Sinclair FTV1 (TV-80) miniature television receiver

Sinclair FTV1 (alias TV-80) miniature television with case, 1983. This early portable flat screen was not successful. One of the reasons was the special lithium batteries it required, considered very expensive at the time. The flat screen is not an LCD screen, but a special cathode ray tube. Retail price was 79.95 Pounds.

A Sinclair MTV1 'Microvision' miniature portable television receiver, with case, made in England in 1983.

Clive Sinclair had long had an ambition to produce a pocket television and eventually realised it with the MTV1. This was a revolutionary design, based around a tiny 2-inch cathode ray tube specially made by Telefunken. However what set it really apart was the fact that it was the first multi-standard (525/625-line), multi system (VHF/UHF) portable television - meaning that it could be used anywhere in the world. It was also small enough to fit in your pocket, but when it went on sale in the UK it was just too expensive (at £200) and the picture was really too small to watch comfortably. It was not a commercial success.