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.

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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.

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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.