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Originally Posted by andy
The text mode on that TV is for the closed caption text that can be used for viewing simple text data such as a weather report. The teletext broadcast by WTBS was a much more advanced interactive system similar to what's used in Europe.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teletext
Zenith did make some sets that could receive this signal, but it never became popular.
The "Sentry 2" name is meaningless. It's just a name to sound a little less than the higher end "System 3" models. |
Thanks for the info, both on teletext and the meaning (or apparently the lack of it) of "Sentry 2." I had a feeling that name didn't mean anything, like "XL-100" on my RCA CTC185. I called RCA's plant in Indianapolis about XL-100 on their newer sets (many years after the original XL-100s were marketed) several years ago, and was told that the name meant nothing; it was just a model designation, as apparently "Sentry 2" was with some of Zenith's 1990s TVs. I did not realize, however, that "Sentry 2" was a model name used to make their TVs using it sound just a hair down the ladder from System 3s. No matter, to me anyhow. My Sentry 2 still makes a great picture on cable, even after almost 11 years. Sometimes I think its picture is better than that on my RCA CTC185. The Zenith still has its original CRT as well, which amazes and pleases me no end; Zenith seemed to have tons of problems with the CRTs in most all of their TVs made from 1992 until 1997 or so, from what I've read on the TV service discussion forums and web sites on the Internet. I have never had five minutes worth of trouble with mine--never had the back off or any service done on it; the set even survived a 12-mile move from my hometown to where I live now, when I moved here almost seven years ago. Someone here at AK told me the reason my set's CRT is still good after 11 years is that the tubes were made in Mexico at that time (mid-1990s), while CRTs for today's Zenith CRT-based televisions are coming from another offshore plant, far inferior to the one in Mexico.
I hate to think, however, what the reliability record must be for Zenith-branded LG LCD/plasma TVs these days. I'm not really knocking LG, as I have a cell phone made by that company that has served me well since the day I got it about a year ago, more or less. The phone still works even after taking a sharp blow when I fell, face-down, on a sidewalk in my hometown last year, which to me speaks volumes for how LG manufactures their cell phones. I have a feeling that, given time, LG's flat-panel LCD and plasma televisions will be just as reliable (I wouldn't try smashing one on the ground, though).
RCA's Scenium line has had problems (coolant leakage due to bad gaskets, etc.), but a lot of folks have them, so RCA must be doing something right where flat panels are concerned. I'd probably have a FP set myself today if the large-screen models weren't so darned expensive. As it is now, I could get one tomorrow for under $500 if I wanted to settle for a 15-inch picture. When I eventually get a flat panel, however, I will be looking for a set with a picture at least as big as either of my CRT sets (19 inches)--unfortunately, the FP sets I've seen in that size to date are still well outside my price range. As I said, I won't settle for a picture the size of a postage stamp
even if I could get the set for less than $500 or so. Besides, many of those sub-$500 sets are made by Magnavox (and other companies which will remain nameless here to protect the guilty). I would not touch a Magnavox-branded TV, even a flat-panel 19- or 20-inch FP, with a ten-foot pole today
given the horrible reliability record of these sets--they are just as bad, if not worse, IMHO, than Zenith-branded LGs. The guts of those "Magnavox" sets are made, IIRC, by Funai, which is yet another strike against them.
I've also heard that "Magnavox" CRT-based TVs these days are so light they can be pushed off a table or stand simply by the act of pressing a button on the front panel. I would stick to operating these sets solely with the remote, as trying to use the front control buttons is, IMO, an accident waiting to happen.
This is one place where RCA's CRT sets are still superior to Magnavox-branded Funai sets; the RCA's are heavy enough that one can use the panel buttons without fear of pushing the set off its stand. I've been using the control buttons on mine (occasionally; I normally use the remote) since I got the set; the TV hasn't budged an inch off the stand yet.
Of course, the 19" CRT in my set probably weighs 20 pounds if it weighs an ounce (the entire set feels as if it weighs 50 pounds), so that may have a lot to do with keeping the TV in one place.