whats the deal with Hoffman?

[llcvt15]

I always figured my Hoffman set had a green picture tube beings it sat outside for at least three years (funny story...). I guess thats not the case as in the last week or so I've noticed several other threads about these sets and they all had green "easy vision" tubes in them. Were they the only company to produce sets like this? I almost have to wonder if watching an easy vision set would be somewhat similar to using a 1980's style computer console? Or then again it might just be like any other black and white set. Either way, just curious...

[ggregg]

Every one I've seen was green. Different marketing technique from back when watching TV with the lights out was bad for your eyes. At least that's what I was told. Unless it was a Hoffman probably.

[charokeeroad]

I think I read somewhere that the green screen can be removed and a reqular clear screen can be put in.

[David Roper]

The regular clear screen is already on the face of the tube.

[jr_tech]

Originally Posted by llcvt15

I always figured my Hoffman set had a green picture tube beings it sat outside for at least three years (funny story...). I guess thats not the case as in the last week or so I've noticed several other threads about these sets and they all had green "easy vision" tubes in them. Were they the only company to produce sets like this? I almost have to wonder if watching an easy vision set would be somewhat similar to using a 1980's style computer console? Or then again it might just be like any other black and white set. Either way, just curious...

Actually the picture tube is a standard white P4 phosphor in these sets, only the safety glass is tinted yellow-green. I have only seen Hoffman sets with this feature, my thought is that it was more marketing than science.
jr

[bgadow]

The urban legend (which may be true?) is that when Hoffman started out he got ahold of a bunch of war surplus green glass at a very low price. Sounds good, at least!

[Eric H]

Here's a Hoffman in action, the Green is a piece of green glass bonded to a piece of clear, like a windshield, very thick and heavy.

[wa2ise]

Yuck. I would have went with a sepia (brownish color seen in really old B&W photographs) tint.

[bandersen]

LOL, no kidding. I've heard that the human eye is most sensitive to green. So maybe that was their motivation ?

[Tom Albrecht]

They also have the CRT slightly inclined downward, so that you're less likely to get a reflection off the screen from a window. They of course refered to any such reflection as "glare," which is the word people use for all bad things associated with light.

It was a mighty strange marketing campaign. However, there seems to have been a bit of hype at the time that watching TV could somehow be bad for your eyes. The usual paranoid overprotective types would pay extra for a green-tinted Hoffman!

What they didn't seem to understand is that watching TV is bad for your brain! Eyes? ... not so much.

[charokeeroad]

Does anyone know if the CRT comes out with the chassis or is it attached to the cabinet. I'm thinking about what I will need to do to transport it.



I've been fighting the urge to say this but.. maybe Hoffman was an early environmentalist..

[Bill R]

The yellowish green glass may have been to increase the preceived contrast in a brightly lit room. Like the tinted sunglasses.

[kx250rider]

Originally Posted by bgadow

The urban legend (which may be true?) is that when Hoffman started out he got ahold of a bunch of war surplus green glass at a very low price. Sounds good, at least!

That's the story I heard too, and it came from an old retired Hoffman engineer I met in the 1980s. The first batch of green glass seemed to sell the sets, and they ordered more, until it got to be "old tech-looking". I think they used it through '52 or so, then went to clear glass.

Charles

[peverett]

I have several of the Easy Vision Hoffmans. On the 21 inch consoles and the 17 inch tabletops, the CRT comes out with the chassis. On the consoles(I have not checked the table tops), the green tinted glass is actually a safety glass with a plastic layer sandwiched between two glass layers. Just like auto safety glass. Hoffman used the green glass until at least 1954 as one of my TVs with the tinted glass is of this vintage. The CRTs are not tinted.

I also have a later 1950s Hoffman portable set, but it does not have the green tinted glass.

Another tidbit about Hoffman is that the person suspected of murdering Bob Crane(Hogan's Heros) worked as a technician at Hoffman at one point.

[charokeeroad]

Originally Posted by peverett

I have several of the Easy Vision Hoffmans. On the 21 inch consoles and the 17 inch tabletops, the CRT comes out with the chassis. On the consoles(I have not checked the table tops), the green tinted glass is actually a safety glass with a plastic layer sandwiched between two glass layers. Just like auto safety glass. Hoffman used the green glass until at least 1954 as one of my TVs with the tinted glass is of this vintage. The CRTs are not tinted.

I also have a later 1950s Hoffman portable set, but it does not have the green tinted glass.

Another tidbit about Hoffman is that the person suspected of murdering Bob Crane(Hogan's Heros) worked as a technician at Hoffman at one point.

That's sacrey ~