WHAT’S OLD IS NEW AGAIN - Introducing LG’s “Classic TV”

There were plenty of state-of-the-art electronics as the Korea Electronics Show (KES) 2009 last month but it was a little 14-inch CRT “classic TV” that stole the show at the LG booth. Many visitors were grabbing their digital cameras and camera phones to take photos of this small and cute red TV set. The public interest was satisfying reward for all the hard work we put in over the past few months to develop this little unit.

The Glory Days of TV
This Classic TV is the brainchild of LG Team Leader Jae-ryong Park. He suggested developing a brand new CRT TV for the show to reflect the fashion from the heyday of TV during the 50’s and 60’s. The team spent many nostalgic hours planning and designing the screen as a tribute to the screens that lit up so many lounge rooms in years gone by.

The TV shouldn’t look likes a modern LCD TV. It had to be a blend of the old and the new, features including a real dial, antennas, legs and a black-and-white screen. The insides, however, was all digital.

There were plenty of technical challenges to overcome. Even configuring the rotary dials proved tricky, not to mention designing the legs, the black-and-white screen and incorporating support for digital TV. There were also many discussions with the sales team, who needed to know how to sell such a retro classic in today’s market focused on large, thin, flat screens.

The LG Classic TV looks a little like an original Braun-tube TV at a glance, but it has been modernized in many ways including color, textures, design and features. In the end a jog wheel took the place of the rotary switch – an innovative use of a technology usually reserved for game controllers.

The CRT TV has almost one hundred years of history and while the analog era is drawing to a close, LG is proud to pay tribute to the pioneers of the industry who have brought us to this point. As for retro products from LG, there’s more to come so please stay tuned!

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