In an era of Netflix and instant streaming, it’s easy to forget just how far TV’s have come.
Prior to portable devices and 5G streaming, big and bulky analogue units that dominated a room were how the western world watched its TV and movies.
Now, a viral video from the year 1999 has sparked a wave of sentimentality over the silver screen and has left Gen Zer’s in shock at how expensive the units used to be.
While homeowners can now spend under £200 for a 40 inch flat screen, just over two decades ago, they’d have to splash out thousands for the flashiest model.
A viral clip posted on Twitter has shown Gen Zers what TV’s looked like at the turn of the century
The homeowners invited his friends for a 2000’s New Years Eve party, who were in awe of the expensive set-up
The clip, posted on X (formally known as Twitter) by @NostalgiaFolder, shows a group of friends arriving at a house party to welcome in the millenium.
The now-viral tweet read: ‘Guy shows off his new $5,000 TV to friends at a 2000 New Year’ Eve party.’
Greeting his pals on the New Years Eve celebrations, the homeowner said he had a ‘surprise’ for them.
‘I think you guys are going to be amazed,’ the proud TV owner said as his friends gasped n disbelief.
The bulky TV sat in a wooden cabinet in the homeowner’s basement, while a performer sang on screen.
In awe over the unit, one of his friends asked: ‘How much did it cost you?!’ remarking that it must’ve cost him $10,000.
The man said he payed ‘close’ to the estimated price, claiming that he bought it for $5,000 (£4,000) at BestBuy.
Since it was posted, the video has raked in an impressive 5 million views and has hundreds of comments from
The viral tweet has gained 5 million views since it was posted, in a follow-up clip the men predicted the future
Twitter users were amazed by how much technology has ‘improved’ over the last two decades, and were shocked at how much TV’s used to cost
One user remarked: ‘It really puts it into perspective though how drastically and quickly technology has changed and improved. That was really not that long ago, all things considered.’
Another added: ‘I can’t imagine how hard it was to get that down the basement stairs without dropping it. People don’t remember how freaking heavy TV’s were back in the day.
In a follow up clip, the group of men predicted there would be flying cars by the year 2010 and one of them flashed his brand new Nokia mobile phone.
Many TV’s have fallen in price in recent years, according to ElectronicWorld, a Toshiba 49.1 inch display TV would’ve cost £895 in 2012, but Toshiba smart feature TV’s of a similar price can be found for as little as £269.99.
The website attributes the fall due to various reasons, from technology advances to the growth of tech companies.
It explains that each advancement of TV models makes older models less desirable allowing for price drops.
The website states: ‘The trend of TV prices has gone from becoming an unaffordable luxury to a standard accessory within most houses. The prices are so low that many homes across the UK have more than one device.’
