CRT TV opinions

[JiveMiguel]

Hello, all!

I'm in the market for a home theater system. I've decided on the speakers, reciever and DVD player, but I'm having issues with the display. Please give me your input on the following thoughts:

1. Plasma looks great if you're watching an HD signal. Otherwise, I think they look pretty crappy. I've been looking at the Panasonic HD and ED 42" versions, and almost bought the ED a week ago. They are also pretty pricey ($2300 for the ED version, 42"). Most vendors will extend your warranty by 3 years for $500. This leads me to believe that they're servicing a good number of these TVs.

2. Rear projection TVs are too big for my space and they have a crappy viewing angle. I have a pretty big TV room, but a very precise space in which the TV must fit. Thus, I need a good viewing angle for sure. The one benefit I see is that they are considerably cheaper than plasma.

3. I examined a Sony widescreen HD CRT and it looked great. It's benefits are a good viewing angle, a pretty cheap price (half of the plasma), and it's a good old CRT that shouldn't have problems for some time (am I right here?). The downside seems to be that not many vendors are making CRTs at all. They're also heavy and the largest I can find is 36" (which is actually just fine).

Opinions on these thoughts? I'm sorry this post is so long. Thanks in advance!

 

[Duffinator]

Don't get caught up in all the new technology, a CRT still has the best quality picture which all others are judged by. If it fits your space go for it. I'd also look at Toshiba and Panasonic sets as well. IMO they have as good as or better picture quality than Sony for a few hundred dollars less. If you have room for a CRT you may also want to check out DLP TV's. My favorites are Mitsubishi and Samsung in that order. Have fun shopping.

 

[XtremeAV]

I would have to agree with Duffinator on this.
Don't get me wrong I love Sony products however when dealing with display sources you are really just paying more for the name.
As for an EDTV running $2,300.00 + I have seen name brand displays for $1,900.00 and some change with warranties.

 

[JiveMiguel]

Thanks to all who have responded. I've narrowed it down to the Toshiba 34HF84. This is a flat tube, HD, widescreen, CRT display. I can get it for around $1300 at Best Buy, and it fits into my space. In my original post, I talked about Sony, but that's the last brand I would buy. I agree that you're paying for the name. At one time, Sony seemed to make the best consumer products, but over the past 15 years or so, they have slipped further and further down.

Thanks again! Keep the opinions coming... I haven't purchased the Toshiba just yet

 

[BMXTRIX]

If it fits the space nicely and the size is right, then you have made a very wise decision and should go ahead and buy.

Rear projection DLP and LCD are thin for the size screen they give, so they don't take up that much room - some models have almost no height either which is nice. But, they are not the quality of CRT tube televisions at all.

Plasma & LCD flat panels are also great - but the price is high and, once again, they don't match CRT for image quality.

CRT just isn't big enough or thin enough for some people. If you aren't one of those people, then go with the CRT.

 

[sjdgpt]

CRT

CRT

CRT


I too, think Plasma's look cool, and the name sounds even better, but there is something "un-natural" about the picture.

I have some very high rez pictures that I played through a DVD player. Good nature pictures and some "other" stuff.


CRT wins hands down over plasma.


I bought a 34" widescreen Sony.

It is hard to compare brand to brand going from one store to another.

Toshiba seemed to have as good, or maybe slightly better pic than the Sony, but I could not check out the built in speakers at that store.

The Panasonic had as good of picture as the Sony, but the sound through the built in speakers really sux compared to the Sony.

Really, really sux.

The Toshiba has the same small speakers as the Panny.



The warranty with the Toshiba and Panny was better than the Sony.

But I bought the Sony, so I guess the deciding factor became the built in speakers.


Yes, I know, we are suppose to listen to most material through the HT, but why would I want to listen to the evening news over the HT?

 

[jaxvon]

My friend has a big Toshiba HD CRT ( I think it's the biggest CRT they make) and it looks AWESOME. Crisp, bright, clear, etc. If it fits, looks nice, etc, then go for it. Awesome TV you're looking at there.

 

[furrycute]

I still prefer CRT over Plasmas, LCDs. Plasmas and LCDs will look great with HD sources. But I still have a large VCD collection, they look terrible on the ultra high resolution plasmas and LCDs.

Have you seen an LCD displaying regular TV broadcasts? The picture was horrible.

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

My friend has a big Toshiba HD CRT ( I think it's the biggest CRT they make) and it looks AWESOME. Crisp, bright, clear, etc. If it fits, looks nice, etc, then go for it. Awesome TV you're looking at there.

I have yet to trade up my 36" CRT SD Toshiba. Awesome picture, big screen for cable feeds (doesn't crop the picture), and excellent dvd playback. A 42" plasma will fit perfectly in my cabinet, but it's actually a smaller picture than my 36" CRT when viewing SD TV. Believe it or not, (at no cost to myself), I have a HD receiver thans to a TWC screw up. The guy dropped off the wrong box. That should tell you CRT is still that good when I have a free HD receiver. My Olevia LCD is a 20" used for PC and bedroom tv, and the cable feed sux. DVD's are pretty breathtaking though (as they should be). The 20" LCD blows away my old 17" Envision CRT PC monitor, though, for characters, brightness, and color.

 

[Chuck Edwards]

No one has mentioned the positive point of the Sony XBR (KV-34XBR960). Its 'fine pitch' picture tube can show substantially more detail (from HDTV) than the other brands. The Panasonic 34" is a good value, and I like the smaller cabinet of the Toshiba. In this case I think the Sony XBR is worth its higher price.

Chuck (long time lurker of this forum)

 

[rgriffin25]

Hello, all!

I'm in the market for a home theater system. I've decided on the speakers, reciever and DVD player, but I'm having issues with the display. Please give me your input on the following thoughts:

1. Plasma looks great if you're watching an HD signal. Otherwise, I think they look pretty crappy. I've been looking at the Panasonic HD and ED 42" versions, and almost bought the ED a week ago. They are also pretty pricey ($2300 for the ED version, 42"). Most vendors will extend your warranty by 3 years for $500. This leads me to believe that they're servicing a good number of these TVs

I once had a salesman try to sell me an extended warranty on an optical cable. Vendors sell the warranty because they make money off of it. Plasmas for the most part are pretty reliable. I currently own a CRT and I think the picture is very good. If I were going to upgrade I would buy a LCOS.