The value of an old tv
December 2, 2007 6:01 PM Subscribe
Why is a used, over decade old, 9" color tv, selling for so much on Ebay?
We have a Sony 9" Trinitron tv that we planned to sell on Craigslist. We thought something bought in the early '90s would probably sell for $50 or less now. And we also thought that with the elimination of over-the-air analog signals in early 2009, this tv would be pretty much be unwanted.
Strangely, recent completed auctions on Ebay of this particular model have the selling price north of $250 (like this one).
Why are people willing to pay so much for such a small, old tv? Is there some use for it that can't be fulfilled with something new bought more recently?
We have a Sony 9" Trinitron tv that we planned to sell on Craigslist. We thought something bought in the early '90s would probably sell for $50 or less now. And we also thought that with the elimination of over-the-air analog signals in early 2009, this tv would be pretty much be unwanted.
Strangely, recent completed auctions on Ebay of this particular model have the selling price north of $250 (like this one).
Why are people willing to pay so much for such a small, old tv? Is there some use for it that can't be fulfilled with something new bought more recently?
Without seeing what's behind your broken link, I would say that b1tr0t has it.
CRT's are highly sought after in the realm of professional video production, because they offer the best color fidelity, best contrast ratios and best off-axis viewing. And because they aren't being manufactured anymore due to environmental concerns, people are on a mad dash to scoop up all of the last CRTs they can find.
My company recently paid $8500 for a "20 Sony Trinitron CRT. LCDs just plain suck, in terms of quality (we do color correction for video and film). Even the highest end eCinema LCD monitors (which will set you back around $40-$50,000) struggle to match the contrast of CRT displays.
posted by melorama at 6:19 PM on December 2, 2007
CRT's are highly sought after in the realm of professional video production, because they offer the best color fidelity, best contrast ratios and best off-axis viewing. And because they aren't being manufactured anymore due to environmental concerns, people are on a mad dash to scoop up all of the last CRTs they can find.
My company recently paid $8500 for a "20 Sony Trinitron CRT. LCDs just plain suck, in terms of quality (we do color correction for video and film). Even the highest end eCinema LCD monitors (which will set you back around $40-$50,000) struggle to match the contrast of CRT displays.
posted by melorama at 6:19 PM on December 2, 2007
Here's some good info on Wikipedia about why CRTs are preferred by video geeks.
posted by melorama at 6:23 PM on December 2, 2007
posted by melorama at 6:23 PM on December 2, 2007
My mom loved that TV, she had it in her kitchen until it broke. She may have been willing to pay that much. It had a great picture and was exactly the right size.
posted by ALongDecember at 7:27 PM on December 2, 2007
posted by ALongDecember at 7:27 PM on December 2, 2007
A lot of Sony products simply have design cachet. Then the product line finishes, people get nostalgic, and look - there's one on ebay! I think Sony are pretty renowned for making products which perhaps are not design classics, but are still unique enough, sexy enough, and of-that-time enough to inspire retrospective desirability.
Also, I work in post production and whilst I agree that CRTs are the pro choice for monitors, I don't think that argument applies to a +15yr old domestic kitchen TV.
(Bonus points for anyone who can give me a word for "of-that-time" enough)
posted by forallmankind at 8:17 PM on December 2, 2007
Also, I work in post production and whilst I agree that CRTs are the pro choice for monitors, I don't think that argument applies to a +15yr old domestic kitchen TV.
(Bonus points for anyone who can give me a word for "of-that-time" enough)
posted by forallmankind at 8:17 PM on December 2, 2007
@forallmankind: Chronologically archetypical?
posted by disillusioned at 8:34 PM on December 2, 2007
posted by disillusioned at 8:34 PM on December 2, 2007
I wish I had a small sony for playing wii in my room at college. I also wish I had a wii.
posted by oxford blue at 10:27 PM on December 2, 2007
posted by oxford blue at 10:27 PM on December 2, 2007
Dang, we need to get our old 20 inch plus Trinitron up on eBay. I had no idea!
posted by MadamM at 10:43 PM on December 2, 2007
posted by MadamM at 10:43 PM on December 2, 2007
CRT's are highly sought after in the realm of professional video production
Well, sure, but not crummy little consumer TV sets.
Sets of the vintage we're talking about presumably only have RF and composite input, not even Y/C ("S-Video"). Euro models might just possibly have the RGB pins connected on their SCART plug, but I'd be surprised.
A cruddy old-TV-grade composite monitor is a useful thing to have in a video suite, but only for the same reason that a set of crappy speakers that sound like the average home hi-fi are a good thing to have in a recording studio.
Pro video monitors have component input and full suites of proper manual setup controls (like a decent CRT computer monitor, not a cheap CRT TV). I cannot imagine what'd make an old portable Sony worth a few hundred bucks.
posted by dansdata at 11:43 PM on December 2, 2007
Well, sure, but not crummy little consumer TV sets.
Sets of the vintage we're talking about presumably only have RF and composite input, not even Y/C ("S-Video"). Euro models might just possibly have the RGB pins connected on their SCART plug, but I'd be surprised.
A cruddy old-TV-grade composite monitor is a useful thing to have in a video suite, but only for the same reason that a set of crappy speakers that sound like the average home hi-fi are a good thing to have in a recording studio.
Pro video monitors have component input and full suites of proper manual setup controls (like a decent CRT computer monitor, not a cheap CRT TV). I cannot imagine what'd make an old portable Sony worth a few hundred bucks.
posted by dansdata at 11:43 PM on December 2, 2007
I have one of these, and I used it to effectively demonstrate the difference in video quality between a computer display and an analog CRT display when driven by a normal NTSC video camera input.
There are some scan conversion artifacts that show up in computer displays that do not show up in the analog CRT.
My former employer was complaining about video quality on a large, sunlight-readable LCD and I had to demonstrate where the problems were actually coming from. The Sony was extremely useful, since it has a CV input.
The Sony happens to be the only TV I own, since I don't watch TV. It's just a video display accessory and quite a good one, at that. Lovely size for lab work such as mine.
posted by FauxScot at 5:58 AM on December 3, 2007
There are some scan conversion artifacts that show up in computer displays that do not show up in the analog CRT.
My former employer was complaining about video quality on a large, sunlight-readable LCD and I had to demonstrate where the problems were actually coming from. The Sony was extremely useful, since it has a CV input.
The Sony happens to be the only TV I own, since I don't watch TV. It's just a video display accessory and quite a good one, at that. Lovely size for lab work such as mine.
posted by FauxScot at 5:58 AM on December 3, 2007
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 6:14 PM on December 2, 2007