1997 SONY TRINITRON, Videoscope TV, DSS, Web TV Maximum Television commercial, Vintage SONY

SONY TRINITRON TV, the Videoscope giant projection TV, Power Cinema, Digital Satellite System, WebTV, and more. A Maximum Television commercial from 25 years ago. How much has changed? - How much is the same? - An interesting look back at a variety of SONY products of the mid 1990's. Copyright by SONY Corporation. Provided for educational and historical comment only.
(CHAP - hope you enjoy!) Run time: 7 minutes.

[@absolutely0bsolete330]

I still have a Sony Trin from 1996 works beautifully.

[@kennixox262]

The Sony Trinitron was the gold standard of analog CRT displays of its day. What's fun to watch about this 1997 video, the "Steve Jobs" glasses; I had a pair myself and a Trinitron with foot pedals on the stand and satellite speakers. The nice loft that is depicted in this video while very smart for the time with the modern and neo classical elements on how far style and design has changed. For me 1997 seems like yesterday and a lot of viewers probably were not born. The 1990s at least for me was a fantastic decade being in my 30's and having great fortune in my life . Now as I am older, I still feel very fortunate but how times have changed and those 27 or so years seem so long ago. My first HDTV was a 32 inch Trinitron, weighed a ton and took two men to haul it up the stairs into my TV room. It came with a separate outboard HDTV tuner connected to an outdoor antenna. In those days, around 1998, ABC had the most hours a week of HDTV programming. There was not a lot of it and cable had yet converted to HDTV for several more years. HDMI connections were not yet a thing and DVD players, had the three cables instead and not Blu Ray for a few more years - on a Sony Play Station 3. Now it is all streaming, broadcast and cable are pretty much dead and rarely watch anything on a disk.

[@devjock]

Realising 1997 was 25 years ago ;( Awesome screens though. Won't even think about playing 8 to 32 bit games on anything other than a nice CRT monitor.

[@TheRealJPhillips]

Wow. Hes living the life. Batchelor pad, entertainment system and all. This was next level at the time.

[@MistahJigglah]

Nothing, to this day, makes Mario or Sonic look as nice as a Trinitron.

[@DashZick]

nah sonic and mario is always looking good, but besides joking that's actually true because trinitrons has the crispest and nicest image quality compared to other crt tvs especially ones in PVMs

[@MistahJigglah]

@@DashZick I was actually jumping back and forth between Sega and SNES on my rack mounted Trinitron PVMs yesterday. I have a 3230, but I use it sparingly, that tube is quite literally priceless.

[@DashZick]

@@MistahJigglah omg i wasn't expecting a reply one year later, besides the war between genesis or mega drive and SNES is pointless two of those consoles have their own beauty and yet both look awesome on a nice trinitron tv or monitoe

[@paigeguitarplayer]

Crazy i still have a 1997 trinitron beast rotting in my moms basement haha its so damn heavy we havent thought about it hauling this 100 pound monster up the stairs lol. Used to game ps1 and ps2 on it as a kid. The nostalgia

[@ObiWanBillKenobi]

3:00 DVDs did much more for televisions than CDs did for music (or laserdiscs). With DVDs, customers could choose different audio tracks, which you could not do with VHS. That meant that anime fans no longer had to buy two copies to get subbed *and* dubbed. Foreign languages could be added, subtitles, including foreign language subtitles, could be turned on and off at will, and commentary audio could be added. It was a breakthrough.

[@marshalrando6767]

God I miss this tv. Used to watch my cousin play xbox 360 games on it. It was magic to my young mind. It was the coolest thing to look at.

[@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject]

Hi MarshalRando, thank you for your feedback on this. I miss my Trinitron too.... : ( VK, CHAP

[@DJKevinTV1]

I had no idea that Sony made a satellite dish. Interesting 🤔

[@oleo007]

It's a nice video, the speakers use Dolby pro logic,and this DVD use Dolby digital,it's a transition to new audio decoder,early days of DVD.Nothing can beat the Trini CRT.

[@yanni6556]

All that stuff was probably 20 grand

[@noroi228]

I was a kid in 1997 and I remember the Sony trinitron in the living room

[@tommytahmoreszadeh1158]

Sony was ahead of its time

[@versedbridge4007]

A 13 inch 1994 trinitron sits next to me, use it for tv as well as vhs and occasional gaming, a good set.

[@rajendersinghdhillon5413]

Great information on this video

[@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject]

Glad you liked it. : )

[@aylinchalabi]

In the past, the materials and workmanship were very high quality and elegant. We thought it would get better in the future, but the old products are still more elegant!

[@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject]

Hi @aylinchalabi, I love your use of the word "elegant" Yes, in many, many cases, very true! ~ Thanks! Victor, CHAP

[@frigusoris]

You can tell this was completely aimed at the middle aged guy with disposable income. Notice how the movie featured in the pause and slow mo shots was none other than "The Fifth Element". I wonder what's so great to pause and slow mo watch in that film hahaha

[@ERDude]

Still watching VHS on my 20" Trinitron VHS combo, LOVE IT!!!

[@ОлегШелухин-ь8э]

у меня всё ещё есть SONY KV-14V1K , купленный в 1997 году.

[@MariaJose-nv3tj]

In the following year, 1998, Sony launched the Wega Trinitron line with 100% flat screens and remained in the lead until August 2003 when it was surpassed by LG and in March 2006 they were surpassed by Samsung, which is the reference in TVs until today.

[@actuallyraycadag833]

What!? A smart tv from 90's so cool ❤❤

[@codycarreras4825]

Sony the powerhouse. Right about peak here. I had no idea about the Power Cinema VCR/TV, they made some crazy stuff.

[@tristangrice2064]

I have never found out about Sony Web TV until 2020 when I first looked at a promo for a Sony TiVo SVR-2000 on another video.

[@dreamcastninja88]

I love playing Dreamcast games on my Trinitron.

[@Shamsithaca]

Actually SONY trinitron was really really good. I miss that rich color and sound quality! I am going going to apply for this competition to win one!

[@ross-carlson]

People forget that a HiFi VCR rivaled the audio quality of CD's. In fact in the late 90's the band I was in did our recordings in ADAT, which was basically VCR's using digital tape for multi-track recording. Nothing consumer level at the time matched it.

[@kennixox262]

I forgot how made D-VHS machines, high definition videos on a VHS tape. Panasonic or one of the other VHS brand. Not sure if Sony did with their line of VHS machines. The Betamax had the Betamax - ED format which have a slightly better image. In the mid 1980's they also had Beta Hi Fi which was very high audio fidelity compared to the old linear track at the edge of the tape.

[@djsonic6533]

My Trinitrons looks just like the one on the video which was made in 1997. All my games look awesome using S-video.

[@fhdshdsjh5530]

I hope 4 by 3 never dies!

[@christianorthodoxy4769]

Awesome!

[@xentrix89]

I know how big that tv was for 1997 I was alive back then but I laughed so hard when he talks about maximum television then walks in this huge room in this mansion making the tv look so tiny its silly

[@olivierb7377]

Les écrans Sony Trinitron, c'était de véritables usines à gaz. ^^

[@laurasands8322]

It's tiny , you would need a pair of opera glasses to watch it from that settee.

[@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject]

Yes, you are probably right!

[@alenmilic1296]

Got those speakers set up, recently picked up and a bargain price of $15! Love to get a matching TV though, got one of the later FD series sets for now.

[@jesusberry4832]

Albert Wesker selling a SONY Trinitron machining television system

[@tommclain3335]

1997: me with a uhaul box of vhs and a 26” trinitron standard ratio.

[@The_Conspiracy_Analyst]

The Fifth Element!

[@Tomtycoon]

It's pretty lame that in a tv review, the image on the screen is clearly keyed in later

[@scoobyrex247]

I still have 2 sets of SAVA - 15. Bad ass

[@Haruki_Aikawa]

Oh boy! I hope I win the DVD player! :D!!!

[@yuglesstube]

The best TV at that time was the Trinitron. The Panasonic Quintrix was a close second. Nothing else came close. Analogue satellite TV via the Drake 600 was excellent. Digital QPSK was not nearly as good. Today our Samsung Frame beats the hell out of all of them. I'd go back to the 90s if I could. A kinder and gentler time. MAIL IN THE POSTCARD!

[@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject]

Hi Guy, thanks very much, very good information. ~ Victor

[@socaranectien1933]

What about the JVC D series!?

[@wg8561]

@Socaran Ectien I have a pristine jvc 32 D series it has beautiful image quality. The shadow mask definitely has a different look than the trinitrons. I really want to find a nice high end jvc pro monitor. Some people prefer them over the sony pvms.

[@yuglesstube]

@@wg8561 That's true. The JVC were superb. I saw them only in smaller sizes. Also Bang and Olufsen, but seldom seen.

[@wg8561]

@@yuglesstube yeah I came into a big score of sony pvm/bvms so hopefully I can trade my 14m4u for a nice jvc.

[@Lanier2369]

61 inch tube TV. That must have been really really expensive to buy. CRTs reached their limit around this time and I really don't think they could have gotten better.

[@frigusoris]

The 61 inch was a projection TV that used 3 single colour CRTs to create the image. They were generally only for commercial applications, like trade shows, etc.

[@Richo5566]

The biggest CRT was 42” and was made by Sony. Mitsubishi made a 40”. These sizes were rare due to the weight and cost.

[@sa3270]

I've got the 27 inch version of that TV on the same stand.

[@WiseGuy02]

A wise investment. I can build at my own pace. And by the time I buy the last component, my system is out of date.

[@alerg5862]

Именно какая модель? Кто знает, подскажите.Спасибо!

[@techno1721]

Nice, complete wireless 😜

[@AaaAaa-ly3on]

-Shut up and take my money!" -Oh, wait, it's 2022 now... Anyway - powerful stuff by Sony, he almost sold it to me!.. ;)

[@AJ-po6up]

Hehe What wouldn't I give if I could buy one new today. I would probably even pay the same price they cost in 1997.

[@LuisRodriguez-yb7sh]

​@@AJ-po6uplo mismo digo yo cuanto no daría por poder comprar un televisor nuevo de esos hoy en día esos televisores tienen una gran calidad de sonido que no tiene ningún TV actual

[@AJ-po6up]

@@LuisRodriguez-yb7sh También tienen colore extremadamente buenos y negros totales que solo los OLED mas caros pueden llegar tener. Hay unos videos de gente grabando en una tienda en la parte donde tenían todos los TVs por ahi cerca del 2004-2005 y la verdad duele ver todos los TVs nuevos en sus cajas, de todas las marcas y tamaños, es increíble que ya no existan, te hace querer poder viajar al pasado y comprarlos todos 😅

[@LuisRodriguez-yb7sh]

@@AJ-po6up enserió hay un video así podrías mandarme el link para verlo.......si es verdad tienen unos colores excelentes y reales nada de colores saturadisimos con las pantallas actuales.......si me imagino lo que debe doler ver todos esos TVs nuevos y en caja justamente pienso lo mismo que me dises yo aveces digo como quisiera volver al pasado y comprarme por lo menos unos 3 televisores crt de los de gama alta es triste pensar en eso por que realmente eran televisorores buenísimos capacitados para durar varios años pero pienso que eso mismo es lo que iban viendo las empresas que la gente comprara televisores más rápido

[@1pdonlon]

Not a single wire or cable to be seen... hilarious!

Sony when they were at their best

[@1pdonlon]

All those hard bare surfaces, plus the cavernous space, can't have provided a good listening environment. :-) The acoustics would have been terrible!

[@Ctrl-XYZ]

Back when Sony had thrown in the towel on Beta, and was selling VHS VCRs.

[@NintenDub]

Wow...Sony DVD video. It will be mine...oh yes, it will be mine. I really.miss the 90s. We really had a good thing going and we traded a lot of good things away..bringing everything digitally into the home, is why everything is saturated, and not fun anymore.and has severely damaged the value,culturally of just about everything now..music,movies,shows,books and video games all lost their value going into the new millennium. Now,.movie theaters are dying/dead, arcades died, music stores almost where extinct, live music and art are holding on but not by as much as 20 years ago. It all lost its value when everyone could steal it all and access it for free and now nobody wants to pay artists anymore. Sad saddd

[@nov2263]

So the conclusion here is that I, by description, am vintage.

[@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject]

Afriad so...

[@sideburn]

I always knew back then that the World Wide Web was a fad.

[@TECHNOGEEK20000]

I had a uncle that said the same thing....and here we are today. He used to say the Internet would never last.

[@sideburn]

@@TECHNOGEEK20000 😆

[@AJ-po6up]

I remember the World Wide Web and the Internet, apparently some nerds loved to use it to talk about nerdy things with other nerds on something called a BBS or "forums" and send something called an email. Boy I'm sure glad it was just a fad and it died quickly, I can't imagine what kind of damage it would made to the new generations.

[@sideburn]

@@AJ-po6up that’s how I made a living in the 80’s when I was 13. Pirating 8-bit games off BBS’s with my 300 baud modem and some phreaked calling card numbers, putting them on 51/4” floppies and selling them for 5 bucks a pop! I started early on the black market! 😂

[@mfbfreak]

Where are all the cables in that equipment rack?

[@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject]

Hi LimaVictor, perhaps hidden in the vertical risers? just a guess... ~ Victor, at CHAP

[@mikem9403]

Yeah, even the power cables were wireless! Amazing technology 🙂

[@AJ-po6up]

@@mikem9403 Dang Sony was truly ahead of its time huh! 😄Truly Maximum Television.

[@fujifrontier]

WHO is this guy??? I’ve seen him before and his voice is familiar

[@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject]

I do not know his name. Perhaps one of our other viewers or subscribers will be able to identify him. ~ VK

[@SSJfraz]

Has a super sized mansion..... goes with the smallest TV screen possible.

[@sa3270]

I'm sure that's a 32 inch screen.

[@XMguy]

Anyone know what werewolf was in that clip within this ad? Sony is the best.

[@chopinhoven]

where is ps1 ?

[@Zalibidas]

meh. i liked toshiba a series more lol.

[@jesusberry4832]

just shut up and take my money . . . . .

[@yobgow]

I'm 13 seconds in and I already hate that guy.

[@m3gAnac0nda]

True lol the guy's annoying af

[@fujifrontier]

Lmao it’s annoying ME because I can’t remember where he’s from, I’ve heard and seen him in another video before

[@heavenplus1]

Sony was ahead of its time.

[@mandrakethemadcoder]

I feel like I was just blown back into the 90's. That gettup. Woah.

[@MichiganPeatMoss]

Target market: The Yuppie set

[@240p_is_enough]

I love the sloppy edit just before he walks up the stairs. He's just standing there waiting for his cue lmao

[@FrankTech]

Pretty much had all those.. had a 36" XBR(heavy SOB), had the VCR and DSS system and years later the sony dvd player.. cool stuff

[@tehpanda64]

looks like sony forgot to mention gaming in their high end TV marketing material

[@jd-py5nm]

First tv I bought myself was at 19 with money from my first job and it was a trinitron 27inch.

[@BluRay_4]

I recently bought the power cinema vcr for only 40 bucks, it is a heavy beast and works with no problems

[@mutestingray]

Love that Fraserésque apartment.

[@8KilgoreTrout4]

Incredible nostalgia!

[@AJ-po6up]

This was truly nostalgic, I really miss CRTs. Thanks for bringing back the past and the awesomeness of CRTs even if just for a little while!.

[@valkhorn]

Digital reception. Analog tv.