LCD or CRT?

[luis]

My question is not about HD TV only and may not belong in this section, but I hope it will get the best attention here.

My TV is quite old already and I need a new one. I don´t care about the price as much as I care to get the best possible picture, so disregard the prices, high or low. So I would like a HD. But there are no terestrial HD TV signals where I live and there is no HD open source receiver available yet. I´ve been waiting for DM8000 but I´m giving up hope it will soon (if ever) appear on the market.
(ReelBox not long ago announced the availability of their HD Extension Unit, however nobody seems to pay much attention to it - I would like to know why. Perhaps no ReelBox software can handle gbox).

So, all in all, it doesn´t seem to make sense to buy a HD TV at the moment since I can´t receive HD programs from where I want (I´m not interested in FTA HD programs).

The only question now remains whether to buy an LCD or a CRT TV.
Considering that non HD programs give better picture (I believe that´s true) on CRT than LCD screens I believe I´d better buy a CRT TV. The only advantage of an LCD seems to be its weight - it´s much easier to move around.

Would be grateful for your opinion.

[oscar]

luis.
My opinion for what it is worth.
I have a 29inch Sony CRT TV which I will keep going to it's death !!
Blacks are just that --- black --not a shade of grey as on LCD.
The picture quality is up to if not better than HD.
We are taking a major step BACKWARDS in quality TV delivery in the UK.
Unfortunately this is what the future holds but I will not be buying anything until the dust settles.
Mr Slyman has thrown a spanner in the works with his plans for his channels on Freeview.
Regards

[luis]

I´m glad you share my opinion oscar.

Regards
luis

[newton]

The advantage to outwiegh the pixelated picture quality on lcd is its progressive image when watching for long periods is easier on the eyes.
Why not go for plasma, better colours, blacks and motion and its progressive image.

[r.maxwell]

Its a simple case of form before function in todays market. I have a 40in LCD and upscaling DVD. The picture quality is fantastic but anything from an aerial or dish looks like I smeared vasiline over my eyes. A friend of mine has a 50in plasma and it looks fantastic especially for the footy but this has downsides as well (like fitting in the room). A CRT will blow everything out the water for picture quality but other things need to be considered, such as connectivity. I use the TV for everyday stuff (usually CBeebies) and a projector for the things I want to watch, like movies and footy. The LCD does look better than my old CRT, but that definatively had the better picture.

[tigertimtim]

i have a top end panasonic crt but upgraded to thier 37 inch hdtv plasma screen to pick up high def transmissions, the plasma is a good match except when it comes to poor sources thats when the crt wins hands down, check av forums they have a dedicated crt forum, there is going to be a new samsung hdtv crt hopefully coming out this year if you want to read up on that,

[Captain Jack]

There already is a Samsung CRT HDTV out there - we have one. But I wouldn't recommend it. Get a nice Sony Trinitron CRT set instead/

[xanadu]

In 2 years time all the current so called HDTV's with integrated Freeview will be virtually obsolete, as HD Freeview receivers using DVB-T2 will be available from 2009.
DVB-T receivers will still work, but only in SD.

Best to delay purchasing that expensive obsolete LCD/Plasma TV. :D

[evagoras]

I bought a JVC high resolution CRT set about 4 years ago and it is a beast at 60 kg 32 inch. the quality it can produce with a good quality dvd disc using component is fantastic. i also have a sharp lcd 32 inch and that is good but i much prefer the CRT. The colors are just so natural. Mine outputs more than 1000 lines interlaced. The only Tvs i would replace this one with would be the pioneer plasmas.

[applematt]

Funny my mother has a 10+ yr CRT Trinitron Sony pitcure is good :D

What is important is I bought her a good freeview Box for uk viewing and replaced the old one. The video board in new one was awesome and she is very happy with picture quality.

So buying a good quality DVD player/Settop box makes a difference - Also a good quality TV, be it LCD CRT PLASMA you can see the quality of quality products. You want cheap thats what you get a cheap piture. The 2nd hand market has callapsed you can get a very good quality CRT, something that I may do for the F1 season - As would like multiple screens for the F1.

[sparky_dog]

I bought a JVC high resolution CRT set about 4 years ago and it is a beast at 60 kg 32 inch. the quality it can produce with a good quality dvd disc using component is fantastic. i also have a sharp lcd 32 inch and that is good but i much prefer the CRT. The colors are just so natural. Mine outputs more than 1000 lines interlaced. The only Tvs i would replace this one with would be the pioneer plasmas.

Sounds similar to my JVC HV-32P37.

The HD picture on this CRT from the Pace HD box at 1080i over component is absolutely superb.

[montsett]

which reports at local library have just published an in depth test of plasmas and lcd.

;)

montsett

[evagoras]

Sounds similar to my JVC HV-32P37.

The HD picture on this CRT from the Pace HD box at 1080i over component is absolutely superb.

I believe your model is newer than mine which i think was the first generation DIST. Picture still suberb via component and dvd player.

[Bradwall]

The only person that can answer the question is yourself. Go and look at a few dozen TVs, crt,lcd and plasma and make up your own mind.
People with strong opinions fall for one of these sections and tend to defend their choice against all comers a bit like the vinyl/cd argument with sound recordings a year or two back. So go and look and choose what format will suite YOU best then others can help you with the quality /reliability /value arguments for your chosen medium. :)

[bulmers]

There have been dozens of discussions like this one and as far a I can remember; the mighty CRT always wins! ;)

[crumblydog]

Can I put in my twopenneth here?
I have a strong preference for plasma.try a good FULL HD like the Panasonic 1920 x 1080
panels and you will see it knocks spots off any LCD. Many others are not really hd compared to them.
That resolution must surely see off a CRT as well.Also the size of a CRT is a big limiting factor if you are looking for a cinema experience.
The contrast is as good as a CRT and blows away an LCD with no effort.
Dont take my opinion see:-http://www.pioneer.co.uk/uk/campaign/products/flatScreen.html
check out there "LCD or Plasma" research

[conceruk]

i have a toshiba 42 inch LCD and i have to say i am not very impressed, proberly be ok with a HD box but i dont think its worth the cost of one, well, thats my opinion

[eddman]

Humax has made a 40'' hd tv with a built in satellite receiver, a built in upscaler chip to improve picture quality and dolby digital. The model is the:LDE-HD 40S. Dr dish online has a preview of this model and is rated very highly. Here's the site: h**p://www.drdish.dweb.de/?speed=modem

Once on the site select DrDish Magazine - Nov. 2 edition 16.11.2007

[fixer1]

been repairing televisions for the past thirty years,the facts,crt is the best its reliable,there are spares avaliable,and you can repair these with ease,however,lcd,plasma i would say 80%of these, there are no spare parts, usual problems power supplys,inverter boards,you try getting these its a minefeild,trust me, you will be very lucky, if one of these televisions, last longer than 2 years,if you going to get one, get the extra cover, trust me you will need it good luck

[crumblydog]

Hi Fixer1,
You have fallen into the same trap that most service people do(myself included) in that you ONLY see the faulty ones, not the ones that go for just about forever.
I had a 42" Pioneer that worked fine for thefive years I had it .I sold it on in perfect working order when I went larger with HDMI.
I agree that the spares situation may be bad but that is nothing new.I always found that Phillips and JVC were the worst and no doubt they are no different now.
I am only stating what I have found to be the case.

[bulmers]

Seems we have alot of service men here :)

These new wave tvs (LCD/Plasma) are pretty reliable. The majority of tvs that come in to me for repair are the CRT type which in most cases can be repaired for a fairly reasonable price. But you must remember that LCD and plasma tvs are alot more expensive to repair. I find myself replacing whole panels rather then faulty components with these flat screens because the parts are not available. My last repair was a dead Beko LCD, the problem was a blown transistor and a burnt out resistor on the power supply board. I couldnt repair the power supply board because the transistor was not available (probably worth about €5). I had to order a whole new power supply board for €60 !!! The repair before that was an LG plasma with a blown IC on the ZSUS panel. Do you think I could just order and fit a new IC? - Not a chance, instead I had to order a whole new ZSUS panel for €160!!

Bottom line is - LCD/Plasma tvs look great until you switch them on compaired to CRT tvs. LCD/Plasma tvs are expensive to repair unlike CRTs which can be repaired fairly cheaply (depending on the fault of course)

For picture quality:
1st place goes to the CRT
2nd place goes to the Plasma
3rd place goes to the LCD

Id stick with the old faithful CRT :D

Cant wait to see the new SED tv which is in the pipeline ;)

[oscar]

I posted earlier in this thread in favour of CRT. My Sony 29 inch is slowly going down hill and to be honest I really have no idea what to replace it with.
I'm not a fan of LCD,Plasma or for that matter wide screen so soon will be faced with a problem.
Will watch this thread for advice.
Regards

[Captain Jack]

You can get a nice 36" CRT. They are cheap as chips 2nd hand and quality will be good. Toshibas are highly rated

[bulmers]

I posted earlier in this thread in favour of CRT. My Sony 29 inch is slowly going down hill and to be honest I really have no idea what to replace it with.
I'm not a fan of LCD,Plasma or for that matter wide screen so soon will be faced with a problem.
Will watch this thread for advice.
Regards

Sorry if it seams that Im ******ing this thread but:

@ oscar ; What do you mean when you say that your Sony 29 inch is slowly going down hill ???

[fixer1]

hi crumblydog thats true,but a lot of these lcds/plasma dont even seem to last twelve months,the volume of faulty ones far outnumber the conventional type,the amount of customers say im sorry i bought it, i know teething problems occur,but to be frank i dont know how the makers get away with it,strange you can get a spare part for a tv thats 20 yr old,but a new one, its almost impossible, things may change in the future for spares,but what about the poor sod,whos spent a fortune on some thing that wont last

[sparky_dog]

a lot of these lcds/plasma dont even seem to last twelve months,the volume of faulty ones far outnumber the conventional type,the amount of customers say im sorry i bought it, i know teething problems occur,but to be frank i dont know how the makers get away with it,strange you can get a spare part for a tv thats 20 yr old,but a new one, its almost impossible, things may change in the future for spares,but what about the poor sod,whos spent a fortune on some thing that wont last

Unfortunately, that's the nature of consumer electronics today - they are rarely designed with component level repair in mind, and the cost of some modules/pcbs will render more and more sets beyond economic repair. I'm pretty sure that if CRT was the latest technology, we would be saying the same about those too... If you take away the fancy graphics and digital processing, the circuits which drive CRTs have basically remained unchanged for many years, and are pretty much perfected by now - many of the CRT failures you see now are as a result of manufacturing defects, or low grade components.

In use, both Plasma and CRT have advantages and disadvantages. Whilst Plasmas cannot currently compete with the response times of any CRT, no CRT can offer the resolution and perfect geometry offered by the later full 1080 HD sets. Once you start looking at 40"+ screens, Plasma really is king - even a 36" CRT is a 80Kg+ monster, and anything bigger is rare indeed.

Personally, I would like a larger screen than the 32" CRT I have now, but I watch sports and the response time on flat panels is still a problem for me. Additionally, the display of the lower quality SD broadcasts on very large screens can look terrible.

I say roll on Laser TVs, which will blow all current technologies out of the water, apparently!;)

[oscar]

bulmers.
I've sent you a PM.
Regards