Thanks for the link, Ond! He certainly seems to know his CRTs and CRT market. The PVMs have mostly enjoyed a elite status, except for a brief period as the CRT sunset came
You may pall to hear that at one time nearly ten years ago I had a shed full of PVMs that I had to basically take to the dump. I had to move my ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- overseas and a container full of PVMs would have made me look like an importer (tax). It wasn't just that they were of no "value" at the time, I knew their real value. No tears about how much they cost me, it wasn't a huge amount, they were super-cheap back then because nobody wanted them. I just didn't have any *time* to deal with getting rid of them past someone offering to come by with a truck and grab them.
I knew they'd be worth money in the future, but had no options left. Loved ones needed support, time to go was now. Storage unreasonable. Passing them on too difficult. So off to the tip it was.
Back before then, I put several of my Sony 2730QM PVMs into recovered cab shells (mostly old LAI cabs, an Australian brand), they are great for 2-players, and I sold them on with sophisticated custom gaming systems installed. However, the Sony PVMs weigh a ton (well, about 35-40kg even when stripped down). I'm a big guy and at the time I installed them I was doing a lot of weights at the gym, even so getting them (even after de-casing) into the monitor bay so you could screw in the bolts to the T-nuts was a big effort. Not for everybody.
I still have one Sony PVM2730QM, but it is caseless. I exported it inside one of my cabs as the monitor! It is completely decased and tha stuff is gone. With a mighty effort, I've since removed the PVM to fix a couple of things (now done), but replaced it with a Panasonic 28" CRT with SCART/RGB inputs in the interval. I'd found the Panasonic in a 2nd hand store in Bangkok in 2008 (wife gave me looks at the time, but still supported me <3). Panasonic TV works great too, no need to change it out. But now I have a de-cased yet repaired Sony 27" PVM sitting in the shed wanting a home. I guess that demands a project!
I had to fix something on the Panasonic too, one of the high-voltage caps in the power supply died. But I was able to fix that without removing everything, so it is still in the cab.
I guess if you want to use old CRTs you'd better brace yourself for the need to repair them occasionally. Either learn yourself, or find someone local that can. At some point I decided I'd better learn for myself.
P.S. I know that the market in Thailand is different to NY or Melbourne, I can still buy CRTs retail here, but yesterday I was at the local mechanic shop and saw 3 ~20" CRTs of 2000-2005 era right in front of me. Would be perfect for cabs. My barber has another one too that would probably be suitable, but I haven't seen him in a while
/COVID. They all looked either RGB or component-capable or moddable. I reckon if I made a reasonable offer they'd consider, maybe say yes. How much for a replacement LCD? $50-60?
I definitely have those stories to tell Zebidee (as you know). I purchased one Sony CRT for around $100, it didn't work out for modding and had no component in, then I found 3 more sets for free one of which I'm now using in a project (has component in) using your transcoder. Prices vary for CRT TVs here in Australia, commonly between $60 - $350 depending on the model. Then there's the holy grail of CRT monitors (other than arcade monitors) - broadcast PVM and BVM Sony units and the like. These sell for $400 - $1000+.
This guy has plenty to say about CRT repair & restoration, CRT modding, CRT love, etc, worth checking out.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwOTvOtoAjiqQx1PCrfmTKw