I know this sounds crazy, but are there any large 4x3 LCD monitors? (1 Viewer)

[Eric-S]

My in-laws are looking for a new tv and have little interest in 16x9 displays. they have basic cable and a 1st gen tiivo and it looks like they will be watching standard def material for sometime to come.

Are there any flat-panel options? or am i limited to the bulky CRT's?

Thank You,
EJ

 

[RAF]

I didn't see one flat panel 4:3 display on the floor at CEDIA since the push, of course, was to HDTV. That doesn't mean that they don't exist and one way to check might be to go to manufacturers' web sites to look at their full product offerings. One thing for sure - as we get more and more 16:9 TV content, 4:3 displays - especially flat panel ones if they exist - will be considered "special order" items and will probably carry a premium (much like standard shift usually costs more in a vehicle than an automatic transmission which is a complete flip from the old days).

Incidentally, there's nothing wrong with watching 4:3 SD content on a 16:9 HD or ED flat screen as long as you don't get a unit that suffers from burn-in. Lots of the newer LCD models looked great. And I've heard that even some of the remaining new CRTs are much less bulky than before.

The only other thing I can think of would be to possibly consider getting a 4:3 flat computer monitor and attaching it to the wall. Of course, you have to make sure that the monitor has a fast enough refresh rate to accommodate a TV picture and that it has all the right connectors, speakers, etc. And you will be limited in sizes unless you have an astronomical budget.

Hope some of this helps.

 

[videobruce]

How large are we talking? What is the viewing distance?
Why don't they want 16x9? There are more and more SD programs in 16x9 now. They will have to get use to it.

 

[Eric-S]

thanks for the help!

 

[Will Cunningham]

I did a ton of research into this. I was tasked with finding a large 4:3 screen capable of doing 1600x1200. I was surprised to discover that 24" is about as large as the 4:3 monitors go. 30" is about as high as the widescreen monitors go. You can get much larger, but they are all 16:9 with HDTV resolutions. That would be fine for standard TV use, but as mentioned you would have the black bars and have a widescreen TV.

Good Luck!

Will