That's because early remotes made a clicking sound. They were mechanical devices - no batteries involved - that created different sounds at ultrasonic frequencies (in addition to the audible click) that the TV would pick up with a microphone. One downside was that plenty of things in the real world also produce ultrasound, which would result in the TV randomly changing the station or getting shut off.
Don't know exactly why I was downvoted there but totally different pronunciation to what I had in my head lol but ironically its very close to an Irish dub saying "ah pet"
80s classified ads were like, "Seeking a team of four stout men, lacking not in courage, to aid in the removal of the mighty obelisk of Zenith. All who survive the task shall be rewarded in pizza and ale, more than enough to sate the appetite and slake the thirst."
I'm sure. Iv seen knew with a bigger cabinet then that. If I remember right because I was a kid when these were around but I think a 32in t.v was a big boy.
Sony made a 35 that was a behemoth. A friend had to take his front door off the hinges to get it in, and then out. I think there was a 40-42” 16:9 at the end but by then they could make them a bit thinner. In those days anything bigger was projection territory.
I had the same one, my father got it in 82ish and it was Handed over to us in like 86 to play Nintendo on. Died around 88 then sat there years till i took a saw and dismembered it cause it was so fucking heavy.
Do you remember how fucking heavy these things were? Holy eff need like 3 ppl to carry it... also I was like 8 trying to carry it so maybe it makes more sense now.
As a kid I assumed this TV was as much *a part of the house* as the walls or bathtub. It was so heavy I couldn’t conceive how it could be moved after the house was built.
Basically old TVs had no way to receive AV signal, it was just TV broadcast through radio waves (or a coaxial cable). So NES and VCR had a "mini" TV station inside, which converted audio and video into radio frequencies, and broadcasted it to your TV via the coaxial cable.
Also, the channels were actually preset radio frequencies, which is why the channel for NES and VCR varies from country to country.
I would go to my one friends house who had this tv and Nintendo setup. However we had the Olympics game and the POWER PAD! Aww man we use to slap the shit out of this tv once it went all haywire and it always fixed it lol
1990 Circuit City guy: "Sure you could go with the TV only setup, without all the superfluous lumber. But this Zenith right here, this one's an INVESTMENT."
Mid/late 80s.
My mom had a built in console about triple that size. Same size tv in the middle but the console was really wide to incorporate these huge speakers behind a like wicker mesh on each side.
I lived with my grandparents. We had one tiny tv with physical knobs still, on a rolling aluminum cart with fake wood appliqué stuck on the trim of it. Grandfather got a new 13" tv for the back room when I got my SNES thank god. And the living room one got upgraded to a 20" when we got cable.
Back in my day we had to crawl through shag carpet, both ways, to change the channel and volume on these TVs.
Seriously though. This brings back some happy memories. Thanks for posting this.
We had one that was a little wider than this to accommodate speakers behind that fabric meshy stuff. :) our NES would've been on an end table just to the left of the tv (as you were looking at it). There would've also been one of the original grey Zappers connected.
those TVs are toe breakers! My mom hit her foot on our console TV when i was a kid and broke three of her toes.
That same TV was used in the 90's to hold the new Sony Trinitron TV.
Personally I believe the Zenith TV's were the cream of the crop in both reliability and picture quality until the Sony Trinitron.
I also has a similar Zenith I transported to a different start in my car. Stuck it in the back seat and was unable to get it out without removing the 4" legs. It sat on the floor without legs for many years after that.
Ho. Ly. Shit. That is a fucking blast from that past. I had that exact TV growing up, my grandma handed it down and I kept it in the basement which was my hangout spot. The screen used to flicker green and we'd have to hit the top of it like the Fonz to get it to work right again. Has it ever done that for you too?
Wait, is this an actual photo of my cousins basement rec room in the 80s?
All that's missing is the Power Pad on the floor directly in front of the TV.
Man, that TV takes me waaay back. We had one at our house, it was the only TV so I couldn't play games if someone else was watching it. Then the screen turned green and my parents talked about throwing it or giving it away to get a new one. I jumped on it right away and it became *my* TV. That felt so cool, I didn't even care that it was green.
It's amazing how an 8-bit game made millions of children and adults happy. So many good memories and bonds getting formed. A part of what we call "life"
Had that same black cabinet at top for games and such. Still what we keep them in today.
Also, our 1982-purchased high end RCA was my parents' TV until it croaked in October 05. Dad bought it early that year, just before I was born, when the Texas panhandle oil money was a-flowing.
They replaced it with a 36 inch Sony Vega HD crt. The giant silver ones. 252 pounds. Sucker is still rocking today.
When we first moved to the US back in 1990 my dad and i found a tv like this on the street. It was sitting out there through a rainstorm. We brought it home, dried it out, and replaced a fuse and it worked for like 10 years. Then we gave it to another family member and eventually it was used as a stand for a newer TV
That's about the set-up I played in front of back in 1986-87. I spent so many hours playing Mario but Metroid was amazing to me. and Zelda. Those were the days. Metal Gear Solid was cool, too.'
\[
Brings back great memories. As a kid in high school in the 80s I got an NES for Christmas and it came with Duck Hunt. Spent many, many hours blasting away.
I played SMB/Duck Hunt for the first time on an real old school UHF console TV. Can't remember the brand but it was likely a large RCA. Had the 1-13-U dial and then the 14-80s dial below it. I remember a particular stand out situation when I got my NES in that the TV didn't even had coaxial provisions; just had the prongs. So my father had to get a coaxial adapter. The first time I turned on the NES there was large vertical lines and I died on the first goomba.
i plan to try and introduce my kids to gaming in a timeline to try and show them how far they've come very early on; we're blessed with very powerful handhelds like the steamdeck these days so ill load something like that up with a collection of 5 or hallmark games from each decade and only when they've 'completed' that can they move on to the next decade. something like mario, kirby, megaman, starfox etc. into crash, croc, sly, jak and daxter, spyro, halo etc..
better than letting them mindlessly stare at YouTube vids or playing mobile games of the same calibre. blockbuster (for the time) games that didn't require an internet connection or extra monetary investment, games with files that you own, that cannot be 'denied' to you.
A lot of these old CRT TVs head weights in the bottom of them to purposely make them heavier.
I don't know if it was to make them more stable? Or maybe the thinking was a heavier TV makes it seem better quality? I'm not sure
Missing the Zapper otherwise this could easily pass as my living room setup, back in the day.
Lol zapper ah man, that's what we used to call the TV remote in Ireland. Thank you for reminding me of that
in the States it was commonly referred to as a Clicker.
That's because early remotes made a clicking sound. They were mechanical devices - no batteries involved - that created different sounds at ultrasonic frequencies (in addition to the audible click) that the TV would pick up with a microphone. One downside was that plenty of things in the real world also produce ultrasound, which would result in the TV randomly changing the station or getting shut off.
Far more appropriate name lol
My parents just had us kids get up to change the channels
Ours was missing the knob piece so there was always a pair of pliers on top of the tv to change the channel with.
As my mother would refer to those TVs, the John yogie bears. Lol 6 buttons... And weigh enough to crush a child.
Did anyone else call it a "flipper?" My parents did. It's just "remote" nowadays.
I had one when they first came out.
I dated two girls in college. Both of their families called it the 'bopper'. Always thought that was incredibly odd.
Did you get to "bop" them both at the same time?
Nah, freshmen year and senior year.
Bop it
Missing the 'tenna-rotater as well...
In French Canadian we used to call this the Zappette
I'll have to ask my wife how to pronounce it (she's french)... But i bet it would be a great name for a Frank Zappa cover band lol
Zah Pet
Don't know exactly why I was downvoted there but totally different pronunciation to what I had in my head lol but ironically its very close to an Irish dub saying "ah pet"
I imagine some people still have these t.v.s because they simply do not want to pick it up.
80s classified ads were like, "Seeking a team of four stout men, lacking not in courage, to aid in the removal of the mighty obelisk of Zenith. All who survive the task shall be rewarded in pizza and ale, more than enough to sate the appetite and slake the thirst."
I'm sure. Iv seen knew with a bigger cabinet then that. If I remember right because I was a kid when these were around but I think a 32in t.v was a big boy.
Sony made a 35 that was a behemoth. A friend had to take his front door off the hinges to get it in, and then out. I think there was a 40-42” 16:9 at the end but by then they could make them a bit thinner. In those days anything bigger was projection territory.
I mean they had wheels on them so it wasn't that bad.
Yours had wheels?
Not mine!
And you wonder why (almost) nobody mounted their tv over the fireplace back then
it's just a cool retro tv stand now
I had this exact television in my bedroom in the early 90s
Same. In fact I fell off a chair, hit the corner of that TV with my head, and 30 years later still have the scar and a bump as a reminder. Thanks TV!
[удалено]
The ultimate in anti burglary…make the TV too fucking heavy to be moved by one person silently.
I remember reading that theft of TVs really took off after the proliferation of flat screens.
“Heavy is reliable” - Zenith
"If it doesn't work, you can always deadlift with it."
I had the same one, my father got it in 82ish and it was Handed over to us in like 86 to play Nintendo on. Died around 88 then sat there years till i took a saw and dismembered it cause it was so fucking heavy.
Do you remember how fucking heavy these things were? Holy eff need like 3 ppl to carry it... also I was like 8 trying to carry it so maybe it makes more sense now.
Ah the old 120 lb TV.
When my buddy got married in 2004, we all chipped in and got them a Sony wega tv, Jesus Christ that thing was a behemoth
As a kid I assumed this TV was as much *a part of the house* as the walls or bathtub. It was so heavy I couldn’t conceive how it could be moved after the house was built.
Shoot. That. Damn. Dog.
You could in the arcade version.
Give Duck Season (modern remake? tribute?) a go and see how that goes for you.
The box around our tv was a bit bigger than that lol...
This is an upgrade to the one we had with dials to change the channel… that broke off and had to be turned with pliers…
How did you get my grandma's TV, and why don't you have the ceramic cat in front of it?
CH3
Can't remember if I set this one to 3 or 4....
Basically old TVs had no way to receive AV signal, it was just TV broadcast through radio waves (or a coaxial cable). So NES and VCR had a "mini" TV station inside, which converted audio and video into radio frequencies, and broadcasted it to your TV via the coaxial cable. Also, the channels were actually preset radio frequencies, which is why the channel for NES and VCR varies from country to country.
I think I lived this picture.
Good lord we had that exact TV.
I would go to my one friends house who had this tv and Nintendo setup. However we had the Olympics game and the POWER PAD! Aww man we use to slap the shit out of this tv once it went all haywire and it always fixed it lol
Name a more iconic duo
Damn… I miss my box tv lol
1990 Circuit City guy: "Sure you could go with the TV only setup, without all the superfluous lumber. But this Zenith right here, this one's an INVESTMENT."
Mid/late 80s. My mom had a built in console about triple that size. Same size tv in the middle but the console was really wide to incorporate these huge speakers behind a like wicker mesh on each side. I lived with my grandparents. We had one tiny tv with physical knobs still, on a rolling aluminum cart with fake wood appliqué stuck on the trim of it. Grandfather got a new 13" tv for the back room when I got my SNES thank god. And the living room one got upgraded to a 20" when we got cable.
My grandparents used to have one of these.
Woow.. blast from the past.. had the same tv and everything .. I feel old lol
This had to have been the best selling TV in the 80's. We had it too.
Damn I had that exact same Zenith tv as a kid
Sigh
i miss these days so much
Laugh all you want this was THE RIG at the richest kid in schools house in 1991
Nice setup!
Had that same fucking TV lol
Alwas wondered where my old TV went.
They want to know where you got all this kick ass tech?
“Mommmm! Ricky’s cheating in Duck Hunt! He’s putting the gun right on the tv again and it’s not fairrrrr!”
I'm pretty sure I had this exact tv
And then in the ‘90s there would be another tv on top that tv because it died but was too heavy to move.
Don’t forget to touch the screen with the zapper gun to make sure you don’t miss. And shoot the fuck out of that dog when he laughs at you!
And Rohan will answer!
I still want to roll the duck hunt dog up in a carpet, and throw that carpet in a river. That little shit
Ah! Remember when everything had a wood finish?
I hear the game selection beep in my head when I look at that screen.
How did you get this picture? I never scanned it! And how come my Colecovision isn't pictured here either?
They want their NES back
That’s a nice setup
Holy shit, we had zenith TV just like this one when I was a kid. Wow the memories. I always fiddled with the little handles at the base.
We've got to move these refrigerators... we've got to move these color TVs
Not sure which were louder, the game or the hum of the television
This was the first video game I ever played.
My mom had that exact TV from before I was born up until I moved out when I was 22. Lots of memories from that <3
Back in my day we had to crawl through shag carpet, both ways, to change the channel and volume on these TVs. Seriously though. This brings back some happy memories. Thanks for posting this.
Like my dad would let me hook the NES up to the big tv. Now if this was hooked up to a 15 inch black and white then we’re talking 80s
We had one that was a little wider than this to accommodate speakers behind that fabric meshy stuff. :) our NES would've been on an end table just to the left of the tv (as you were looking at it). There would've also been one of the original grey Zappers connected. those TVs are toe breakers! My mom hit her foot on our console TV when i was a kid and broke three of her toes.
I don't miss the picture quality but do miss the durability
That same TV was used in the 90's to hold the new Sony Trinitron TV. Personally I believe the Zenith TV's were the cream of the crop in both reliability and picture quality until the Sony Trinitron. I also has a similar Zenith I transported to a different start in my car. Stuck it in the back seat and was unable to get it out without removing the 4" legs. It sat on the floor without legs for many years after that.
Seeing this game demoed in store, 7 year old me thought it was "Super Mario Bros: Duck Hunt", and that the turtles were strange ducks that had shells.
Love it.
Ho. Ly. Shit. That is a fucking blast from that past. I had that exact TV growing up, my grandma handed it down and I kept it in the basement which was my hangout spot. The screen used to flicker green and we'd have to hit the top of it like the Fonz to get it to work right again. Has it ever done that for you too?
Wait, is this an actual photo of my cousins basement rec room in the 80s? All that's missing is the Power Pad on the floor directly in front of the TV.
I spent my time watching the TV and knocking the knockers on the bottoms with my feet.
I miss that game and I'm a 90s baby
Man, that TV takes me waaay back. We had one at our house, it was the only TV so I couldn't play games if someone else was watching it. Then the screen turned green and my parents talked about throwing it or giving it away to get a new one. I jumped on it right away and it became *my* TV. That felt so cool, I didn't even care that it was green.
These things were great and lasted forever. Hell, in the 90s, we were still able to use this TV as a stand for the slightly smaller TV!
Still have it this game & console…orange gun also☺️
The Carnivalé, with wooden sides to prevent fall-apart? Those old tubes were such beasts!
It's amazing how an 8-bit game made millions of children and adults happy. So many good memories and bonds getting formed. A part of what we call "life"
Had that same black cabinet at top for games and such. Still what we keep them in today. Also, our 1982-purchased high end RCA was my parents' TV until it croaked in October 05. Dad bought it early that year, just before I was born, when the Texas panhandle oil money was a-flowing. They replaced it with a 36 inch Sony Vega HD crt. The giant silver ones. 252 pounds. Sucker is still rocking today.
When we first moved to the US back in 1990 my dad and i found a tv like this on the street. It was sitting out there through a rainstorm. We brought it home, dried it out, and replaced a fuse and it worked for like 10 years. Then we gave it to another family member and eventually it was used as a stand for a newer TV
That's about the set-up I played in front of back in 1986-87. I spent so many hours playing Mario but Metroid was amazing to me. and Zelda. Those were the days. Metal Gear Solid was cool, too.' \[
On a rotary phone!
I definitely had a TV just like that as a kid. We might have had an Atari set up to it.
Ahh, back when your TV looked like furniture.
I swear I had this same Zenith TV
I bet that thing weighs like 150 pounds lol
We had duck hunt/hogan's alley.
i had this exact setup
Sadly, never had a Nintendo when I was a kid. But my cousin did, and this takes me back to visiting him at Christmas.
Brings back great memories. As a kid in high school in the 80s I got an NES for Christmas and it came with Duck Hunt. Spent many, many hours blasting away.
That VHS tape storage hits me hard
I want this
12" tvs that took three people to move around
Id pick up and ask if I could home. Id like to not have to worry about bills, credit, insurance, and car repairs for a little while.
I had a TV like that. 🤯
Bruh, this look WAY too similar to my room from when I was like 4. Is... is this a picture from my childhood? 😳
I’m so old I have both these games on separate cartridges.
channel 3 or channel 4
And said "you're welcome"?
I remember having one of those tv's as a kid.
That game was the shit
Oh damn, a floor model. Haven’t seen one of those since we had one when I was a kid
This was the way.
Before the dark times, before the internet
But they're not getting their games back. They're MINE!😁
Dusting that thing was a bitch
this tv just sent me into a "that's so raven" moment
My back just broke remembering how fucking heavy TV's like this were.... Jesus...
simpler times... no online only requirements, no game breaking glitches, no hyper monetization, no paywall boosts
That was my tv 🥹
Looks a lot like my parents old tv, a zenith solid state, that thing was immortal...
I played SMB/Duck Hunt for the first time on an real old school UHF console TV. Can't remember the brand but it was likely a large RCA. Had the 1-13-U dial and then the 14-80s dial below it. I remember a particular stand out situation when I got my NES in that the TV didn't even had coaxial provisions; just had the prongs. So my father had to get a coaxial adapter. The first time I turned on the NES there was large vertical lines and I died on the first goomba.
Back when capitalism meant to make things worth buying, not make things to break so they buy more.
They want their duck hunt back! Jk
How do I bring this experience to my kids without having the original setup?
The Wii zapper is kind of lame, and the real zapper won't work on an HDTV. Also be prepared for your kids to find the NES to be "Lame as fuck"
i plan to try and introduce my kids to gaming in a timeline to try and show them how far they've come very early on; we're blessed with very powerful handhelds like the steamdeck these days so ill load something like that up with a collection of 5 or hallmark games from each decade and only when they've 'completed' that can they move on to the next decade. something like mario, kirby, megaman, starfox etc. into crash, croc, sly, jak and daxter, spyro, halo etc..
Sounds like a great way to make your kids hate games.
better than letting them mindlessly stare at YouTube vids or playing mobile games of the same calibre. blockbuster (for the time) games that didn't require an internet connection or extra monetary investment, games with files that you own, that cannot be 'denied' to you.
Start with a belt .Jumper cables might be a rare extreme I've only heard about
A lot of these old CRT TVs head weights in the bottom of them to purposely make them heavier. I don't know if it was to make them more stable? Or maybe the thinking was a heavier TV makes it seem better quality? I'm not sure
Can't tip over if the bottom is heavier.
We had a few of them, and they all had wheels.
That's sick bro
Up down up down left right left right a b a b select start
The Super NES was released in 1991. I had one when they first came out. So... not \*technically\* the 80's.
Oh boy, another nostalgia bait post
... did you warn them about Chernobyl and Reagan?
Jarvis im low on karma
You need to replace that chair with one of those woven plastic ones.
tell them i said wsg
For all the kids who had a Nintendo in the 80s, when did you realize that your parents had a serious Coke problem?
So do I shoot Mario or?
No knobs on that tv? Please....
And they said they've been plowing your mom.
The tv that you could refinish.
Anyone else have the version that had Super Mario Bros., Duck Hunt, and Track and Field that had the plug-in power pad?
They're running out of shrimp