How Good Are the CRT HD TV's? (1 Viewer)

[Doug MacGregor]

I have been watching the prices of the various offerings for HD TV's drop over the past couple of years but not to the point where I would consider or could even afford one.
I'm sure the cost factor is the one thing that is preventing most people from purchasing one.
That being said, with the 2007 deadline quickly approaching I need to make a decision on some form of HD TV.
I doubt my budget would be able to afford any of the high-end HD TV's in the next couple of years even if the prices drop by half.
I've had a HT for a couple of years now and the TV component is the only missing piece.
I have noticed that a few manufacturers are offering CRT-based HD TV's in the 30-34 inch range and I was wondering how good they are and if they would be suitable for true HD viewing.
I don't mind the smaller form factor (30-34")...basically I'm looking for the higher PQ to suit my DVD player and satellite feed (I could afford a HD satellite feed).
Thanks.

 

[John S]

You say true HD veiwing? It is a little hard to know, as such sets manufactures tend to sort of guard the true maximum resolution on such CRT based displays.

But, most of them do a really great job of displaying SD,DVD, and HD sources in my experiences.

 

[Jack Briggs]

This isn't really a beginner's topic. You'll get more responses here in the area dedicated to displays/monitors.

 

[MannyE]

Actually, CRT, or direct view monitors are regarded as the best possible way to view HD by the pros. In any edit bay you walk into, the reference monitor is always a CRT direct view monitor. (And almost always Sony, BTW) Those monitors, however, are very very expensive (around $35K for just a 24 inch monitor).

Even the "true" consumer HDTVs like Loewe (really nice TVs) are IMO very pricy at around 3K for a 30something incher, and really deep, making for a challenging installation in some cases.

But to answer your question, I think that a well calibrated CRT direct-view monitor can offer some of the best HD viewing for the money.

I'm sure someone will chime in here with a case for RP or FP as well, but while I do agree that there are some spectacular RP and FP setups, the cost (if PQ and not size is what you are after) is less for a CRT direct view monitor.

Think about it, how much would a person have to spend to get the same quality at 100 inches than a true direct view HDTV monitor can give at 30? A lot more than the cost of that direct view monitor!

 

[Richard_B]

Doug,

The 30" - 34" Direct View HDTV sets can do a wonderful job of displaying HD content. I am currently running a JVC 34" HDTV and so far I am really happy with it. I was space limited so only a couple different 34" TVs would fit in my cabinet. The only things I dislike about this style of TV are the depth they need and the weight of them.

 

[Doug MacGregor]

Thank you.
Does anyone have an opinion on the Advent line of Direct View (CRT) HDTV's?
Their HD3061A seems to be in the price range ($950 CDN) that I was looking for.
Can't believe this thing weighs 145lbs!

 

[ChrisWiggles]

I for one, am not satisfied with direct view CRT compared to projection CRT, because direct view suffers from visible pixels, or pixel-like structures in the case of trinitron.

Projection CRT can achieve a completely solid image with complete smoothness and no pixels. This is why I am biased towards projection CRT of high-caliber.

Oh, and CRTs are heavy. Don't be surprised. Some way 200+. RPTVs also have big boxes and such which give them a headstart at being heavy compared with FP CRTs.

 

[RichG]

I would stay away from Advent. Your best bet would be one of the Sony widescreen 34 inch models. The top of the line is the 34XBR960, but there are some less expensive choices with nearly as nice a picture.

 

[SteveKNJ]

You mentioned the 2007 date, but I would imagine even though all nets will be required to broadcast in digital, I can't imagine that they will abandon the MILLIONS of non digital TVs out there. I can't imagine that they would FORCE us to buy either a new TV at upwards of $600 (yes by 2007 it might be less, but still...) or a converter box at probably $100 per. Plus they would also force cable companies to convert thousands of boxes to their customers at considerable cost.

So even though 2007 is the deadline, I think you'll still be able to watch TV without a new set beyond that date. Any new TVs will be digital however.

 

[Rich H]

First, is anyone here as annoyed as I am that this place still doesn't have the convenient "quote" function available on most other forums? On other forums when you want respond to a post you can press "quote" and the post is automatically quoted in your reply, with a name assigned to that quote so it's clear who you're responding to. Here you've got to do all that work manually! Not to mention the limit on the length of a quote. Why?

End of rant.

(Rich types manually): ChrisWiggles wrote:



Chris, what about the latest Sony super fine pitch CRTs? For me their salient feature, aside from increased resolution, is a virtually invisible screen structure from a rational viewing distance. It makes the pixels "disappear" for a smoother, more natural and window-like appearance for Hi-Def and DVD.

Rich.

 

[Rich Criado]

I just purchased the Samsung TX-P3064W 30" Widescreen HDTV Monitor and I am pleasently surprised by the picute quality. Bright House in Central Florida provides plenty of HD channels. ESPN HD is amazing!

After watching HDTV you can see how 480P DVD's just don't cut it anymore!

 

[Max Leung]

Keep in mind that many HDTV content providers are (or will be) restricting component video out on set-top boxes to 480p.. This is already happening in the upscaling DVD player market, where a DVD at 480 lines is upsampled to 720 or 1080, but only for the digital video output (HDMI or HDCP-over-DVI) and NOT the analog component video output.



IMHO, a direct-view CRT set will not be able to do more than 480p or 540p resolution with future HD content. And I don't think very many have HDMI or DVI inputs.

 

[ChrisWiggles]

Rich: I haven't spent much time with any "latest" direct view sets. Direct view sets by their nature need distinct spaces for the different colored phosphor, and so have a lack of the absolute smoothness of a three gun converged projection CRT system. For all I know direct views might have some new tricks up their sleeves very recently, but I also don't tend to pay attention much because they are also very small. I'm a FP guy. I'll have to keep my eyes oepn for what you mentioned though. But when you walk up to a FP CRT screen, just like walking up to a projected film screen, there is NO pixel structure whatsoever. Direct views, fixed pixels devices (digital projectors), etc all have visible structures that become apparent at close viewing (or often even at very distant viewing).

 

[Jan Strnad]

It's kind of hard to deny the impact of a larger screen, whether it's CRT projected, LCD projected, whatever. And these sets are less deep and often easier to place in a room than a large direct-view CRT.



Of course there's the trade-off in light output.



Jan

 

[Heinz W]

What do you guys think of this Sony HDTV?



It looks great to me, I can't use anything much bigger and picture quality is paramount. At $2000 it's as high as I can go right now. I'm gonna check it out in person Saturday at BB.




Edit: Link is not working, but I was referring to the Sony KD-34XS955.
Anything better for the money in the same size?

 

[Doug MacGregor]

I Thank you all very much for your views and your input but the fact of the matter is that the vast majority of people will not be able to afford the high-end TV's that are on the market right now unless the price drops substantially.

I know I won't be able to.

There will always be those who will spring for the latest technology and those who will forego other purchases for a couple of years to jump into the fray.

But the way I see it, pricing main-stream HD TV's, no matter what the technology, above $1000 is a non-starter.

In a lot of cases I have found that besides the price, the next biggest complaint is size.

I'm convinced that for the vast majority of consumers a set-top device will be sitting on top of their regular TV's.

At least for the foreseeable future.

 

[MannyE]

I agree, but I also have a sneaky suspicion that when the changeover happens (whenever that will be) we will see a huge price drop in direct-view 16:9 HDTVs.