What do you think is the of the C.R.T tv's? Anyone will use them (I'm not talking here about old tv enthuziasts) or they going to stell be produce? (I heard that post 2000-2001 C.R.T. tv have poor qualty C.R.T.).

I purchased a Sony FD Trinitron KD-34XS955 (http://www.epinions.com/content_223908368004) 34" TV in March of 2006. It has an absolutely stunning image. Plasma, LCD and the like can only hope to look a fraction as good as the image on this tube.
The future looks bleak though for home TVs. The best hope is SED (http://www.hdtvsolutions.com/sed_tvs.htm), essentially a bunch of small tubes making a big screen. The technology has hiccupped as of late but I hope they get it out soon. The picture will kick ass as it is tube.

I hate to say it the CRT is dead. Even our new prodution monitors I just got at work are LCD. The pictures on the new stuff is getting better everyday.

I'd say that the day of the CRT is already over. The best CRT TVs and monitors are not made any more. Most of what's left are poor quality. Sony doesn't even list any CRTs on their web site (when did that happen?). Does anyone know what the last Trinitron was? It might be neat to take a picture of one next to the first Trinitron.

Maybe Sony's last Trinitron is the 30" HDTV in our family room. Plasma, LCD and smoke and mirrors DLP should look so good.

I don't think the current CRT sets will last that long. Recently I've scrapped 3 sets that were no more than 3 years old with bad CRTs.

I haven't seen any CRT sets sold here with built in digital tuners. You can still buy a new 80cm 16:9 CRT set here, but the built in tuner is analog even on the upper end model with a built DVD player and surround sound. When analog transmissions are turned off even the bottom end of the market will be LCD for those who want a new set.

I'd say that the day of the CRT is already over. The best CRT TVs and monitors are not made any more. Most of what's left are poor quality. Sony doesn't even list any CRTs on their web site (when did that happen?). Does anyone know what the last Trinitron was? It might be neat to take a picture of one next to the first Trinitron.
The last Sony Trinitron CRT ever made is the Sony KD-34XBR970. It's still available at some Circuit City stores. The latest production date was March 2007.

I think CRT television is dead. LCDs use less power, take up less room, weigh less... perhaps they'll make them a bit longer for computer use; graphic work is supposedly best on a CRT because LCDs don't have as large a color palette or blacker blacks.
Tom

At our WalMart we have crt sets with digital tuners from 13 inch up to 32 inch, including 4 combo units. Two of which have vhs and dvd players.

Bill R

LCD and plasma sets are ugly and nasty to repair... but at least they're A LOT easier on repairmen's backs...

maybe with the mass scrappage of big screen CRTs i could get into my 50s with a healthy back and continue to ride my horses...

The hottest selling set in the Samsung line is the Slim Fit series of sets. I just bought the TXT3093, which is very popular with gamers, as LCD and plasma don't work with them. This is a 3rd generation wide screen CRT set, and was introduced to the public in May of this year.

It sports analog and digital tuners, 2 composite, 2 component, and 2 HDMI inputs. 30", 16/9 aspect ratio, 1080i native format, and only 16" deep. Weighs 117 lbs. All for under $600 at Best Buy.

It has the most jaw dropping picture I've seen on a TV in a long time.

I heared that "LG" flat screen tvs have poor picture tubes :thumbsdn:

I've never cared for the slim fit CRTs. They have very coarse dot pitch at the edges and all the ones I've looked at were out of focus at the edges.

I heared that "LG" flat screen tvs have poor picture tubes :thumbsdn:

That's probably true. The LG/Goldstar/Zenith tubes of the '90's were the worst I've ever seen. In fact; I've never seen too many Goldstar tubes that were that great.

What Future?:tears:

That's probably true. The LG/Goldstar/Zenith tubes of the '90's were the worst I've ever seen. In fact; I've never seen too many Goldstar tubes that were that great.

"GoldStar" in the early '90's where very good tvs in Romanian. Most of them still are in working condition.

Zenith was actually the problem with those CRTs. All the really bad CRTs were made in Il in Zenith's factory. The ones Goldstar made in their own factories were fine.

Corning had a huge factory in our town that produced CRTs for televisions. They were one of the largest employers in the area. It closed several years ago. It was too expensive to re-tool in order to make a different product. All of the production equipment was packed up and shipped to China. The equipment is gone. So are the jobs. Maybe the Chinese will be making CRTs for their own market, or making them and shipping them back here. Check the electronics department at a Wal-Mart near you.

Still wish I'd latched on to one of them 40" Trinitrons...Anybody here have one ?

At least the flat panels will take up less space in the landfills than the old CRT's. :D It's kind of sad in a way that they are going away but thus is the times. I definitely won't miss lugging one of those old turds around when I move or rearrange!

Corning had a huge factory in our town that produced CRTs for televisions. They were one of the largest employers in the area. It closed several years ago. It was too expensive to re-tool in order to make a different product. All of the production equipment was packed up and shipped to China. The equipment is gone. So are the jobs. Maybe the Chinese will be making CRTs for their own market, or making them and shipping them back here. Check the electronics department at a Wal-Mart near you.

I lived in State College when that happened. I almost had a chance to tour the factory many many years ago, but I was too young at the time (I think you had to be 13).

Despite how unreliable people say flat panel TVs are, I have yet to see a single one in the trash, or for sale cheaply. People seem to pay hundreds for ones with smashed screens.

From what I have read, the LCD flat screens are fairly reliable. Also from what I have read, the plasma ones are not. Do not know about DLP. As I have not yet figured out where to put it, I have not yet bought one.

I do have a flat screen computer monitor at home and at work. These both have been reliable.

However, one comment. The signal to a HDTV set can make all the difference. The flat screen TVs at our local Radio Shack's and Walmart's look like color CRT type sets with poor focus adjustment-bad. The remaining CRT sets look better. In contrast, the flat screen TVs at Sears and Fry's look great.

I've been seeing a lot of dead LCD monitors at the junk auction lately, I don't know if LCD TVs are anymore reliable. The most common faults seem to be dead backlights, but I've yet to pick one up and have a look inside.

One problem with LCD and plasma displays from a scavengers point of view is they are less likely to survive the rough handling when they are thrown out than a CRT. Many of the LCDs and all of the plasmas I've seen junked are cracked. I've salvaged several CRT TVs/monitors that have been suffered impacts hard enough to crack the cabinets that work fine after patching the cracks in the PCB. No Plasma/LCD is going to survive being dropped into an empty dumpster.

The problem LCD/plasma sets have displaying anything other than a perfect signal is the biggest downside to me. I've seen some of these sets hooked up an HD STB and on some over-the-air programming the picture is amazing, but it's pretty useless when more than 90% of what I watch isn't available in HD. Cable here barely manages SD at times, let alone HD.

Well, personally, it's CRT or nothing for me. I have no interest at all in "flat-screens," plasma, etc. etc., and if one of my old ones goes, it's often not hard to fix it or find another relatively cheaply. Besides, it's more about the fun of using old TVs than the actual programming for me, so even if the things somehow became unusable it wouldn't really be a huge loss. I could still watch pre-recorded stuff through 'em!

Still wish I'd latched on to one of them 40" Trinitrons...Anybody here have one ?

ME :yes: I bought my 40" Trinitron in 2003 and I'm very happy with it. It will be awhile before I give it up. Hey, at least if I have a break in nobody is going to walk off with my 320 pound set. :D I remember when it was delivered they just barely fit through the door with it.

L.C.D. still dosen't reproduce black colour, only grey . And still haves respindig time over 0 second. On the other hand, plasma (I'm making fun of it and call it palalasma) is reporudicng black colour and haves a respondig time of 0 seconds (like an C.R.T.). But since is more expensive to manufacture, you won't find a plasma less the 39" - for my living room, where I stay 1.8-2 yards away from my tv that will bee to BIG. B.t.w., an L.C.D. can't work bellow minus 10 degress Celsius (14 degress Fahrenheit).

Hi to All !

Just to share some info on Plasma screen reliability, i have a Fujitsu 40" plasma since May 1999, and it's been running perfectly for 8 years.

I purchased a Fujitsu because i saw that company exhibit prototypes every year at the NAB, starting in 1985. They had access to very important funding from the Japanese MITI, the Ministry of Industry. I figured that if these people had actually developped the technology from day one, i could do worse than buying their product.

Having a modern flat screen is not a contradiction to loving & restoring vintage sets from all eras....

Best Regards

jhalphen
Paris/France

Unfortunatly Crt tvs are becoming dead . Back in the late 80s and early 90s , i use to sell at a local flea market and i usually brought 13inch, 19inch tvs , as well as consoles and they usually sold quickly . By the end of the day , i was sold out of them . However now in 2007 , i cant seem to give CRT tvs away . I have some nice digital remote control tvs and no one wants them , no how . Usually when my town has a clean up , there are tons of good working tvs in the trash. All crt type tvs . New era i guess , new generation.

It hadn't occured to me that the 1st generation plasma sets are almost getting to around 10 years old now. Is anyone else running a "vintage" plasma set?

I wonder are they any better at displaying analog sources than currrent models (after all HDMI wasn't around in 1999). Have you taken any precautions to avoid burn in (I've seen some very burnt in store displays that would have been no older than 2 years)? I'd imagine that as there was no such thing as a cheap plasma in 1999 they're probably better built than the ones I've seen in discount stores.

I will admit that despite my preference for CRTs I'd probably buy an old 4:3 plasma if I found one for the right price. I remember seeing ads for 4:3 plasma monitors, but I've never seen one in use anywhere (not even in commercial applications where aspect ratio would be irrelevant).

There is still some life in the used CRT set market here, but not much. When new CRT sets start at $89 for 14" no-name set the price for used sets has to be adjusted accordingly. I usually sell a couple of sets a week, but to be viable you have to pick the dead ones up for nothing and use salvaged parts. I certainly wouldn't do it if I didn't enjoy repairing them. I was shocked a couple of months ago when a nothing special 21" set I listed on eBay sold for $160 (I thought someone was trying to scam me, but it was picked up and paid for in cash), $30 to $50 is more typical.

I haven't seen any CRT sets sold here with built in digital tuners. You can still buy a new 80cm 16:9 CRT set here, but the built in tuner is analog even on the upper end model with a built DVD player and surround sound. When analog transmissions are turned off even the bottom end of the market will be LCD for those who want a new set.

About 6 months ago, Sears sold a 4:3 CRT Toshiba with a digital tuner. Dunno if they still do or not as a salesman pissed me off & I haven't been back since. Wal-Mart carried a 32" 4:3 CRT set w/ digital a few months back. Haven't checked if they still do or not as they pick up & drop stuff all the time.

I just picked up a 52" Panasonic LCD projection tv that someone left for dead at a thrift store for $99. Called around and found a bulb for $100 (much cheaper than the $240-$380 quoted local & abroad.) Digital signal looks good, analog like crap. Overall, I don't think it is as good as the 50" Mitsubishi projection it replaced, but it looks freakin' awesome watching 300 in 1080i!!!:banana:

My dad just bought a 42" Hitachi plasma screen. looks great analog or digital. They don't have a dvd player that supports anything over 480i, so we can't test (until I bring over my upconverting dvd player), but it has a much better picture than either my old Mits or its replacement Panasonic.

It will look good until my 2 year old smacks the screen with something, breaking it and probably having us banned from the house until the kids are at least 16...:tears:

I went to a hypermarket today and I was horrified by the C.R.T. tv's I saw.
I wanted to get hiered at an electronics shop, but no more - I can't sell people junk - it'll be against my ideas.

About 6 months ago, Sears sold a 4:3 CRT Toshiba with a digital tuner. Dunno if they still do or not as a salesman pissed me off & I haven't been back since.

My father hated Sears. Seems he had this strange idea that the salesmen should actually know something about the stuff they're selling.... :no:

I have a 32'' sony plasma and an lg 26'' hdlcd with a 16ms responce time. that is terrable, but the I find the picture is more impressive on the lcd, (in hd, non hd on the lcd is awful.) as long as the camra is not panning like crazy the motion blur is not substantaly worse than all the other lcd tvs witch even with 8 or 6ms is still noticable. I actually get used to it and action movies ect don't really bother me at all, unless its one of those movies where the camra work is done by sombody with Parkinson's disease wearing roller skates during an earth quake. The plasma has no problem with speed and is closer to a tube imo. like always you get what you pay for, the lcd was $800 the plasma was $1,800 on sale (it was bought a couple years ago)

[QUOTE=dr.ido;1286782]It hadn't occured to me that the 1st generation plasma sets are almost getting to around 10 years old now. Is anyone else running a "vintage" plasma set?

I have a 1999 Sony PFM-500A2WU 50" plasma that The Phillies paid $12k for that year. It ran in our lobby until the end of 2003 and went into storage. It has a native 852 X 480 res and was looking good the last time I saw it.

It never occured to me that this thing is "vintage". I think I will hold on to it now.

Dave A