Any one here will still use the C.R.T tv's for every day wathcing tv?

[zenith2134]

Yep, vintage stereo gear has gone way up in price. Nothin beats the sound of tubes!!

I've been enjoying over the air DTV lately. The Zenith box is fine, and I get nice signal with a bowtie UHF antenna.

[radiotvnut]

Originally Posted by NowhereMan 1966

I'm curious what Comcast is going to do since we have them. Mom and I were discussing that and if they get too high, we just get all the basic analogue channels, we might even dump cable and go over the air, especially with us getting Retro Television Network and so on. Comcast did say, "we got you covered" se we shall see.

If Comcast goes digital, we will do one of two things:

1. Only rent a couple of boxes for the two most watched TV's and run the rest off OTA converter boxes.

2. Dump the cable and go 100% OTA.

I'd be in hog heaven if RTN was carried by a local station. I looked on their website; and, the only station in Mississippi currently carrying RTN is WJTV out of Jackson. WTOK carries ABC, FOX, and CW on their digital signal. WMDN (CBS) and WGBC (NBC) do not have any subchannels. WMAW (PBS) has 3 different PBS channels.

[NowhereMan 1966]

Originally Posted by radiotvnut

If Comcast goes digital, we will do one of two things:

1. Only rent a couple of boxes for the two most watched TV's and run the rest off OTA converter boxes.

2. Dump the cable and go 100% OTA.

I'd be in hog heaven if RTN was carried by a local station. I looked on their website; and, the only station in Mississippi currently carrying RTN is WJTV out of Jackson. WTOK carries ABC, FOX, and CW on their digital signal. WMDN (CBS) and WGBC (NBC) do not have any subchannels. WMAW (PBS) has 3 different PBS channels.

Well, I talked to my father today and he heard rumors that they are going to kick some of the basic channels to digital, again, this is only a rumor. He already got his two boxes, a couple of Magnavoxes, so fat, he hasn't used them, keeping them for in case if he "gets to be too poor for cable TV." I know myself, as long as we have RTN and the three PBS channels, I can find things to watch OTA. I think once we get the bugs worked out, such as providing translators for rural areas and so on, perhaps DTV is a good idea if we get more choices like that.

[radiotvnut]

I saw something today that reminded me why I need to keep my CRT set. We took the car in for an oil change and, in the waiting area, there was about a 15" LCD TV sitting high on a shelf where a 13" CRT set used to be. I was not able to see what brand this set was; but, the picture was terrible. Looking at the set at an angle, I could barely tell there was a picture there and what I could see was just a big blur. Standing in front of the set, the picture looked like what one might see on a 20 year old bigscreen with weak CRT's. Their old 13" CRT set looked much better. I don't know if the lousy LCD picture was because the set was defective, misadjusted, or if that's as good as it was supposed to be. My eyesight is not the best and I've always sat very close to the TV at home. Even though I could not really make out the picture on their old CRT set from across the room; I could tell it was bright and vivid like a TV picture is supposed to look. The LCD just looked dull and blurry, regardless of where I tried to view it.

[Electrohome]

Hello, as a video trader and vintage TV program collector myself, I only use 4:3 ratio aspect CRT TVs myself, all 4 of my TVs I use are 4:3 ratio aspect. I can never really get into these new LCD or Plasma TVs unless it's strictly for watching widescreen movies or other widescreen content only. I grew up on 4:3 ratio aspect CRT TVs and will die by the 4:3 ratio aspect as well for tvs. Really, most of the shows on TV today are those junk Reality Shows and that just vexes me from even buying a 16:9 ratio aspect TV for that junk alone. All the old classic shows are only in 4:3 ratio aspect.
Really, the TV sets get so sophisticated and the programing goes right in the toilet for qaulity entertainment and ohh, there's just soooo many commercials too these days-yikes:-(

[Sandy G]

I STILL think HDTV is an answer to a question nobody asked...For 95% of TV watching, regular NTSC is just fine, IMHO. And being the iconoclast I am, I intend to keep a CRT TV around as long as possible...

[zenithfan1]

Originally Posted by Sandy G

I STILL think HDTV is an answer to a question nobody asked...For 95% of TV watching, regular NTSC is just fine, IMHO. And being the iconoclast I am, I intend to keep a CRT TV around as long as possible...

I couldn't have said it better myself!!

[radiotvnut]

Originally Posted by Sandy G

I STILL think HDTV is an answer to a question nobody asked...For 95% of TV watching, regular NTSC is just fine, IMHO. And being the iconoclast I am, I intend to keep a CRT TV around as long as possible...

Really, the only people I know that are hung up on HD, flat screens, etc. are the people in my age group (20's and early 30's). I think they discovered it was easier to get a wife/GF if they had all the so-called "latest and greatest gadgets" (sorry, I couldn't resist saying that). It's really sad that people are now ranked according to what they've got in the way of material possessions rather than the type of person they are. As for me, I just post a picture on Facebook of every "new toy" that I bring home just for fun!

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by Reel 2 Reel

They will have to pry my CRT from my cold ,dead ,fingers...

I'll stay far away from those flat screened TV's for as long as possible...

Even for my computer...I use a CRT...

I have two CRT TVs, a 19" RCA CTC185 (eight years old) and a 19" Zenith Sentry 2 (almost 12 years), which still work as well as when they were new. The RCA has only had one repair in all that time and the Zenith, none. I have no intention of giving them up as long as they work as well as they do. I also have an HP-branded CRT monitor on my computer.

I agree with the person who said, in another post, that CRT televisions make better pictures than FPs. I've never seen a flat-panel set up close, but from what I've read in this forum, FPs have a long way to go before they even come close to the picture quality of a good CRT set. Plus, CRTs last much longer than FPs (10-15+ years vs. two years or less, respectively). That's a shame, considering the prices of flat-panel HD televisions; if you go out and buy one for $1,000 or more, it probably will last until the warranty expires, then either the panel itself will go bad or one or more of the video driver ICs, which are molded into the cable connecting the panel to the chassis, go bad. The only recourse when either happens is to trash the set and get a new one.

Good grief.

At $900-1,000+ a throw I would think flat-panel HDTV manufacturers would build their sets to last longer than the warranty period or two years, whichever is longer(!). The Korean off-brands are probably the worst in this regard. Personally, I'm waiting for three things to happen before I even consider getting a flat-panel television: one, the prices come down considerably (I could get one tomorrow, however, if I wanted a picture not much bigger than a postage stamp, but if I eventually get a FP I want one at least as large as my CRTs), two, the sets' picture quality improves so as to approach the quality of a good CRT, and three, the sets are built so they are a heck of a lot more reliable than today's models that wind up on eBay or Craigslist as parts sets, etc. after two years or less. Until that day comes, I am staying with my CRTs as long as they work. No sense in trashing two perfectly good sets just because (as it has been said) HDTV is the best thing to happen to TV since color or stereo sound.

[andy]

000

[roundscreen]

Originally Posted by andy

Now, I don't think it's quite that bad. If they were that unreliable, the streets would be littered with them. As it is, dead flat panel TVs are very hard to come by. I'd fill a large truck with them if I could find them! The handful I've worked on have mostly been easy to repair. Things like bad soldering, and bad caps are the most common failures. Unlike used CRT TVs, people fight over them to buy them from me.

If you count LCD computer monitors, I would say that they are actually more reliable, and easier to repair than CRTs.

As far as picture quality goes, that's a matter of opinion. Nothing it perfect, even the best CRTs have their flaws (like convergence, and geometry errors, and poor focus, and blooming if you run them too bright). It's a matter of which flaws you're willing to live with. Of recent TVs, I like plasma best. Most CRT TVs made in the last few years have left much to be desired.

I think you are right on this. We have touch screens with the lcd flat panel monitors at work. Some of them have been running non stop for over five years with out a single problem. The 19" panel I have on this computer is four years old and the picture still looks like it did when I bought it.
What I don't like about flat panel sets is the loss of detail in the picture when watching tv. Yes, The contrast and brightness is better than a crt set but still I don't like them. I watch my vintage sets every day so I will be using crt tv till I am six foot under.
Ed

[andy]

000

[cornhulio]

I use a 26" philips tube tv on a daily basis. The room is only 9.5' x 12' so I don't need anything bigger.

[Danger Boy]

32" Zenith HDTV 4:3 CRT here.. i love it... last of the tube HDTV's. built in OTA digital tuner. so i'm set for next year when the analog signal goes off.

[NowhereMan 1966]

Originally Posted by radiotvnut

Really, the only people I know that are hung up on HD, flat screens, etc. are the people in my age group (20's and early 30's). I think they discovered it was easier to get a wife/GF if they had all the so-called "latest and greatest gadgets" (sorry, I couldn't resist saying that). It's really sad that people are now ranked according to what they've got in the way of material possessions rather than the type of person they are. As for me, I just post a picture on Facebook of every "new toy" that I bring home just for fun!

Hmmm, good points there. HDTV isn't really a bad idea, I do like the idea of sub-channels and if I'm ever too poor to afford cable, at least I have a few extra choices like 2 or 3 PBS stations, Retro Television Network and so on. Still, I don't like how it was forced into place. Instead, let the marketplace decide, perhaps divide the channels up into HDTV and NTSC channels and see what happens. I'm sure HDTV would catch on but I think we do need to keep some channels NTSC for emergencies and the like, maybe the VHF channels should stay NTSC and UHF go HDTV.

I think we have a problem in this country of people trying to keep up with the Jones'es where they have to have the latest gadgets and they get into financial trouble vecause of it. The biggest HDTV, the most advanced gaming consoles and the like. Myself, I still use a 1982 Zenith, I turn 42 today, but it has been in use since I was 16. I only have the first Playstation and the like. I'm happy with my "G.I." boxes on my sets, one which is in black and white.