The Sony PVM-4300 is an ultra-rare television set that achieved legendary status for being the largest Cathode-Ray Tube (CRT) TV ever sold. Announced in late 1988 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Sony’s Trinitron brand, the PVM-4300 was an incredibly expensive, made-to-order device that most people could only dream of buying. It went on sale in Japan at a retail price of $17,500 ($46,517 today) and featured advanced technology designed to reduce eye-straining flicker and improve image clarity on large-size screens and a 42-inch picture tube, the largest of its kind ever made. The world’s largest CRT TV was so heavy that it required at least six people to lift it safely. It had handles that bolted onto the sides of the monitor for improved grip. When it finally came to the United States in 1990, the Sony PVM-4300 CRT TV was not only the biggest of its kind, but probably the most expensive one as well, at a whopping $40,000. That was the main reason it didn't sell very well and why, for a long period of time, the PVM-4300 was little more than a myth. With no real-life units to be found and only a couple of “real-life” photos to go on apart from the vintage promotion material from its launch, people could only imagine what it really looked like. It’s unclear how many Sony PVM-4300 TVs were ever made, but judging by their extreme rarity, it’s likely there’s only one left in the world.
