why so few CRT RPTV's?
 

They seem like they are being pushed out of alot of stores in favor of
more expensive models. At yet, I look at the pictures from the LCD, DLP,
and the CRT RPTV's, and the CRT models seem to have the better pictures, and
the price isn't as "pumped up".

Weight and bulk can't be the only issue. A 42 inch CRT RPTV weighs less
than a 36 inch direct-view CRT. Maybe they just have too much "care and
maintanence" required? Or perhaps they want to push some cool new
technology with higher margins?

"magnulus" wrote in message .. .
They seem like they are being pushed out of alot of stores in favor of
more expensive models. At yet, I look at the pictures from the LCD, DLP,
and the CRT RPTV's, and the CRT models seem to have the better pictures, and
the price isn't as "pumped up".

I doubt they're being pushed out--it's probably just that they're
selling well in your local area (due to price, value, whatever).
There's a lag time between when a lot of sales occur and when
stores restock.

Around here, there's certainly no shortage of CRT RPTVs. I
don't think sales of big screen TVs in general have been hot
here in Baton Rouge, LA lately. You know, the economy and such...

Isaac Kuo

They're big, they're heavy, they need a lot of tweaking, and you still need
to be sitting in a relatively narrow "sweet spot" for optimum video
quality.. You are right
they look as good as anything out there when they are set up properly.

I was talking to the local Sony dealer a few days ago and he told me that he
isn't going to carry the RPCRT sets any more. People walk into the
showroom, take a look at the Grand Wega LCDs , and say to themselves, " hey
for a few hundred bucks more I can own one of these."
Or they see the new plasmas hanging on the wall, conclude that this is
where the technology is heading and decide to wait for the prices to come
down which they will do eventually. The dealer also told me that all of his
Grand Wega LCDs for the next two shipments are already bought and paid for.
In fact the only ones that he has right now are the display models and he
won't sell those. He told me he might be able to get me into a Panasonic
but he wasn't even sure when he was going to be able to get his allotment.
From what I am reading and hearing people are snapping the new digital sets
up as fast as the manufacturers can crank them out.

The only reason I can see that someone might be interested in a RPCRT is
pricing and prices are going to need to drop if they want to hold onto their
market share. To me the 55" Mits diamond looks as good as anything I have
seen but they retail for $4000. I can pick up a 60" Grand Wega for the same
price. Granted the Sony doesn't have integrated ATSC but an external tuner
can be added for another $500 or so. If Mits could sell that 55" diamond
for $1500- $2000 and still remain profitable they would sell a lot of them.

I believe that we are seeing the end of the CRT era for display devices of
all kinds. The digital revolution has moved in and is taking over. There's
no looking back.

Ed


"magnulus" wrote in message
...
They seem like they are being pushed out of alot of stores in favor of
more expensive models. At yet, I look at the pictures from the LCD, DLP,
and the CRT RPTV's, and the CRT models seem to have the better pictures,
and
the price isn't as "pumped up".

Weight and bulk can't be the only issue. A 42 inch CRT RPTV weighs less
than a 36 inch direct-view CRT. Maybe they just have too much "care and
maintanence" required? Or perhaps they want to push some cool new
technology with higher margins?

Under the surface these flat and direct-addressable displays have too
many problems for the price. I certainly hope they aren't the future of
television technology. Of course, most people see these sets 20 feet away
and are impressed, but alot of these direct-view, direct adressable displays
use temporal and spatial dithering (and error diffusion) schemes that CRT's
don't have to use. Dithering and diffusion does effectively lower the
resolution these displays can show, no matter how many pixels they have.
That's really the problem, CRT's are the best quality display technology,
but simply won't be accepted as the TV set of the future. They don't look
"futuristic".

I've decided just to make do with a smaller direct-view CRT, but I think
it will be many, many years before you see a direct-addressable, true
digital display that actually rivals a CRT all-'round, and I wouldn't put
even 1000 dollars down on a display that used aggressive temoral-spatial
dithering or sequential coloring. Maybe when they start using seperate R,
G, and B colored light valves in these displays (and no sequential
coloring), and they're under 1500 dollars... maybe then it'll be time to
look at them.

I couldn't agree with you more. The whole "weight and bulk" issue is just
crazy, in my opinion. Some people are paying double for an LCD-based rear
projection set to save 8" in depth. And who really cares about the weight
of the thing - who moves their TV around the house on a regular basis? At
my house, my A/V receiver is in a stand beside the TV and it's DEEPER than
my 46" Toshiba CRT-based projection set, so a slimmer set would be of
absolutely no advantage to me.

If you want the best picture quality, get a CRT-based set and have it
professionally calibrated.

---
John Golitsis
Next Big Thing Electronics (Canada)
** Home of the pre-calibrated HDTV! **
http://www.nbtelectronics.com


"magnulus" wrote in message
...
They seem like they are being pushed out of alot of stores in favor of
more expensive models. At yet, I look at the pictures from the LCD, DLP,
and the CRT RPTV's, and the CRT models seem to have the better pictures,
and
the price isn't as "pumped up".

Weight and bulk can't be the only issue. A 42 inch CRT RPTV weighs less
than a 36 inch direct-view CRT. Maybe they just have too much "care and
maintanence" required? Or perhaps they want to push some cool new
technology with higher margins?

"magnulus" wrote in message
...

Under the surface these flat and direct-addressable displays have too
many problems for the price. I certainly hope they aren't the future of
television technology. Of course, most people see these sets 20 feet away
and are impressed, but alot of these direct-view, direct adressable
displays
use temporal and spatial dithering (and error diffusion) schemes that
CRT's
don't have to use. Dithering and diffusion does effectively lower the
resolution these displays can show, no matter how many pixels they have.
That's really the problem, CRT's are the best quality display technology,
but simply won't be accepted as the TV set of the future. They don't look
"futuristic".

I've decided just to make do with a smaller direct-view CRT, but I think
it will be many, many years before you see a direct-addressable, true
digital display that actually rivals a CRT all-'round, and I wouldn't put
even 1000 dollars down on a display that used aggressive temoral-spatial
dithering or sequential coloring. Maybe when they start using seperate R,
G, and B colored light valves in these displays (and no sequential
coloring), and they're under 1500 dollars... maybe then it'll be time to
look at them.





How do these subsurface problems translate into problems for me the
consumer? I was viewing these sets close up in a dealers showroom and
plasma, LCD, and RPCRT all looked very good. I did notice that pixels
were visible on the 70" Sony.that I couldn't see
on the 60" that was sitting right next to it but that is all I could find to
complain about.
Wouldn't 3 chip LCoS and DLP be considered seperate RGB light valves. Those
are available and in the case of LCoS for less than $5000.

CRT is an antiquated technology that has its own set of problems. If I had
to make a choice today on a HDTV purchase I would go with RPCRT because
they are the most affordable of the big screen options. But I don't see
that lasting for much longer. My crystal ball tells me that in 5 years you
will have a hard time finding new RPCRT HDTVs. In 10 years that will be
the case for CRTs of any kind.

That $1500 threshold sounds reasonable.

Ed

I chose a CRT Rear-Projection system because:

1) I have no problem with the bulk
2) I have no problem with the weight
3) I have no problem with the narrow field of view
4) I have no problem with periodic convergence adjustments
5) I could afford the thing

I do believe that in a few years, as prices comes down, I may invest in
another technology when prices come down. Who knows, perhaps LCoS will be
*the* HDTV technology and will be priced under $2000, or maybe OLED (organic
light emitting diode) will be perfected (it needs long life blue, overall
longer life, and large surface area ink jet printing manufacturing).

In the mean time, I am quite please with my CRT Rear-Projection system.

Neil Donovan
Salem, Massachusetts USA


"John Golitsis" wrote in message
...
I couldn't agree with you more. The whole "weight and bulk" issue is just
crazy, in my opinion. Some people are paying double for an LCD-based rear
projection set to save 8" in depth. And who really cares about the weight
of the thing - who moves their TV around the house on a regular basis? At
my house, my A/V receiver is in a stand beside the TV and it's DEEPER than
my 46" Toshiba CRT-based projection set, so a slimmer set would be of
absolutely no advantage to me.

If you want the best picture quality, get a CRT-based set and have it
professionally calibrated.

---
John Golitsis
Next Big Thing Electronics (Canada)
** Home of the pre-calibrated HDTV! **
http://www.nbtelectronics.com


"magnulus" wrote in message
...
They seem like they are being pushed out of alot of stores in favor of
more expensive models. At yet, I look at the pictures from the LCD,
DLP,
and the CRT RPTV's, and the CRT models seem to have the better pictures,
and
the price isn't as "pumped up".

Weight and bulk can't be the only issue. A 42 inch CRT RPTV weighs
less
than a 36 inch direct-view CRT. Maybe they just have too much "care and
maintanence" required? Or perhaps they want to push some cool new
technology with higher margins?

Purchased my Sony Grand Wega 60" two weeks ago. The bulb had already
burnt out on our set, and on 1 other I know of that was only 3 weeks
old. Really like the set though, picture was less than I expected.
Somewhat water colored looking on several channels. Any suggestions
on picture setup?
PS price $3399. Fry's
Dave Plano Tx

"John Golitsis" wrote in message
...
I couldn't agree with you more. The whole "weight and bulk" issue is just
crazy, in my opinion. Some people are paying double for an LCD-based rear
projection set to save 8" in depth. And who really cares about the weight
of the thing - who moves their TV around the house on a regular basis? At
my house, my A/V receiver is in a stand beside the TV and it's DEEPER than
my 46" Toshiba CRT-based projection set, so a slimmer set would be of
absolutely no advantage to me.

If you want the best picture quality, get a CRT-based set and have it
professionally calibrated.

Weight and bulk ARE big issues, for many, many people. I shouldn't need to
remind you that a lot of people - probably the majority - rent, move every
few years, live in a small house or apartment (or dorm room), have a wife
who won't tolerate a TV taking up half the room, or otherwise can't or won't
find space for, or deal with moving, a large, heavy TV.

On Tue, 23 Dec 2003 00:18:57 GMT, "Matthew Vaughan"
wrote:

"John Golitsis" wrote in message
...
I couldn't agree with you more. The whole "weight and bulk" issue is just
crazy, in my opinion. Some people are paying double for an LCD-based rear
projection set to save 8" in depth. And who really cares about the weight
of the thing - who moves their TV around the house on a regular basis? At
my house, my A/V receiver is in a stand beside the TV and it's DEEPER than
my 46" Toshiba CRT-based projection set, so a slimmer set would be of
absolutely no advantage to me.

If you want the best picture quality, get a CRT-based set and have it
professionally calibrated.

Weight and bulk ARE big issues, for many, many people. I shouldn't need to
remind you that a lot of people - probably the majority - rent, move every
few years, live in a small house or apartment (or dorm room), have a wife
who won't tolerate a TV taking up half the room, or otherwise can't or won't
find space for, or deal with moving, a large, heavy TV.

Aren't those the people who get smaller sets?
Thumper
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