Is it still worth investing in a
High Definition CRT TV?
Tube-Based Television Sets
Many think that the CRT TV will soon be
extinct. At least advancement in LCD and Plasma flat screen display
technologies seems to point in such a direction. Yet the CRT Television set
has still a lot to offer both in terms of picture quality and lower prices.
What's more, the latest super slim CRTs promise to offer even more.
Slimmer
CRT Displays - Can they really challenge their flat-panel counterparts?
If you are after a
medium size direct-view TV your choice is between, either a relatively heavy and
bulky CRT TV set, or one of the latest slim flat screen LCD TVs - in that
collision with tube-based TVs occurs only at up to 36".
In fact, while up to recent past, CRT-based television sets were readily
available at screen sizes up to 40", it seems that manufactures have
pulled out completely from the market for tube-based sets for anything
greater than 36-inch.
And even at 36-inch, CRT television sets are
becoming an exception.
This is no surprise in that to many, people are just getting tired of them - CRT TV sets have
simply lost their luster in
comparison with the latest LCD and plasma televisions.
Given the rate of improvement in
flat screen display technology and reduced pricing, many are
beginning to wonder if the conventional tube-based television has had its day.
Manufacturing companies acknowledge that the CRT business is out of its
growth phase, but...
The
truth is that despite their weight and bulkier size, CRTs still enjoy
a few advantages over other competing display technologies.
In this article, we discuss the CRT TV as a
solution to home
entertainment requirements. In the process, we also look at the latest
developments in tube-based displays, developments that are leading to slimmer CRT televisions that are challenging
flat-panel display
technologies at their most appealing characteristic - being slim.
Finally,
we present to you two sets of CRT Television Reviews covering, top-selling models from
the Samsung SlimFit series of CRT HDTVs, and the latest additions to the
FD
Trinitron WEGA line of Sony CRT TV sets.
The Cathode
Ray Tube (CRT) TV - A few basics facts:
People are accustomed to
CRTs. We have all seen them since the day we were born. In fact, for the past 75 years, the
majority of televisions have been built using a CRT - a relatively robust display device with a half-lifetime
of around 20,000hrs; this means that the image brightness of a CRT TV set
will fall
to half its original value after approximately 20,000 hours of use.
CRT TVs make up about 85
percent of the present worldwide television market; true that present growth rates
are negligible but CRTs are not going away anytime soon. Analysts predict
that by end 2008, CRT televisions would still enjoy a 70%
market share.
Most of present day CRT TVs
available in the majority of households use the 4:3 standard TV
screen format, but wide screen 16:9 display formats are also available.
The CRT is essentially a
vacuum tube that produces images by projecting an electron beam onto the
front of the tube, which is covered with phosphorus that glow when excited
by the bean of electrons. An interesting article on how cathode ray tubes
work can be found at the how-stuff-work website; to access the
respective web page,
click here.
While ordinary CRT TV sets are
still being delivered with a curved screen surface, typical of tube-based televisions, yet high-end CRT based monitors and TVs are also available
in a totally flat screen, leading to improved viewing due to reduced glare, and practically zero
image distortion.
CRT TV Sets - Drawbacks and Advantageous
Price:
First and foremost, there is the price issue. CRT Televisions still offer a
viable solution in home entertainment if what you are after is a 'medium'
size TV set within the 27 to 36 inch display size.
CRT
TV sets may be bulky
and heavy - a typical 32 inch CRT TV would be approximately 32"(W) x 23"(H) x 24"(D)
in size and weighs over 120 pounds! In contrast, a typical 32-inch LCD HDTV
is typically 4-inches thick and weigh no more than 40 pounds.
But then for the same
display size within which collision between these two display technologies
occur, the CRT TV offers you the cheapest direct-view solution. In
comparison to a CRT TV, your out of pocket money for an LCD or Plasma television
can be up to twice as much - even with the latest new low prices on
flat-panel TV sets.
Prices of CRTs vary
considerably with screen size. Up to around 30-inch, tube based displays are
relatively inexpensive. The latest
Samsung TX-S3082 30" Wide
SlimFit HDTV
is presently selling online at around
$650 as against the $1,200 required for a 32" LCD HDTV.
Prices will soon start to
shot upwards as you approach the bigger size CRT TV sets.
Just to have an idea, let's compare the latest FS170 series of Sony CRT TVs.
While the Sony KD32FS170 32" Trinitron WEGA Hi-Scan Digital Television is
selling at around $550 at amazon, its slightly bigger brother, the
Sony KD36FS170 36" FD Trinitron WEGA
CRT Television
is selling at $850. That's a $100 per extra inch of screen display!
A manufacturing reality would come into play here: there is a limit to how much you can blow that piece of
glass - rendering the manufacturing process of large glass tubes difficult
and expensive. True that the Sony's 36" CRT TV is still substantially cheaper than a 37-inch LCD
or plasma television, but then keep in mind that this Sony CRT TV is
displaying the image at 480i while a 37-inch LCD flat-panel TV would typically
have a native screen resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels - enough to
display full 720p content without re-scaling.
Picture
Quality:
CRT TVs may be bulky, but
then you have one of the best pictures you can get from a video display
device. The truth is that not even the latest top plasmas can rival conventional cathode ray tube
displays for black depth and contrast, while nothing beats a high
resolution flat-screen CRT display tube for picture clarity.
In particular, today's true flat-screen high-resolution cathode ray tubes
are capable of producing crisp, vibrant images of exceptional quality.
In addition, the CRT TV is easy to set-up, and will work well in a variety of locations and light
conditions.
This means that if your screen size requirements fall within the display
size limitations of CRT TVs, and if picture quality is of prime importance,
then a CRT television may still represent a suitable and ultimately, a more affordable
solution than the latest expensive plasmas and LCD TVs.
In reality, the only real
concern that matters to most when it comes to the deployment of a CRT TV in
the home vis-à-vis other direct-view display technologies, is the fact
that these are relatively bulky devices; a conventional 32" CRT TV may
easily take some 24 inches in depth. But...
Things are changing fast. New
cathode ray tube display technology has managed to get ride of several
inches from the conventional bulky displays we are accustomed to, with the
sole scope of challenging rival flat-panel TVs at their own most appealing
characteristic - being thin.
Slimmer CRT TVs to challenge
flat-panel displays
Thinner is better! People have
got tired of CRT TVs despite their better picture quality and lower prices;
instead, many are turning to the latest slim size plasmas and LCD TVs
notwithstanding being still pricey, and often out of reach to many household
budgets.
The manufacturing industry knows very well
that the whole issue is being slim - it is a simple case that slimmer is
better. So...
CRT display tube manufacturer LG.Philips
- a joint venture between LG Electronics and Royal Philips Electronics, and
TV manufacturer Samsung Electronics, have both come with an answer -
a super slim CRT design that drastically reduces the average depth of the
tube device. In addition, they have also re-designed the tube such that the
tube-based set would look like a flat-panel TV from the front.
It worked. Samsung
SlimFit
CRT sets have been out for about a year and people
simply love them - enough so that they now have over 40% of the CRT market
share. These TVs come in 30-inch HDTV style, and 27-inch high definition and
standard versions, and are selling online at under $650 for the 30-inch
version and at around $450 for a 27-inch HD version.
The 30-inch-tube television is about 16 inches
thick - this means that the Samsung SlimFit TV is typically 30% slimmer than
conventional tube sets. Surely, that's deeper than a flat panel set, but at 16 inches, this brings
this CRT HDTV at about the same size as that of an equivalent screen-size
flat-panel television mounted on a table-top stand.
These super-slim CRTs offer the best of both worlds
- superior picture quality,
a slim size design that is closer to flat-panel televisions, and come at a
price that is substantially cheaper than an equivalent screen size
flat-panel TV. These slimmer tube TVs are only slightly more expensive
than conventional tubes, but prices are quickly coming down.
These new super slim CRT designs should help
prolong the appeal of tube-based televisions to the home entertainment
community at a time when plasmas and LCD HDTVs are selling at their lowest
prices ever.
In particular, they provide a cheaper yet
stylish alternative to those that still consider LCD and plasmas as an
expensive display option for their available budget.
This comes at no surprise. Price difference
between the latest flat-panel technologies and tube-based sets is still
substantial, even though prices are expected to keep going down. But then
even prices of CRT TVs are envisaged to keep falling further. For this
reason, CRT TVs are still expected to dominate the market for a number of
years to come. In fact, researchers believe that it will be some time
before enough price cuts for flat-panel sets have been made to match -
if ever - those of CRT TVs.
CRT TV Reviews @ Practical Home Theater Guide
More on CRT TVs
will follow soon. |
Last updated on:
19th Sept.
2006 |
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