[Not really conspiracy as much as "feel good" ;) ]

`We watched the Berlin wall fall on this TV': Guatemelan family shocks
Samsung by trading in their indestructible 39-year-old CRT TV for a new LCD, calling it `a real workhorse'

By Mark Wilson published 19 hours ago

They don't make them like they used to...

A Guatemalan family recently traded in a 39-year-old CRT TV for a new LCD
Samsung accepted the TV as part of its Eco Exchange program
Engineers fully restored the set and it's now an exhibit at its Panama City HQ

It's easy to wistfully mutter 'things were built differently back then' when looking back at your old gadgets. But a Guatemalan couple recently shocked even Samsung with the longevity of the CRT TV they recently traded in for a new flatscreen model.

The Morales family bought their trusty Samsung set way back in 1987. After an impressive 39 years of service, the TV was finally struggling enough to convince them to enter the 21st century with a new flatscreen model.

According to its proud owner Ann Morales, the ever-reliable TV worked flawlessly for almost four decades. "We watched the Berlin Wall fall on this TV," she told Samsung. "We used it hard, from the morning news to the movies at night, and it always turned on. It was a real workhorse," she added.

When the family reluctantly took the TV in as part of Samsung's Eco Trade-In program, it started a new journey for the set. Their local store saw its potential as a museum piece and sent it to Samsung's headquarters for Central America and the Caribbean in Panama City. Cue a mix of head-scratching and wonder.

Samsung's engineers were initially flummoxed about how to fully restore the TV back to its former 1980s glory - understandably, given many of them weren't born when it was released. But after a little technical research, they managed to restore the set and it's apparently now producing a clear image and working as it did in 1987.

Samsung says the TV, which is now an exhibit piece at its global headquarters in Suwon, Korea, has become something of a local hero, after garnering a lot of attention when it was restored.

A relic from a bygone era

As impressive as this 39-year-old TV is, it isn't a record-breaker. Back in 2011, a working Marconi TV from 1936 was auctioned and sold for L16,800
(around $22,900 / AU$32,600), meaning it was still going 75 years after it was built.

Still, both of these examples remain outliers and the longevity of some CRT TVs is often down to their analog simplicity, repairability and superior heat management, compared to modern LCDs and OLEDs.

The estimated lifespan of today's TVs is around five to seven years, or a decade if you're lucky. That's partly because LED backlights can go in as little five years, while many owners find themselves marooned without software updates or support for the latest picture formats. There's simply a lot more that can go wrong in today's TVs and it's often more cost-efficient to replace than repair them.

The knock-on effect is that we now rarely develop the kind of emotional ties with our TVs that the Morales family reported. "At Christmas, the whole family would gather around that screen; it was like the fire in our modern fireplace," Ana Morales recalled.

"I couldn't just throw it in the trash. Every time I saw it, I remembered my early working years and the joy my children felt. It saddened me to think that its life would end in a landfill," she added.

To Samsung's credit, its Eco Trade-In program (which lets you trade in old devices from Samsung or other brands, in some regions) meant it eventually found a new lease of life. And it isn't alone - a new trend among TV enthusiasts is hunting down old CRT sets and keeping them alive for posterity.

This isn't just about nostalgia either, as many prize the talents of CRT TVs for their ability to render video game graphics as they looked in their heyday. So next time you see a cathode-ray tube bargain on eBay and are hit by a wave of nostalgia, you may have more competition than you bargained for.


https://www.techradar.com/televisions/we-watched-the-berlin-wall-fall-on-this-t v-guatemelan-family-shocks-samsung-by-trading-in-their-indestructible-39-year-o ld-crt-tv-for-a-new-lcd-calling-it-a-real-workhorse

$$
--- SBBSecho 3.28-Linux
* Origin: Capitol City Online (1:2320/105)

A Guatemalan family recently traded in a 39-year-old CRT TV for a new LCD

> Samsung accepted the TV as part of its Eco Exchange program
> Engineers fully restored the set and it's now an exhibit at its Panama City

It's easy to wistfully mutter 'things were built differently back then' when

>looking back at your old gadgets. But a Guatemalan couple recently shocked ev
>Samsung with the longevity of the CRT TV they recently traded in for a new
>flatscreen model.

My TV is a 22 year old 28" Toshiba and I don't even entertain the thought
that it might break down, or think of it as 'old'. You expect these
things to last almost forever. People usually get rid of them because
they are old Tech, not because they break down.

I could easily afford a new flat screen but I have other 'issues'.
My place is often left unheated over the winter and below freezing
conditions can destroy flat screens.. They all use LCD, and that
stands for LIQUID Crystal Display.. Liquids can freeze and distort.

---
* SLMR Rob * The truth will set you free, but probably piss you off
* Origin: Capitol City Online (1:2320/105)

My TV is a 22 year old 28" Toshiba and I don't even entertain the thought that it might break down, or think of it as 'old'. You expect these
things to last almost forever. People usually get rid of them because
they are old Tech, not because they break down.

I have a couple of older CRT TVs here that both worked the last time I
turned them on. One is from 1994, the other is older than that (not sure
how old, but pre-1990)... it is not even "cable-ready." ;)

Both of them were used heavily for 15 or so years before being relegated to "part-time" status, mostly by the digital changeover.

I could easily afford a new flat screen but I have other 'issues'.
My place is often left unheated over the winter and below freezing
conditions can destroy flat screens.. They all use LCD, and that
stands for LIQUID Crystal Display.. Liquids can freeze and distort.

Yeah they can. My first flat screen TV maybe lasted 6 or 7 years. :(

Mike


* SLMR 2.1a * Remember when safe sex was not getting caught in the act?
--- SBBSecho 3.28-Linux
* Origin: Capitol City Online (1:2320/105)

Mike Powell wrote to ROB MCCART <=-

I could easily afford a new flat screen but I have other 'issues'.
My place is often left unheated over the winter and below freezing conditions can destroy flat screens.. They all use LCD, and that
stands for LIQUID Crystal Display.. Liquids can freeze and distort.

Yeah they can. My first flat screen TV maybe lasted 6 or 7 years. :(

Interesting - we have a 20 year old Panasonic flat screen at an
unheated cabin in the Lake Tahoe area - it's at a high of 22F this
weekend. It's been through several winters up there.



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Hello Kurt!

stands for LIQUID Crystal Display.. Liquids can freeze and distort.

Yeah they can. My first flat screen TV maybe lasted 6 or 7 years. :(

Interesting - we have a 20 year old Panasonic flat screen at an
unheated cabin in the Lake Tahoe area - it's at a high of 22F this
weekend. It's been through several winters up there.

..and TV still works well?
--
../|ug

--- OpenXP 5.0.64
* Origin: My Westcoast Point (1:153/757.21)

My TV is a 22 year old 28" Toshiba and I don't even entertain

>> the thought that it might break down, or think of it as 'old'.

I have a couple of older CRT TVs here that both worked the last time I

>turned them on. One is from 1994, the other is older than that (not sure
>how old, but pre-1990)... it is not even "cable-ready." ;)

Yes, I needed special adaptors on my last set. This one was pretty
advanced at the time with multiple sets of RCA jacks as well as the
cable connector, and an S-Video port.

It won't take HDMI cables, but those can be adapted to RCA Jacks.

---
* SLMR Rob * Gotta go.....the orderlies are about to check my room!
* Origin: Capitol City Online (1:2320/105)

I could easily afford a new flat screen but I have other 'issues'.
My place is often left unheated over the winter and below freezing conditions can destroy flat screens.. They all use LCD, and that
stands for LIQUID Crystal Display.. Liquids can freeze and distort.

Yeah they can. My first flat screen TV maybe lasted 6 or 7 years. :(

Interesting - we have a 20 year old Panasonic flat screen at an
unheated cabin in the Lake Tahoe area - it's at a high of 22F this
weekend. It's been through several winters up there.

To my knowledge, my failure wasn't even due to cold. It got to where the
color was not right. I moved it downstairs where it got used sparringly
for probably a couple or three more years before the picture quit working
all together.

I forget what brand it was. It was a "3D" tv but as there were no
broadcasts that were 3D to watch, that feature never got used. I didn't
buy it for that reason.

Mike


* SLMR 2.1a * The four snack groups: cakes, crunchies, frozen, sweets.
--- SBBSecho 3.28-Linux
* Origin: Capitol City Online (1:2320/105)

I have a couple of older CRT TVs here that both worked the last time I

>turned them on. One is from 1994, the other is older than that (not sure
>how old, but pre-1990)... it is not even "cable-ready." ;)

Yes, I needed special adaptors on my last set. This one was pretty
advanced at the time with multiple sets of RCA jacks as well as the
cable connector, and an S-Video port.

For the oldest one, I had an adaptor that hooked a cable jack up to the two screws that the VHF antenna connected to. ;) The other one had a cable
port and the Red-White-Yellow RCA connectors.

It won't take HDMI cables, but those can be adapted to RCA Jacks.

Luckily never had to go that route, i.e. plugging in an HDMI cable. When the digital changeover started, I did have to get a converter box for them and
plug it into the c1994 set with the RCA jacks instead of the coax.

Offhand, I cannot remember how I hooked the older one up as it didn't have
any jacks, RCA or coax. I might have ran that one through an old VCR that
had a coax in and out... I could hook it the converter to the VCR using the RCAs and then to the VHF adaptor using the OUT coax.

Mike

* SLMR 2.1a * Beware programmers carrying screwdrivers.
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August Abolins wrote to Kurt Weiske <=-

Interesting - we have a 20 year old Panasonic flat screen at an
unheated cabin in the Lake Tahoe area - it's at a high of 22F this
weekend. It's been through several winters up there.

..and TV still works well?

It did last winter, I'll tell you on Monday - we're headed up there this weekend.



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Rob Mccart wrote to MIKE POWELL <=-

It won't take HDMI cables, but those can be adapted to RCA Jacks.

All of the extra resolution would leak out of the connectors, I suppose.



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I could easily afford a new flat screen but I have other 'issues'.

> > My place is often left unheated over the winter and below freezing
> > conditions can destroy flat screens.. They all use LCD, and that
> > stands for LIQUID Crystal Display.. Liquids can freeze and distort.

Interesting - we have a 20 year old Panasonic flat screen at an

> unheated cabin in the Lake Tahoe area - it's at a high of 22F this
> weekend. It's been through several winters up there.

Supposedly it gets dangerous somewhere around -20c or -25c (-4/-13f)
so it will depend on how cold it gets there inside the cabin, and
it's not 100% guaranteed damage will occur, they just don't usually
cover any damage if it does.

Plus the damage can be just a scattering of dead pixels that
hardly show.

---
* SLMR Rob * Dinner burned: (A)bort, (R)etry, (P)izza
* Origin: Capitol City Online (1:2320/105)

Yes, I needed special adaptors on my last set. This one was pretty

>> advanced at the time with multiple sets of RCA jacks as well as the
>> cable connector, and an S-Video port.

For the oldest one, I had an adaptor that hooked a cable jack up to the two

>screws that the VHF antenna connected to. ;) The other one had a cable
>port and the Red-White-Yellow RCA connectors.

Yes, you can adapt the cable to the 2 screw setup easily enough.

Offhand, I cannot remember how I hooked the older one up as it didn't have

>any jacks, RCA or coax. I might have ran that one through an old VCR that
>had a coax in and out... I could hook it the converter to the VCR using the
>RCAs and then to the VHF adaptor using the OUT coax.

I did that too at times. Currently my DVD/VCR is hooked up via cable to
the TV set. Up a wall, across the attic, and then through another wall
to a Jack Plate behind the TV. PVR cables come through the floor and
it is under the TV stand.

Unless I memorize the buttons to push in order, I can't even listen
to music on that DVD player without the television being connected
and on so I can see the menus. The DVD and VCR use my Stereo system
for sound but the TV is across the room from there..

I don't use high end stereo sound with the TV but it has special
dual speakers built in that do amazing things with sound on
Movies or shows that have surround sound built in. A sound can
seem to be coming from 10 feet off to the side of the TV set.

---
* SLMR Rob * DOS=HIGH?! I KNEW it was on something...
* Origin: Capitol City Online (1:2320/105)

It won't take HDMI cables, but those can be adapted to RCA Jacks.

All of the extra resolution would leak out of the connectors, I suppose.

Given that the TV set is a 22 year old CRT set it couldn't handle
much resolution at the best of times. I'm happy and amazed that it
can do things like zoom in or stretch the resolution as well as it
can, although the PVR may be more responsible for that, but it allows
me to view quite high resolution signals a little better, even if the horizontal edges are chopped off.

As I understand it, CRT screens don't have a native resolution,
so you can't put a maximum number on it. They basically take the
signal and just display it.. and yes, no doubt with some loss of
clarity, and that's limited by the TV's built in memory and such.

---
* SLMR Rob * ... we are the sultans of schwing
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