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The biggest CRT ever made: Sony's PVM-4300

(dfarq.homeip.net)
235 points rbanffy | 7 comments | 21 Jun 24 22:22 UTC | HN request time: 1.321s | source | bottom
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sneak ◴[22 Jun 24 21:32 UTC] No.40762397[source]▶
My AIM username for a while was kw34hd1 which is the model of Sony’s first (and maybe last?) 1080i CRT. I recall it being around $25k too at the time.

34” diagonal, 196lb.

Edit: A googling suggests it was launched end of ‘98 for $9k. $17k in 2024 dollars.

replies(2): >>40762449 #>>40763212 #
1. jeffbee ◴[22 Jun 24 21:41 UTC] No.40762449[source]▶
These kinds of TVs were under $2k a few years later. I had a Panasonic CT-34WX53 "Tau" display that I bought for $1600 in 2002.
replies(2): >>40762561 #>>40762708 #
2. ranger_danger ◴[22 Jun 24 21:57 UTC] No.40762561[source]▶
and those Taus are still selling for that much due to the retro gaming craze and scalpers.
replies(1): >>40762784 #
3. MBCook ◴[22 Jun 24 22:18 UTC] No.40762708[source]▶
I was seriously considering Sony’s 32” CRT for my first HDTV around 2006 or so. It must have been right about the tail end.

It may have had a better picture, at least for analog stuff which was most all of it at the time. But the biggest factor was size. At ~150-200 lbs I couldn’t move it and would need new furniture to hold it.

The LCD I bought probably weighed 40 pounds, was easy to move, and my existing furniture was fine. It was 720p only though.

replies(1): >>40763582 #
4. krs_ ◴[22 Jun 24 22:28 UTC] No.40762784[source]▶
Which is strange because 240p and 480i absolutely looks worse on them than on an SD TV. Better than a flat panel though to be fair.
replies(2): >>40762895 #>>40762981 #
5. jeffbee ◴[22 Jun 24 22:44 UTC] No.40762895{3}[source]▶
Yeah I would think that if you just wanted an amazing image from a PS1 or SNES then you'd want a regular aspect ratio anyway. If I was going to plunder eBay for such a thing I'd go with a Panasonic SuperFlat.
6. sneak ◴[22 Jun 24 22:55 UTC] No.40762981{3}[source]▶
It’s so weird. The Super NT is as accurate as anything and has an HDMI out. I love CRTs and Trinitrons but I’d never want to game on one (again).
7. WWLink ◴[23 Jun 24 00:35 UTC] No.40763582[source]▶
IIRC, Sony CRTs also love blowing up their flyback transformer boards.