SUPER Modern Television

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MJ1987
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SUPER Modern Television

Post by MJ1987 »

Check out this link:

http://money.cnn.com/2018/01/08/technol ... index.html

I'm thinking this might be my TV of the future. My family room space is so small and I really don't like the idea of a TV as a focal point of the room. Full disclosure, I'm bordering on one of those people who tries to stay as "period" as possible....but concealing the modern amenities is not below me :)

Also, I love kicking back with my beverage of choice and settling into a good show on NetFlix or a Yankees game at night, so forgoing TV is not an option. It appears as if the case this unit rolls into could easily be clad with chestnut or metal and made to look like something interesting and/or old. Also, it eliminates the need for a massive concealment (i.e. a TV behind salvaged shutters or cabinet doors, hanging on the wall).

Curious about folks' thoughts around here and if anyone has any "outside the box" suggestions on how to conceal electronics and/or other modern intrusions/amenities and maybe some photos, too!
Matt


I built a chimney for a comrade old;
I did the service not for hope or hire:
And then I travelled on in winter’s cold,
Yet all the day I glowed before the fire.


-Edwin Markham

phil
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Re: SUPER Modern Television

Post by phil »

the link got broken , it goes to ladies in bathing suits lol...

Nowadays everyone has a television set in their pocket.. I think that's where we are going.. Blind!

Here , I fixed the link... cool !

http://money.cnn.com/2018/01/08/technol ... index.html

1918ColonialRevival
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Re: SUPER Modern Television

Post by 1918ColonialRevival »

I heard about that. In a way, it reminds me of a projection tv in reverse.

That would definitely be popular with folks who want to have period rooms. I'm sure there are those who do not want a big honking flat-screen tv set in a room that is otherwise early 1800s Federal era.

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MJ1987
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Re: SUPER Modern Television

Post by MJ1987 »

phil wrote:the link got broken , it goes to ladies in bathing suits lol...

Nowadays everyone has a television set in their pocket.. I think that's where we are going.. Blind!

Here , I fixed the link... cool !

http://money.cnn.com/2018/01/08/technol ... index.html


Thanks!
Matt


I built a chimney for a comrade old;
I did the service not for hope or hire:
And then I travelled on in winter’s cold,
Yet all the day I glowed before the fire.


-Edwin Markham

CS in Low Hud
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Re: SUPER Modern Television

Post by CS in Low Hud »

Hi Matt,

I saw that, and had the same thought! I really hate a TV as the main visual centerpiece of a room... much like I hate the giant garage door as the main external visual centerpiece of a lot of modern home designs.

Your also right about the conventional method to hide a tv: I built a cabinet and used a swing out arm...
Image
Image

But the other thing you can do, is purchase a bright, short-throw HD projector with an HDMI input. These are small - maybe the size of a cablebox. I have the InFocus SP180, and it wasn't particularly expensive and is easily portable. This works great in a small room. You'll still need a signal receiving device (like a cable-box, Roku or computer), and a good long HDMI cable. You can project on a wall, if you have one clear enough, or use a free-standing collapsible screen. We do movie nights and set up the projection screen for that, giving us a max screen size of about 5' X 8' at about a 10' throw. A small external speaker helps tremendously too (the projector has one, but it's not very good). Best of all, when we're done, everything packs away out of sight.

Chris

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Gothichome
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Re: SUPER Modern Television

Post by Gothichome »

We here at Gothichome have the same problem, we’re to put and hide the tv. My solution so far is hide in storage. The role up, it’ll have to become old technology before I think I could afford one.
As far as hiding big screens i once saw (on Pinterest I think), some one had mounted theirs in a fancy picture frame and cycled fine art images in screen saver fashion. Thought that was a pretty nifty idea.

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Re: SUPER Modern Television

Post by phil »

who needs modern anyway ;-)
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JacquieJet
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Re: SUPER Modern Television

Post by JacquieJet »

Phil, that is awesome!!
1917-ish
Happy 100th birthday, house!!

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Re: SUPER Modern Television

Post by phil »

the TV is a Motorolla TV from about 1949 or so. I haven't attempted restoration yet or plugged it in.
we have a neat museum near here and they have a motorolla like it in the "tv room"
https://sparcradio.ca/
The radios on the shelf all work and it's just the tip of the iceberg I have a lot of neater ones, those just fit the shelf nicely.
the phone in the cubbyhole works, or did until I got my line cut. Now I can hook it up again or if I use voice over IP it might work but you can't call out because that won't work with pulse dialing. I'm too cheap to splurge on the land line right now. It has a loud bell.

the top two are Canadian Marconi radios with eye tubes. the top one uses that metal panel on the front as it's antenna. the second from the top has lamps that light the dial glass and it gives off this lovely green glow through the edges of the glass.

The third from the top is a radio with a home made case. they did such a good job at first I didn't realize it was home made. that one is a really old radio ( 1933 or so) but it just seems to get so many stations even without an antenna connected.

4th from top is a Detrola. it is special because it not only has the tuning eye it also has electric tuning. the buttons along the bottom operate a motor that makes it run the dial over to the station and you can set where the stations are.
The bottom one is another Canadian Marconi, a bit newer design but it works nicely. I restored the case, the cloth is original.

a lot of old TV' s went to the dump, many were wrecked by people trying to stick computers inside or turning them into fish tanks and other destructive things. Some of the early color TV's were still tube operated ( hollow state) but they are getting rare, Very few took to restoring them.

every old house should have at least one old radio.. I just went overboard because I love all the different case designs. It's industrial art, something severely lacking in our new appliances.. Obviously the design was more of a selling feature now. I wonder why the modern designers made everything so boring? It must say something about how we make choices when purchasing new items. Back in the day they were creating new designs so rapidly, every maker tried to outdo the next to have a fancier or more modern look. Some were changing the designs every few months so there are thousands of different ones to choose from.

If you go looking at TV's now you really dont' see any industrial art at all. In fact they are so boring we desire to hide them.

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Re: SUPER Modern Television

Post by Kashka-Kat »

Ive not had a TV since it went digital some years back. But am now thinking it might be nice to have an actual movie viewing spot instead of in front of computer. Will just have a 40 or 50 inch flat screen sitting on top of an old kitchen cabinet (turned living room storage piece/entertainment center). I dont see it as being any more obtrusive than a modern coffee maker or computer and IMHO a vast improvement over the big tube monstrosities of the 80s-90s.

Now if you are referring to the big black holes that people have up on their walls or above their fireplaces, those I would have to agree are not very attractive.

What I would love to get is one of those big old wooden radios - youve got some fine specimens Phil. How functional are they though? I seem to remember ours as having great sound but only got AM. Now AM radio pretty much sucks so it would have to be FM.

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