[BC] TV Set/Converter

[Broadcast List]

The short answer is that a CRT is going to have the best picture,  
PERIOD, end of discussion.  That is why I have a 308 pound CRT based  
HDTV in my living room.

CRTs have the brightest picture, best color, and best contrast ratio  
(blackest blacks).  The refresh rates are the best as well.  CRTs  
rule.  Of course, they (generally) use more power, weigh a lot more,  
and are DEEP.  Even high deflection tubes are deep.  OH, on the other  
hand they don't go bad as you get off axis.  You can be at pretty big  
angles and still see a good picture.  They are great for a room full  
of viewers who cannot sit in line with the display.  Like I wrote,  
CRTs rule.

CRTs last MUCH longer than LCDs or Plasma displays.  LCDs and Plasma  
displays used to have AWFUL life spans, but they are now more  
acceptable.  CRTs die slowly, and can be corrected as they age.  LCDs  
don't really age, but they just die.  Generally, the fluorescent tube  
(backlight) just goes bad.

Sadly, it is becoming more and more difficult to buy a CRT based  
HDTV.  Inexpensive, and LARGE SDTV and even SOME EDTV CRT sets are  
fairly common.  The public has the impression that THIN screens (not  
flat screens, as CRTs can be FLAT) are actually NECESSARY for HD.   
They are wrong, of course, but that is why VHS won out over Beta.

The NTSC CRT set in our bedroom is dying, and I would like to improve  
the picture over the 20 inch Sony NTSC CRT there now.  The  
replacement WILL be a LCD TV.  The place we want it (this is NOT  
critical viewing, only a bedroom) is between two doors, so it has to  
be less than 29 inches wide.  This limits me to a 26 inch LCD TV or a  
30 inch Apple display which needs a high end computer with a DUAL DVI  
port to drive it -- so a $800-900 LCD Sony or similar, or $1500 Apple  
display and at least a $1500 computer to drive it...  Um, as much of  
an Apple guy as I am... not really an option.

BUT, if picture quality was an issue, mostly color saturation and  
contrast ratio, there is no way I would pick an LCD.  Plasma has a  
better picture, but there are no 26 inch plasma sets.  Sure, there  
are plenty of 26 inch CRTs, but aesthetics do come into play in a non- 
critical viewing situation.  We want it on the wall.

LCDs have the WORST picture, but frankly they are not all that bad  
for bedroom, bathroom, kitchen viewing.  However, unlike CRTs (which  
only contain metals, some of it lead) LCDs have fluorescent lights as  
back-lights.  Those contain MERCURY.  (Yes, I know mercury is another  
metal).  Anyone who tells you CRTs pollute and LCDs do not is WRONG.   
I would rather be exposed to lead than mercury.

(Yes, I know a few LCDs in laptops now have LEDs as backlights.  No  
TVs so far, and I think the biggest is 15 inches, so far.)


One last thing for your poor friend.  Cable companies are whores.  We  
were about to go to Dish Network and Comcrap, er, Comcast <http:// 
comcastmustdie.com/> offered us the "Dish Buyback" plan. It is Basic  
and Extended Digital for $19.95 a month!  We also have HBO and  
Cinemax FREE for three months, and $9.95 a month for BOTH for a YEAR.  
(They are normally $18.85 EACH every month.)  We have one HD DVR for  
$8.95 a month!  Our cable bill is $29 a month for everything!  Yes,  
in a month it is going up to $39 a month, but after a year (when  
Comcrap goes to normal pricing) we go to FIOS.  They are here now,  
but how can I change from the plan I have now?

He cannot play the system forever, but he can get a deal for a year  
or two, then switch providers for another year or two.  The only  
question is how long can he keep switching back and forth?  I don't  
know -- I'll let you know when we are forced to stop!

--chip

On Jan 1, 2008, at 5:35 PM, broadcast-request at radiolists.net wrote:

> Message: 3
> Date: Tue, 01 Jan 2008 09:33:50 -0700
> From: "Powell E. Way III W4OPW" <w4opw at yahoo.com>
> Subject: Re: [BC] TV Set/Converter
> To: "Broadcasters' Mailing List" <broadcast at radiolists.net>
> Message-ID: <7.0.1.0.2.20080101093311.02417310 at oldradio.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed
>
> --- R A Meuser <rameuser at ieee.org> wrote:
>
>> I  do not think that CRTs are even a viable option as they  are
>> illegal in most of the world and I am not sure they are even
>> manufactured anymore. The key is which version tuner is included.
>
>
> Samsung and LG make a HDTV set with a short neck CRT.
> It's not a super large set and is under $1000. It has
> a much better picture than a lot of LCD sets I've
> seen. That's ONE HDTV CRT set, made by two
> manufacturers.
>
> Powell