Can CRT televisions make a comeback in the future?

[Kiwick]

Let's face it, the last generation of CRT sets built in the noughties were nothing worth bothering with... i actually prefer LCD or plasma sets to them...

Many of you complained about the quality of Chinese CRT sets in the past but maybe you don't have the ultra cheap Turkish made sets we're flooded with here in Europe... these are definitely worse than Chinese sets, their ugly plain cabinets are made of thin crappy plastic with a loosely attached separate base panel and are too weak to support the CRT securely when the back is removed, the chassis is the worst piece of junk you can think about with undersized parts and real poor soldering, the speakers sound like crap, and the CRTs are often from Lithuania or the Czech republic and are usually failing after a few years...

Also the Indian made sets are crappy but they are still better than the Turkish junk...

[Phototone]

CRT tubes require very specialized manufacturing. Other retro products that are still around like record turntables do not require such specialized manufacturing processes, being basically mechanical, hence their survival on a much smaller market is more assured.

[vintagecollect]

The picture quality and price drop is very good now for these flat screens. I'm going to get a daily watcher sometime in future w/ extended warranty to avoid any durability issues. A good size set could be bought for several hundred dollars. CRT sets aren't feasible at this point unless $50 to 150$. Of course flat screens don't have nearly the 180 viewing angle of a crt. You can only save money by waiting for price drop, better quality.

The remaining classic sets should be cherished as Americana, but remember, even early semiconductors are being out phased quickly.

I gave up on a project a while ago where parts were a hassle. The ONLY remaining supplier absolutely sheisted for parts, the quality of parts was poor as these refurbished units weren't powered up in years. Future parts may have to come from donor sets.

[DaveWM]

I suspect 20-30 yrs from now old well made CRT sets with nice heavy chassis and quality wood cabinets will be highly sought after, IMHO. After watching a video of what it take to make a CRT I seriously doubt they will ever come back, just too much of an investment in equipment for what 99.99% of the consumers "think" is inferior quality.

I am sitting here watching a 32" philips that was given to me as part of an "upgrade". the convergence is perfect the screen is bright with deep rich colors, great yellows and even has a tuner that picks up digital signals.

Frankly the pic is so good I really can't see how it could be all that much better, and the idea of dropping hunders or dollars on flat screen which I question the durability of, keeps me happy to stay stuck in the past.

[MelodyMaster]

Frankly I don't miss CRT sets for one reason - scanning. LCD sets paint a picture without any flicker at all, and while plamsa sets do flicker (since a phosphor can only be on or of, so it's the length of TIME it's on that controls brightness) there is no line crawl or false motion as you move your eyes across the screen.

Lest we forget, the principle behind plasma displays predates scanning beams. It's the oldest technology. The earliest laptop displays were plasma. Other than differences in HOW the phosphors are excited, CRTs are still with us in the form of Plasma displays.

OLED, the best display technology, is already here, but it's very expensive right now.

[andy]

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[ChrisW6ATV]

Originally Posted by MelodyMaster

Frankly I don't miss CRT sets for one reason - scanning. LCD sets paint a picture without any flicker at all

I agree completely. I never did like how CRT TVs flickered unless I looked straight at them. When I visited the UK and Ireland, it was even worse with the 50 Hz refresh rate-those sets flickered constantly for me.

[ChrisW6ATV]

Originally Posted by andy

One way that flat panels do beat CRTs is in resolution. Although a CRT HD set looks good, you're missing a LOT of the resolution. I doubt even the best CRT HDTV can resolve more than about half the resolution.

There were two Sony Trinitron CRT computer monitors that could display a full 1920x1080 (actually, up to 1920x1200) resolution, and I connected mine to an HDTV tuner once and the picture was really nice (though not very bright compared to a regular TV set). The model numbers were GDM-W900 and GDM-FW900. Dell, Sun, and Silicon Graphics had their own rebranded versions of at least the GDM-W900.

[andy]

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[classictv80s]

Some patriotic American tycoon (I know that sounds like an oxymoron) needs to buy the rights to the Zenith name and resume CRT manufacturing in the United States. This can be done only by concentrating on the very low end of the TV price range, and the smallest sized TVs - sets that are 9 inches and 13 inches with a 4:3 display. Build them in a low-tax, low-regulation state like Texas with a MSRP in the $90-$100 range. These sets would have an increasing amount of appeal to the American consumer, especially as the economy continues to get worse and retro styles become more popular. On the sets that are 13 inches, emulate the style of the Korean LG retro CRT that came out last year.

[classictv80s]

And if this were to happen, the Japanese and Korean TV manufacturers would eventually suffer the same problems that RCA and Zenith suffered in the 1980s when they had to compete with lower cost Asian imports. American consumers at that time wanted more reliable and less heavy TVs that cost less. They were getting tired of the big, heavy furniture-sized consoles and wanted portability and lower cost sets instead. The big, expensive, failure-prone Rectangular Plastic Crap (RPC) sets will someday go the way of the dinosaur and something will need to come along to fill that vacuum. Why not CRTs?

[veremor]

I think it is likely, because their image can be utterly brilliant, whereas flatscreens are still struggling with coming near them, and that's only the best of them... Especially in some high end areas, this might simply be the best solution. Like it has already happened with a new curved Alienware monitor that seems to be CRT judging from its brilliant image as well as its relative thickness. I still have an old CRT TV and it's better than anything I've ever seen in flat consumer TVs or monitors. It's the kind of image quality where you often don't notice that it's just an electronic image. With flatscreens you can never really forget.

[Eric H]

It's DLP with LED lighting.

http://www.desktopreview.com/default.asp?newsID=868

It's also $8000.

Barring a new development where they can make a 50+ inch CRT that weighs less than 100 lbs and doesn't require a lot of floorspace I don't see them returning.

[wa2ise]

It's been a while since I last checked, but CRTs have a similar burn in problem that plasma flat screens have or had. And CRTs are far more heavy and bulkier. I like CRTs over LCDs (I think CRTs are better at color reproduction) but plasmas I think can also do that. Only thing is that CRTs take having footballs thrown at them better than flat screens. Many people find that out during the football post season and Superbowl games...

[Norbert]

It's only wishful thinking hoping that CRT's somehow will make a comeback. LED television is here to stay, people like the convenience that the flat panel provides, its easier to move around if need be, and the pictures they provide are outstanding. Enjoy your CRT sets for what they were, they are now a historical landmark in the timeline of progress in electronics technology.