pittsburgh! Here is my answer to a B&W HDTV or at least B&W DTV, I have a Zenith DTT-900 box on top of a Sony VT110 B&W TV/VTR monitor. Somebody here said they saw the same TV in the Beatles' movie, "A Hard Day's Night" so this set must have been made in 1964 or so. I use a simple 50 cent bow-tie antenna for reception although when our local Pittsburgh stations go back to their VHF channels (except WPXI, they stay on channel 48) I'll have to hook up a VHF antenna to it as well. Right now, I'm tuning in the NASCAR race on the wide screen HDTV channel and selecting the wide screen option on the box so now, wide screen B&W (H)DTV. :D I watch this set a lot.

I watch about 90% of the time on b/w sets, I currently have the 1956 8" RCA in the bedroom, and the 1960 17" space command Zenith on my desk, and that's where I do most of my tv watching. I actually prefer to watch b/w in bed at night over color. And I currently only have one working color set, the 1963 Philco roundie combo, and I only turn that on if I really want to see something in color. Now I do think early color sets are cool, but for everyday tv watching, give me b/w. Also I'd rather not put so many hours on my color sets, they're harder to repair, and harder to get picture tubes for. Even the 21FJP22, probably the most common color tube, is harder to find than most of the b/w tubes. After working on old sets for the past 8 years or so I've managed to collect many spare b/w tubes, but not a single spare 21FJP22.

This has been very interesting to know how people view color or B&W.
Dan

One time, when I had my Sony in the bedroom, I also used it to run my Playstation on. It was kind of weird to play a game like "Final Fantasy VII" in black and white. :) I now have a Commodore 1702 computer monitor in my room, no tuner but I feed it with a Zenith DTT-900 ATSC tuner (with the RCA jacks) so I just use it as a TV. If I want to run the Playstation I unplug the ATSC tuner and plug in the game unit. I wish I had something like a 1950's TV, it would be wild to run a Playstation on that. :D

One time, when I had my Sony in the bedroom, I also used it to run my Playstation on. It was kind of weird to play a game like "Final Fantasy VII" in black and white. :) I now have a Commodore 1702 computer monitor in my room, no tuner but I feed it with a Zenith DTT-900 ATSC tuner (with the RCA jacks) so I just use it as a TV. If I want to run the Playstation I unplug the ATSC tuner and plug in the game unit. I wish I had something like a 1950's TV, it would be wild to run a Playstation on that. :D

Although I came to this forum in search on info on the Tele-Beam B&W Projector, I also posted a request for info (kindly answered) on a 1965 Motorola that I used in the 1970's as a monitor for my home-built Cosmac ELF. (For those of you familiar, picture the chunky, pixelated B&W Enterprise, in 24".) I got the Sams (again, thanks) and if I get that running again, I'll have to hook that back up and post a picture. (I still have a running ELF I can hook to it.)

Cool, another AKer from Pittsburgh!

What can I say, the 'burgh just attracts cool cat lovers who watch B&W TV. (We've got 3 cats, all adopted, one of which requires meds for cardiomyopathy every 12 hours - talk about slave to cats. I'm with you there, it's my life :-)

My "last" B&W was a 13" zenith that I got in 1980, with a bright orange plastic case. On that TV I watched the Buggles debut MTV, and watched Ronald Reagan get shot. Alas that one, and a 19" that I bought at a motel sale in 1979, that was probably late vintage 60's, are both long gone, victims of my youthful "tinkering" phase. (And subsequent "home", a.k.a. the junkyard.)

Luckily, I have going on 30 years experience now, and a much better success rate. So I look forward to the upcoming projects.

However, Casablanca, or even better yet Forbidden Planet, in 52" B&W, would be an ENTIRELY different story...
Both of those movies are available on the now-defunct HD DVD format, and they look stunning in HD. (Forbidden Planet is in color, but if you wanted to watch it in B&W, you could connect the player using its component-video output but unplug the Pr and Pb cables.)