CRT or Rear Projection (1 Viewer)

[Louisp]

We are considering the following Sony Televisions. Please give us your opinion as to which unit will be enjoyed by us the most.

HERE ARE A FEW ENVIROMENTAL FACTORS:

The room is approximately 14 WIDE x 20 DEEP.

The TV will sit at a 45 degree angle from a corner.

There is no solid wall behind the TV as it sits adjacent to an open archway which divides two rooms.

Covered windows abound in both rooms.

The primary viewing spots are approximately 8 feet from the screen.

HERE ARE THE TV'S WE'RE CONSIDERING. AGAIN, PLEASE GIVE US YOUR OPINION AS TO THE UNIT THE WE WILL ENJOY THE MOST. WE WILL BUY THE SET FROM SEARS.

......Sony 36 in. HDTV Monitor, FD Trinitron® WEGA® Hi-Scan® TV KV36HS420,

OR

.....Sony 34 in. HDTV Monitor, FD Trinitron® WEGA® Hi-Scan® TV KV34HS420,

OR

.....Sony 42 in. HDTV Monitor/LCD Rear Projection TV, Grand WEGA™ TV KF-42WE610
---

 

[ChrisWiggles]

What will you be watching in it? And how serious are you about the PQ? I'd go for the 36in Trinitron, but I'm extremely picky.

 

[Louisp]

We will watch DirecTV with HDTV and DVD's using a Denon 2200. By the way the 36" is our preference at this point.

 

[ScottLR]

ditto

 

[ChrisWiggles]

What about a CRT RPTV? Did you scratch that off the list for a particular reason?

 

[Andy Kim]

I'd go with the 36" for 2 reasons:
1. price
2. size...I think the 16:9 diagonal on the 36" 4:3 works out to 33" or so you're only losing an inch.

The 42" LCD however is really cheap so if you can find it for good price, go for it!

 

[Louisp]

I'll show my ignorance. What is a CRT RPTV?

 

[Bob Maged]

It is the "old fashioned" kind of RPTV, like this one:

 

[ChrisWiggles]

The first two you listed are CRT direct-view monitors. There is a cathode ray tube, with three electron guns in there(in the rear), and all the colors of phosphor painted on the inside of the face, that go through a trinitron grille (rather than the older style masks). You are looking directly at the face of this CRT.

An RPTV is a projector stuck in a box, projecting onto the rear of a screen, so it works differently. The actual projector type in there can be LCD, DLP, or CRT based. The one you listed is an LCD, which has its weaknesses. CRT-based RPTVs use three CRT guns with small faces, one for each color, that are aimed, then electronically converged (hopefully perfectly, this is something that needs to be tweaked periodically) to line up perfectly onto the screen.

LCD and DLP projectors in an RPTV use a light bulb and LCD panels, or DLP chip, respectively, to create the picture. CRT is still arguably the superior display technology at this point, so with a CRT-based RPTV you can achieve the PQ benefits of the direct-views you mentioned, but on a larger screen.