television

What's the better tv and which one usually lasts longer LCD,plasma,
etc. also I've heard that one of them goes dimmer after several years
which one.

 

Compared to traditional CRTs all of the new technologies are
junk. In fact they're specifically designed to be junk with
specifically limited lifespans. Plasmas have heat problems,
LCD backlights lose up to 50% of their brightness within the
first five years, DLPs are very prone to mechanical failure, etc.

With every one of these technologies, every second a set is
turned on counts against a finite lifespan counter: whether it's
an LCD backlight, DLP mirror array etc, the fact is, sooner
or later it's going to head south. While the same thing is true
of CRTs, that counter is in the range of tens of years instead
of tens of months.

If you want at least a several year lifespan from a TV set,
stick with a traditional CRT, or if you need more than a 36 or
40" screen go with traditional rear projection.

 

Back projection TVs using CRTs aren't exacly renown for long life at top
performance.

 

Most of the newer technologies have lifespan / reliability issues, but
direct-view LCD panels tend to be more reliable. They can still get bad
pixels or have backlight problems, though.

They are not prone to burn-in, and since the format is more electrically
efficient, the power supplies also tend to be more reliable.

Mark Z.

 

Stay away from the LCD/Plasma/LDP etc.. You want a 40"+ screen go with a
rear projection.

 

Hi EDM!



I can't complain


Maybe I may add something.

LCD is not so bad for eye-sight weak people. Also for much text-reading
it might be the better choice, due to its pixel-sharpness. (fixed
res... of course junk, bez I am reduced to Windows'es and cannot drive
other frequencies/resolutions pixel-correct)
Power Consumption is lower. 50-70W and 130-220W for a CRT

Plasma is surely outstanding when new . But keep care for Burn-In
(the TV-Station logo/sign for example, when watching the same Station a
longer time. You'll get that logo forever )
Plasma can compare to the fastness and deepness (Blacklevel etc...) of
CRT TV-sets.
Power consumption is higher. So at 500W begins the fun

CRT is in lifetime-length unbeatable. My last TV-Set I had for over 20
Years. It's a (still working, ~23 Years old) darktube TV-set and have
not lost its magical Black in this years. It got a bit darker but there
is still Brightness left, if I would do so. The Tube is Gray when
switched off and gets space-black when turned on.

I have now a new one, Black Matrix, for 249Bucks. Before I watched with
the S-VHS Recorder Tuner (Reference Tuner) connected to the TV (Battery
acid in the TV ran out and I couldn't memorize any channels).




All at all, even with Digital crap the CRT makes the better figure. It
softens the harsh, edgeless and jerking picture.


For Analog sources (PAL+/NTSC) the LCD makes not so a bad figure, IMO.
AND THE PLASMA too .... (best with an indoor aerial connected, some
Beer and the Soccer World Championsship live. 16:9 of course.)




Kind Regards,

Daniel Mandic

 

I'm tempted by front projectors - guess I'm stuck in the 60's. Any
experience with those?

 

All displays get somewhat dimmer with age.

LCD TVs are the way to go right now (just my opinion, based on many trips to
the retail stores and looking at the live pictures and the price tags).

My current TV is one of those monster CRTs by Sony ... no way in heck that
I'd replace that tank with another CRT set.

A friend owns a repair shop and he reports rear projection units as being
relatively unreliable and expensive to repair.

I like the idea of TI's DLP technology, but looking at them beside a
high-end LCD shows them as noticeably inferior.

 

The name of this tune, as Tony Baretta used to say on the '70s TV
series of the same name, is planned obsolescence. Where we could and
generally still do expect our older CRT TVs to last at least 10 years
(if you get one with a good CRT and well-made electronics), flat-panel
sets are built to bite the dust long before then, as noted. In much the
same way as we are now seeing older (read 4-5 years) CRT sets on curbs
and treelawns, in ten years or even less FPs will be joining
them--unless the manufacturers wise up and eventually find the key to
making an LCD or plasma set with a display that will last longer than
"tens of months". However, as long as there is money to be made selling
LCDs and plasmas (the big ones still go for well over $1,000; the only
really inexpensive FPs, below $500, are the Magnavox's and other
offshore brands with screens 15 inches and smaller), we won't see a
really long-lasting FP set for quite some time, if ever.

That's why I'm holding on to both my CRT TVs, a 1999 RCA CTC185 and a
1995 Zenith Sentry 2, both 19 inches. They both work very well and make
excellent pictures on the cable system here. I think a lot of people
will be keeping their CRT TVs for some time, as long as they work. I
have a good friend who has three Toshiba CRT TVs, all of them at least
five years old and at least one of which is 32 inches. I don't see him
getting rid of his sets any time soon either.

In light of what has been said here about the short life spans
(counted, as you mentioned, in 10s of months rather than 10s of years)
of both types of flat-panel TVs as opposed to the 10-15 year life of
most CRTs, it wouldn't surprise me if there are still more CRT sets
than FPs in use even today. It's difficult to say, but there may even
be more older CRT sets in use in 2.5 years (after the analog TV
stations leave the air) than FPs as well.

I saw a post to another TV forum just today in which the author
mentioned that this will be the final year Best Buy will be selling CRT
based televisions. In light of what has been said in this thread about
the short lives of flat-panels of both types and because CRT TVs still
make much better pictures than most FPs (when properly adjusted, which
many CRT sets aren't--I know people who don't care beans what the
picture looks like as long as it's there), I think Best Buy will be
doing its customers a heck of a disservice by discontinuing CRTs. As
long as CRT-based sets make better pictures and last longer than FPs,
the CRT set is still, IMHO, the best investment anyone can make for an
entertainment system. CRTs are bulky and take up more room than flat
panels, but on the other hand CRTs have been with us over five decades
and have proven themselves to be much more reliable in the long run.
Until or unless those big offshore TV manufacturers like LG, Samsung,
etc. start making FPs that last longer than their manufacturers'
warranties and closer to the life span of CRT sets, people are going to
be very disappointed when they find their $1000+ plasma TVs virtually
useless in two or three years when the panel or those little video
driver ICs go bad (the ICs are molded into the cable that connects the
panel to the TV chassis, so if even one of them fails, the entire panel
must be replaced).

However, FP sets are built this way for a reason: so the stores will
make money on new sets. The cheaper b&w tube-type CRT portables are
throwaways too after the warranty goes West (have been for years), as
they have almost the entire set on one large PC board, so this
phenomenon is not new. (I once had a Zenith 12" b&w solid-state TV that
was still working like new after 22 years, but that was the exception
rather than the rule.) As I said at the beginning of my post, the name
of the tune is planned obsolescence. The stores are counting on it;
it's been going on for some time and won't go away, so, like it or not,
consumers had better get used to it. As Walter Cronkite always ended
the old CBS Evening News, that's the way it is.

Kind regards,

Jeff Strieble, WB8NHV (email addy not shown to deter spammers)
Fairport Harbor, Ohio USA

 

<snip>

As I said at the beginning of my post, the name

This has been my experience too. In fact, I just bought a 36" Sony Wega CRT
set, good god, that is one HEAVY beast. However, my last TV, a 27" Sony CRT
is still a great set after 9 long years of use. Never did anything but blow
the dust out every couple years or so. You cannot ask for better than that.
I have estimated that TV was on approx. 27000 hours. Not bad for old
technology. I design TFT displays into the medical equipment we manufacture,
I am praying that Sharp knows what the hell they are doing, they tell me
that a 20 - 30 thousand hour life is not unusual. We'll see. I believe LCD
technology will last a good long time, the reason I didn't buy a large
screen LCD TV is the fact that I don't like the look of them. The display is
quite sharp, bright, clear, etc, but it isn't fast, IMHO. Neither is DPL,
again, IMHO.

regards,
tom