Audio Video News

In Britain, a nation that cherishes its eccentrics as much as its bitter ales, a furniture restorer has converted a 1957-vintage black & white TV to receive digital over-the-air signals. It is believed to be the oldest TV to survive the U.K. DTV transition.

In fact, the DTV transition breathed new life into this old set. It hadn't operated since the 1980s when the country went from a 405-line analog format to a 625-line analog format. But thanks to a digital-to-analog converter sourced from the U.S., the old 17-inch TV is now chewing up the bits with the best of 'em.

The owner, Richard Howard, is enjoying 20 digital terrestrial channels from a Freeview set-top box. He's also now able to plug in his DVD player. The set takes 10 seconds to warm up, and the warming of the paxolin resin insulation gives it an "old TV smell," according to the owner.

But why keep an old TV? Well, the furniture-grade cabinet must have played a role. It really is beautiful.

Memories are another reason, says Howard: "I have a lot of fond memories of Christmas time when the whole family would gather round and watch it together. I could never bear to throw it away [because] it had too much value attached to it.... Nowadays there's a culture of forced obsolescence. We supposedly live in a hi-tech age but most modern electronic equipment you buy needs replacing after a couple of years and yet this has seen half a century and still sounds and looks great.... I think it is important to respect the past otherwise people will forget it. If it weren't for eccentrics like me nothing would be preserved."

See story in The Daily Mail via Gizmodo.