CatPix Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 So I wonder, you talk about "floor sets" what is it opposed to? I mean, what is the other kind of set? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoshiChiri Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 So I wonder, you talk about "floor sets" what is it opposed to? I mean, what is the other kind of set? A regular CRT that isn't designed to look like a piece of furniture and sit on the floor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatPix Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 Goota admit that the sole idea of putting a TV on the floor is alien to me I think the other kind would just be the regular TV sets we had in Europe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schizophretard Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 Goota admit that the sole idea of putting a TV on the floor is alien to me I think the other kind would just be the regular TV sets we had in Europe. Back then here in the US it was considered the fancy thing to have kind of TV. It is like today how a small 720p TV is considered regular but a massive 4K TV is the fancy thing to have. It was like that with everything. For an example, a little portable boom box was considered cheap and a stereo with massive floor speakers was considered fancy. So, basically the bigger more furniture like and more permanent an electronic device looked for a room the more fancy it seemed. A console TV compared to a small TV seemed the same as a refrigerator compared to a cooler. What is alien to me today is how we just replace TVs when something breaks or just update to a new TV relatively sooner than before. For an example, the TV my parents had when I was born was a console TV. It broke every once in a while but a TV repair man would come over to fix it. Fixing a TV seemed as normal to me as changing a broken belt in a dryer or replacing a part in a car because it was something you bought with the ideal goal of never having to buy again. That TV lasted them until I was an adult or at least very close to it. Then they got a hand me down of a regular TV and when that went out they final got an LCD for Christmas from us three sons. So, in over 30 years they have only owned three TVs. That seems completely different than today because it seems people want to upgrade their TVs every few years or so even if not broken like their phones which is also alien to me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatPix Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 (edited) I get you on the "replece every few year parts".Tho, aside from some 60's and early 70's TV here that came in a large furniture like box, that had a sliding door to HIDE the screen, (and early 50's TV that were in radio-style boxes, but that didn't lasted long) all TV were just the box stuff that you put on TV tables that you can still find everywhere here. Ths most common stuff you'd find would be these : And you'd put it on that kind of table : But in either way, the idea to have the screen almost at floor level is very odd in here. I don't see anything practical about that. I'm certainly not saying it's bad or wrong. It's just that it doesn't fir with anything I ever seen, grew up with or been accustomed to. I can't tell why the idea of TV as furniture vanished. I assome that for one part that those appeared in the 60's, and so were associated with vaccuum tubes TV and black and white, whereas box TV were looking more modern, and could be moved and ked while replacing all the furniture. Edited January 21, 2016 by CatPix Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamchevy Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 I really dig your setup! I have a 27" crt in my basement next to my 60" plasma. Your making me want to go find a floor model. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schizophretard Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 But in either way, the idea to have the screen almost at floor level is very odd in here. I don't see anything practical about that. I'm certainly not saying it's bad or wrong. It's just that it doesn't fir with anything I ever seen, grew up with or been accustomed to. I think if you saw them in real life, especially in an entirely 70s/80s living room, that you would be able to see right away how it was practical. It wasn't something odd like you having to lean forward in your chair to look over your coffee table to look down at a TV on the ground. It was more like how when you are driving you are looking forward but slightly at a downward angle to look at the road, brake lights, etc. Image the line of your windshield or front of your car being like a coffee table. It was something like that line of sight. You would lean back in your couch and "above" your coffee table would be your TV screen because at that angle your coffee table is "below" your TV just as the road is "above" the line of your windshield. The only difference between that and the average height flat panel TVs are today is that now you look with your neck more straight and are looking more directly forward while with a console TV you would have your neck more relaxed at a downward angle like driving. It was basically the opposite of how at hospitals they mount TVs near the ceiling and just as easy to view. Most TVs were exactly like what you think of as normal TVs though but consoles were for people that wanted their TV and entertainment center to be contained in one piece of furniture. Instead of putting your VCR on that lower shelf of that table you showed it would be on top of the console next to either rabbit ears, a cable tuner, or a box used to rotate your outdoor antenna. So, that was practical too because how sturdy the console was would keep any of that from sliding around if bumped and if you needed to change a tape then there was no bending down because it was like your VCR was on a table. It was also practical for preventing theft because it is hard to lift one up. Anyway, a console for everything used to be the style here. Stereo? Put that in a wooden cabinet on the floor. TV? Put that in a wooden cabinet on the floor. Coin-op arcade game? Put that in a wooden cabinet on the floor. Atari? Put that in a wooden cabinet on the floor. We were so obsessed with making everything into a wooden cabinet on the floor that it probably played a part in why we call our video gaming systems video game consoles. Just look at many of our earlier consoles. The original Atari 2600 looks like one of our wooden couches. Many old Pong consoles look like they go on a wooden coffee table in between a huge glass ash tray that is in a wooden bowl and a wooden cigar box. The reason this: Looks so much like this: Is because we were such wood grain furniture junkies that our wood grain furniture looking consoles had to go into other wood grain furniture looking consoles. I mean, they could have solved the 80's AIDS scare by inventing wood grain condoms. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiLic0ne t0aD Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 Any good turntable, the plinth will be wooden. The furniture's gotta match! Only working woodgrain TV I have is a small Panasonic from the 80's. My parents bought it new, its a great TV..it's out in my garage now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eltigro Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 I think the difference in TV height (screen near the floor or higher up) between American 70s/80s and European can also be partially attributed to the size of the room it was in. I imagine most American living rooms at the time as rather large rooms. If you have a couch or something on one side and the TV on the other, it's not that big a deal to look "down" to the TV because it is all the way across the room and the angle you have to tilt your head down isn't as great. In Europe, I think the average "living room" or equivalent is smaller, so having a smaller TV higher up would make more sense. I could probably draw this with a couple of right triangles to make it make more sense... And as far as design goes, yeah, Americans wanted something that looked like a "nice" piece of furniture rather than a plastic and glass electronic device. I remember my grandmother had a console stereo "hi-fi" that was probably ten feet long. It had speakers on either end, and a big lid that opened up to reveal the AM/FM radio, turntable, 8-track player, and storage room for records. It was all one piece, too. Wood grain veneer all over it. Probably weighed a ton. It took up almost a whole wall in her "front room." 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schizophretard Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 And as far as design goes, yeah, Americans wanted something that looked like a "nice" piece of furniture rather than a plastic and glass electronic device. I remember my grandmother had a console stereo "hi-fi" that was probably ten feet long. It had speakers on either end, and a big lid that opened up to reveal the AM/FM radio, turntable, 8-track player, and storage room for records. It was all one piece, too. Wood grain veneer all over it. Probably weighed a ton. It took up almost a whole wall in her "front room." My granny had a stereo like that. I doubt she ever used it in my life time because it always had family pictures covering the top. When she passed she left it to my older brother who never even went to Ohio to pick it up. She must not have known that I was obsessed with it. If I would have got it I would have fixed it up and made use of it. I can't recall all the features it had but, for an example, if it had 8-track then I could make a modern use for it by combining one of these: With one of these: To make it have Bluetooth. It would be kind of cool to have someone say,"What are you doing with that old useless obsolete thing?" and then answer by pressing a button on a tablet that makes a song start playing. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatPix Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 (edited) I think if you saw them in real life, especially in an entirely 70s/80s living room, that you would be able to see right away how it was practical. It wasn't something odd like you having to lean forward in your chair to look over your coffee table to look down at a TV on the ground. It was more like how when you are driving you are looking forward but slightly at a downward angle to look at the road, brake lights, etc. Image the line of your windshield or front of your car being like a coffee table. It was something like that line of sight. You would lean back in your couch and "above" your coffee table would be your TV screen because at that angle your coffee table is "below" your TV just as the road is "above" the line of your windshield. The only difference between that and the average height flat panel TVs are today is that now you look with your neck more straight and are looking more directly forward while with a console TV you would have your neck more relaxed at a downward angle like driving. It was basically the opposite of how at hospitals they mount TVs near the ceiling and just as easy to view. Most TVs were exactly like what you think of as normal TVs though but consoles were for people that wanted their TV and entertainment center to be contained in one piece of furniture. Instead of putting your VCR on that lower shelf of that table you showed it would be on top of the console next to either rabbit ears, a cable tuner, or a box used to rotate your outdoor antenna. So, that was practical too because how sturdy the console was would keep any of that from sliding around if bumped and if you needed to change a tape then there was no bending down because it was like your VCR was on a table. It was also practical for preventing theft because it is hard to lift one up. I think the difference in TV height (screen near the floor or higher up) between American 70s/80s and European can also be partially attributed to the size of the room it was in. I imagine most American living rooms at the time as rather large rooms. If you have a couch or something on one side and the TV on the other, it's not that big a deal to look "down" to the TV because it is all the way across the room and the angle you have to tilt your head down isn't as great. In Europe, I think the average "living room" or equivalent is smaller, so having a smaller TV higher up would make more sense. Yeah, i had been thinking about this, and those are the most likely explanations. The TV location is probably the main reason. Most people would put their TV in the dining room, as the average people wouldn't have a dedicaced leisure room with a sofa and coffee table - those would be in the dining room, and so, if you wanna watch the news at dinner time, you want the TV to be above table level. And heh, after that, you can push the TV table facing the sofa. Ergo why those tables with wheels were so common. As for the woodgrain stuff, some TV were like that, but it was more like plastic cases printed like it, and this is damn butt ugly. Tho is seems to be mostly in Germany Fashions and stuff heh. I guess one explanation is that television maker wanted to cut costs down as much as possible, and mking a heavy wooden furniture is more costly that a cheap light plastic shell. And of course the 60's and 70's were there in full action, I mean : And you're thinking "well it's just some fancy 70's living room... make sense to put a white plastic TV in there, but that certainly wasn't the most common people having all of this?" And certainly not, since this is the (still existing) Paulin dining room, of the French Presidential Palace, the Elysée. How much a decorating style gotta be influencial to get into the official building of a head of a state, and being conserved as a testimony 50 years after? Kinda hard to imagine, especially since the 70's style fell in disgrace so quickly after that... Edited January 21, 2016 by CatPix 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asaki Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 I really want to get a console TV, but now that I finally have a place to put it, most of the thrift stores won't accept them anymore =| It was basically the opposite of how at hospitals they mount TVs near the ceiling and just as easy to view. I was in the hospital for a month, and that TV was not easy to view =) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boozle061083 Posted January 21, 2016 Author Share Posted January 21, 2016 Back then here in the US it was considered the fancy thing to have kind of TV. It is like today how a small 720p TV is considered regular but a massive 4K TV is the fancy thing to have. It was like that with everything. For an example, a little portable boom box was considered cheap and a stereo with massive floor speakers was considered fancy. So, basically the bigger more furniture like and more permanent an electronic device looked for a room the more fancy it seemed. A console TV compared to a small TV seemed the same as a refrigerator compared to a cooler. What is alien to me today is how we just replace TVs when something breaks or just update to a new TV relatively sooner than before. For an example, the TV my parents had when I was born was a console TV. It broke every once in a while but a TV repair man would come over to fix it. Fixing a TV seemed as normal to me as changing a broken belt in a dryer or replacing a part in a car because it was something you bought with the ideal goal of never having to buy again. That TV lasted them until I was an adult or at least very close to it. Then they got a hand me down of a regular TV and when that went out they final got an LCD for Christmas from us three sons. So, in over 30 years they have only owned three TVs. That seems completely different than today because it seems people want to upgrade their TVs every few years or so even if not broken like their phones which is also alien to me. This is almost exactly what I was thinking too. Except instead I feel like mounting the TV on the wall on over the fireplace is today's version of having a floor model TV back then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nebulon Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 Wish I can still do that. Old age means it's hard for me to sit on the floor for long and hard for me to get back up. Me too. I have a little room under the stairs with carpet, lights, and retro stuff in it and the only way to use it is to sit on the floor. It's really cool, but I have to set a time limit. Otherwise I really pay for it when it comes time to try to stand up again. The operative word here is "Ouch!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boozle061083 Posted January 21, 2016 Author Share Posted January 21, 2016 My granny had a stereo like that. I doubt she ever used it in my life time because it always had family pictures covering the top. When she passed she left it to my older brother who never even went to Ohio to pick it up. She must not have known that I was obsessed with it. If I would have got it I would have fixed it up and made use of it. I can't recall all the features it had but, for an example, if it had 8-track then I could make a modern use for it by combining one of these: With one of these: To make it have Bluetooth. It would be kind of cool to have someone say,"What are you doing with that old useless obsolete thing?" and then answer by pressing a button on a tablet that makes a song start playing. This post makes me feel like dusting off this old Crosley 100th anniversary table top jukebox I picked up off the in-laws. It looks like this: I didn't even know that they made bluetooth cassette adapters. That's amazingly convenient for applications like these. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+GoldenWheels Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 The trick to that is to evolve the "de-evolved" tech into something modern and a console TV is easy to do that with. Fake console fireplace entertainment centers like this are considered modern: So, all that needs to be done is putting your flat panel TV on top of a console TV and then play a fireplace DVD on it. MIND, BLOWN. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boozle061083 Posted January 23, 2016 Author Share Posted January 23, 2016 (edited) Well, everything is closed and we're snowed in so I got bored. Here is all the Flashbacks hooked up to the Zenith. I also have a video input switcher on the way to make switching out systems easier (My wife has been wanting to play SNES and N64 on it) I also bought a loose Flashback 2 online and it should be here next week (hopefully) I need my River Raid fix. The picture has horizontal and vertical display issues as well as just generally looking kind of gross all around. I was able to find the service menu code for this model and adjust everything out so it looks pretty good for all the systems which was sort of hard considering the Genesis flashback doesn't display at the same resolution as the others. I feel like I struck a happy medium however. Now I just need to dust off the NEC and I'll be pretty happy with everything. Edited January 23, 2016 by Boozle061083 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0078265317 Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 I had a floor zeenith 26" as a kid. Dies many years ago. Got rid of it. These are my current tvs. http://mvvg.blogspot.com/2016/01/my-tvs.html First one was free. Its a 13" tv/vcr combo. Rescued it from some property my dads owns. Belongs to our friend who died recently. He was helping us take care of the property. He said we could have the junk before he died. Still works surprisingly. The second was baught from bestbuy in 1990. Forgot to buy the warantee. Broke 2 years later and we had to pay 90 to fix it. Working great ever since. broke the coax of the back couple years ago. Not completely so my moms friend pried the cover off the back and we used heavy super glue and solder. Now it works great. Very strong. Third was 2100 dollars. Kinda expensive but that in 2005. Works great with nes and vintages. But no duckhunt on a rear projection like this. Mitsubishi ws65315. I swore once I got a hit in duckhunt but was just a fluke. Never happened again. And no hdmi on this guy. Only component, rca, and svideo, and 3 coax and 2 antenna for coax. Forgot what the third coax if for. And there is dvi but not meant for computers. Broke her last time I tried. But under warantee fixed for free. Still works 11 years later. The bravia is out main living room tv. Don't remember how much it cost. Got in 2010. The last picture is my hdtv coby 18.5 inches 1 hdmi, component, rca, svideo, and coax, and earphone jacks. Earphone jack is a little loose but the rest works great. Works with nes also. Got it from office depot for 169 dollars including tax and 2 years warantee. And inbetween the monitors I have. The staples one with usb ports is hdcp compatible so I can watch tv on it with a dvi to hdmi cable. The other monitor is not compatible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asaki Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 Now I just need to dust off the NEC and I'll be pretty happy with everything. I think you could plug a few more real consoles into it, though Or at least a Wii with the Homebrew Channel installed, so you can have emulators with real scanlines. One of these days I'd like to dig into the Wii port of DOSBox's source code, see if I can't get 240p mode to work. That would be interesting. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boozle061083 Posted January 24, 2016 Author Share Posted January 24, 2016 (edited) I think you could plug a few more real consoles into it, though Or at least a Wii with the Homebrew Channel installed, so you can have emulators with real scanlines. One of these days I'd like to dig into the Wii port of DOSBox's source code, see if I can't get 240p mode to work. That would be interesting. Well I've stopped using all my real consoles made before the N64 because I don't want to damage the cartridges or pin connectors. I have given thought to getting a HDMI to composite cable for my laptop since I long ago bought USB Retrolink versions of all the old system controllers and joysticks. I mainly just really dig the look and feel of the flashbacks. This reminds me, I do have a few things to add to the "thrift store finds" thread like a box of systems and games from a yard sale. It was a SNES, x2 controllers with Final Fight, Killer Instinct, Super Mario World and FX Racers. There was also a NES, x3 controllers with Double Dribble, Duck Tales, Metal Gear and a bunch of randoms. There was also a 2600 mini in there with one good joy and one bad one with no stick sleeve. It did have a lot of games however. I will go through them to see exactly what they where. I know Pitfall and Decathlon are in there for sure. Then my favorite part, as N64 with x2 controllers, the memory expansion pak and Donkey Kong 64, 007 Golden Eye, tons of random sports games and Conker's Bad Fur Day. (!!!) They wanted $75 for the whole box, but I talked them down to $50 based on them not wanting to haul it back inside. (edited for spelling/autocorrect) Edited January 24, 2016 by Boozle061083 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CGQuarterly Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 Well I've stopped using all my real consoles made before the N64 because I don't want to damage the cartridges or pin connectors. You seem like a nice guy, but this made me LOL. If you aren't going to play them, what's the point if they work or not? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boozle061083 Posted January 24, 2016 Author Share Posted January 24, 2016 You seem like a nice guy, but this made me LOL. If you aren't going to play them, what's the point if they work or not? Well it's quite simple really. It's the difference between keeping a classic car in the garage or driving it to work every day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+madman Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 You seem like a nice guy, but this made me LOL. If you aren't going to play them, what's the point if they work or not? Future AES collector. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CGQuarterly Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 Well it's quite simple really. It's the difference between keeping a classic car in the garage or driving it to work every day. I don't even know what to say without opening up a whole can of worms. Future AES collector. Right? I didn't know that Liquid Snake had an account here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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