Restomod TV project

[Nev]

For quite a while now i've wanted to build a home theater PC into some kind of interesting case and last week I came into possession of this B+O TV from the 80s. Fully working even with the original remote and instruction book!




Instantly the wheels started to turn and I formulated a plan to turn it into the most badass media centre ever, but still looking (almost) exactly the same externally.. The quick specs/plans are:

• 23" LED Monitor (in some kind wood grain wrapped bezel)
• Mini ITX motherboard- 1.5Ghz dual core, 4gb ram, 2TB HDD for storage and a 32GB SSD for the OS
• Freeview receiver card to watch and record TV
• Multi card reader
• Bluray drive
• Custom IR receiver so I can use the original remote

I'll be running it on XBMC, which is open source home theater software. It's massively customisable too, which is what will enable me to link in both the freeview card and the old remote using LIRC.

So today I made a start on tearing it apart.


If you're going to take apart a CRT TV or monitor, it's really important to properly discharge the tube as they can hold enough juice to cause you a lot of damage, even if they've been off for years. Use an insulated screwdriver linked up to the earth cable and slide it under this suckery bit.


Next trick is to remove the cathode from the tube. They have a vaccum inside so just give it a tap on the neck gently until you hear a hissing.


SO MUCH SPACE.


With all of it apart, I trimmed off all the mountings for the old internals which will allow me to mount the other stuff more easily. I took out most of the inside of the pop out panel too, there will be a card reader and audio in jack here.


Fitted a female kettle lead port which runs to a splitter to power both the monitor and PC.



Next, fitted the PC on/off switch in place of the old TV on/off. I also fitted the PC on light in place of the old one. Haven't finished this box yet as this will also house the IR receiver, which i haven't built yet.



I also fitted the HDD activity/loading light at the bottom which used to contain a light receiver for some reason.


Bracket to mount both hard drives out of aluminium. Might paint it black yet, but you'll never see it.


As it sits now.


And that's it for now, I am awaiting more parts (the computer, screen and the IR receiver bits) so I'll carry on next weekend. I am happy with progress so far, it's looking good. Still not sure how i'm gonna tackle the screen mounting issue, but i'm sure I will.

[MK2VR6]

That should be fantastic. I assume the monitor will sit where the original screen sat though? Don't know how a flat screen will look compared to the original convex screen - I guess it'll stand out a mile? Would be good to somehow hide the monitor behind the outer layer of the original screen?

[Nev]

Mar 22, 2014 21:15:20 GMT MK2VR6 said:

That should be fantastic. I assume the monitor will sit where the original screen sat though? Don't know how a flat screen will look compared to the original convex screen - I guess it'll stand out a mile? Would be good to somehow hide the monitor behind the outer layer of the original screen?

That was what I wanted to do, but it wouldn't have worked as the screen is way too convex. I'd have loved to do that but it'll just be the LED monitor with no cover.

[smellyferret]

I've wanted to build a similar thing for a while too I've been looking for a chest though, so it can be closed and completely hidden when not in use!
bookmarked

[grizz]

I have no idea what you are doing but I LOVE IT !!!

Electrickery is a dark art to me.

I also love the work bench.

[Nev]

Mar 23, 2014 10:53:22 GMT grizz said:

I have no idea what you are doing but I LOVE IT !!!

Electrickery is a dark art to me.

I also love the work bench.

The workbench doubles as a kitchen, too!

[stealthstylz]

Could you make the outer layer of the original screen into some sort of flip down/removable cover? Or even use it as a former and heat a piece of clear perspex in the oven then allow it to shape itself over the original screen, then mount permanently?

[Nev]

Mar 23, 2014 17:50:29 GMT stealthstylz said:

Could you make the outer layer of the original screen into some sort of flip down/removable cover? Or even use it as a former and heat a piece of clear perspex in the oven then allow it to shape itself over the original screen, then mount permanently?

Unfortunately you can't really get LED/LCD monitors that big in the old 4:3 aspect ratio, so it'll be a widescreen. The forming idea isn't a bad one, but i wouldn't be able to use the old screen, not big enough. If it looks curse word without, i'll pursue that idea.

[brc76]

You can indeed get open frame monitors in 4:3, just need to know where to look. they are still used in loads of commercial applications.

look for suppliers of AUO open frame or similar and go from there.

AMG-19OPPC02N1-V1 is a 4/3 19" monitor that Review display systems sell, or there are plenty of other solutions, but you could also look to the used computer monitor market for a easy one.

[grifterkid]

My word, what a project...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Amazing!

[Nev]

Mar 25, 2014 17:13:20 GMT brc76 said:

You can indeed get open frame monitors in 4:3, just need to know where to look. they are still used in loads of commercial applications.

look for suppliers of AUO open frame or similar and go from there.

AMG-19OPPC02N1-V1 is a 4/3 19" monitor that Review display systems sell, or there are plenty of other solutions, but you could also look to the used computer monitor market for a easy one.

19" is the biggest i can find anywhere, but it had a 22" screen so a 19" would look a bit small. I did find this: link, but the cheapest i could find was still over £500!

Bit more progress whilst I'm waiting for bits and pieces to arrive;


Made a screen bezel, haven't cut the slot for the screen yet as I have no screen to mount.


Also, i think i'll vinyl wrap the bit below the screen where the convex shape of the screen came out before in some kind of matching wood grain and leave the bezel black.

[89mustang]

That's a proper heavy duty clamp you got there!

[colnerov]

Yes, I think he unbolted it from the kitchen table...I mean the other bench!!!

[brc76]

Winmate have a 22" www.winmate.com.tw/IndustrialDisplay/LcdSpec.asp?Prod=01_0217&Typeid=B010103 UK Source is www.pacer.co.uk

Amongo do one www.amongo.com.cn/_d270792810.htm - RDS is the UK supplier again....

Assured www.assured-systems.co.uk/Digital-Signage-and-Multimedia/Open-Frame-LCD-Monitors/231-Open-Frame-LCD-Monitor-(1600-x-1200).html

Ginsbury might have one, laying about, www.ginsbury.co.uk/products/tft-lcd-panels-c-49

Neville Millward at Ginsbury may be able to help, tell him that David Payne (ex optical filters) sent you his way.

[Nev]

Mar 26, 2014 0:24:39 GMT brc76 said:

Winmate have a 22" www.winmate.com.tw/IndustrialDisplay/LcdSpec.asp?Prod=01_0217&Typeid=B010103 UK Source is www.pacer.co.uk

Amongo do one www.amongo.com.cn/_d270792810.htm - RDS is the UK supplier again....

Assured www.assured-systems.co.uk/Digital-Signage-and-Multimedia/Open-Frame-LCD-Monitors/231-Open-Frame-LCD-Monitor-(1600-x-1200).html

Ginsbury might have one, laying about, www.ginsbury.co.uk/products/tft-lcd-panels-c-49

Neville Millward at Ginsbury may be able to help, tell him that David Payne (ex optical filters) sent you his way.

I spoke to Assured Systems today about something in 4:3 flavour, they had a lovely 23" one, a pinch at £3,000. They had a 22" too, at an equally painful £2,000. Very helpful though, but they couldn't think of anything that big in 4:3 and even remotely affordable. I shall try Ginsbury though, see what they can find. Cheers for your help!

[ax16vts]

like the progress so far. I would question the use of a 4:3 monitor though, i know a 16:9 would look a bit odd fitted but when it comes to displaying your media, most films are now in a 16:9 format (ie 33% wider than 4:3) and trying to squeeze them onto a 4:3 display would cause either distortion of the image, loss of both edges of the image or black lines to the left and right of the image...

Also, with regard to xbmc if you havent already then check out openelec - its a linux operating system that runs xbmc only, its really fast with no windows or other stuff eating up resources in the background. It'll also install to a usb drive to save you buying a ssd drive...

[EssexRich]

Cut the tv housing and extend it? bit of filler and paint and bob's your uncle!

[chairchild]

As above, have you considered cutting the whole thing down the middle, adding some extra material in (to suit a widescreen monitor) then maybe covering in vinyl to not make it look like you've glued a bit of plastic in the middle?

Would also solve the issue of the leftover bit on the bottom of the surround, as you'd already be covering the case in vinyl. Could look into getting a vacuum-moulded insert made? (Ask local schools/etc if you could get it made for a small donation/etc)


Any thoughts on audio yet?

[Nev]

I hadn't really thought about extending it, but it'd end up looking strange as it's got a curve across the whole front. A bit like how a limo ends up looking totally wrong when it has a bit welded in the middle!

Got a load more bits yesterday, 16:9 screen fits in by about 2mm either side which is a winner. Next step this weekend is getting the bezel to fit the screen and mounting all the computer hardware. Might even get round to booting up the PC! Speaking of which, i've looked into XBMC installs and i'm gonna either go with OpenElec or XBMCbuntu, depending on their merits. I need to run a few background processes for the TV card and the remote, so we'll see. Probably have a play with both and see which is nicest.

Audio is easy, i'm going to be using my current external speaker/amp setup which is pretty good but i'll still run the onboard speaker via the pc speaker output on the mobo. It will be curse word but as i always use external stuff it doesn't matter. I might end up changing it at a later date but for now it'll be loud enough.

[ax16vts]

Having tried openelec and xbmcbunto i would go with openelec, however thats up to you! Both run fine off either a usb stick or a I'd to sd/cf adaptor which will save you having to buy a ssd for the operating system.

don't forget to install mashup - sky sports 1-4, bt sport 1 & 2 and loads of other live feeds still working well as well as thousands of movies.....