--- title: "Vend-o-Vision: Trading Quarters For Watching TV In Public" url: https://daily.dev/posts/vend-o-vision-trading-quarters-for-watching-tv-in-public-o2u4nliis source_url: https://hackaday.com/2026/02/28/vend-o-vision-trading-quarters-for-watching-tv-in-public/ type: article source: "Hackaday" published: 2026-03-01T06:16:18.670Z updated: 2026-03-01T06:16:36.978Z reading_time: 2 upvotes: 0 comments: 0 language: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Vend-o-Vision: Trading Quarters For Watching TV In Public **[Hackaday](https://daily.dev/sources/hackaday)** · 2 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary A look at the Vend-o-Vision by Mini-TV USA, a coin-operated black-and-white TV unit from 1989 designed for public spaces like laundromats and restaurants. A new-in-box unit was unboxed and tested by YouTuber Mark of SpaceTime Junction. The device used an off-the-shelf Panasonic TV inside a metal enclosure with a timer and coin mechanism offering 10–20 minutes of viewing per quarter. Despite its novel concept, the product failed commercially — the FTC settled with Mini-TV USA in 1995 for deceptive earnings projections, and the company had already ceased operations by then, making surviving units rare. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Someone built a Simpsons-style retro TV that plays NES games and 90-minute movies on a tiny display](https://daily.dev/posts/someone-built-a-simpsons-style-retro-tv-that-plays-nes-games-and-90-minute-movies-on-a-tiny-display-rp2omsgpv) · XDA Developers · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [A Camera Viewfinder Makes A Great TV](https://daily.dev/posts/a-camera-viewfinder-makes-a-great-tv-hsebmjnup) · Hackaday · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Scanwheel: A Pocket-Sized POV TV](https://daily.dev/posts/scanwheel-a-pocket-sized-pov-tv-otkna0caj) · Hackaday · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [One Man’s Perfect Retro-Style Monitor Takes All Inputs](https://daily.dev/posts/one-man-s-perfect-retro-style-monitor-takes-all-inputs-1obfy9nyt) · Hackaday · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/vend-o-vision-trading-quarters-for-watching-tv-in-public-o2u4nliis)