Old School Early 80s Projectors (1 Viewer)

[MikeEckman]

When I was a kid, I remember seeing those really old front projectors where there was a large curved screen, and it would have a fold out drawer with a red, green, and blue light that would sit on the floor aimed at the screen. Does anyone know of any websites that have info on these types of sets?

I like reading about old technology and seeing pictures of "the next greatest thing" of the past!

 

[wayne-sun]

I don't know of any sites but on the same note, I was out with a buddy a couple of weeks ago and we stopped by a friend of his house and the guy was still using one of these! He said he is always replacing something on it but he has two more in his garage for parts. It was weird walking in and seeing that thing it was like "Wow back to the 80's"

 

[Chris Moe]

Do a search for Kloss Novabeam (or Nova Beam, can't remember). I believe Sony made some sets like this as well.

 

[Andy Goldstein]

henry kloss started up the advent speaker company in order to fund research for coming up with a projector tv. after selling a ridiculous number of large and small advents, he came out with the advent videobeam projector tv. he then went his own way (kloss novabeam) and kept making projectors.

ag.

 

[Kenneth Harden]

When we were looking to buy a new house a few years ago, we walked in to a house, and BAM! There was a old school projector like that.

Also, in one episode of 'Aquateen Hunger Force", Carl had a projector just like what we are describing.

I would love to see a good picture!

 

[MikeEckman]

Thats good info guys. I wasnt old enough to even begin to appreciate (or afford) anything resembling HT until the late 90s, and those old sets are just a hazy memory to me. If anyone has any more info or pics, that would be great!

 

[Kenneth Harden]

I wonder if you could make a new 'retro' one with a hi-quality projector and a good screen - but keep the wood grain!

 

[Chris Hood]

If anyone in the Phoenix Area wants to walk down memory lane, there are at least 4 or 5 working projectors of this type at McDuffy's (a sports bar) in Tempe... each complete with the old-school curved screen and all. In fact, now that I think about it, the place is actually a 'museum' of sorts... it appears they just add newer TV's and projectors, never removing the older ones... There has to be 100+ TV's in the place!

It's an HT museum!

 

[NickSo]

my uncle used to have one of those TVs!

 

[ChrisWiggles]

Mike, those are just CRT projection displays. They are still manufactured today, and remain (IMO) the reference display going. Very old sets float around out there, there are some neat designs, I have two CRT projectors sitting in my basement now, one is in use in my theater. Any CRT-based RPTV works the same way too.

 

[Jesse Skeen]

There's a drawing of one of those in the instruction manual to Hitachi's CED videodisc player (I got the machine from someone on Ebay in the box, never used, with a plug-in CORDED remote!) Apparently those were the first consumer sets to have video-in jacks.
I don't have the patience to deal with old TVs, but there's something about playing old equipment or recordings on a new TV and sound system- I watch CEDs from a 21-year old player on my somewhat-recent A/V setup, have a few of the early Discovision laserdiscs, and some old off-air TV recordings (though broadcasters had more regard for picture quality 25 years ago than they do now!)