詳細説明

In 1983, with the TV market saturated with broadcast receivers and the trend toward lower inches, a design project was launched to develop a new TV. 5 members held discussions to rethink the position of the TV and create an unprecedented product, concluding that the era of large screens would come as video became more popular. The five members of the team came to the conclusion that the age of the large screen would come as the popularity of video continues to grow. The designers then reexamined the ideal form of a large-screen TV from the starting point, and, believing that “the essence of the TV lies in the cathode-ray tube that projects images,” they proposed a “floor life” that would fit in with Japanese life by expressing this in its original form and placing the TV on the floor. This innovative product overturns the conventional wisdom that large-screen TVs should be placed on a stand near the wall.

The floor-standing, 10-degree-tilted front is made of 5mm-thick tempered smoked glass, and the beautifully designed body, even the back, is made of strong resin and advanced molding technology to achieve a simple and robust finish without decoration. The product was also designed to meet the diverse needs of floor-life, with casters included for mobility and optional racks that could be used to store and stack peripheral equipment.

At the time, in addition to the popularization of video, video content was diversifying to include promotional and environmental videos, and this was seen as the timing for TVs to shift from “watching programs” to “enjoying video” more broadly. While the product is equipped with advanced functions that respond to this new video culture, the use of a white-out screen in the catalog and other image photos is a daring move that gives a strong message of proposing the future of large-screen TVs as well as their lifestyles, a concept that is consistent throughout the promotion process. This was a successful approach to create a strong message.

The project leader said in an interview later in the project that, “There was an opinion that they finally made TVs subordinate to people,” which is symbolic of the project’s success. The project leader later said in an interview, “They finally subordinated the TV to people.

The TH28-DM03 won the Good Design Grand Prize in 1985.