While The Simpsons now pile onto their couch to watch a flatscreen television, their beloved, purple CRT TV set has been immortalized as a working, 3D-printed replica.
American software engineer Brandon Withrow designed the tiny unit seen above, which is able to play episodes from the first 11 seasons of The Simpsons on an endless, randomized loop without an internet connection.
His creation found an audience on Reddit with the following clip of the TV in action, complete with working power and volume knobs.
Withrow shared with commenters that the TV and parts were designed using modelling software Fusion 360, and were printed using a Creality Ender 3 Pro 3D printer. Inside the unit, an ultra-compact Raspberry Pi Zero computer handles episode storage and playback.
"The episodes were all compressed specifically for the screen and loaded onto the SD card," Withrow explained. "When the Pi is powered up, through the USB port on the back of the TV, it starts playing episodes at random. When [an] episode ends the next is randomly selected."
Withrow is currently at work on a build guide for technologically-inclined Simpsons obsessives that he will surely publish through his website.
The Simpsons wrapped its 32nd season in May, and was renewed for two more seasons in March. The year has also seen the show make crossover ventures into the worlds of Star Wars and Marvel comics.
American software engineer Brandon Withrow designed the tiny unit seen above, which is able to play episodes from the first 11 seasons of The Simpsons on an endless, randomized loop without an internet connection.
His creation found an audience on Reddit with the following clip of the TV in action, complete with working power and volume knobs.
Withrow shared with commenters that the TV and parts were designed using modelling software Fusion 360, and were printed using a Creality Ender 3 Pro 3D printer. Inside the unit, an ultra-compact Raspberry Pi Zero computer handles episode storage and playback.
"The episodes were all compressed specifically for the screen and loaded onto the SD card," Withrow explained. "When the Pi is powered up, through the USB port on the back of the TV, it starts playing episodes at random. When [an] episode ends the next is randomly selected."
Withrow is currently at work on a build guide for technologically-inclined Simpsons obsessives that he will surely publish through his website.
The Simpsons wrapped its 32nd season in May, and was renewed for two more seasons in March. The year has also seen the show make crossover ventures into the worlds of Star Wars and Marvel comics.
