No CRT HD?

Whilst on a trip to america some years ago, I popped into an electrical retailer and saw my first crt hdtv - I was completely bowled over by the picture quality - pin sharp images, vibrant colours and astonishing detail - and determined that I would get one of these babes as soon as humanly possible.
As I said, this was some years back and I'm excited by the forthcoming prospect of hdtv and the new disc formats in this country but for one thing - the tv I saw was a 32 in crt and I've owned a 36in crt for over 6 years and would love to stick with this format as both plasma, lcd and rear projection have their faults - surely, there must be at least ONE single crt hdtv for the home market?
If push comes to shove, I guess I'll grudgingly purchase one of the aforementioned formats but would much rather stick with crt.

 

HDTV is really only stunning on screen sizes of 32" and above, and unfortunately CRT's of this size tend to be very bulky and heavy. Since the trend seems to be for bigger screen sizes, it seems that the CRT is being left behind. Samsung were supposed to be bringing out slimmer HD screens in the UK, but unfortunately they have failed to materialise. May be something to to with the fact that we don't use NTSC or 60Hz power ?

 

Damn!

 

I asked about CRT HD about 5 years ago..... A bit premature me thinks. Still lacking any available models although some say the Panny PD30 and 50 with it's acuity processing will be capable.

Finding it very hard tho' to recommend this model as it seems to have a noise prob on scart i/p's. Mine's just gone to the engineers workshop. The replacement (loan) pd30 is almost as bad! (I noticed it they didn't).

 

There are HD compatible CRTs like Samsung Z308P fiercely discussed on these forums, but they are not really HDReady since they don't incorporate HDMI with HDCP or can take 720p but surely can take 1080i...I was to a local AV show today and I must tell you that you really shouldn' restrain yourself from getting a Plasma since the new ones by Hitachi or Philips look stunning (picture and design-wise)...besides a 36" CRT is way more expensive than a 42" HD Plasma...

 

This isn't quite a HD CRT TV (it lacks a HDMI/DVI with HDCP and the ability to show 720P images) but for its price, its very impressive.

http://www.digiuk.com/productdetail.asp?id=5172

It's slim fit, too.

 

I'm very happy with my JVC HV-36P38 plus iScan HD+ combo, it does [email protected] and 60Hz, gives me hdmi/DVI input and can take 720p and upscale to 1080i. For HDCP sources there are solutions available, so this combo should be somewhat futureproof.
Cheers.

 

Caprylate - I've just clicked on the link - what is it?
At first, I thought it was either an lcd or plasm due to its size, but the price is way too low, and I definitely ruled out crt as its waaaay too slim a profile - is it possible to squeeze a 32 in tube in such a slim chassis?
If this IS crt, and if it had been released some years ago, I would have purchased it in a shot but as you indicate that it is not hd capable, that makes it a definite no no.

 

Hi gargoyle, unless I'm very much mistaken that set is in fact a CRT, one of Samsung's new super low footprint CRTs. I like the idea of a shallow CRT set but from what I've heard the geometry is appalling on it. It's cheap, I'll give them that and it's not too shabby in the looks department either but it's not getting a good rep in terms of picture quality, which I believe is pretty important for a TV set

You'll see these sets in the likes of Comet and Currys. I was in trying to find the new 40" Samsung LCDs and saw the SlimFit set. It was running Sky News and the ticker along the bottom didn't so much distort slightly as fundamentally change shape when it passed through the middle of the screen... Definitely one to have a look at before parting with cash! Of course, some time in the service menu might resolve the issues on the display model and I've got no first hand experience of the set other than the quick look in the store but I'm sure there will be some owners on AV Forums that can give you some proper owner's opinions.

Cheers,

Colin

 

There seems to be no shouting of praise from owners (if indeed there are any whom kept it) for this set on these forums just recommendations as a possibility from forum members whom have some knowledge of it. So maybe this says it all.

No matter how good the picture is it still remains poor if geometry is a serious problem.
Even a mag review pointed out how bad the geometry was.

 

DigiUK got it wrong: the Slimfit is NOT HD Ready...anyway, the sample I saw on display yesterday was decent in geometry...you can keep returning the set as faulty until you get a really decent one...heh!!!

 

Such a shame, for years, most home cinephiles, myself included, have dreamt of such a set (this was before plasma and lcd) and I'm both surprised and disapointed now that such a set has made it onto the market - it looks beautiful and looks to compete directly with the other formats but its performance is its achilles heel - I hope that the patent of this design is retained and improved as I'm sure with constant refinement, eventually, a crt might be produced which is hd compatiable and free of the niggles of the first models - If I keep harping on about crt, its for the simple reason that its the only format with a guaranteed long life - my panny 36pf10 is nearly 6 years old and performs as well today as it did when I first bought it - rear projection tvs have expensive bulbs to replace, and plasma's apparently have a life issue too - I can't afford to upgrade expensive tv's every few years.

 

The fact simply is that CRT has its problems just the same as LCD/ Plasma/ RPTV etc. The two main problems is the overall size requirements and the increasing problems with geomatory as the screen size gets larger. To make full "use" of HD you really need a screen larger than 32" and above 32" CRTs are plagued with the above issues.

The original plasmas were quoted to have life issues but most now quote what the average lifespan is - given the average amount of TV you watch a day then it should last 6 years (and you always have the amended Sales of Goods Act which will potentially give you protection for up to 5 years)

 

I wouldn't worry about the lifetime of a Plasma anymore - do 24 multiplied by 365... Remember that Plasmas these days generally have a life of around 50,000 hours or so. 8760 hours in a year @ 24 hours per day If you watch TV 24 hours a day then maybe it's good that it'd break within 4 years

Stu

 

No, it won't break, it will just drop in brightness by 1/2 so it will come to the level of today's LCD screens...

 

Javier has got the right idea. Size, resolution, brightness, geometry, contrast, interfaces, cost .....

Nick