Why did I buy this modern Zenith tv?

[andy]

...

[Jon A.]

Originally Posted by andy

Zenith really dragged their feet on advancing their CRT technology after about 1975. They made a 23" inline CRT into the early 80's. They also never made a semi flat 20", or 27" CRT when everyone else was making them flatter than a regular 19" or 25". I also don't think they ever made a CRT bigger than 27". That's something to keep in mind if you ever see a 32", or 35" Zenith from the 90's.

I'll be keeping my eyes open for those for sure. As long as they're built before the Korean takeover I'm good. Another thing about my '88 is that the RF jack is the lone input whereas most other sets had A/V inputs by that time. I think that basic OSD (channel and time) is its only option.

[playdrv4me]

Originally Posted by Jon A.

I'll be keeping my eyes open for those for sure. As long as they're built before the Korean takeover I'm good.

Heh, funny story about that. My Dad used to handle security for the Zenith plant in Chihuahua, Mex. back in the '80s, and my brother found an old letter from him that I still have a photo of somewhere talking about the possibility of "some obscure Korean outfit" taking over at some point. My how times have changed. I need to find that letter again.

I think the greatest exposure that FTM CRT ever had was in the Super Nintendo store kiosk that I remember spending many hours on at Target and other places. And I always distinctly remembered how flat that monitor was, how the AR coating looked after enduring the fingerprints of thousands of 9 year olds, and how vivid and gorgeous the colors were. I always wondered why it didn't scale up to anything else, and I guess now I know why...



And here is a press piece from the NY Times about the FTM tech from 1988 citing a "big advance in monitors"...

http://www.nytimes.com/1988/03/22/sc...-monitors.html

[andy]

...

[Jon A.]

Originally Posted by andy

I remember those Nintendo displays with the Zenith monitor. It looks like at least one was saved (is it yours?). Does it run at 525i, or is that just a VGA monitor with a scan converter?

Scan converter apparently. I looked up the specs for the Zenith monitor and it's just 640x480.

[dishdude]

There is a NIB one for sale in Phoenix. Does anyone know if the VGA out of a modern computer would work with it?

http://item.ultimatelist.com/for-sal...er/UL22483.htm

[wa2ise]

I had a Zenith flat screen computer monitor about 20 years ago. Found it thrown out at my brother's condo. There were some cracks in a circuit board, which made the deflection become too big. I don't know either why that would happen. It was rather limited in the resolution and refresh rates it would do. I eventually junked it. It had a fan inside.

[playdrv4me]

Originally Posted by andy

I remember those Nintendo displays with the Zenith monitor. It looks like at least one was saved (is it yours?). Does it run at 525i, or is that just a VGA monitor with a scan converter?

I never really understood why they spent so much money developing and hyping up their flat CRTs, but never did much with them. They sold a couple of models of very expensive VGA monitors just when super VGA and beyond were becoming the standard for high end monitors. They never made a professional video monitor even though that would have been an ideal use for it. The one 17" monitor they made was impressive, but in short supply, and maxed out at 1024x768 at a time when 1280x1024 would have been more appropriate for an expensive monitor. I have one of the 17" monitors, and it still looks good. It has a very orange red phosphor though.

No, that one is not mine (though I kind of have an itch to find that kiosk now), found it on a gaming website.