Gen Z in shock over what a $5,000 television looked like in 1999
In an age of Netflix and instant streaming, it’s easy to forget how far TV has come.
Before portable devices and 5G streaming, large and bulky analog devices that dominated a room changed the way the Western world watched TV and movies.
Now, a viral video from the year 1999 has created a wave of sentimentality on the silver screen and left Gen Zer shocked at how expensive the units used to be.
While homeowners could now spend less than £200 for a 40-inch flat screen, just over twenty years ago they had to shell out thousands of pounds for the flashiest model.
A viral clip on Twitter has shown Gen Zers what TV looked like at the turn of the century
The homeowners invited his friends to a New Year’s Eve party in 2000, who were impressed by the expensive setup
The clip, posted to X (formally known as Twitter) by @NostalgiaFolder, shows a group of friends arriving at a house party to welcome the millennium.
The now-viral tweet read: “Man shows off his new $5,000 TV to friends at a New Year’s Eve party in 2000.”
The homeowner greeted his friends on New Year’s Eve and said he had a “surprise” for them.
“I think you’ll be amazed,” said the proud TV owner as his friends gasped in disbelief.
The big screen TV sat in a wooden cabinet in the homeowner’s basement while an artist sang on the screen.
In awe of the unit, one of his friends asked, “How much did it cost you?!” noting that it must have cost him $10,000.
The man said he paid ‘close’ to the estimated price and claimed he bought it from BestBuy for $5,000 (£4,000).
Since it was posted, the video has racked up a whopping 5 million views and hundreds of comments
The viral tweet has been viewed 5 million times since it was posted, and in a follow-up clip the men predicted the future
Twitter users were amazed at how much technology has ‘improved’ in the past two decades, and were shocked at the cost of TVs
One user commented: ‘It really puts into perspective how drastically and quickly technology has changed and improved. All things considered, that wasn’t that long ago.’
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 terribly heavy TVs used to be.
In a follow-up clip, the group of men predicted that there would be flying cars by the year 2010 and one of them flashed his brand new Nokia cell phone.
Many TVs have fallen in price in recent years. According to ElectronicWorld, a Toshiba 49.1 inch display TV would have cost £895 in 2012, but Toshiba smart feature TVs of a similar price can be found for as little as £269.99.
The website attributes the decline to a variety of reasons, from technological advancements to the growth of technology companies.
It explains that any advancement in TV models makes older models less desirable, allowing for price drops.
The website says: ‘The TV price trend has changed from an unaffordable luxury to a standard accessory in most homes. Prices are so low that many homes in the UK have more than one device.’