# Worth upgrading CRT TV?



## mandisaur (Jan 14, 2008)

I'm waiting to go HD until a few more titles are released and blu-ray wins the war, but is it worth it to upgrade from an HD-ready CRT TV to an LCD flat screen? I've got HDMI inputs so I'm ready for when TV broadcasts make the switch in 2009, but I don't know that my Standard DVDs will look much better on a "true" HD tv.


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## chris75 (Aug 25, 2007)

mandisaur said:


> I'm waiting to go HD until a few more titles are released and blu-ray wins the war, but is it worth it to upgrade from an HD-ready CRT TV to an LCD flat screen? I've got HDMI inputs so I'm ready for when TV broadcasts make the switch in 2009, but I don't know that my Standard DVDs will look much better on a "true" HD tv.



Umm, not everything is going HD in 2009, only digital, its a big difference.


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## mandisaur (Jan 14, 2008)

chris75 said:


> Umm, not everything is going HD in 2009, only digital, its a big difference.


Well, that's true, although HD broadcasts will dominate the airwaves...the tv does have a digital tuner. And that doesn't really answer my question.


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## Spike99 (Dec 24, 2007)

In my area, Flat model LCDs have dropped 1/2 price during a 1 year period. In 1 more year, I figure it will drop 1/2 (to today's normal selling price). Thus, I'm holding off for 1 more year. And by then, the quality of current brands of LCDs will be better known. For me, I'm holding off. Going to wait 1 year or until our CRT's current cracked speaker is fully gong (which ever comes first).


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## mandisaur (Jan 14, 2008)

That's a good point Spike, more or less what I'm thinking as well, unless I suddenly inherit a sum that begs to be spent on a plasma...


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## keyser soze (May 28, 2007)

mandisaur said:


> I'm waiting to go HD until a few more titles are released and blu-ray wins the war, but is it worth it to upgrade from an HD-ready CRT TV to an LCD flat screen? I've got HDMI inputs so I'm ready for when TV broadcasts make the switch in 2009, but I don't know that my Standard DVDs will look much better on a "true" HD tv.


IMO, no. I'm selling my 1st gen Aquos to make room for my old Sony CRT. It looked better, HD or not. Your TV will handle the 09 switch just fine and as said before, the longer you wait, the cheaper and better the set will be. Heck, by 09 OLED sets will be getting affordable. Who knows what will be going on then. I think it was LG (IIRC) that just released a two sided LCD and one panel that can display 3 different videos simultaneously that can be viewed individually from 3 different viewing angles. The technology is still moving forward and will only get cheaper and better. 

Personally, I don't care for the LCD sets. A Sony 46" fed by a off air HD antennae was the best looking picture I had seen until I saw the new Elite 1080P plasma sets. I hate Pioneer with a passion but they make good looking TV's.

"but I don't know that my Standard DVDs will look much better on a "true" HD tv."

They will not look ANY better unless you have a "upscaling" dvd player and even then the difference will be negligible. With SD sources it could look much _worse_ than your CRT actually. 

Wait it out.


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## mandisaur (Jan 14, 2008)

keyser soze said:


> Personally, I don't care for the LCD sets. A Sony 46" fed by a off air HD antennae was the best looking picture I had seen until I saw the new Elite 1080P plasma sets. I hate Pioneer with a passion but they make good looking TV's.


Hey, keyser soze! Finally a reference I get...

I've noticed the same thing about the LCD sets, they've always seemed kind of iffy to me. They've got CRT models that claim to display 1080i and seem to do so just as well if not better. Haven't seen those new Pioneers yet, though.

Wait it out I shall.


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## gregzoll (Dec 25, 2006)

mandisaur said:


> Well, that's true, although HD broadcasts will dominate the airwaves...the tv does have a digital tuner. And that doesn't really answer my question.


HD will not dominate the airwaves. Only difference, is that instead of Analog signal going through the air from the Broadcasters, it will 1's and 0's.


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## bofusmosby (Apr 30, 2007)

By far, you will get your best HD picture from a CRT set. Better than Plasma, better than LCD. I am talking about a GOOD CRT set, not junk.

As far as a blown speaker, why not just replace the speaker? Most are not that expensive. 

Also, keep this in mind. There are tons of CRT TVs out there that are over 20 years old, and still plugging along. I will be surprised if any of the LCD or Plasma sets will last even 10 years. As a matter of fact, a lot of them are not even lasting through their warranty period. Chinese junk......


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## gregzoll (Dec 25, 2006)

bofusmosby said:


> By far, you will get your best HD picture from a CRT set. Better than Plasma, better than LCD. I am talking about a GOOD CRT set, not junk....


Thanks for the laugh. You really do not know what you are talking about.


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## bofusmosby (Apr 30, 2007)

I am a professional TV tech, and have over 33 years experience. What do you have to back up your opinion? When it comes to questions about home repair, I ask the pros, but now you are talking about MY profession. In this area, I am the pro. Its obvious that you have never seen a high quality HD CRT direct view set side by side with an LCD or Plasma.


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## gregzoll (Dec 25, 2006)

Yes I have, and only when coupled with a Line quadruplers, or Scalar, then the quality is comparable with high quality Plasma & LED engine LCD sets. It still will not make for a better quality then a Plasma or LED LCD, LCos or DLP set.


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## bofusmosby (Apr 30, 2007)

Lets see now. I own an LCOS set, and have compared the picture. I work on all the others all the time. Just on straight rabbit ears, the HD CRT set is better. As far as the LCD projection sets, I am not impressed with what I have seen. You will NEVER get the clarity or brilliance with any projection set that will equal a direct view HD CRT set. Now, don't get me wrong. These other sets you mentioned DO have a good picture, but when they are lined up side-by-side, there is a difference. 

Speaking of DLP sets, there is a small percentage of people that can not even watch these sets. Some peoples eyes can not be fooled by the illusion of the DLP, and all they see are rainbow colors. I had a customer a while back that brought in his DLP set for repair. There was nothing wrong with his set. When the customer came to pick up his set, he says "look at that horrible picture. All I see is rainbow colors". The picture looked great. Most will never see this though.


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## david81 (Feb 9, 2008)

sony 1080p. nuff said.


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## bofusmosby (Apr 30, 2007)

Thats a good set David...for sure.


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## gregzoll (Dec 25, 2006)

It was not even a set, it was a Technology that David mentioned.


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## AllanJ (Nov 24, 2007)

I would not upgrade a CRT just for the sake of going to a different technology such as LCD.

An HD ready TV together with an ATSC HD set top box will on average get broadcasts just as well as a new TV with built in ATSC digital tuner. (At some point in the future Consumer Reports will do reviews on which fully equipped HDTV's and which set top boxes pull in more stations than others.)

If you subscribe to cable or satellite TV, you do not need a set top box tuner and will not be making use of a built in digital tuner.

If the old TV is starting to go bad, well, then you would have a reason to upgrade.

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## bofusmosby (Apr 30, 2007)

As far as what david mentioned, I was working on one of the Sony 1080p sets when I made that post. It was a direct-view, and it had a great picture. Lets see, no model was mentioned, so I wasn't speaking of a set, but a type of set.

As far as the new technology goes, it will be great when they work out all the bugs, but for now, they can be VERY expensive to repair. I had a brand new Olivia 32" LCD set the other day. The set was still in warranty, and the customer could find no one else to work on it. The factory told him to send the set in, but that was going to cost him hundreds of dollars for the shipping there and back, so he brought it to me. The main board was bad, and the price on just the board was over $350., not counting the labor. By the time the set was repaired, he would have put almost as much into the repair, as what he bought the set for. Most of these sets are being made in China, and there does not appear to be any "quality" put into them.

If you want to have to replace the set every 2-5 years, go ahead and buy one. They will NEVER last the years that the older technology has, until they make some changes with their manufacturing.

Allen, I agree, there is NO reason to trash out your CRT set, as long as the picture tube is in good shape. I am using one of those converter boxes right now, and I get a great picture.


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## End Grain (Nov 17, 2007)

My reply is going to be of little if any help in your decision, but the merry-go-round of electronics and video technology will make whatever you buy today obsolete within several months. So, if you enjoy your current TV set and don't have a problem watching DVD's on it, it might behoove you to wait until the excitement, anticipation, hoo-hah and aprehension dissipate post 2/2009 and the prices begin to fall on current models as the newer models are released. _Wanting what we already have is always more difficult than having what we want. _Good Luck in your decision and purchase! :thumbsup:


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## gregzoll (Dec 25, 2006)

Nothing is obsolete. The current TV & VCR's that have NTSC tuners can adapt by having a ATSC or QAM tuner connected.


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