Show us your Professional and Broadcasting Video Monitors (PVMs and BVMs)!

[Orlandu81]

I'm a huge fan of these style CRTs, as I'm sure many of you are. Being in SoCal has its advantages in availability, but other areas around the country also had these in high volumes especially in the mid-late 90s. Please post in this thread and show us what you got, and maybe share the model number(s) too and let us know what you use them for.

So I have 6 of these monitors....

- In the garage arcade, I have two 14 inch BVMs - the Sony BVM-A14F5U and the Sony BVM-14F5U. Both are linked together with a gscart and are used primarily for retro gaming. The A series is multiformat, so I can use it for "high def" things like PS2, Gamecube and Wii. I also have two little 9 inch Sony PVM LCDs - the PVM 9030 and the PVM 9020. These are great for test monitors as they have RGB and Component, but I use them to play DVDs on a PS2 slim in the background of the garage arcade.

- In my game room, I have two PVMs - the Sony PVM-20L5 (20 inches) and the Sony PVM-2950Q (27 inches). These are used similarly to my BVMs for console gaming, and the 20L5 is also multiformat.

If I have to pick my FAVORITE monitor, it's ironically probably the one with the fewest lines...the 2950Q. I love NES and SNES, and this monitor blows me away with it's size and details. If I could only keep ONE monitor, it would be the one I use least often, the 20L5. I would keep this one mainly due to its versatility and size.

 

[IC777]

Nice setup, no PVM's here but questions:

Did you build the white console display case?

Never played Super Metroid - is it worth spending 75$ to play it?

 

[Orlandu81]

Nice setup, no PVM's here but questions:

Did you build the white console display case?

Never played Super Metroid - is it worth spending 75$ to play it?

Hello -

1) Kind of...it's a combination of two "Target" display units that a guy in Los Angeles put together for me after I saw his setup and wanted to copy it from him.

2) Absolutely worth it. You don't have to spend $75 to play it if you have an everdrive or powerpak though. IMO it is the best Metroid in the series, and the challenging secrets combined with the unique music and different themes of each level makes it very addicting to play. DO NOT play it on a modern TV...as you need to time wall jumps and shots precisely to succeed in this game, and I found that the delay when using modern TVs makes this game nearly unplayable.

 

[SNESNESCUBE64]

I used to use an 8" PVM as a test monitor. I sold it when I switched to an arcade monitor for it.

For games I use an older 25" NEC presentation monitor. It's nice because it does 15k rgb and makes a fantastic image. Not quite a PVM but it isn't a consumer television (no tuner).

 

[Orlandu81]

I used to use an 8" PVM as a test monitor. I sold it when I switched to an arcade monitor for it.

For games I use an older 25" NEC presentation monitor. It's nice because it does 15k rgb and makes a fantastic image. Not quite a PVM but it isn't a consumer television (no tuner).
View attachment 857423

Fantastic retro corner! And yes that NEC is absolutely a PVM - while there is no formal definition for a PVM, to me if it is not a consumer model CRT then it is a PVM.

 

[kentmurphy]

If u haven't seen this ... this is a good watch. Not sure if this has already been shared on here.

 

[GothGirl]

Mine are shy and hiding in the corner

 

[Orlandu81]

Mine are shy and hiding in the corner

View attachment 857576

I spy a PVM-9030 and is that a PVM-9042?

 

[pat9000]

I have them everywhere and a couple get used most days.
2030 & 2530/2730QM have been my main TVs at home since the late 90s, though they've only been on retro duty for about 15 years now.

My main monitor repair bench has a couple LMD-2450Ws just because they're easy to tuck up on the wall, and a BKM-15R remote in the vidgen rack. The right one is pattern preview & the left one is usually displaying one of the old PCs for disk imaging & using the 29B.

BTW: it's probably worth gambling on these when cheap/broken if the screen seems good. Paid $40 the dead pair of them and they both had the same open SMD resistor on the PSU. Had them both fixed in an hour and they've been running for years now.

There's a PVM-20M4 and a JVC hiding unused under the bench in this pic, and a 1354Q out-of-frame to the right for the main bench JAMMA.



LMD-9050 for a preview display on the other monitor test bench, fed RGBS 480P from a scaler.



The ridiculous videowall made out of 4-2950s and the shittiest camera ever.



I rarely retro game lately, but mainly use a PVM-2030 at home for Nintendo & some Betamax machines used mostly for audio.




I actually have a couple more 1354s, a Barco CVS-51 19" b'cast, an NEC XM29, some older 13" Sony BVMs racked into some Ampex 1" type C video machines and a bunch of JVC & Panasonic prosumer 9" & 13"s. I'd sell most of the unused Panasonic & Sony stuff if anybody local needs anything - though no profeel cubes.

 

[KaBoom1701]

Like that Star Wars Trilogy marquee.

I have them everywhere and a couple get used most days.
2030 & 2530/2730QM have been my main TVs at home since the late 90s, though they've only been on retro duty for about 15 years now.

My main monitor repair bench has a couple LMD-2450Ws just because they're easy to tuck up on the wall, and a BKM-15R remote in the vidgen rack. The right one is pattern preview & the left one is usually displaying one of the old PCs for disk imaging & using the 29B.

BTW: it's probably worth gambling on these when cheap/broken if the screen seems good. Paid $40 the dead pair of them and they both had the same open SMD resistor on the PSU. Had them both fixed in an hour and they've been running for years now.

There's a PVM-20M4 and a JVC hiding unused under the bench in this pic, and a 1354Q out-of-frame to the right for the main bench JAMMA.

View attachment 857580

LMD-9050 for a preview display on the other monitor test bench, fed RGBS 480P from a scaler.

View attachment 857582

The ridiculous videowall made out of 4-2950s and the shittiest camera ever.

View attachment 857583

I rarely retro game lately, but mainly use a PVM-2030 at home for Nintendo & some Betamax machines used mostly for audio.

View attachment 857584


I actually have a couple more 1354s, a Barco CVS-51 19" b'cast, an NEC XM29, some older 13" Sony BVMs racked into some Ampex 1" type C video machines and a bunch of JVC & Panasonic prosumer 9" & 13"s. I'd sell most of the unused Panasonic & Sony stuff if anybody local needs anything - though no profeel cubes.

 

[Orlandu81]

I have them everywhere and a couple get used most days.
2030 & 2530/2730QM have been my main TVs at home since the late 90s, though they've only been on retro duty for about 15 years now.

My main monitor repair bench has a couple LMD-2450Ws just because they're easy to tuck up on the wall, and a BKM-15R remote in the vidgen rack. The right one is pattern preview & the left one is usually displaying one of the old PCs for disk imaging & using the 29B.

BTW: it's probably worth gambling on these when cheap/broken if the screen seems good. Paid $40 the dead pair of them and they both had the same open SMD resistor on the PSU. Had them both fixed in an hour and they've been running for years now.

There's a PVM-20M4 and a JVC hiding unused under the bench in this pic, and a 1354Q out-of-frame to the right for the main bench JAMMA.

View attachment 857580

LMD-9050 for a preview display on the other monitor test bench, fed RGBS 480P from a scaler.

View attachment 857582

The ridiculous videowall made out of 4-2950s and the shittiest camera ever.

View attachment 857583

I rarely retro game lately, but mainly use a PVM-2030 at home for Nintendo & some Betamax machines used mostly for audio.

View attachment 857584


I actually have a couple more 1354s, a Barco CVS-51 19" b'cast, an NEC XM29, some older 13" Sony BVMs racked into some Ampex 1" type C video machines and a bunch of JVC & Panasonic prosumer 9" & 13"s. I'd sell most of the unused Panasonic & Sony stuff if anybody local needs anything - though no profeel cubes.

Wow, just wow. Thanks for sharing!

 

[KaBoom1701]

Well @Orlandu81 knows my set up as he's been my partner in crime and allowed me to enter into this rabbit hole in the PVM world. Lol

Saw his set up a few years back while picking up some Nintendo arcade parts and then it was game on.

Since then I've acquired the following

PVM 2030
PVM 2950Q
PVM 1354Q X2
PVM 8054Q
PVM 9030

The 2950Q is my main retro gaming set up. Such an awesome beast of a monitor. I went old school and have it sitting on top of a school TV/Audio cart like you would have seen back in the day. You remember walking into class and seeing the TV cart you knew it was going to be a good day in class. Lol. This houses my NES RGB modded console playing an Evercart. It will eventually be a multi console set up.



The PVM 2030 became married to my custom Ghostbusters cabinet. This is essentially an NES RGB set up as well. I basically removed the rear case of the monitor and made some custom mounts to make it fit. It's a tight fit but the monitor and games all play great in the cabinet. With the new addition of the Gozer diorama behind the coin door this cabinet is just amazing and a crown jewel of the collection. The cool part is that I only have to remove the PVM and slide the rear case back in to use the monitor elsewhere if I ever have to.







My everyday PVM is my test bench 1354Q. It handles everything I through at it and also doubles as my NES top loader gaming rig when I need a quick break.



My small 8054Q is my travel monitor when I need something to test with while I'm helping other friends fix their games. Small and compact and a great little monitor.




The recent pick up is the 9030 LCD PVM. It works great and will probably be my new mobile test monitor when needed. I'm playing with the idea of using it as a auxiliary viewing monitor for some cabinet in my collection or even a small movie TV during arcade events.



I still have one more to collect and it's the elusive 20L5. The 19" can also display HD for newer consoles so the retro gaming community has grabbed most of the supply out there.

All in all I'm happy with what I have and I'm surprised more arcade guys haven't embraced more PVM's into their collections.

 

[tomservo]

I have a post from earlier this year regarding a 26" NEC one I have that I "rediscovered" after being in storage for many years.

NEC RGB monitor

I picked up this 26" NEC monitor in the late 90's, I'm thinking 1998/99. I traded the guy a Tempest spinner for it. So at that time it seemed an even trade, probably around $40. It has a manufacturer's date of April 1988. I stashed it out in the barn and forgot about it for 25 years. Until...

forums.arcade-museum.com

 

[Olexo2424]

I also own a bunch of TVs. I love CRTs. It's another of my many hobbies. Here we have my Sony PVM-20M2U and my JVC TM-910SU.

 

[pat9000]

I'm surprised more arcade guys haven't embraced more PVM's into their collections.

They're awesome, but they're expensive now. The money is probably better spent on machines for most collectors that aren't all that into consoles. The upside is that they're a limited resource and will probably continue to appreciate, if that matters.

I probably wouldn't bother owning more than two if I had to pay today's prices... but I mostly got all mine cheap/free over the last 30 years and probably have under $300 into all of them in total. The XM29 was $5 from U of MN surplus and the 20M4 and some others were given to me last year by an old video editor friend. I told him they were worth a bit and wanted to pay something for them, but all he wanted was his studio cleared of useless gear, just like everybody else that used to have these...

I do have a couple other interesting PVM-related things: a couple of the original TPGs used to align these monitors on the production line in Ichinomiya, Japan. I have several of these exact TPGs but two of them that I imported from Japan unexpectedly had a special stripped-down firmware custom made for Sony INY--you'll see "INY manufactured" on the back of all CRT PVM/BVM.

Tangentially, when Sony closed down the INY factory in 2006, Konami bought the building and moved their arcade game production to it. Cool.

 

[tomservo]

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I also own a bunch of TVs. I love CRTs. It's another of my many hobbies. Here we have my Sony PVM-20M2U and my JVC TM-910SU.

With that sweet Lincoln Log set under that Sony, I was really hoping to see this....

 

[KaBoom1701]

That's a cool piece of history.

We are lucky enough to live close to a old Sony tech who worked for them back in the day and used to service monitors for the studios in SoCal. He's out go to when these things need love.

 

[tomservo]

I love to see all these PMV's show up, and so many still working almost on a daily basis!

I'd be curious to see how many owners of these PVM / BVM's are performing the usual CRT monitor maintenance, or if even necessary??? Many of these PVM's are as old, or older, than than a typical arcade CRT.

Recapping / cap kits?
Headers/connectors/pins cleaned/reflowed or replaced?
Flybacks available?

How are you guys maintaining these monitors? Is there a schematic archive for these?

 

[DuffCon]

@Orlandu81 's setups are so clean and organized, makes me jelly! I've been mulling over setting up a Console area, but the two issues are the same with everything:

1) Never actually play anything, no time.
2) Which cabs to re-home?

 

[Orlandu81]

@Orlandu81 's setups are so clean and organized, makes me jelly! I've been mulling over setting up a Console area, but the two issues are the same with everything:

1) Never actually play anything, no time.
2) Which cabs to re-home?

Come by and play some games, I can influence you to get into this. Just ask @KaBoom1701