Best Buy Pulls Analog Televison From Shelves

[tolivac]

Tubed radios and amps-ALRIGHT-yes I love the sound of tubes as well.At where I work we have some tubed "radios" alright-250-500Kw SW transmitters the newest is about 20 yrs old-the oldest about 65 yrs old.Had to change a tube in one of them tonight.I think the best radios and hi-fi amps still glow in the dark-same with transmnitters.Solid state just isn't the same.and yes-medium wave("AM")are available as solid state.the outfit I work at has some solid state 1 MW transmitters-don't use them at the site I work.Would like to see them!thousands of Mosfet power transistors.I used to have some classic Tv's but they got stolen many years ago-just haven't been able to rebuild the collection.some of the sets were "cast offs" from behind TV repair shops and appliance stores waiting for the merciless trash truck compactor.glad I saved them-they worked!!Now these are harder to find-no more TV repair shops.

 

[jasonl]

Out with the old...

In with the new

Sony Bravia 40V3000

 

[jasonl]

Picture. SD for now but at least I have it correctly set a 4:3

 

[MrX]

Euro SCART cables

For those of you who are unaware of them, here's what we connect our TVs to our DVDs, Xboxes, Sat boxes, Cable boxes etc etc with in Europe

The 20-pin SCART connector. It carries various combinations of analogue / digital / signals and control signals makes everything pretty much "plug n' play" and cuts down on a whole nest of cables behind TVs.

 

[sudsmaster]

SCART looks Scool!

Anything that does away with the rat's nest of wires behind the typical component system is a quantum leap forward.

 

[cadman]

As a collector and restorer of digital television I've been dreading this day. There's nothing more fun than firing up multiple sets, tuned to over-the-air stations, using their own turret tuners and pulling in distant broadcasts. As a kid I can remember DX'ing with a 9" RCA b&w set, rabbit ears, coat hangers, loose pieces of wire, etc. and enjoying snowy pics from distant towers.

When the mandate goes through, us collectors are faced with the problem of a dozen or so converters (for sets now with unusable tuners), or forced to play switchboard operator to patch a limited number of converted signals hither and fro). The last thing I want are digital boxes (or solid state equipment) hanging around my classy sets. Not even at the service panel!

To complicate matters, I'm building a place in the country to house all these goodies. No cable TV out there and I'm not big on satellite. Reception of digital broadcasts out there will be dodgy for all but the local stations. And it use to be in an emergency or weather situation you'd know what was going on even if all you could tune in was the sound. Now, as mentioned above, it's an all or nothing proposition.

And what about handheld sets? As it were, you could gauge just where to aim the antenna for best reception, especially listening by ear. With digital I imagine you'll be waving that mast and be in a hot spot but by the time the pic is processed and thrown on the screen you'll have swung around to a deadspot....?

Worst case, I'll build a shack and a couple low power transmitters to convert D to A if I have to. That'll keep those Chinese made black boxes out of the living quarters too ; )

 

[selectomatic]

Well Cadman,

You can get an RF modulator or two and make your own cable system in your home. You can get them fairly inexpensively, and they're available in stereo or mono, and some of them let you choose what channel you want to put out.

That way, you can distribute DVDs, videotapes, or the output of a central HDTV tuner all over your house on whatever NTSC channel you desire. I'd also recommend an IR remote extender system so that you can control your source pieces from any room in the house.

A system like this takes a little planning, and it costs a little money, but they can be had for cheaper than you might think.

-kevin