CRT Fetish Thread

Mega

Cheng's Errand Boy
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20L5 sold for $460 + shipping

Damn these things are going UP!

http://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/272076901346

Seems like an auction that got out of hand. That's kind of too much for the worst of the Sony HD pro monitors and a gamble for a CRT that may very well be worn out. At least with a BVM you know what you're getting with the hours counter + the extensive BVM geometry/convergence controls can improve the picture on an aging set.
 

wyo

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Seems like an auction that got out of hand. That's kind of too much for the worst of the Sony HD pro monitors and a gamble for a CRT that may very well be worn out. At least with a BVM you know what you're getting with the hours counter + the extensive BVM geometry/convergence controls can improve the picture on an aging set.

Man, I need to check out a BVM! My 20L5 looks great to me. It's maybe even a little too great. The super hi def CRTs look rather clinical. I prefer the softer picture on my 20M2U or a nice vivid Panasonic tube.

I was watching this myself as this is the exact model PVM I have- that end price is just unreal.

Supply and demand I guess but that price is more than a little insane.
 

BanishingFlatsAC

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Man, I need to check out a BVM! My 20L5 looks great to me. It's maybe even a little too great. The super hi def CRTs look rather clinical. I prefer the softer picture on my 20M2U or a nice vivid Panasonic tube.



Supply and demand I guess but that price is more than a little insane.

BVMs can be deceiving. Even though it has hours listed on the menu, well maintained BVMs had tube swaps done every 30k hours by a Sony tech. I had a top of the line BVM that I gifted to a friend that had 80k hours but the tube had been swapped twice, so it was basically brand new. My favorite thing about the BVM is that you can make presets for every system, and never have to readjust the setting when you switch consoles.
 

NucaCola

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I have a question.
My friend and I are picking up a PVM 2530 25 inch next monday and I was wondering what is the cut off for too many hours on a PVM where it's not worth it anymore?
 

BanishingFlatsAC

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I have a question.
My friend and I are picking up a PVM 2530 25 inch next monday and I was wondering what is the cut off for too many hours on a PVM where it's not worth it anymore?

You're not going to know the hours on a pvm as they don't keep track of them like BVMs do. I was always told to bring up the osd and see if there were streaks coming from the white letter on the black background. If that's the case, walk away.
 

NucaCola

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You're not going to know the hours on a pvm as they don't keep track of them like BVMs do. I was always told to bring up the osd and see if there were streaks coming from the white letter on the black background. If that's the case, walk away.

Thanks for the quick reply and tip, I'll keep that in mind!
 

Jibbajaba

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BVMs can be deceiving. Even though it has hours listed on the menu, well maintained BVMs had tube swaps done every 30k hours by a Sony tech. I had a top of the line BVM that I gifted to a friend that had 80k hours but the tube had been swapped twice, so it was basically brand new.

I feel like my BVM counts standby time (when the tube is off) in that hours total.

My favorite thing about the BVM is that you can make presets for every system, and never have to readjust the setting when you switch consoles.

I should really figure out how to do that.
 

NucaCola

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Do laserdisks look good on PVM?
I'm thinking about eventually collecting laserdisks.
 

DPCameron

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Apologies if this is the wrong thread for this question, but is the PVM really that good?

I picked up a B&O MX8000 a few years ago and to my eyes, it's outstanding. I've seen reviews stating it image processing isn't quite up to scratch, but I feel that even with that remedied, the picture quality can't get that much better. Is that just a flat-out wrong assumption?

It's difficult to tell with images on the internet as opposed to real life, so I'm curious. Would it really be worth the price to switch to a PVM?
 

Jibbajaba

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Apologies if this is the wrong thread for this question, but is the PVM really that good?

I picked up a B&O MX8000 a few years ago and to my eyes, it's outstanding. I've seen reviews stating it image processing isn't quite up to scratch, but I feel that even with that remedied, the picture quality can't get that much better. Is that just a flat-out wrong assumption?

It's difficult to tell with images on the internet as opposed to real life, so I'm curious. Would it really be worth the price to switch to a PVM?

Does your B&O have a scart RGB input? PVMs are popular here in the states because we never had consumer-level TVs with RGB inputs.
 

DPCameron

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Does your B&O have a scart RGB input? PVMs are popular here in the states because we never had consumer-level TVs with RGB inputs.

Yes, it does. A lot of TVs here have that from that time. So, is it just the connection that is desirable? If so, I completely understand that as it looks amazing, but surely there are cheaper sets with SCART in America. No?
 

skate323k137

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We never had SCART at all in the states. PVMs do look a little better than consumer sets regardless but like was said earlier a lot of us seek them out mainly to have RGB to begin with.
 

DPCameron

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We never had SCART at all in the states. PVMs do look a little better than consumer sets regardless but like was said earlier a lot of us seek them out mainly to have RGB to begin with.

That makes sense. Thanks for that. I'll be quite happy hanging on to the beautiful B&O then... Plus, the sound is incredible from it!

If I ever come across a PVM in the wild, I'll be quite interested to check it out. I'm going into NHK next year, maybe they have some in the basement somewhere hahaha.
 

tacoguy

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Yes, it does. A lot of TVs here have that from that time. So, is it just the connection that is desirable? If so, I completely understand that as it looks amazing, but surely there are cheaper sets with SCART in America. No?

BVM's will give you the absolute best color reproduction, sharpness, and the thickest scanlines ever. Never seen a b&o tv but from what i've heard, they are some really nice tv's. It's a shame they didn't release them here in the states.

Anyways some people actually prefer the overall picture that the b&o produce vs. a pvm/bvm.
 

MtothaJ

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Apologies if this is the wrong thread for this question, but is the PVM really that good?

I picked up a B&O MX8000 a few years ago and to my eyes, it's outstanding. I've seen reviews stating it image processing isn't quite up to scratch, but I feel that even with that remedied, the picture quality can't get that much better. Is that just a flat-out wrong assumption?

It's difficult to tell with images on the internet as opposed to real life, so I'm curious. Would it really be worth the price to switch to a PVM?

I have several late model Sony Trinitron TV's with RGB as well as two BVM's.
To be honest, image wise the consumer TV's are really excellent and in addition offer great usability (built in stereo speakers, extensive options menu + service menu, remote control, standard scart inputs etc.). The BVM's I have appear to offer a slight step up in term of image clarity and scanline thickness but bear in mind that it my case it is not exactly an apples to apples comparison since the consumer set I use the most has 21" display while the BVM's have 14" and 9" displays and both BVM's have HR Trinitron tubes.
IMO given the current prices on PVM / BVM's and especially those with displays larger than say 14" to make it worth your while and I would only really consider the HR Trinitron tube models. I don't feel the standard ones add any value vs a quality consumer set and they are likely to be in an overall poorer condition too.
 

Mega

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The BVMs are a bit too "perfect" but they have grown on me. I have two standard BVMs, a lower end 20G1U and a 20F1U. Got the G first at a pretty low price but it has signs of aging and 76k hours. Then the F came along with very low hours and I couldn't pass on it. It's quite sharper than the first BVM.

I also just got a great deal on a JVC DT-V1710CG, a 17" HD CRT. I still need to tweak color settings as it looks a step below the BVM. 240p content looks good although softer than a Sony. 480p games look great, very clear next to 480i nastiness. It's the smoothest I have ever seen full progressive games running.

My next goal is a 20" monitor with 500~ TVL because it looks distinctly different from the high-end monitors. More like a classic arcade display.
 
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xsq

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I'll be quite happy hanging on to the beautiful B&O then... Plus, the sound is incredible from it!
i'll add to what everyone already said: The Beovision CRTs are pretty rad. Keep it if your tube looks good, I tried a couple that had too many hours and were whining or the picture looked fuzzy. But a friend has one in good shape and it's great to play on (even though my friend only uses it to watch TV :rolleyes:). I certainly wouldn't dish out a lot more money to get a PVM/BVM if you can easily pick up a good consumer CRT instead.

Do you use the "diffuser" glass btw?
 

GohanX

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Do laserdisks look good on PVM?
I'm thinking about eventually collecting laserdisks.
It depends. A ld player looks best through composite with a set with a great comb filter, and my pvm does not so it doesn't look great. My ld player has a decent svideo out, so it looks better, and it I run it through an external device such as an Exton converter or a dvd recorder with a great comb filter make it look great. Make sure you turn sharpness down.

Late model consumer Trinitrons have excellent comb filters, and are probably the best for ld playback.
 

DPCameron

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i'll add to what everyone already said: The Beovision CRTs are pretty rad. Keep it if your tube looks good, I tried a couple that had too many hours and were whining or the picture looked fuzzy. But a friend has one in good shape and it's great to play on (even though my friend only uses it to watch TV :rolleyes:). I certainly wouldn't dish out a lot more money to get a PVM/BVM if you can easily pick up a good consumer CRT instead.

Do you use the "diffuser" glass btw?

Yea, I never took it off. Well, I did to see how it looked, but it didn't improve things enough to warrant it. I guess that's where my question came from in the first place.

The general consensus seems to be that everyone likes a good (RGB) or great consumer model, but loves their PVM. However, it becomes hard to recommend the PVM if you already own a good or great CRT. I'm still interested in putting one side to side with the B&O, but the only ones I find around my way are the 9 inch field monitor ones (and they're expensive).

Also, DVDs look AMAZING on the MX8000, I'm sure LDs would too. This, I think, explains the difference between the consumer and PVM.
 

Stellarola

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Anyone know of any economical options for a SCART switch box...stateside? Options appear to be extremely limited. I was considering purchasing an 8 or 10-port DSUB15 switch box (KVM) with some additional adapters to convert SCART to DSUB15.

I'm curious what everyone is doing here for their setup with multiple consoles to a single monitor.

-stell
 
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