Don't dump your CRT RPTV! - Page 334

Do you know when you're gonna get it finished?

- 2B

I had a few posts regarding some technical problems related to probably the power supply and convergence circuitry on a really bright Pioneer 50" rear projection TV.

I eventually gave up on it and gave it away to someone who wanted to fix it.

Good bye. Good Riddance.

Then I started to think about what to get next as I used a backup 25" SD tube.

After a while, I forgot about the big 50" and was not complaining about the 25" size when watched from about 5' Of course massively bigger is always massively better, but even a 50" is a small TV in my book - I had 11.5' on my wall for a number of years in the not too recent past.

Then a few days ago, I was walking in a thrift store and saw a Samsung HDTV 30" CRT all analogue for $30. To make a long story short, it worked fine, was a bright as the Sun, and was incredibly sharp. I cannot see how any 30" flat panel could beat it out by any margin, and when you consider it could easily work for over 20 years and cost $30, boy there is value there. (And the Samsung is not that heavy - maybe 70 lbs!)

So for now, I'm a Toob guy, and highly suggest that if you don't need a really big TV, those old school HDTV's are really good. My only complaint is the Trinitron tube which has those highly visible vertical pixel lines - and it seems like a majority of the tubes use Trinitron.

Best wishes to all,
Tom

If you aren't a CRT tech, it's dead. CRT projectors are definitely the best out there but they are huge, loud, and the only person I know that fixes them is in Canada. Just not worth it unless you have the tools and knowledge to fix them.

Hate to say it, but I agree. You can set up a pros and cons list between CRT and flat panel, but you also have to factor in real world scenarios (your TV is in a regular living room versus a dedicated home theater) that might put CRT clearly in the con category. Believe me, during the day, my RPTV can't even come close to comparing to a flat panel with all the sunlight washing it out. But I think you are most correct in the CRT tech statement. If I don't know how to calibrate and clean optics, something that is being recommended on a yearly basis in order to be able to properly compete, it gets costly real quick. If I do know how to do those things, then I've probably also invested in the equipment to do so, which also isn't cheap. What makes flat panels more and more appealing to me is that apart from that initial calibration cost, there is no more maintenance needed to be done to them. I know this is blasphemy in this forum. It's also the elephant in the room. I'm just sayin'.

I can clean the optics and calibrate them no problem, relatively easy tasks IMO. These chassis are starting to get old though, and problems are going to show up on them. What happens when you have some leaky capacitors? I don't have the tools or the knowledge to test and fix problems like this, and neither do 99.99999% of the people in america. Once my Panny RPTV goes, all i'm left with is a giant 200lb box that i have to pay somebody to haul away.

If i knew how to fix them, I might load up on old sets and spare parts and keep the dream alive for 20 more years, but i don't, and it sucks. Nice Sanyo direct view 32 inch 1080i set on craigslist right now for 50 bucks... i'm having a hard time convincing myself not to go buy it. Heck it has HDMI even.

A couple of years ago I got a Toshiba 30" widescreen direct view brand new for $60 for my sons room off CL and it has the absolute best CRT pic I have ever seen. I'd get the Sanyo (tho I would look for a Sony or Tosh if possible) for $50 if I needed a bedroom set.

Will be awaiting for pics .... one can just imagine!

I have only seen the 70" under the awful conditions at costco but it looked pretty good. I expect the 80" Sharp to be pretty good but I also expect some sacrifice due to the price being so low for the size. I would consider the 92" mitts but I think I'm done with the rear projection type of tv.

You should check out the 80 inch. It's unreal, much more compelling than the 70 inch. I'm wondering, though, if 2012 will bring a 3D, 240 Hz version. I believe there will be an 80 inch Elite, but as I mentioned earlier, the 70 inch Elite does not look better to me than this 80 panel.

In reference to an earlier post, my 65813 is plenty bright in daylight... not dim at all. And as far as picture quality and sharpness, last night I watched a bit of Green Zone on Cable and it was extremely sharp with what I keep describing as a rounded depth of picture. People and objects have a sense of natural weight, and you feel as if you are looking into the picture. This is one of the virtues of CRT rear projection.

When I first bought my 65" Hitachi(new),I ran it for a couple of hundred hours then had it professionally calibrated,the difference was amazing.Now I clean it once a year or so but generally it has been rock solid.
The decision to repair (for me)comes down to time and money.Do I have the time to fix it myself or is the cost to repair high enough to warrant buying a new tv? The fact is new TV's are inexpensive enough that putting a substantial amount of money in CRT may not be the way to go.
As I get older,for some reason there is less time to do things(where does all the time go?) I just want my tv to work, also as I get older "good enough" comes into play where even though CRT is the best quality picture, I could live with LCD or plasma as a daily viewer,in fact as a OTR driver I live with a 26" LCD tv in my truck which I use as a tv/monitor.

"CRT is dead" is a statement that is a bit premature,but for the general population it is dead. Now CRT's are in the realm of the videophile,hobbyist, or the cheapskate who finds a big TV on craigslist for a small price.

Having said all that I continue to enjoy my CRT's,they are rock solid(so far) and provide a quality picture and are paid for. Who could ask for more than that?

Although I would like to get the 80", currently my 2 crt rear proj. are working fine so I am not really in the market for a new tv.
Having said that I sit 16 ft away from my TV now(65" Hitachi) so I am so wanting the 80"Sharp.3D 240hz,and elite status don't mean much to me but if they do have that on the new sets after CES then the price for the current 80" should go down which if it goes too far down I may not be able to pass it up...


Something else about CRT tv's that doesn't get said much is regular DVD's (not hi def) look great,at least on my CRT's. Blu ray and hi def TV is amazing as well but for those with large dvd collections,its a nice bonus.

I'm not ordinarily a fan of LED/LCD, but I had to acknowledge that the big 80 inch Sharp was really impressive...sort of overwhelming. Is it as good on the eyes as CRT RPTV. Since I don't live with one, I don't know...but my Mits is really pleasurable to the eye.

It occurred to me that when set up correctly the CRT RPTV is velvety, whereas no flat panel as of yet is.

That is just it though. out of the box pretty much any tv can produce a "good" picture.CRT can be made to produce the best picture,I'm just too lazy to go through the hacks to make it happen. Most of today's Tv makers have realized that we want adjustments allowing us to tweak the picture in order to get it close to CRT quality so for me most modern tv's can get "close enough" to CRT without all the hacks,mods,convergence adjustments and occasional cleanings.I'm making it sound more complicated than it is but try a RP CRT cleaning yourself,it's somewhat daunting to the novice,the shim mod? For the professional or AV geek IMO.

CRT is still the picture king for now and for those who want to work for it(or can afford a pro) I agree with MR Bob: Buy these gems while they are still available,it will be some time before flat panels catch up to the picture quality of CRT's.

I seem to be down on RP CRT, i'm not I LOVE my two RP CRT's(one is calibrated) and will until the day they die.

Hard to find on CL even though I know there are lots because people don't post the model numbers or anything other than " 30 inch toshiba."

Thus the reason to reply to the ad and ask for the model number.

In the quest for the perfect display it should be noted that at present there is none. Everything has tradeoffs.

I have been following the Sharp Elite thread and it's clear that more than a few owners have a couple of significant issues. One is pulsation, or flickering, with some material or scenes, which I strongly suspect is related to local dimming.

The other is dirty screen effect (DSE), which is also present on many other LCD displays.

And it should be noted that screen door effect is pretty common as well on LCDs, evident when you sit close to a display for immersion.

So don't be too quick to roll that CRT RPTV down your driveway.

Thankfully, My Elite 70 has none of those issues.
I sit 12 feet away.
I watched Rise of The Planet of the Apes last night and it was so so sweet on the Elite.
I just kept saying...woahhh, man that is a sweet picture.
I have now switched to the C-Net settings that they used for their review of the Elite for Movie THX and it is quite breathtaking. Very film like
I have no regrets for saying good bye to my Mits.
I hope she is doing well.

I'm glad your TV is free of those defects. But as you know, not everyone has gotten a defect-free set, as reflected by the owner's thread (now superseded by the "real"owner's thread!)

Have you seen the 80 inch Sharp?

Rise of Planet of the Apes is heart wrenching for animal lovers (though I know humans get their comeuppance in the end.) My girlfriend couldn't watch it, and affected by her and my own sensibilities, I stopped watching by the first third of the film, but I'll forge ahead later today.

Have you seen the award winning Inside Job? It's an amazing and clear documentation of why we had the financial collapse, and it makes politicians on both sides of the aisle look shabby. Everyone should see this film. It's shocking, eye opening, and important, whether on CRT, LCD, Plasma, or DLP! (And Etch A Sketch, which has the greatest display longevity of all.)

I'm about 8 feet back from my 65, coincidentally, and all is well.

Viewing distance is one of the biggest factors I see in the reason big screen TVs and Blu rays have not taken off more than than have.

Two nights ago I was standing in front of a Red Box, waiting to return a disc. The lady in front of me was having issues, so I was helping her choose. She was wanting DVD versions instead of Blu ray discs, even where they were available. She asked me if I saw a difference, which of course I assured her there was a huge difference. She said she couldn't see any difference between blu rays and DVDs, so why spend the extra money (even if we're only talking about 50 cents)?

I dug for info: She has a blu ray player, and a 46" HD TV (I assume LCD), I didn't bother getting into audio questions with her, but I'd lay money she's just using the TV's speakers. I said she should definitely see a difference... I see a noticeable difference between SD and HD content even on my 40" LCD in the bedroom. I then paused... and asked her how far away from the screen she was sitting. The answer: 16 feet. No wonder she couldn't see a difference between the two!

I'd wager that a MAJORITY of people are sitting way too far from their TVs to really get an immersive experience, and just don't care enough to rearrange their rooms to put more emphasis on viewing distance and the TV experience in general. This is why people love Netflix and like, despite the obvious (to those of us who are configured well enough) quality issues: They literally can't see the problems since they're sitting so far away from their TVs!

I told her that she would only be able to appreciate what blu ray brings to the table if she sits a LOT closer to her TV (or upgrades to a MUCH larger screen), and unless she wanted to try to go for a much more immersive, theater-like experience, she should simply enjoy her DVDs, and leave it at that.

Ditto.

your correct,unfortunately my roommates aka family, have the room set up the way they want the room so seating can be no closer,and a projector is OUT. I am the CTO of the house but I am out voted by the aesthetics dept every time.

Fortunately the 73" Mitts is better at 11" in my "guesthouse" where I sleep, but since I spend most of my time in the main house with the family the 65" is the primary tv and why I wish for a bigger set.

The 65" at 16' is better than the 25" replaced back in 2006, even at that 16' distance I can still tell the diff between standard def and Hi def, Im just spoiled and want bigger!

Yes I have seen it, but my setup did not allow it due to size constraints.
And, I wanted the best 3D currently available on an LCD TV. The 80" Sharp is 2D only

That's quite true. But that will change in 2012, whether it's a non-Elite, or an Elite. Either way, it will be based on the X-GEN panel. The current model, though, has admirable blacks.

Be nice to your family, or they'll exile you further... to, let's say, 30 feet!

If you're in Las Vegas, I'm letting go of my Mits 73"CRT RPTV for free. All I ask is that you bring a couple guys to help bring it down a flight of stairs. TV works fine, is one of the original HDTV "ready" TV's and has a separate adapter for watching HDTV or blurays, etc. I'm at work and don't have the actual model #, but if you're interested, I can post that after I get home.

I'm changing to a Front projection system with 130" wide screen.

They would have to knock down a wall for that!

I'm not certain I can convince my wife, but I'm interested in the model number, as a starting point...