Proton Tv

MacNutt · Nov 10th, 2005, 04:33 AM

When I was just a lad....

(many many moons ago)

I was a visual sort of a guy. Just as I am am right now. All of my buddies had killer stereo systems and huge collections of records back then.

BUT...I had the very BEST TV set that I could get my hands on. When I lived in the same house with several of my high school friends ( a few decades back) I was the guy who provided the TV set. THEY had the stereo systems and speakers.

It worked out GREAT. We had good tunes AND a killer TV set. Best of both worlds.

But, being the "video dude" in the bunch...I kept on hearing about the elusive and spectacular "PROTON TV". It was supposed to be the ne-plus-ultra of TV sets. Unbeliveable picture...perfect colour...the ultimate expression of us video freaks, born into reality.

But a PROTON TV was a rare and elusive animal. And...according to reports...those things cost an arm and TWO legs! I was a committed videophile for almost three decades, and I'd never even SEEN a PROTON TV!

Fast forward to present day.

I'm cruising through a local Vancouver Island second hand store. Looking for good speakers for my surround sound system that is...SURPRISE...hooked into my killer TV.

And guess what I found, sitting quietly underneath a table full of cheap crap at this nondescript second hand store?

A big 27 inch PROTON TV!!!!

It had no remote...and it was a model that was originally sold into the Japanese home market. So all of the controls and the menu were in Japanese. The picture and colour controls were wayyy out of whack when we fired this big PROTON up, and NOBODY could figure them out (the picture looked like sh*t!). So the guy who owned the store said..."give it to you for twenty bucks. Get it out of my sight!".

I scooped it instantly!

Dragged it home and hooked it into my SAT TV system. Spent about half a day figuring out all of the controls. But I GOT it...eventually.

This TV is beyond belief! The colour is better than my expensive 27 inch Panasonic reference monitor! And its sharper than my Hitachi big screen CRT in the livingroom!

MUCH sharper!

I LOVE the thing!!

But I can't get any of my universal remotes to work with it. No matter how hard I try. Nor can I find much data on it via Google (it's an oddball).

Anyone here know anything more than I do about PROTON TV"s (probably from the mid nineties).

gastonbuffet · Nov 10th, 2005, 09:29 AM

Can't help you with that super cool Proton TV MacNutt, but for $20 bucks i'll take the old piece of crap TV. Shipping on me!

Good luck with the proton tv.

DP004 · Nov 10th, 2005, 11:42 AM

If you are talking about the Proton 600 MT, I saw one years ago in Montreal and that thing filled my expensive dreams for years to come.
Check this link if we are referring to the same thing:

http://www.computex.com.tw/company_o...Proton0509.asp

You probably went there already.

Thanks for the memories.

MacNutt · Nov 15th, 2005, 06:44 AM

This one's not a flat screen LCD or anything. Just a big crt from the mid nineties (I'm guessing).

But...hoooBOY has it got a killer picture!

I've had it side by side with my best Panasonic 27 inch monitor for about two weeks now. Both of them have exactly the same SAT TV feeds....and I can't seem to get the top end Pana to display the same lifelike colour as the Proton monitor! No matter how hard I try.

Also...when I tune to a dead channel or when the SAT system winks out for a second, or when I dial in a music channel that has no video, the Proton monitor shows a completely black screen. Jet black. The Panasonic and all of my other TV's (about nine of them at last count) always show a dark blue or blue gray screen under the same conditions.

Is this big Proton sharp? I actually have to dial back the sharpness control to less than the halfway mark or it begins to show edge artifacts from the SAT feed. When I hook it up to my broadcast quality 3 CCD Pana video camera the results actually hurt my eyes. I showed it off to a fellow video dude last night and he was blown away by the quality of the picture. Now he's looking on eBay to see if he can find one for his editing suite.

I'm just lovin this thing. It's scary good.

And I got it for twenty bucks at an out of the way second hand store, because it doesn't have a remote and because the menu is in japanese.

Too cool.

Ottawaman · Nov 15th, 2005, 07:10 AM

23 April 2005
Making a return that is causing a stir among home theater enthusiasts, Proton will begin selling 32-inch and 37-inch LCD televisions in the U.S., Canada and Mexico this summer. Well-known for decades of superior CRT television quality and dedication to engineering perfection, Proton has applied that same dedication and knowledge to their new LCD televisions about to hit the market. Working with Brix Lab, Proton's new line of LCD televisions will be available exclusively through the Brix Lab distribution channel.

Brix Lab is the exclusive distributor for Proton-branded television products in North America. Brix Lab is responsible for all sales and marketing activities for Proton in the U.S., Mexico and Canada. Proton televisions will be available at retailers that cater to home theater enthusiasts and audiophiles.

http://www.brixcom.com/html/aboutus_brix_main.html

MacNutt · Nov 15th, 2005, 07:54 AM

A website about high end video gear notes that Proton has about 500 employees...and about HALF of them are R&D engineers! No wonder they made stuff like this! I've never seen a crt that looked this good...and I spend a lot of time working with vido.

Sansui used to be like that with audio gear...until the bank took over and trashed everything.

This 27 inch Proton monitor was the best twenty bucks I ever spent in my whole life. (Wellll...there was that lovely brunette in Bogota.)

But we don't want to go into that right now. At least not on this thread.

SINC · Nov 15th, 2005, 08:29 AM

	Quote:			Originally Posted by MacNutt
	Also...when I tune to a dead channel or when the SAT system winks out for a second, or when I dial in a music channel that has no video, the Proton monitor shows a completely black screen. Jet black. The Panasonic and all of my other TV's (about nine of them at last count) always show a dark blue or blue gray screen under the same conditions.

Gerry, my 10 year old 27" Magnavox CRT "Smart TV" does the very same thing and has one of the sharpest pictures I have ever seen. It puts many of my friends flat screens to shame.

DP004 · Nov 15th, 2005, 09:14 AM

MacNutt, the first paragraph of the text I sent you refers to the Proton 600 MT "the first Hi-Fi tv" (if I remember the ads in my "Son HI-Fi" magazines). We are talking about 1982 here.
I am assuming here that you have the same model.
Since they are the ones who made it, I suggest you to use their e-mail address at the bottom of the article to directly ask them yours questions.
I am sure they still have these tv sets in their shops, would know the answer and woud be pleased to help a dedicated customer.

I remember this Proton tv to be built like a fine Hi-Fi component: top, no-compromise quality parts and assembly.

MacNutt · Nov 15th, 2005, 10:19 PM

I found that website the first day I bought the thing... and emailed Proton a week or so back. No replies as of yet.

I'm not holding my breath here. As a manufacturer myself I know full well that my company is far more interested in promoting what I currently have for sale. Not what I sold ten years ago. That's the past. Dark and distant.

But I sure do like this Proton TV. I've never EVER seen a picture this good on ANY TV set...be it plasma or crt or whatever.

(Sorry SINC..I've had several Magnavoxes over the years...and this Proton would blow them out of the water. Even on it's worst day, while totally out of adjustment.)

Ena · Nov 15th, 2005, 10:45 PM

MacNutt. When you said you searched Google did you include searching Google Groups/Usenet News? Just a thought from another frugal shopper.