In spite of being replaced by ultra-thin panels with extraordinary resolutions, old CRT televisions still refuse to disappear. There are still true gurus dedicated to their repair and maintenance, arcade enthusiasts do not hesitate to modify them, and then we find the occasional home experiment involving modern signals and Internet connections. One such experiment was carried out by Johannes Spreitzer, who created a literal “YouTube television” with the help of a converter, a Chromecast, and an Austrian TV set from ’77…
Everything starts with a CRT TV. The older the better (and personally I would add a compact design as an extra advantage), but the idea is not to be stuck with a too limited model. At least an external antenna input is needed. RF signals leave much to be desired in terms of quality, however, it is more than enough to play with this device.
The analog switch-off is already a fact in a large part of the world (almost all of Latin America is still in transition), and it is likely that a CRT TV will only tune static… but we have the Internet and YouTube. How do we make this modern entertainment medium compatible with televisions that exceed the average age of our readers? Johannes Spreitzer demonstrates it with his “YouTube television”.
A “YouTube Media Player” with a CRT TV
The specimen in question is an Austrian Kapsch from 1977. Black and white, VHF and UHF tuners, classic by any measure. Johannes’s father, a former TV and radio technician, made sure it worked perfectly. Instead of opting for a major surgery process, Johannes purchased online a modulator that converts HDMI signals to RF, without the need for an additional device between the two. The modulator falls directly into the category of “generic Chinese”, although it is not as cheap as I remembered, with a value of $40 on Amazon (maybe it’s worth less on AliExpress?).
The last phase is reduced to connecting a Chromecast to the modulator’s HDMI port, sending its RF output to the TV input, and using a mobile phone linked to the Chromecast to stream YouTube to the screen. The best part? YouTube is just one option. Nothing stops you from connecting a graphics card to that modulator and enjoying a good retro gaming session on a real CRT.
Official site: Click here
