[sbradnam]

Hi there.

Old subject...perhaps, but one that has got my attention, especially with Chrismas close, and the glut of advertising for new plasma/LCD TVs.

Bought a 28" 100Hz JVC widescreen about 15 months ago....which has been fantastic, by the way. But it now seems, and very quickly so as well, that CRT is about to be usurped big time by the new wave of plasma/LCD tvs that are out there. I am happy with my JVC, but wonder how long CRT will be supported, available etc.

Is there, in the opinion of these forums, enough "going for" CRT for it to continue as a viable hardware option, or will we all be forced down the LCD/plasma route in the near-to-medium term future?

Thoughts and comments welcome.......

[wicket]

CRTs are certainly becoming less available in the high street stores where the demand is for LCDs/Plasmas. Until they come down in price I think CRTs will still be around. I think there is a company making a CRT that is very thin compared to current CRTs but whether this will take off I don't know. I don't ask me where I read it, because I cannot remember but it should be out there on the Web somewhere.

I would stick with your JVC till in breaks then decide on which technology you want to invest in then. There is another type of tv coming out called SED (or something like that, sorry to be vague) that is supposed to be even better than LCDs and Plasmas. Plus Japan/USA have HD CRTs too, which I suppose will end up over here at some point.

[glenmus]

Originally Posted by sbradnam

Is there, in the opinion of these forums, enough "going for" CRT for it to continue as a viable hardware option, or will we all be forced down the LCD/plasma route in the near-to-medium term future?

Some random thoughts:
Manufacturers and retailers like flat screens. They are more expensive than CRTs and therefore there is more profit in them.
Magazines like flat screens. The technology is changing all the time and therefore new reviews are constantly required.
Consumers like flat screens because they look sexier and less bulky than CRTs.
Flat screens appear to have some issues (contrast, response time and screen burn in spring to mind). These are gradually becoming resolved with newer models, but I understand from reading these forums that flat screens still don't approach the contrast levels and response times of a good CRT.
Big CRTs are bulky and heavy.

Having said all of that I've been looking at replacing my 8 year old 29" Sony 4:3 TV. The decent 36" and 32" CRTs are getting harder to come by (John Lewis for example has no 36" and only 1 32" model available). I looked at LCDs and Plasmas. Apart from the price, I've concerns how these flash new screens would handle ordinary TV i.e. analogue or digital standard definition, and non-upscaled DVDs. My life wouldn't be worth living if I spent £2500 on a new TV that looked worse than our old one.

Anyway to bring my ramblings to an end - I'm probably going to buy a 28" CRT (no bigger because of weight) and make that do for the next 5 years.

[nevC]

I had quite a lot of trouble sourcing a 32" CRT. No LCD an Plasma screen that I have seen can match the picture on the 32ZP46 that I eventually purchased. Many look impressive with certain DVD sources but are not very good with others such as off air transmissions.
LCD and plasma TVs take up less space on the shop floor and in storage and can be handled/delivered by one man. This makes them much more attractive to retailers. Some dealers are not interested in sourcing such a TV so I would expect the choice to decrease next year.