« BackMy Retro TVsmyretrotvs.comSubmitted by the-mitr 17 days ago
  • deivid 17 days 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/

    • throw0101a 17 days 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/

      • fanatic2pope 17 days 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.

        • actionfromafar 17 days ago

          Second that

      • kbrannigan 17 days 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.

        • alnwlsn 17 days 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.

          • MisterTea 17 days 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.

            • beenBoutIT 17 days ago

              It's post-peak tech. Channel flipping is the ideal format for channels and other content that can take up a whole screen.

              • Klonoar 17 days ago

                If you believe in stereotypes, men were always on infinite scroll.

                • undefined 17 days ago
                  [deleted]
              • disillusioned 17 days 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.

                • readdit 17 days 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.

                  • ivape 17 days 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?”.

                  • 1970-01-01 17 days ago

                    They forgot the twang of a degauss coil when powering on those 90s and 00s flatscreens.

                    • undefined 17 days ago
                      [deleted]
                      • pdxandi 17 days 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.

                        • JCM9 17 days ago

                          This is great. Commercials brought back memories.

                          • _spduchamp 17 days ago

                            You might also like EXPTV https://exptv.org/

                            • undefined 17 days ago
                              [deleted]
                              • agcat 17 days ago

                                Such a cool project! took me back to early 2000 days of watching tv

                                • lacoolj 17 days ago

                                  more addicting than cookie clicker. good god

                                  someone give me the strength to CTRL+F4

                                  • chrisco255 17 days ago

                                    Tough to use on mobile.

                                    • ishan_kunam 17 days ago

                                      very cool but a bit awkward to use on mobile

                                      • pcdoodle 17 days ago

                                        There goes my afternoon

                                        • undefined 17 days ago
                                          [deleted]
                                          • mainecoder 17 days ago

                                            I love this