Before plasma TVs and flat screens took over, there was another monster sitting in living rooms all over Christchurch.
Rear projection TVs.
Big cabinet-style televisions that looked more like furniture than a TV.
Back in the day they were impressive.
Huge screen.
Big sound.
Perfect for watching the rugby.
Now most of them are just giant boxes people can’t get out of the house.
The Giant TVs Before Flat Screens
Rear projection TVs were the big thing before plasmas and modern flat screens arrived.
Inside the cabinet was a projector system and mirrors that projected the image onto the screen.
The problem was the size.
These things were:
- massive
- deep
- awkward
- extremely heavy
Moving one was more like shifting a large fridge than a television.
When They Were New They Were Flash
Back when these TVs first came out they were pretty impressive.
If someone had one sitting in their lounge, people noticed it straight away.
Huge screen for the time.
Great for sport.
Perfect for watching movies.
Back then if you owned one, your mates would come around and say:
“Bloody hell that’s a big TV.”
Fast forward twenty years and the reaction is very different.
Now someone walks into the room and says:
“What the hell is that huge thing?”
While they’re standing there watching YouTube on their phone.
Technology moves on quickly.
Where Most Of Them End Up
Once flat screens became affordable, rear projection TVs quickly became outdated.
A lot of them ended up being moved out of the lounge and into places like:
- garages
- spare rooms
- sleepouts
- storage areas
Because they were simply too big to throw away easily.
So they sit there.
Sometimes for years.
The Tenant Move-Out Problem
We actually find a lot of these during rubbish pickups and house clearances around Christchurch.
Especially in rental properties.
Tenants move out and suddenly there’s a massive rear projection TV sitting in the garage.
Most of the time it was useful at some stage.
But by move-out day nobody wants to deal with it.
Those things are:
- huge
- awkward
- ridiculously heavy
And quite often they don’t even go anymore.
So instead of moving it, some tenants simply leave it behind for the next person to deal with.
Not exactly a great surprise for landlords.
Moving One Is the Hard Part
The biggest problem with rear projection TVs is simply moving them.
They’re:
- wide
- deep
- heavy
- awkward to carry
Some of them are so big they barely fit through doorways.
Trying to lift one into a car usually isn’t happening.
Even getting it onto a trailer can be a struggle.
Which is why so many of them end up sitting around unused.
Can You Take One To The Dump?
Yes.
Rear projection TVs can be taken to Christchurch EcoDrop transfer stations.
Places like:
- Metro Place
- Parkhouse Road
- Bromley
- Styx Mill
These facilities handle electronic waste, which includes televisions.
But the real challenge is still getting the TV there.
Getting It There Is The Mission
To take one to the dump you still have to:
- move it out of the house
- lift it into a vehicle
- drive across Christchurch
- unload it again
For something that can weigh 60–100 kilos, that’s not a small job.
Which is why many people keep putting it off.
The TV just sits there taking up space.
The Easier Option
Because of the size and weight, a lot of people around Christchurch choose old TV removal instead.
No wrestling a giant cabinet TV through the house.
No lifting it into the car.
No dump queues.
You just leave it somewhere accessible and it gets taken away.
If you’ve got one of those old rear projection TVs sitting in the garage and you just want the bloody thing gone, you can Book a TV pickup in Christchurch:
Order your pickup here This is where you can get rid of that bloody old heavy TV
Simple as that.
