I'm just rambling about the 2 BPC sets I own.... (well.. one is silver)
1 is a 32" JVC I'art, circa 2003. Picture is fantastic, but it cuts off lettering on the bottom, and has done so since new out of the box.
The other is a 32" Toshiba Cinema Series, circa late 90's. This one was given to me. I think the picture tube is going "soft" on it. Altho still watchable, the picture isn't the best. It took alot of menu adjusting to get it half-way decent. I think this is the first BPC 32" I've ever seen that has a weak picture tube in it.
My 1981 19" System 3 in the bedroom just keeps chugging away, with one of the best pictures I've seen.

I was thinking of replacing the Toshiba with a 27" Panasonic Tau series set I saw on craigslist. Any thoughts on that model? I heard the Tau series was Panasonics top of the line CRT set. I also saw a 27" Zenith console (that I commented about in a prior post) that I would love, due to the cabinet style, but the seller wants too much, and I think it is of the era of the bad Zenith tubes.....

The Tau series was a flat screen CRT like Toshiba FST pure sets of the early 2000s. They looked as good as the Sony FV series IMO.

My '91 Toshiba 27" is an early FST set and its just starting to look soft, green cut-off. It had low hours as it sat because nobody knew what to do with it. There was a bad 1 mf electrolytic that made the vertical fold-up on bottom and stretch out on top. The cap was what feeds the sync signal form the jungle chip to the vertical section. Its nowhere near the vertical stage on the board, so everybody missed it.

I have a '95 Zenith 25" BPC that has a weak tube. Its heading to the e-cycle soon.

I've been using a Panasonic Tau 32SL13 as my main set for about a year and have been very happy with it's performance. It sure is heavy though!

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5110/5689563064_3dc9b01462_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/5689563064/) http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5230/5689564500_3a902b1c46_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/5689564500/)

I may just get that 27" Tau if it's still available as the sellers only had it listed at 30.00. I've got a 24" Toshiba FST set that has an amazing picture, and I saw it had an Orion tube! ANyway.. my 32" Toshiba with the soft tube is a little too big for the spot I have it in, and the 24" Toshiba is a bit too small......

Have you been into the Service Menu on the JVC? there's almost certainly a way to adjust the vertical height.

I found this, not sure if it applies to yours but worth a try.

Press the {MENU} button and go to the User Menu screen, make sure
that the indicator (arrow) is pointed and highlights the "Picture Control".

- The buttons on top of the remote are set to TV & VCR respectively.

- Set sleep timer to "0" minutes and while it is displayed, simultaneously
press the {VIDEO STATUS} & {DISPLAY} buttons.

- The main service menu will be displayed with choices #1 through #9.
- Press one of the corresponding number keys to enter that menu.

- Use the {CH+} {CH-} buttons to navigate within a menu.
- Use the {VOL+} {VOL-} buttons to change the values.
- Use the {MUTING} button to memorize the changed value.
- Use the {BACK} button to exit the service menu.

I've owned a 27" JVC since 2004. While it's been reliable and has a decent picture, it was shamed horribly by a late 80's RCA 19" that I repaired for a customer. The RCA had a sharper picture, did better on the weaker channels and had superior audio.
Quite frankly, I was appalled.

I've owned a 27" JVC since 2004. While it's been reliable and has a decent picture, it was shamed horribly by a late 80's RCA 19" that I repaired for a customer. The RCA had a sharper picture, did better on the weaker channels and had superior audio.
Quite frankly, I was appalled.

That 27" JVC That I bought at Sears had a CRT that looked sick after one year, with very low hours on it. It had, what appeared to be an RCA or Thompson built CRT. I just gave it away after a couple years. I couldn't stand to look at it anymore.:sigh: I replaced with a Sony Wega from a thrift shop.:yes:

That 27" JVC That I bought at Sears had a CRT that looked sick after one year, with very low hours on it. It had, what appeared to be an RCA or Thompson built CRT. I just gave it away after a couple years. I couldn't stand to look at it anymore.:sigh: I replaced with a Sony Wega from a thrift shop.:yes:

I've had two of those. They were both silver cased 27" "D series" sets from the early '90's and both had very weak unwatchable (to me) CRT's. I rejuvenated one of them and was able to get it a little better. I think I sold that one for $20 and I told the buyer that the picture tube was going bad was the reason they were getting it that cheap. I thought it looked terrible; but, they thought it had a great picture and bought it.

The second one got a CRT that was pulled from an older JVC that was ruined by lightning.

IMHO, those later JVC sets were very cheaply made. We have a '97 model JVC 27" set that someone gave me when they bought a new TV. It's still very watchable and sees a lot of use; but, I can tell that the CRT is getting soft.

IMHO, older CRT sets had a brighter, sharper picture than much of the later CRT stuff.

Just curious all, what does BPC stand for?

Just curious all, what does BPC stand for?

Black Plastic Crap though it can be other colors like Silver.

Anything made in the Modern Era that's generic and cheap.
Think Funai, Yorx, Soundesign, though it came to mean just about everything electronic made after 1990 or so.

I guess I will get to judge the perfomance of a Panasonic Tau series. In the free section of my local craigslist, someone put an ad for a free 27" Panasonic TV. Was surprised when I went to get it that it was a Tau. And geezzz, it IS heavy. I got it out of my truck, but it is sitting on my garage floor until I can get help to carry it in.

Think Funai, Yorx, Soundesign, though it came to mean just about everything electronic made after 1990 or so.

Are we having Funai yet? :nutz: Old one, couldn't resist.

Have a 27" Panasonic Tau series (PV-DF2703) here, and the picture is excellent even after ~8 years of regular use. It is one of the "higher end" models with built in DVD and VHS. The DVD crapped out (won't read any disc) a couple years after we got it, and the set is so heavy and cumbersome to move that I've never gotten around to cracking it open to see if it can be repaired. VHS still works well, and has the fastest rewind time of any VCR I've ever seen.

I've attached a pix of the one I got. It's model # CT-27SX10B Manufactured 01/2001.
I have it set up in my basement... picture is pretty good, but what I noticed is that the pix is pretty dark, and surprisingly.. I had to turn the color down to 4. I think all sets of this era had the tube run pretty hard if it was on the "reset" auto setting. It maxes out the picture control, cranks up the color, and has the brightness set at midrange.
Anyway.. here's the pix. My camera doesn't capture good screen shots tho. It's way better in person.

I had a chance to buy a Tau series at the St. VDP a few months ago for $3.00. I never saw one up close. It's supposed to be simular to the Sony Wega series.