CRT Fetish Thread
- Thread starter theMot
- Start date
I had a 14" BVM shipped over from Germany to Poland via one of the big courier companies. It came in a cardboard box which was strapped to a wooden pallet. The pallet was moved around with a pallet cart and IMHO this is one of the better ways to transport these monitors since there is far less risk of the item being dropped / mishandled than when placed in a parcel.
- Joined
- May 3, 2005
- Posts
- 490
I had a 14" PVM sent to me for $50 shipping. $100 total. I bought it from someone who ships large items often. They didn't have to deal with the high cost of packing materials, unlike having UPS or FedEX pack and ship for you. That can be costly.
ChopstickSamurai
I have earned the, right to PM Rot.,
- Joined
- Sep 18, 2003
- Posts
- 2,188
I once had a 19" PVM shipped to me in one of those flimsy 20" moving boxes you can buy at Wal-Mart and padded with newspaper. Needless to say it did not make it through UPS in one piece. 
KyaDash
Crazed MVS Addict
- Joined
- Apr 16, 2013
- Posts
- 140
Sounds like how Tekyard packed mine.
I've had two 20" BVMs and a 14" PVM delivered to me. The first BVM came in an enormous box with a huge amount of bubble wrap, no damage.
The second BVM came in a somewhat smaller box with a layer of bubble wrap and a layer of styrofoam. The front bezel was partially damaged/loose but thankfully the monitor was intact and I got a partial refund.
The small PVM was lightly packed in styrofoam and had permanent screen damage, probably the aperture grille. I tried saving it as I researched the problem but had to send it back. Still lost a bunch of money on return shipping.
I think the cheapest viable option that won't damage the CRT is to have it shipped with tons of bubble wrap. If you're buying, insist to any seller that they do that and not skimp on the wrapping. Safest option (besides self pickup of course), is freight shipment on a pallet. But this may also be very expensive.
The second BVM came in a somewhat smaller box with a layer of bubble wrap and a layer of styrofoam. The front bezel was partially damaged/loose but thankfully the monitor was intact and I got a partial refund.
The small PVM was lightly packed in styrofoam and had permanent screen damage, probably the aperture grille. I tried saving it as I researched the problem but had to send it back. Still lost a bunch of money on return shipping.
I think the cheapest viable option that won't damage the CRT is to have it shipped with tons of bubble wrap. If you're buying, insist to any seller that they do that and not skimp on the wrapping. Safest option (besides self pickup of course), is freight shipment on a pallet. But this may also be very expensive.
My_Anal_Fissure
n00b
- Joined
- Nov 12, 2015
- Posts
- 39
Yeah I ended up finding a 20" Sony PVM one in LA for $100. Nice monitor, however I'm seeing a little flicker on the top 1/2" or so of the picture. Only happens in certain parts of games. Any other PVM users see this?
Not quite the same thing but my BVM with 70k hours has a subtle waviness that goes down the screen. It's hard to see unless I bring my face close to the screen and really pay attention. Easiest to see on a dark screen with bright letters because the distortion creeps down the letters. I thinks it's old capacitors (which may also contribute to its pitched hum).
Rigged up the tally light on my BV14M4DE today:
Its very simple, basically used this pinout for the remote connector: http://crawley.slyip.com/blog/tech/2005/04/for-mid-90s-vintage-monitor-sony-pvm.html and wired up a switch to the Tally and GND pins:
No real point to this but its kind of fun to have it working
Its very simple, basically used this pinout for the remote connector: http://crawley.slyip.com/blog/tech/2005/04/for-mid-90s-vintage-monitor-sony-pvm.html and wired up a switch to the Tally and GND pins:
No real point to this but its kind of fun to have it working
SudoShinji
Zero's Tailor
- Joined
- Mar 9, 2014
- Posts
- 554
Rigged up the tally light on my BV14M4DE today:
View attachment 31135
Its very simple, basically used this pinout for the remote connector: http://crawley.slyip.com/blog/tech/2005/04/for-mid-90s-vintage-monitor-sony-pvm.html and wired up a switch to the Tally and GND pins:
View attachment 31136
No real point to this but its kind of fun to have it working
That's really cool, I would love to do that.
You can give it a try with something as simple as a paperclip.
In terms of uses for the light, I figure it would be cool to have a circuit which would turn the light on after say 15min of no activity on the inputs.
Sometimes what happens is that after finishing a gaming session one turns of the console, but forgets about turning of the monitor (sure there are a few lights on the front but they are not that visible) and the monitor stays on unnecessarily.
Having this light come on would be a nice reminder to turn it off and could prolong the life of the monitor.
Any ideas on a simple solution on how to implement this?
munchiaz
Robert Garcia's Butler
- Joined
- Nov 13, 2011
- Posts
- 1,299
aaronmjr
Mr. Big's Thug
- Joined
- Jun 5, 2014
- Posts
- 203
FINALLY getting settled into my new place and was able to take my XM29 home last night and give it a try! First impressions:
-Color is awesome. Like better than my 2530 even. It's incredibly vibrant.
-Geometry via remote control is super awesome. This monitor seems to be in good shape with nothing going on that can't be adjusted away.
-Sharpness is not quite on par with my 20M4U which is also 800 lines, but it's close. I'm not by any means complaining.
-Scanlines are nice and thick, and being a shadow mask display, everything feels a little more organic, less sterile like a high TV line Trinitron can look.
-Screen size is pretty perfect.
I took these pictures really late last night after a couple beers and zero patience. I'm hoping to get some better ones as I try different games on it. Pictures do no justice as always. Also, on the chaos emerald picture it looks like there a big spot of discoloration but it's not there in real life.
-Color is awesome. Like better than my 2530 even. It's incredibly vibrant.
-Geometry via remote control is super awesome. This monitor seems to be in good shape with nothing going on that can't be adjusted away.
-Sharpness is not quite on par with my 20M4U which is also 800 lines, but it's close. I'm not by any means complaining.
-Scanlines are nice and thick, and being a shadow mask display, everything feels a little more organic, less sterile like a high TV line Trinitron can look.
-Screen size is pretty perfect.
I took these pictures really late last night after a couple beers and zero patience. I'm hoping to get some better ones as I try different games on it. Pictures do no justice as always. Also, on the chaos emerald picture it looks like there a big spot of discoloration but it's not there in real life.
- Joined
- Feb 7, 2002
- Posts
- 8,214
In case you guys are interested, I had some folks comment about the monitor stand that I am using with the 14L5 PVM in my most recent Youtube video.
It's an Alsop Metal Art Jr monitor stand:
http://www.allsop.com/monitor-stands/metal-art-jr-pearl-black
It's perfect for a 13 or 14 inch CRT. Sells for around $20 to $25.
They also make a wide version:
http://www.allsop.com/monitor-stands/metal-art-monitor-stand-large-black
That one is wide enough to fit a 13 inch monitor and a pair of smaller desktop speakers on each side. I definitely wouldn't try to put a 20 inch monitor on there, though.
They have a couple other designs too:
http://www.allsop.com/monitor-stands/
It's an Alsop Metal Art Jr monitor stand:
http://www.allsop.com/monitor-stands/metal-art-jr-pearl-black
It's perfect for a 13 or 14 inch CRT. Sells for around $20 to $25.
They also make a wide version:
http://www.allsop.com/monitor-stands/metal-art-monitor-stand-large-black
That one is wide enough to fit a 13 inch monitor and a pair of smaller desktop speakers on each side. I definitely wouldn't try to put a 20 inch monitor on there, though.
They have a couple other designs too:
http://www.allsop.com/monitor-stands/
Last edited:
texaspowtapa
n00b
- Joined
- Jan 29, 2015
- Posts
- 18
sorry but the nec XM29 is 600 lines
and seriously, the picture isn't even better than some consumer tv sets that i have already see
extremely overrated monitor
and seriously, the picture isn't even better than some consumer tv sets that i have already see
extremely overrated monitor
aaronmjr
Mr. Big's Thug
- Joined
- Jun 5, 2014
- Posts
- 203
sorry but the nec XM29 is 600 lines
and seriously, the picture isn't even better than some consumer tv sets that i have already see
extremely overrated monitor
Nice trolling. It's well known that the XM29 is 800 lines, even if the service manual says otherwise. It's been measured. As far as the picture quality goes, that's subjective. If you think it sucks, no-one can tell you otherwise. Have you ever seen one in real life? Or are you just judging by screenshots people take? I have had my fair share of RGB CRT's, ranging from 560TVL to 800TVL, and the XM29 is very comparable to my 800TVL PVM-20M4U. My late (2004) model consumer Samsung shadow mask set with an RGB>Component transcoder doesn't hold a candle to it in terms of sharpness and color and it's a nice set.
Is the XM29 overrated? Absolutely. It is the earthbound of CRT's. It is not worth the price it commands. But it does have a REALLY nice picture, and in my opinion is only eclipsed by the L5 line of PVM's (which top out at 19 inches viewable) and obviously BVM's. It's a great multiscan monitor that's built well and has some awesome features. It's also big enough to be used as a livingroom display which you can't say about most other RGB CRT's. That's my opinion at least!
Last edited:
- Joined
- Feb 7, 2002
- Posts
- 8,214
sorry but the nec XM29 is 600 lines
and seriously, the picture isn't even better than some consumer tv sets that i have already see
extremely overrated monitor
That is why this monitor is still in high demand and still it's biggest selling feature. The fact that it can sync to both 15khz and 31khz makes it hugely compatible with a wide variety of game consoles, retro computers and even arcade PCBs. Something that few monitors (and more or less no consumer TVs) regardless of size or price can hold a candle to.
- Joined
- Sep 14, 2011
- Posts
- 1,047
Only real problem with XM29 is they die fast. Anybody here try to do a cap kit on one? I've had two, gave away the first one and now am having problems with my 2nd. Taking off the housing looks like it's going to be the worst...