Why are 16:9 CRT TV's limited to 34" or smaller?

Probably because the size and depth of a crt bigger than 34" would be impractical in most situations. And the fact that most people who want a large screen look towards plasmas and rptv's, so crts of larger sizes wouldn't be very popular and wouldn't sell well.

Don't forget the discontinued 38 Inch RCA. Probably the biggest reason is weight & the shipping costs.

It also seems to be a 'safety' issue. I know on the Sony 16:9 sets the 34" has a special film applied to the front of the tube for added safety in case of implosion.

I'll throw out a vote for geometry issues. Maintaining acceptable geometry in a flat screen tube is hard enough at 34". Even the 38" Lowe/RCA widescreen tube wasn't completely flat.

every inch you add to a 34" tube you add another 25 lbs i think.

many reasons from my assumptions:


-weight

-take up lot of backside, the size is an issue.

-cost


I was hoping in the coming years, they make the ultimate biggest size for widescreen CRT which is 38"...(its has been done, but these models has been discontinued and weren't true flatscreen)...

Because you wouldn't be able to fit it thru a standard door frame and the cost is prohibitive. Very large CRT tubes have purity problems, just look at all the "blob" problems reported by the old Sony 40" HD set that was discontinued recently. The price of large lighter slimmer plasma displays are now cheaper than a larger than 38" HDTV CRT tube set would cost and the price of the plasmas are continuing to drop rapidly too. I expect the 34" and 36" HD sets to be discontinued in a few years too as flat screens reach their price range.

When I was deciding on a tv, I just couldn't stand rear projection and honestly I don't even like LCD or plasma much. They seemt o put off a ton of heat, they seem to hurt my eyes watching them. They are great as far as size though. I wish they amde thin ones that were not so expensive and were similar to the CRTs. I don't mean an actual CRT obviously, but just a tv that "seems" more like them.