My Retro TVs
112 points
4 hours ago
| 13 comments
| myretrotvs.com
| HN
deivid
2 hours ago
[-]
Some years ago I got hit by the retro TV bug and made one for my dad's 50th birthday [0].

It's fairly simple to put a Pi inside a tv and hook it up, but it does feel almost like the real thing

[0]: https://blog.davidv.dev/posts/revamping-an-old-tv-as-a-gift/

reply
throw0101a
3 hours ago
[-]
If anyone is interested in seeing the real thing, there's an 'old TVs' museum in Toronto, Canada with a bunch:

* https://mztv.com

* Virtual: https://mztv.com/tour/

reply
fanatic2pope
3 hours ago
[-]
Wow, Moses Znaimer was a cornerstone of my early media consumption with CityTV and MuchMusic. Next time I am in Toronto I am definitely checking this out. Thank you.
reply
actionfromafar
2 hours ago
[-]
Second that
reply
kbrannigan
2 hours ago
[-]
I just realized that we went from Knob turning -> Channel Flipping -> Infinite Scroll.

It just that with a limited set of channels, we just watch whatever was most interesting.

With Infinite scrolling you're always hoping for something better that might come.

reply
alnwlsn
1 hour ago
[-]
Also a good example at how technology has made things slower. An analog TV can change channels mid-frame; try that on a digital TV and you're met with a 0.5 to 1 second delay, just like on this site. It's not much, but it adds up.
reply
MisterTea
1 hour ago
[-]
I remember coming home from school and tuning in to the Disney afternoon. When it was over, there wasn't really anything else on so you turned the TV off and did something else like go outside or do homework (okay, that last one was a lie.) Same thing with Saturday morning cartoons, I think maybe American Gladiator was the last thing a kid would want to watch before noon and again, turn TV off and do something else. Though there was the A-team and MacGyver at some point.
reply
Klonoar
2 hours ago
[-]
If you believe in stereotypes, men were always on infinite scroll.
reply
disillusioned
2 hours ago
[-]
Oooh, this is like a rebirth of YouTube Time Machine, which went defunct awhile back. Ads end up being my favorite... they're such a weird bit of the zeitgeist: prices, style, attention seeking techniques... so interesting.
reply
1970-01-01
28 minutes ago
[-]
They forgot the twang of a degauss coil when powering on those 90s and 00s flatscreens.
reply
readdit
3 hours ago
[-]
I'm prone to nostalgia and love projects like this. It's a very unique feeling that's hard to describe. I wonder why we feel these things for the past we've experienced.
reply
ivape
2 hours ago
[-]
Because it’s the closest thing to proof that people truly do live entirely different realities. Whoever you were staring at those shows at that age is simple not you now and can never be you again. It’s almost supernatural. If you follow this line of thinking, it’s possible to live entirely different existences, almost in another body (you can take that however far you want, reincarnation, life after death, being unplugged from the simulation, etc).

It’s a mystical way of asking “what exactly was the past really and how transient am I now at this exact moment?”.

reply
pdxandi
1 hour ago
[-]
I just realized I was listening to news of the 911 attacks in the background for at least 20 minutes. Then heard the sound of static as it changed to a different stream. Super cool, I love this.
reply
lacoolj
2 hours ago
[-]
more addicting than cookie clicker. good god

someone give me the strength to CTRL+F4

reply
JCM9
3 hours ago
[-]
This is great. Commercials brought back memories.
reply
chrisco255
3 hours ago
[-]
Tough to use on mobile.
reply
ishan_kunam
3 hours ago
[-]
very cool but a bit awkward to use on mobile
reply
pcdoodle
1 hour ago
[-]
There goes my afternoon
reply
mainecoder
3 hours ago
[-]
I love this
reply