The Sony Trinitron KX-45ED1, aka the PVM-4300, is considered to be the world's largest consumer tube TV set. With a 43" screen, the hulking CRT weighed 440 pounds. Released in 1988 in Japan and the US a couple years later, the built-to-orderproduct reportedly cost $40,000. Unsurprisingly, it wasn't a big seller.
Prior to this month, "there were no examples of the PVM-4300 or KX-45ED1 publicly known to still exist, in the hands of private collectors or otherwise," reports Console Mods. "For years, only two 'real-life' photos of the monitor circulated the Internet. As a result, it achieved a mythical status among CRT enthusiasts."
This week though, Shank Mods uploaded the below video revealing that he had located one of the units in the photos and rescued it from certain destruction.
From Console Mods:
The monitor was removed from its longtime home on the second floor of a soba noodle shop in Osaka and shipped to the United States, where it was then cleaned, repaired, and calibrated. Shank's team also acquired the original Sony service manual for the PVM-4300, as well as additional documentation.
The unit's serial number, 2000103, indicates that it was likely the 103rd unit produced. It is unknown how many others may still exist today, but the number produced was most likely extremely low as they were incredibly expensive, hand-made units.
