There seem to be two varieties of TV Card Frame currently available. One is the standard model frequently seen with the pillars that support the plexiglass painted with stars. The other has a more modern flair with abstract pillars. The latter, I believe, is made in China or India. Does anyone have any opinions about either of these regarding reliability etc,?

I have one that is with a holder/card shooter that is palmed. You just hold the two pieces of glass in your hands.

Collectors' Workshop did a palmed version with mini cards called "Card in Glass". Nothing however beats their "Bulletproof" effect.

As I remember, the TV Card Frame is noisy. That said, the effect still has the potential to startle an audience.

The problem with the standard card frame was not just the noise on release but the card was force. Bulletproof used jumbo cards, frame was very "thin", card freely chosen and signed (corner could be torn too), and sound issue eliminated due to its method (you didn't have to handle the frame).

Not all the standard card frames were/are noisy. There's nothing wrong with forcing a card and letting the selector finish tearing off the corner for future identification.

Having said all that, I suggst you avoid the "made in India" frames because, although these are reliable, tripping the mechanism results in a loud TWANG.

Julie

Are the models from India made with silver, arc shaped pillars?, as opposed to the standard model which I have seen frequently painted with white stars on a blue background.

The silver model is wholesaled by Goshman Magic. So it is most like from Taiwan or one of the other little oriental countries. That is my guess being it is priced so low. Goshman was getting some items years ago from Japan, but if it was made in Japan, the price would be 3 times what it is listed as. Whoops, just found a listing on a China web site, so it may be from China.

Can't complain about a price of $30.00, that's for sure.

http://www.goshmagic.com/tv-card-frame-deluxe.html

I don't have this, but Goshman's Magic is usually very good in quality.

IMO the wings on this thing are suspiciously wide and look garish. It doesn't look like a picture frame at all, just an amateur magic prop.

Whew! This is not meant to be overly critical, just my objective observation of the piece.

Bill's right, for $30 these days you can't go too far wrong.

Julie

I know nothing about Goshmagic.com, and the construction of this prop outwardly appears to be fine. But I have to agree with Julie, the wings are crying for attention when they shouldn't...and certainly don't need to. I'm guessing that the designer thought that widening the sides would take some "heat" off of the base, but it doesn't work out that way. This is just wayyyyy too much overall hardware and girth for the visual aspects of this effect, i.e. not pertaining to what is perceived to be happening in this experiment...mentally (a chosen card transporting from a thrown deck to a "sealed" set of clear panes.), verses visually, where a card appears supposedly out of nowhere. The more "stuff" we put around the appearance area is arguably directly proportionate to how people perceive "nowhere."

Paul Daniels' in his Burvura DVD set, says using interesting, unusual, and decorative magic props is the right thing to do for a magician. We are actors, playing the part of a magician for entertainment purposes only.

It looks like the tips of a falchion blade. Would look great with a medieval deck of cards.

Wizard of OZ, you don't own a set of the most famous Sponge Balls in the world, Goshman Sponge Balls. The late Albert Goshman invented them, and then created Super Soft. His many tricks with sponge balls sold all over the world, and his world famous Salt and Pepper shaker close-up routine. His son now runs the company.

Ha. I never made the connection Bill. Of course I'm familiar with Goshman's products, just never bought directly. Always from a Brick and Mortar. When I saw "Goshmagic" I thought it was yet another online magic shop and their name was an exclamation, like "Gosh...magic!" Of course now that I look at the post with the link in it, it has the mention regarding Goshman directly below it.

Sigh.

I love magic props. Collect them, and have at least 6 TV card frames in my collection. It's always been one of my favorite props, and effects.

My comments were specifically about the design of the particular frame referenced, and pictured on Goshmagic's site. As I rambled my description may have seemed like I was describing all magic props. That's not true and apologize if I was misleading.