Shortly after we posted our Model M Keyboard video,
we received a TON of requests to review what some have called the
Model M of India, the TVS Gold. It's a durable, value mechanical keyboard with Cherry switches
(sort of) that's been around for many years and can be found all over India in banks, offices, or uncle's den.
Unfortunately, it is not that easy to get your hands on in Canada,
so we embarked on a months-long journey, including the help of the extended family members of one of our viewers to actually get one.
But, with changes in quality and price,
and competition from China, is the TVS Gold as good a deal as it used to be?
Let's find out.
Speaking of gold, Private Internet Access. It's gold, but not like expensive like gold, it's just really good like gold.
Go get it. It protects you when you're online.
So here I've got an original Model M from
1986 and a TVS Gold from June 2018, now it's pretty obvious
that the TVS Gold took some design cues from the Model M, like the lock lights for example, they are
identical, but there are some notable differences though, like this ridge for example that you can use to hold a pencil
or even two pencils.
Also, the plastics themselves are pretty different
Now Model Ms were made with durable high quality plastics
including PBT keycaps, by contrast both the key caps and the chassis of the TVS Gold are made of the more common
ABS plastic, which can get that kind of that polished shiny look over time from the oils in your hands.
So we were able to confirm this with a quick acetone test. Going further,
we can also see that the white lettering is coming off even though the letter outline remains.
That's because the legend on the TVS Gold is laser etched,
which essentially means that it's got a groove burned in the top of the key cap, then in this case
it's filled in with a colorant.
So this kind of lettering isn't the most durable, but it's much better than pad printing which is what most budget keyboards use.
So it should last you reasonably well even in a professional environment.
The next thing that a lot of TVS Gold users talk about is the layout.
Now, at first glance
it looks like it has the same North American key layout that was pioneered by the Model M,
but it actually has a bigger enter key and a smaller backspace key.
Which that second one in particular can be really frustrating if you're not used to it.
I actually experienced this for myself on Steel Series' 7G.
Though with that said, you shouldn't confuse this layout with the European
ISO layout which also has a tall enter key. No,
no.
This one is actually a special layout called Index Script or INSCRPIT,
which was ratified by the government of India in the early 1990s,
and it's designed to work with 12 different Indian scripts. This keyboard,
by the way, was also the first one ever to have the Indian Rupee sign printed on the legend, though
you may find yourself needing to go through some extra steps in order to actually get it working.
Now let's talk about the typing experience.
Now traditionally, TVS Gold keyboards shipped with Cherry MX Blue key switches.
So these are high-quality,
German-engineered switches with a clicky, tactile feel
and a distinctive sound that makes them beloved by typists the world over.
And the fact that a keyboard that you could usually find for between seventeen hundred and twenty three hundred Rupees came with real cherry switches
was almost a miracle.
Except for one small problem,
sometime near the end of 2017,
(I'm trying to pop one of these off. You're not supposed to do it like this.)
[Struggling sounds]
Get off you bastard.
Yes, here we go wait, Long Hua?
Do they? Good. TVS stopped shipping Golds with Cherry switches with all of the newborns getting equipped with
Chinese clones made by Kailh.
Now to be clear the Kailh blue switches are still mechanical and they actually use the same design as the Cherry's,
you might say they ripped them off, so they still have that clicky feel
and if this is your first mechanical keyboard
you'll probably love them,
but it kind of raises the question, in a world where budget mechanical keyboards are becoming more and more available is
The TVS Gold still even a good deal? Especially
considering that the price has moved up, rather than down,
into the twenty seven hundred to thirty five hundred Rupee range.
I mean at that price, why not get a keyboard from Cosmic Byte or Redgear, that has more switch options, an updated look,
gaming features like anti-ghosting and windows key lock, not to mention freaking RGB. So then,
given the recent decrease in switch quality and increase in price
the TVS Gold is no longer the outstanding value that it once was,
especially considering the competition, but that doesn't mean that it's a bad keyboard.
So if you like the vintage look and you won't be bothered too much by the shortened backspace key,
then the TVS Gold is still a classic in its own right, just
be sure to order from Amazon,
even if it's cheaper at your local computer shop. That way you'll get a one-year warranty to protect you from their easily crushed boxes.
Speaking of easily crushed, I'll be crushed
if you don't listen to this message from Pulseway.
Pulseway is a real-time remote monitoring and management software that allows you to manage and monitor
(go figure right) in real-time from one app,
compatible machines that run Windows, Mac OS or Linux.
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You can even create and deploy custom scripts, so that you can automate your IT tasks. So try it for free at
Pulseway.com at the link in the video description. So thanks for watching guys
If you liked this video then you know what to do hit that like button,
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[Linus farts]
(Jesus.)
Well no one's over here, who cares?