Is this for real - Videokarma.org TV - Video

bandersen · #1 10-19-2010, 06:01 PM

Was this TV chair really manufactured or did someone stick a Sharp TV on an old chair ?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-20th-Cen...-/330486414014

sanjarali · #2 10-19-2010, 06:11 PM

This is the most amazing thing I've ever seen on my time!

I suspect that this TV is king, or the party in power used.

It is a bit large animals with legs and arms made from old televisions!

I give all my love, to it.

wa2ise · #3 10-19-2010, 06:15 PM

Back in the 70's, when I had to take the Greyhound bus to get to college, the bus stop depots had setups like this. Something like an hour of TV for a quarter.

bandersen · #4 10-19-2010, 06:18 PM

Ah, that makes sense. It didn't seem practical for home use.

leadlike · #5 10-19-2010, 06:44 PM

I thought it was a pay tv as well, but now, I'm not so sure. Usually the pay tvs were encased in metal. Trust me, at a bus station, this chair would live for about 15 minutes before someone drop kicked that all plastic tv off of the arm. I also don't see any vending gear on it, just the volume control on on the arm.

wa2ise · #6 10-19-2010, 08:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by leadlike

Usually the pay tvs were encased in metal. Trust me, at a bus station, this chair would live for about 15 minutes before someone drop kicked that all plastic tv off of the arm. I also don't see any vending gear on it, just the volume control on on the arm.

Just below the TV on the arm of the chair I see a knob that may be associated with a coin slot. Insert a coin, and twist the knob?

As for vandalism, maybe in smaller towns that wasn't an issue, as the counter ticket man was always present and would witness the vandalism.

marty59 · #7 10-19-2010, 09:25 PM

I've seen these in airports too...maybe not the exact same model but it's been awhile...but I do remember them at Detroit Metro. They would be lined up front to back of each other 3 or 4 of 'em in a row.

bgadow · #8 10-19-2010, 11:03 PM

Interesting-I was going through some boxes over the weekend and came across a coin-op timer which I figured was for a laundromat; odd, I thought, that the attached note said something about 10 cents for 10 minutes, or something like that-a short interval for a dryer. Anyway, it looked just like this one!

AUdubon5425 · #9 10-20-2010, 04:38 AM

They had these at Moisant Field probably as late as 1990. The TV cases were more robust - don't think there was a brand nameplate on them. The TVs were mounted on the right - - - maybe the chair was a bit different but definitely the same era.

Sandy G · #10 10-20-2010, 04:51 AM

Yeah, I remember seein' 'em at Tri-Shitty Airport, too...IIRC, the ones there weren't the fancy colors, just good ol' generic computer monitor lt. grey...

Einar72 · #11 10-20-2010, 01:37 PM

Boy, that brings back memories! I sat and watched test patterns on one in the Minneapolis (or St. Paul) Greyhound depot one cold, clear 1971 Christmas-week morning when I was 17. It was a change from playing pinball and eating Greyhound's Post House slop all the way to the Jersey shore.

BTW Did anyone ever try the chili at the Post House in Eau Claire? Ecch!

Phil Nelson · #12 10-20-2010, 02:17 PM

Yah, coin-op TVs were fairly common in transit terminals once upon a time. Usually quite ugly, in tamper-resistant gray metal or plastic. Can't imagine that they earned much. I never, ever saw one in operation.

Phil Nelson

stromberg6 · #13 10-20-2010, 08:50 PM

I saw those little GE 11 inch personal portables set up like that in airports years ago. 25 cents for half an hour, I think...

old_tv_nut · #14 10-23-2010, 03:41 PM

I suspect this is a very early model, as I believe I saw ones with the TV more securely encased as part of the chair. As leadlike said, this design would be inviting vandalism, but maybe it was a hurry-up job to get a foot in the door. The second company to pitch this to the bus terminal operator wouldn't get in.