This was actually a thing in the past (back when *I* as a kid, consarnit!).
People (dumb adults) widely believed that video game consoles would "tear up" a TV, just by being connected to the TV....
I mean, they weren't even considering "screen burn-in," which was something that was possible if you left a still image on a TV screen for like... multiple days or something.... And I guess video games did have sharp, bright images which could cause such a problem.... But who leaves their game consoles paused for days with the TV on? Plus, the old Atari 2600 didn't even have a pause feature (consarnit!!!); when you started playing a game, you were PLAYING it and you couldn't stop until you died or you beat the game!
But no, the (dumb) adults weren't informed about any actual scientific issues that might exist, such as screen burn-in -- they just had some vague (yet absolutely certain) idea that video game consoles would damage (they would always say "tear up") the TV. Because they'd heard about it from their cousin's sister's brother, or something....
When me and my brother took our Atari 2600 over to Grandma's house to play it, she asked, "That won't tear up the TV, will it?"
I think my step-grandpa at my other grandma's house asked the same thing when me and my cousin would bring our game consoles there... "That's not gonna tear up the TV, is it?" (and what did they expect us to say when they asked that question? "Yes, it will definitely tear up the TV. We have gone though like 5 TVs at home. Why do you think we needed to come here and use your TV??")
My friend's dad wouldn't let me hook my NES up to his big screen TV (dammit, that would have looked so cool!), because, of course, he was afraid it would tear up the TV....
On a math team trip in high school, I brought along my NES so I could hook it up in the hotel room. The math teacher got wind of it and came to my room, saying "I heard you brought a greaaaat biiiiig Nintendo...."
I said, "Well, it's not any larger than a regular-sized Nintendo...."
He said, "Don't hook it up, because it could tear up the TV."
After he left I used the room phone and asked for the manager, and I asked him if there was any problem with me hooking up a Nintendo to the TV in the room, and he said it was fine, so I hooked it up.
The math teacher heard about it (who the heck kept ratting me out to him??), and came back to the room, and he started to gripe me out, but I stopped him and said, "It's OK -- I asked the hotel manager and he said it was fine."
So he was just like, "Ok... but if it messes up the TV, you'll have to pay for it!"
Stupid, stupid people.
A game console simply sends an image to the TV, just like a damn VCR or something....
I've been playing video games all my life, and not once did they ever tear up the TV!
So... on that math team trip, I had a large audience in the room, watching me play through and beat Ninja Gaiden for NES. Some of them would read through the cut scenes using funny voices, and we would laugh at how cheesy and dramatic they were, heh.
And ya know what? That game was not THAT hard (consarnit!!!!!).
People (dumb adults) widely believed that video game consoles would "tear up" a TV, just by being connected to the TV....
I mean, they weren't even considering "screen burn-in," which was something that was possible if you left a still image on a TV screen for like... multiple days or something.... And I guess video games did have sharp, bright images which could cause such a problem.... But who leaves their game consoles paused for days with the TV on? Plus, the old Atari 2600 didn't even have a pause feature (consarnit!!!); when you started playing a game, you were PLAYING it and you couldn't stop until you died or you beat the game!
But no, the (dumb) adults weren't informed about any actual scientific issues that might exist, such as screen burn-in -- they just had some vague (yet absolutely certain) idea that video game consoles would damage (they would always say "tear up") the TV. Because they'd heard about it from their cousin's sister's brother, or something....
When me and my brother took our Atari 2600 over to Grandma's house to play it, she asked, "That won't tear up the TV, will it?"
I think my step-grandpa at my other grandma's house asked the same thing when me and my cousin would bring our game consoles there... "That's not gonna tear up the TV, is it?" (and what did they expect us to say when they asked that question? "Yes, it will definitely tear up the TV. We have gone though like 5 TVs at home. Why do you think we needed to come here and use your TV??")
My friend's dad wouldn't let me hook my NES up to his big screen TV (dammit, that would have looked so cool!), because, of course, he was afraid it would tear up the TV....
On a math team trip in high school, I brought along my NES so I could hook it up in the hotel room. The math teacher got wind of it and came to my room, saying "I heard you brought a greaaaat biiiiig Nintendo...."
I said, "Well, it's not any larger than a regular-sized Nintendo...."
He said, "Don't hook it up, because it could tear up the TV."
After he left I used the room phone and asked for the manager, and I asked him if there was any problem with me hooking up a Nintendo to the TV in the room, and he said it was fine, so I hooked it up.
The math teacher heard about it (who the heck kept ratting me out to him??), and came back to the room, and he started to gripe me out, but I stopped him and said, "It's OK -- I asked the hotel manager and he said it was fine."
So he was just like, "Ok... but if it messes up the TV, you'll have to pay for it!"
Stupid, stupid people.
A game console simply sends an image to the TV, just like a damn VCR or something....
I've been playing video games all my life, and not once did they ever tear up the TV!
So... on that math team trip, I had a large audience in the room, watching me play through and beat Ninja Gaiden for NES. Some of them would read through the cut scenes using funny voices, and we would laugh at how cheesy and dramatic they were, heh.
And ya know what? That game was not THAT hard (consarnit!!!!!).
Last edited by Mr_Reaper,
