Direct-view CRT HDTV's????

[yacob.naif 10+ year member]

Hey gang. I realize there's been 3,612 HDTV threads in the last few weeks leading up to christmas, but this one's slightly different.

My tv as of late has been fading, doing strange things like turning off the tube, but not the main unit (i'll have to unplug the tv entirely to get it to turn completely off, or be responsive again) and gained a stone chip square in the middle of the display from falling over in the van while i was moving it here.

It's a 27" Sony tv from the EARLY 90's, possibly even the late 80's, which has actual visible spaces between each line of the picture (not verticle banding, or interlacing lines, but actual physical gaps between the lines of the picture) your basic old school tube tv.

Anyways, i think it's time for a change. And christmas is just the opportunity to cop one for free, or atleast get the folks to pay 1/2.

I watch dvd's, play playstation 2, and watch divx videos from my computer exclusively. I have NO plans of buying an hd-dvd or bluray player in the near future, and don't even have cable, let alone HD cable. I also don't like the picture quality of the lower-price point lcd displays, so i'm thinking about getting a newer directview crt.

I want to get a 480p flat-tube tv, in the $400-500 range, but when i went to the store to look at them, i noticed there's actually such things as direct view CRT HDTV's, which can actually display 1080i in true form (true 1920x1080) which is unmatched by any lcd, dlp, or plasma in my pricerange.

The only thing is, they're around the same price for the same rated screen size, but are 16:9, so it's actually a smaller screen $ for $. Plus, as i said earlier, 99.9999% of my useage will be standard 4:3 480i/p, so i don't know what to do.

Have any of you guys seen the crt HD's? If so what did you think?

And if you were in my shoes (or ARE in my shoes) do you think you'd go with the nice big, familiar 4:3 screen? Or trade some screen area for HD useability in the years to come?

You can rip on me for considering CRT HD, it's all good. I just know that with my current financial, as well as residency (G-H-E-T-T-O) situation, i'm not prepared to spend more on a television, and would rather have the beautiful CRT color and contrast over an inferior low-grade LCD, while i fully acknowledge that flatscreens DO look beautiful, but cost a lot more for a good one.

I think i covered my ***! Let me know what you think!

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[explorer2 10+ year member]

Not sure whats good anymore, but most arent that great. Sony shut down production of its super fine pitch tubes used in the xs955 series and the xbr960 over a year ago (luckily I picked one up). Those were/are the reference sets, as in nothing out there can compare in terms of picture quality. They were a bit out of your price range but you may be able to find a used one for cheap from someone who doesnt know what they have. Look for a kd-36xs955, it a 36" 4:3 with the sfp tube.

 

[surftb15 10+ year member]

actually CRT technology is tried and true. Unfortunately, most manufacturers are now focusing production on DLP's and LCD TV's, as they feel it is the future of technology. But dont think you are getting a crappy picture because of this, actually certain CRT TV 's have a quite refined picture and can show very fine details.

If you want something 400-500 dollars, maybe you should go over the AVSforums and find something used? They have classifieds like they are over here, if not bigger. If thats not what you want to do, just go to any store and see what you like. There are still so many CRT's out there (not going to be the case in a few years), get a TV that appears to your eye and shows the best details to you.

 

[explorer2 10+ year member]

Exactly, manufacturers are pretty much done with crts now, anything being made now is just to fill the very small low end demand, within a few years they will be mostly phased out. All of this is because most people like the novelty of hanging a tv on the wall.

this is what you want:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Sony-FD-Trinitron-KD-36XS955-36-TV-Sony-Wega-HDTV_W0QQitemZ220063440220QQihZ012QQcategoryZ11072QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

good luck finding something local though, all of them are heavy bastards.

 

[surftb15 10+ year member]

that sony one their is good, i also like toshiba's

 

[yacob.naif 10+ year member]

that's why i'm trying to jump on this before year end

sharp still makes the 32SF560 which is BEAUTIFUL

i figured i'd get the best CRT i could find, get a 3 year replacement plan on it, and should anything happen to it in the next 3 years, i'll re-up and get an lcd.

i'm just not quite ready to step up to a flat-tv, and wanted to get something new while there's at least ONE good crt left out there.

i was more just curious what you guys thought about the 1080i crt's, such as the samsung TX-S3080WHX and TX-S3082WH, the LG 30FS4D or even the insignia NS-30HTV, all of which are 1080i 30"ers between $500-700, which is obtainable if i paid my dad a few hundred buckaroos.

And i'm only looking at new tv's, because a replacement plan is crucial.

samsungs

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7908062&type=product&productCategoryId=pcmcat95100050007&id=1149207784284

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7716769&type=product&productCategoryId=pcmcat95100050007&id=1138087675171

LG

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7685089&type=product&productCategoryId=pcmcat95100050007&id=1134703573897

Insignia

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7600955&type=product&productCategoryId=pcmcat95100050007&id=1130981752759

 

[yacob.naif 10+ year member]

here's a review i found of the LG

they said the picture quality is great

http://products.howstuffworks.com/lg-electronics-30fs4d-30-inch-slim-design-hdtv-review.htm

 

[surftb15 10+ year member]

1080i's are good. Most TV's that claim they are 1080p just mess around with the format anyway, no real big difference between the two. i dont like LG or Insignia. The brands that are best in terms of quality and picture IMO are samsung, toshiba and sony.

 

[yacob.naif 10+ year member]

HD-DVD's and Bluray discs are 1080P.

Most sets are only 1080i, because that's the highest resolution currently broadcast on HD cable and satelite.

In the next few years, tho, HD cable and satelite might switch from mpeg-2 to mpeg-4 level 10, which would allow 1080P over less bandwidth than is currently required to send even 720P.

1080i is more than capable of all of my needs.

I just don't know if i should get an HD-crt, or go with the bigger 4:3 tv for my $$

 

[surftb15 10+ year member]

misconception. Less then 20% of any TV manufacturer it in TRUE 1080p. Even though the chip can handle 1080p's, most tv's only handle 1080is' What occurs in come cases is that the TV will take a format such as 480i, convert it to 1080p, then scale it down to 1080i

 

[surftb15 10+ year member]

he needs a new one because the warranty

 

[surftb15 10+ year member]

thatrs what he says in his post, he wants it with extended warranty. do those even cover bulbs though?

 

[HeatSeeker 10+ year member]

I just got a LG 30FS4D last week, awesome for the price, heavy as a ***** though, thought I was gonna die carrying it through the house to my room lol. Oh well wont be moving it for a while now so thats no longer a concern =]

 

[yacob.naif 10+ year member]

that's the one i was looking at

beautiful picture for the price

the only thing i was weary of is the fact that the picture is very sharp in the center, but becomes progressively blurrier toward the left and right limits of the screen, where the phosphors become larger and larger

other than that, amazing looking set.

i kicked out my dickhole roomate last month, so i may be moving to highland square during the upcoming semester, and i may just get a 50" DLP since i wont be living in the **** ghetto any longer

 

[HeatSeeker 10+ year member]

If you play around with the settings it becomes very less noticeable. All my DVD's looks great on it so far, once I get my 360 sometime later this week ill see how that is =]