Massive 1978 wide big screen TV

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This GE Performance Television from 1978 would take up half of my living room.
GE Performance Television (BB Gadgets)

David Pescovitz is Boing Boing's co-editor/managing partner. He's also a research director at Institute for the Future. On Instagram, he's @pesco.

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chicagojohn

#22 1961= Dick Van Dyke, Andy Griffith show, Twilight zone, Ed Sullivan, Jack Parr, perry Mason, Alfred Hitchcock hour… etc.
ROSSINDETROIT

IIRC, set up in an appropriate environment and maintained correctly those had a stupendous picture and great audio.

OTOH, think about what was on TV in 1978.
MaximusNYC

Maybe they called it a “Performance Television” because there were actually people performing inside of it.

@#13: I don’t think there was ever a “Star Wars ep. 4 laser disc”, because back when laser discs existed, it was just called “Star Wars.” </nitpick>
pork musket

I don’t think that’s widescreen – no formats would’ve worked on it back then, and it seems pretty square.

It is, however, awesome. I want one.
aldasin

I had one of those big honkin’ Beta decks back in the day. I think it weighed 80lb.s
mgabrysSF

Retro thing beat you to it yesterday.

http://www.retrothing.com/2008/08/general-electri.html

No linky to actual inspiration or great minds think alike bla bla bla..
John Brownlee

We know they beat us to it. The link goes to BBG’s post. BBG’s link goes to Retro-Thing.
LB

Big screen, not wide screen.

Remember when that was a big deal, though?
Bender

Only rich people got to see Sanford and Son on a big television like that.
ZombieBabyDiego

@#15

stop bothering me while I’m drinking and typing and living in the past.
PainintheAnalyst

When I look at the picture I think, whoa is Hugh Hefner finally cleaning out the garage at the Mansion???? Hey Hugh thrown in PONG and you got yourself a deal!
Bonnie

Wow that guy is tiny!
trr

OK, 1961′s pretty good too. Both put 2008 to shame.

I Survived A Japanese Game Show
America’s Next Top Model
etc.
etc.
(I don’t watch enough TV to come up with more examples)
trr

1978 TV:

Six Million Dollar Man
S.W.A.T.
Starsky and Hutch
Kojak
The Night Stalker
Rockford Files
M*A*S*H
Three’s Company
Taxi

Waaaay better than today’s offering, IMO. Well, Three’s Company, not so much.
LightningCrash

someone should make that all steampunky
ESQ

Funnily enough, our neighbor just gave us a 52 inch Magnavox rear-projection TV in wood… it is giant!

We gave up half our living room.
trr

Dang, I forgot

Barney Miller
All in the Family (I had thought it ended before 1978)
SNL (when it was good!)
The Jefferson’s
Welcome Back, Kotter

Good Times. (not the show, just the saying.)
raisedbywolves

OMG, I love that thing. You could toss pillows all over it and use it as lounge furniture! You could set up barstools and use it as a bar!

I want one!
Aaron T.

@#15: Har har; the THX Laserdisc of Episode 4 came out in 1995, and the Special Edition in 1997.
Aaron T.

Oh, and the Special Edition had Dolby Digital audio.
Assoctw

That remote is huge. Looks just like a clipboard.
Bender

The reason they invented the double-wide?
trr

Come to think of it, I don’t think you could pick a better year for TV than 1978.
shawne

This looks like the work of a young, go-getting Jack Donaghy.
sam1148

#19 I Think #15 might be referring to a “RCA DiscoVision” system. MCA also made a similar system.

It wasn’t a ‘laserdisk’ but a disk which actually read by a tone arm. You inserted the LP sized ‘video disk” in the system it’s cartridge. Removed the cartridge and retrieved the disk when it was finished playing. A tone arm physically contacted the disk to read the data metal ‘grooves’ in the disk. The system didn’t last long, but for it’s time it state of the art.

Jedi was released on that system in 1985..so it’s not wild to think that Ep4 would have been done in that media years before.
sam1148

Ahh here it is.

http://www.cedmagic.com/museum/press/release-1982-09-01.html

1982 RCA launches it’s CED “Video Disk” system. And gave away Star Wars as the major draw. Not a laser disk..but a “CED” disk.
ZombieBabyDiego

In 1981, my neighbors bought three things that changed my life:
one of the first large-format projection TV systems available in our area (i believe the screen was about 4 feet across)

a laser disc player

the Star Wars ep. 4 laser disc

SO
MANY
WASTED
HOURS

also, my uncle worked for Radio Shack from 1965 until 1980. I got to play on one of the first home PONG machines. i figured out pretty early how annoying PONG actually is.