I Can’t Believe How Much I Paid For This…

Linus Tech Tips

9 Mar 202414:34

Summary

TLDRIn this nostalgic exploration, the Vidam Magic FP60 CRT projector from Sony is showcased, a relic from the 1980s with a hefty price tag and a unique design. It's portable, has a built-in Betamax player, and a microphone input. Despite its dimness and outdated technology, the FP60 was a game-changer for its time, offering a single tube for color projection and a long-lasting, durable display. The video delves into the projector's technical aspects, its use in gaming, and its eventual obsolescence as lighter, brighter models took over the market.

Takeaways

📽️ The Sony Vidam Magic FP60 is a portable CRT projector with a built-in Betamax player.
💰 Introduced in 1984 at a price of $3,000, its value would be approximately $9,000 today.
🎒 It came with a carrying bag and a microphone input for projecting voice, but was more luggable than portable.
📺 The FP60 had advantages over other mid-80s presentation options, offering larger screen size and durability.
🎮 It was used for gaming, showing minimal latency due to its CRT nature.
🔍 The projector's brightness was around 2.2 nits, which is dim compared to modern standards.
🌟 CRT projectors were known for their long tube life, often rated for around 10,000 hours.
🔧 The FP60 used a single electron gun with a beam index tube, which was innovative for its time.
📹 Despite its drawbacks, CRT projectors had benefits like better black levels and flesh tones compared to LCD and DLP options.
🚀 The last CRT projector, the Zenith Pro 1200 X, was released in 2001, marking the end of CRT projectors' era.
🌐 Modern projectors have significantly improved in brightness and weight compared to CRT projectors.

Q & A

What is the Vidam Magic FP60 from Sony?
-The Vidam Magic FP60 is a portable CRT projector from Sony that includes a carrying bag, microphone input, and a built-in Betamax player. It uses a single tube to produce a color image, unlike most other CRT projectors that use three tubes.
How much did the Vidam Magic FP60 cost when it was first introduced?
-The introductory price for the Vidam Magic FP60 was $3,000 in 1984, which would be approximately $9,000 in today's currency.
Who was a notable co-brander and user of the FP60?
-Avon, the cosmetics giant, co-branded the FP60 and deployed it to company representatives across the United States.
What are the advantages of the FP60 over other mid-80s presentation options?
-The FP60 had major advantages in terms of screen size, durability, and convenience compared to other options like CRTs on AV carts or larger projectors.
What is the latency like when playing games on the FP60?
-The latency is minimal, as it's a CRT projector. The only additional latency compared to looking directly into a CRT is the speed of light to the screen.
What is the brightness level of the FP60?
-The FP60 gets about 2.2 nits, which is relatively dim compared to modern standards, but it's the brightest CRT the reviewer has ever seen.
How does the FP60's single electron gun with a beam index tube work?
-The FP60 uses a single electron gun that modulates the beam strength, has a fourth phosphor stripe, and a photo multiplier tube captures the result. A decoder circuit checks and adjusts the colors on the fly.
What are the drawbacks of the FP60's design?
-The design has drawbacks like inferior contrast, but it offers benefits like brighter images, no convergence problems, and lower sensitivity to magnetic interference.
Why did CRT projectors eventually fall out of fashion?
-CRT projectors were replaced by lighter, brighter models, even if it meant sacrificing a little bit of image quality. The last CRT projector came out in 2001.
What are the benefits of using a CRT projector over LCD and DLP options that started hitting the market?
-CRT projectors offered better black levels, better flesh tones, no pixelation, and exceptionally long tube life, with most rated for around 10,000 hours compared to 1 or 2,000 hours for LCD and DLP projectors.
How does the FP60 perform when watching movies?
-The FP60 is not great for watching movies due to its dimness and poor contrast, but it does offer better black levels and flesh tones compared to LCD and DLP projectors.

Outlines

00:00

📺 Introducing the Vidam Magic FP60 CRT Projector

The script begins with an introduction to the Vidam Magic FP60, a portable CRT projector from Sony. It highlights its features, such as a carrying bag, microphone input, and a built-in Betamax player. The video's host, dressed as a 1980s traveling salesman, discusses the high price of the projector in 1984, which would be equivalent to around $9,000 today. The script also mentions Avon's co-branding of the FP60 for business presentations and compares it to other mid-80s presentation options, emphasizing its advantages in screen size, durability, and convenience.

05:00

🎮 Gaming with the FP60 and CRT Latency

The host explores the latency of the FP60 when playing games like the NES, noting the minimal delay compared to a direct CRT screen. The conversation includes humorous banter about the game's performance and the challenges of setting up the projector in a dark environment. The script also delves into the technical aspects of the FP60's CRT, explaining how it uses a single electron gun with a beam index tube and a photomultiplier tube to produce color images, which was an innovation at the time.

10:03

🎬 Watching Movies and the Decline of CRT Projectors

The script discusses the limitations of the FP60 when watching movies, comparing the quality to that of a Betamax tape and the degradation of the tape itself. It contrasts the FP60's performance with a DVD, noting improvements in aspect ratio and image quality. The host reflects on the advantages of CRT projectors, such as better black levels, flesh tones, and long tube life, despite their decline in popularity due to the rise of LCD and DLP projectors. The script concludes with a mention of the last CRT projector produced in 2001 and a comparison to modern projectors, highlighting the advancements in technology.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Portable CRT Projector

A CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) projector designed for portability, such as the Vidam Magic FP60 from Sony, which includes a carrying bag and a built-in Betamax player. It was a technological marvel of the 1980s, offering the convenience of transporting and setting up a projector for presentations or entertainment. In the video, the presenter explores the unique features and limitations of this vintage technology.

💡Vidam Magic FP60

A specific model of portable CRT projector released by Sony in the 1980s. It was priced at $3,000 upon release, which would be equivalent to around $9,000 today. The FP60 was notable for its single-tube design, which was an innovation compared to other CRT projectors that used three separate tubes for red, green, and blue. The video discusses the FP60's features, such as its microphone input and the challenges of using it in a modern context.

💡CRT (Cathode Ray Tube)

A type of display technology that was widely used in televisions and computer monitors before being replaced by flat-panel displays. CRTs work by using electron beams to illuminate phosphors on the screen, creating images. In the context of the video, the CRT projector uses a single tube to produce a color image, which was an innovation at the time. The presenter compares the image quality and brightness of the CRT projector to modern display technologies.

💡Betamax Player

A videocassette format developed by Sony and released in 1975. Betamax was one of the first home video formats and competed with VHS. The Vidam Magic FP60 projector featured a built-in Betamax player, which was a significant feature in the 1980s. The video script mentions the use of Betamax tapes in the projector, highlighting the historical context of the technology.

💡Indextron Tube

A proprietary CRT display technology developed by Sony for their projectors, including the FP60. The Indextron tube used a single electron gun with a beam index tube to produce color images, which was more efficient and compact than traditional CRTs that used three separate guns for each color. This technology allowed for brighter images and less convergence issues, but it also had drawbacks such as inferior contrast. The video discusses the technical aspects of the Indextron tube and its impact on the projector's performance.

💡Latency

In the context of video displays, latency refers to the delay between when an action is performed (such as pressing a button on a controller) and when it is visually represented on the screen. The video script mentions testing the latency of the CRT projector, particularly when playing video games, and notes that it performs well due to the nature of CRT technology, which has minimal latency compared to modern display types.

💡Brightness

The measure of the luminous intensity of a light source, in this case, the CRT projector. Brightness is a critical factor in the visibility and quality of the projected image. The video script discusses the FP60's brightness, comparing it to modern projectors and noting that while it is dimmer than contemporary displays, it was still sufficient for use in dark environments typical of the 1980s.

💡Convergence

In CRT displays, convergence refers to the alignment of the red, green, and blue electron beams to create a single, focused image. Poor convergence can result in color fringing or misalignment. The FP60's single-tube design helped to minimize convergence issues, which were common in other CRT projectors that used separate tubes for each color. The video script touches on this advantage of the Indextron tube technology.

💡Phosphors

Phosphors are materials that emit light when excited by an electron beam in a CRT. They are coated on the inner surface of the CRT screen and are responsible for producing the visible image. The video script mentions the potential wear and decay of phosphors over time, which can affect the quality of the image produced by the CRT projector.

💡Squarespace

A website building and hosting platform that offers an all-in-one solution for creating and managing websites. Squarespace is mentioned in the video as a sponsor, and the script discusses its features, such as templates, marketing tools, and e-commerce capabilities. The platform is presented as a user-friendly option for those who lack technical expertise but want to establish an online presence.

💡Zenith Pro 1200 X

The last CRT projector model produced, released by Zenith in 2001. It is mentioned in the video as a reference to the end of the CRT projector era. The Pro 1200 X was a high-end model, priced at about $30,000 and weighing around 155 lbs, which highlights the contrast with the lighter and brighter DLP projectors that were becoming more popular at the time.

Highlights

The Vidam Magic FP60 from Sony is a portable CRT projector with a built-in Betamax player.

The FP60 was priced at $3,000 in 1984, which would be around $9,000 in today's currency.

Avon co-branded the FP60 and deployed it to company representatives across the United States.

The FP60 offers advantages in screen size, durability, and convenience compared to other mid-80s boardroom presentation options.

The FP60 uses a single tube to produce a color image, unlike most CRT projectors that use three tubes.

The FP60's CRT technology provides better black levels and flesh tones, and longer tube life compared to LCD and DLP projectors.

The FP60's design includes a single electron gun with a beam index tube, which simplifies the setup and reduces convergence issues.

The FP60's brightness is limited, with a measured brightness of 2.2 nits.

The FP60's promotional video showed it being usable in a sunlit room, but in reality, it would require pitch darkness.

The FP60's CRT projector technology was replaced by lighter, brighter models like DLP projectors, with the last CRT projector released in 2001.

The FP60's CRT technology had benefits like no convergence problems and lower sensitivity to magnetic interference.

The FP60's CRT projector could be used for gaming with minimal latency, providing a similar experience to playing on a CRT TV.

The FP60's built-in Betamax player and microphone input allowed for versatile presentation capabilities.

The FP60's design included water cooling, which was innovative for its time.

The FP60's service manual and a second projector are available for those interested in repairing or restoring the device.

The FP60's weight and size made it more luggable than truly portable, but it was still a significant advancement in projector technology.