[Jeffhs]

I didn't mean to imply that all projection TVs are outdated. The ones using three CRTs, one for each primary color, are well out of date these days (as well as projection sets from the late '90s, such as Zeniths of that era -- I have a full-page ad for one of these sets somewhere around here), but not sets that project images onto an external screen, such as a movie screen.

I can imagine these sets being around for some time to come; in fact, I think they will be. The first DLP sets, with their cooling fans, liquid coolant for the CRTs, and spinning color wheels were just that -- the first generation of a technology still in its infancy at the time. Then the front projectors came out; I'm sure they were much better than those first DLPs, since the front projectors did away with the three items I mentioned (coolant, color wheel and its motor, and the cooling fan[s]), as well as a fixed screen in the cabinet. I can envision these front-projection sets still in use five or more years from now; they just might outlast some current off-brand LCD or plasma sets.

BTW, one other advantage front-projection sets have over rear-projection ones is the former may not use liquid coolant for the image tubes, thereby eliminating the mess inside the cabinet when the bladders containing the liquid eventually start to leak. I was reading on another site recently of just such an incident, where one of the bladders leaked and made a grand mess inside the cabinet. I do not think such a problem can occur with front-projection TVs, since the image tubes are not enclosed in the cabinet and therefore do not require coolant. I could be wrong, but after seeing pictures of some front projectors, I think a small fan would do just as good a job of keeping the tubes cool, with no fluid leakage to worry about.