Sony HD CRT set in PA

[Dave A]

If anyone on the east coast wants to have a Sony CRT HD set, give this a try. It's just SE of Harrisburg, PA. $99 starting bid. BIN at $399. Once you get past the 200 pounds you are set. This is the one to have. Factory pix is all the seller shows but the description sounds good.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI...m=270952425707

It is the KD-34XBR960, the finest...and only...HD pix I have ever seen on a CRT. It is Sony's only CRT version with their Superfine Pitch computer CRT and a ATSC/NTSC tuner built-in. They had a few others in the monitor only style, but none with this combination. 2004 vintage.

Imagine HD in real phosphor colors and not a cold-cathode lamp light shining through a large LED watch display. The tuner will still do the in-the-clear that most cable systems still transmit. You get all the local over-the-air with a bunch of sub channels and some shopping channels. Or you can use your antenna for off-air. Good enough for mine. Full HDMI if you want to use your cable box or Blu-ray.

I bought the Blu-ray of Ben-Hur and it is as if I had never seen the movie before on my XBR960. Netflix looks great.

Get it and be a lone visionary of things past. See all of you at ETF in May.

[kx250rider]

That's the Grand Finale' of CRT high-end sets, and I'd suggest grabbing it if you're nearby. That one has the built-in HD ATSC tuner, which is a RARE feature.

Charles

[Zenith26kc20]

And an appetite for MCZ3001DB IC's! I install sockets in any I repair to make it in home servicable when they fail again.
They do make a great picture!

[DavGoodlin]

Originally Posted by kx250rider

That's the Grand Finale' of CRT high-end sets, and I'd suggest grabbing it if you're nearby. That one has the built-in HD ATSC tuner, which is a RARE feature.

Charles

Quite true. I was seriously considering a Panasonic 32" HD CRT "TAU" set I saw at BJ's (box-warehouse-club like sams) @ $1000 in 2004(-5?) it required an ATSC tuner. At that time, every HD set required a separate tuner tho' DTV simulcasts on temp channels for nearly every analog channel were available. The only HD content IIRC was from PBS stations. I got a Samsung SIRT-451, which had the component video output that the Panasonic would have needed. The SIRT-451 (and my Zenith HDV-480) have an SVGA output. I use them for 720p on monitors now. Semi-HD

THE SIRT-451 made me relapse into another past habit - OTA antennas.

This Sony has a HDMI also, a very worthwhile feature if you were using DVD HD Blu-ray

This is nearby me, maybe I should look into it

[Electronic M]

Small world...There is an identical looking Sony(likely the same model) at a local thrift for 125$! I wish I had the dough.....If it don't stick around until I can pay for it then it may keep me up at nights thinking about the one that got away.

[Dave A]

Tom, check it carefully. Sony used this cabinet style on all the 34" HD sets.

[ChrisW6ATV]

This one and the KD34XBR910 (without digital tuner) are the good ones. My neighbor has a '910.

[kx250rider]

Originally Posted by ChrisW6ATV

This one and the KD34XBR910 (without digital tuner) are the good ones. My neighbor has a '910.

Isn't the KD with an ATSC tuner? I have a KV-34XBR910 which is NTSC only, but has DVI and is full 1080.

Charles

[ChrisW6ATV]

I guess the 910 is a KV and the 960 is KD. As you noted, the '910 has an NTSC-only tuner, the '960 includes ATSC (and QAM with CableCard slot) too.

[Electronic M]

It did say it had the fine pitch CRT on the front. I can't afford it or even anything half it's price, so there is little point (for me) in wondering what model it exactly is. Unless that thrift store keeps it for a few months (which is unlikely) I have zero chance of getting it.

[Dave A]

The black cat strikes! As soon as I cheer mine, now my 960 has gone feet up. No red power lamp. No nothing. Someone throw me a repair lifeline while I get rid of the cat. And someone got the ebay set for $100. Rats.

[Dave A]

Weeks later as work permits, I am back in business with a working set.

Not ready to do the IC change, I did a search for the full AZ board which is the suspect for the death of the set. Many hits with "not in stock", "not available", etc. And then I found one. Ordered and arrived a few weeks ago. $145. It was odd with many Sharpie marks across the board like tests across many points like a refurbish.

Sunday was a good day to do the surgery. 4 hours worth. I have the manual which does not show the complete disassembly. I am on my own. About 25 connections to pull apart. Not sure what rides where. AZ board has three daughter boards on top. But all of the connectors are local and cannot go anywhere else and no two are the same locally by pinout.

Unscrew the main rear I/O from the back and you are good to go. It is a daughter board. The RF input stays on the back. The big power module unscrews from the AZ board and rides with the back. Wrestle the back from the lower case snap connectors. Many screws on the AZ board later and it is free.

New board snaps in and is confusing with the degauss connections. New pinout positions on the new board. I did not snap a pic of the old. Only three are used and I got them right. I was ok as I did not have four marked on the old.

Power up and all is well. It seems happier now. Some left edge convergence is gone. I also had a chance to get to the main focus and tweeked it. Much better after 7 years. If you have one, look at the back side, lower left on the diagonal corner and drill a hole. Focus is the upper control. Drive is the lower painted in place lower control.

Now I will look at refurbing the old board for future to keep CRT HD alive. Phosphors rule.

[DavGoodlin]

Good job and that was a real leap of faith, investing in a part.

I wanted that ebay Sony HD set but the weight was an issue where I had to put it.