Who still has a CRT...
 

  You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more

[Closed] Who still has a CRT TV as there only/ main TV?

55 Posts
43 Users
0 Reactions
295 Views
Posts: 150
Free Member
Topic starter
 

After having a look on rightmove at a pretty expensive house (750k) I was shocked that people who clearly are of an age to have young kids still own them, don't get me wrong they did produce a decent picture but really why, just why would you still own one? Even if you don't watch tv why wouldn't you reclaim half of your living room with a lcd, or no tv?


 
Posted : 18/04/2016 6:51 pm
Posts: 21461
Full Member
 

It still works. Seems reason enough to keep it in my book.


 
Posted : 18/04/2016 6:55 pm
Posts: 7076
Full Member
 

They took on a huge mortgage to pay for that nice house, and have nothing left for things like TVs.

Did you see any food? No, thought not.


 
Posted : 18/04/2016 6:55 pm
Posts: 7167
Full Member
 

Me . Because.-
The sound is good from the built in speakers as the area behind the tube is massive
Size doesnt really matter as its in my loft[s] mission control center[/s]
and out of way
I dont watch alot of tele really , maybe 10hrs a week tops
I am a luddite.
It was free.
It nearly killed me getting it up the stairs to the loft room


 
Posted : 18/04/2016 6:58 pm
 TP
Posts: 0
Free Member
 

Me, it isn't broken so why replace it?


 
Posted : 18/04/2016 7:00 pm
Posts: 9180
Full Member
 

2unfit2ride - Member
After having a look on rightmove at a pretty expensive house (750k) I was shocked that people who clearly are of an age to have young kids still own them, don't get me wrong they did produce a decent picture but really why, just why would you still own one? Even if you don't watch tv why wouldn't you reclaim half of your living room with a lcd, or no tv?

Mine was at least 15 years old before I was forced to give it up...


 
Posted : 18/04/2016 7:02 pm
Posts: 6194
Full Member
 

nothing on telly anyway

only changed 1 CRT for an LCD recently so it was the right aspect ratio and to get HD

CRT still works perfectly, and I bought it when I was at uni to go with my Atari ST. Nothing from dixon's now will last even a quarter of that.


 
Posted : 18/04/2016 7:06 pm
Posts: 50252
Free Member
 

Until yesterday, me.


 
Posted : 18/04/2016 7:10 pm
Posts: 6275
Full Member
 

i had a crt tv up until late last year (bought 2nd hand from furniture exchange about 8 years ago). i had to buy an led tv finally as the crt finally gave up the ghost.

i do like my 24" led i have to say though,especially for gaming on (can see the whole screen for one thing now).


 
Posted : 18/04/2016 7:15 pm
Posts: 8306
Free Member
 

I used have a 36" Panasonic CRT. It was huge and cost £100 from Ebay, a few years ago.

The picture when connected to an Arcam DVD player (also from Ebay for £100 and a brilliant CD deck) through the component video connections was brilliant. I know that there were less pixels than a 1080p but it just looked "better".I think is was 576p? Hard to describe why it looked better.

It wasn't "better" on normal TV and the Mrs hated it, as it took up so much space, so we got rid. That was hell of a job as it weighed 100kg.


 
Posted : 18/04/2016 7:19 pm
Posts: 10
Free Member
 

in the lounge we still have a sony 32" CRT that we got free from a member of another forum who lived local and had upgraded his telly with a christmas bonus.
Only just swapped the 10 year old crt in the home office for a LCD in the last couple of weeks. in the bedroom have a plasma we got cheap off ebay when the 15 year old CRT packed up last year.


 
Posted : 18/04/2016 7:29 pm
Posts: 6575
Full Member
 

As with others, we had one until very recently. Only changed as my nephew gave me his old 42" flatscreen. A new telly had been on the list of 'to buy' but as the old one worked so well it never seemed a priority. Add to that that a decent crt will still give a better picture in sd than a cheaper flat screen why rush to change?


 
Posted : 18/04/2016 7:39 pm
Posts: 931
Free Member
 

Had my since 2003. It hasn't stopped working yet. There's nothing bad about the picture or sound as it's only used to watch freeview and the occasional DVD. If I buy a new tv I can't buy new bits for the bikes.


 
Posted : 18/04/2016 7:46 pm
 LoCo
Posts: 0
Free Member
 

Us because why throw something away if it still works, one the main problems we face is the huge amount of waste due to the pathetic consumerist 'must have' mentality 👿

#stupidhumans


 
Posted : 18/04/2016 7:47 pm
Posts: 31206
Full Member
 

We had a huge 34 inch (fairly decent) 1990s CRT until about five years ago when my wife's grandma died and we inherited her LCD screen.

Otherwise we'd probably still have the CRT.

Can't say it has actually saved me much space either. Despite being a much smaller object it still sits on a large TV cabinet housing set top boxes, consoles, controllers, games and DVDs.


 
Posted : 18/04/2016 7:49 pm
Posts: 22922
Full Member
 

Still use one - If it went pop tomorrow I'd buy another pretty much just like it. I've yet to see a flat telly that I like either as a 'thing' or like the picture of. I think flat TVs just look bad in the room - sticking them on the wall is ridiculous, anywhere you stand them they just look awkward

I have to buy and use quite a lot of flat screen TVs as part of the work I do and the frequency of failures is both alarming and lucrative - happy to be paid to source and fit replacements, not so happy to spend my own money on one 🙂

only changed 1 CRT for an LCD recently so it was the right aspect ratio and to get HD

This is one of the biggest issues / disincentives for me to move to flat screen - 16:9 content looks fine letterboxed on a 4:3 screen but 4:3 on a 16:9 screen looks awful. Theres still a fair bit of 4:3 content around both on the TV and in the DVD cupboard (The Wire for instance) and it would irk me to watch it on a 16:9.


 
Posted : 18/04/2016 7:53 pm
 DezB
Posts: 54367
Free Member
 

Where would you buy one from? Surely you could only get a second hand one, which would be a risky purchase!


 
Posted : 18/04/2016 7:59 pm
Posts: 22922
Full Member
 

Where would you buy one from? Surely you could only get a second hand one, which would be a risky purchase!

Of course second hand - it would cost buttons - whats the risk? (Always fancied and Sony PVM-2950Q - that would cost big bucks though, if I could find one for sale). As it happens we only have two shops in the village and one of them is a TV repair man - proper expert old school guy with a collection of TV and radios in his window thats better the museum collections I've worked in. He could pretty much track down anything for me.

[edit] now look what you've made me do, I've only gone and saved 'Sony PVM-2950Q' on my ebay notifications.

[second edit] - whoops.... I might be updating this in a few days 😆


 
Posted : 18/04/2016 8:07 pm
Posts: 13601
Free Member
 

Cathode rays make you faster, FACT


 
Posted : 18/04/2016 8:08 pm
Posts: 0
Full Member
 

I find my CRT "easier" to watch that a lot of modern lcd/led tvs! A lot of modern tellys seem to really suffer from motion blur and colour bleed, and only recently have they managed to get as good a contrast ratio as a top of the line CRT imo.

(as as loco, says, if it ain't broke why chuck it away!)


 
Posted : 18/04/2016 8:18 pm
Posts: 0
Free Member
 

I must admit when I got my first flat screen TV It did feel a bit of a waste when I took my perfectly functioning as good as new 36" Panasonic Widescreen TV to the tip - all 65kgs of it! I had tried to sell it for a good few months before deciding to take it to the tip, but amazingly nobody wanted it - odd given it was one of the last high end models Panasonic produced so probably one of the very best CRT TV's ever crafted by the hand of man. I then tried to give it away to friends and, family but nobody wanted it, so given that I didn't have the room to just keep it I reluctantly decided to chuck it on the tip. I did hope that they might look after it and give it away to a good cause, but two burly men picked it up out of the boot of my car and hurled it into a skip onto a pile of other discarded CRT TV's. It was a sad sight.

Having said that, no matter how good the picture was on that old TV it was not a patch on the picture on my new Panasonic Plasma screen, so I soon got over it.

Seriously OP - a £350 LCD non-HD TV will give a far superior picture than any CRT TV. It's time to move on! Granted the sound from a flat panel is utterly woeful - but the sound out of big CRT TV, though better, was still pretty poor. A bit like saying Chlamydia is better than Gonorrhoea (or the other way round - i'm not sure which is worse in reality). But for relatively small outlay (or free if you already have a HiFi amp and a pair of speakers, you can get around that pretty easily.


 
Posted : 18/04/2016 8:21 pm
Posts: 6581
Free Member
 

I only replaced mine when it died.


 
Posted : 18/04/2016 8:49 pm
Posts: 50252
Free Member
 

the sound from a flat panel is utterly woeful

Agreed. Thought we'd try the new one without anything, now see that we'll have to get some sort of sound bar/base for it. Picture is streets ahead of our old CRT (Consigned to a spare bedroom), but the sound is mediocre at best.


 
Posted : 18/04/2016 8:52 pm
Posts: 12072
Full Member
 

Mine's dying, sound randomly goes up and down. So after 13 years of sterling service it'll soon be gone. Wouldn't bother otherwise - picture's OK, sound's fine, why change?


 
Posted : 18/04/2016 8:54 pm
Posts: 3384
Free Member
 

Still use the CRT as the SNES image isn't jumpy on it.


 
Posted : 18/04/2016 8:56 pm
Posts: 45504
Free Member
 

We only got a second hand flat screen thing a couple of months back, when the Freecycle crt started playing up.

Why would you spend money on a TV unless you had too, and certainly not 'latest tech'....


 
Posted : 18/04/2016 8:58 pm
Posts: 6194
Full Member
 

when I took my perfectly functioning as good as new 36" Panasonic Widescreen TV to the tip - all 65kgs of it!

lightweight!
My Panny is something insane like 75 or 100kg. And the weight is all at the front.

16:9 content looks fine letterboxed on a 4:3 screen but 4:3 on a 16:9 screen looks awful

tbf, on the one I replaced, being a portable it would have ended up with less actual viewing area than an ipad.

not binning that one. it works fine, and might be needed with Atari, N64 etc. when I get around to setting up some retro stuff.

the 36incher is going in the skip though. something went wrong with the colours, an everything looks pink. probably repairable, but there's a big LCD there now.

and every TV i've owned, portable, CRT or LCD has had sound that I would call shyte. LCD have no space for speakers. CRTs just have so much plastic that the cases resonate. always used amp and speakers, and always will.


 
Posted : 18/04/2016 9:11 pm
Posts: 1205
Full Member
 

Yes.
I'm in the 'if it's not broken, why replace it.' camp.
Also, I watched part of The Hobbit' on an expensive, modern telly and the picture looked wrong, erm, too clear/sharp or something.


 
Posted : 18/04/2016 9:18 pm
 nbt
Posts: 12381
Full Member
 

Another one in the camp of sticking with a CRT till it goes pop, here.


 
Posted : 18/04/2016 9:26 pm
Posts: 0
Free Member
 

Had mine until 4 years ago, still worked well, sound was better than new tvs and it would have been hard to steal as it weighed a ton 🙂


 
Posted : 18/04/2016 11:57 pm
Posts: 0
Free Member
 

Still rocking a 32" SONY CRT... had it from new about 14 to 15 years ago, its also hooked up to a first generation SKY+ box that's just as old

we don't like change around these parts


 
Posted : 19/04/2016 12:09 am
 Yak
Posts: 6920
Full Member
 

Me too. It still works, so why change? I haven't moved beyond cds either. It's all a pointless techo****tery arms race anyway. I only change when I have to.


 
Posted : 19/04/2016 6:33 am
Posts: 5890
Full Member
 

Our old TV wasn't widescreen which was the only reason for changing it. Picture was good. Really happy with our new Sony, picture is excellent and the sound isn't too bad as is but it is connected to our hi-fi to give it a bit more oomph when watching shouty bangy films.


 
Posted : 19/04/2016 6:48 am
Posts: 3899
Free Member
 

Sony Trinitron here, with Nicam Stereo!
An oldy but a goody.


 
Posted : 19/04/2016 6:51 am
Posts: 3747
Free Member
 

I only bought my first telly about 3 or 4 years ago, don't think I've ever owned one. Used to repair coin op video games a while back, so I know my way around a CRT but last had one in the house when I lived with my folks several decades ago


 
Posted : 19/04/2016 7:33 am
Posts: 0
Free Member
 

I fancy a CRT for pre HDMI gaming. Sega, Nintendo and ps1/ps2 look dogshite on a plasma or led.


 
Posted : 19/04/2016 7:35 am
Posts: 17728
Full Member
 

Yep, still got a Sony flat screen CRT as our main TV.

My Wife whinges a lot that she thinks we should swap it out for something flat, but meh....it's a moving picture with sound.

It works and sits in a corner, so the extra bulk isn't really noticeable anyway as a flat screen would go across the same corner, but would just have a load of empty space behind it.


 
Posted : 19/04/2016 8:58 am
Posts: 10567
Full Member
 

My daughter, who is a book designer and has "good eyes" reckons she much prefers the picture quality of CRT, so is always on the lookout for old Sony Trinitrons.

I wonder if CRT is becoming the new Vinyl and next year there'll be a Television Store Day (as well as the eagerly anticipated 26" and 1 1/8" headset Bike Shop Day)?


 
Posted : 19/04/2016 9:17 am
Posts: 17728
Full Member
 

BigJohn - Member

My daughter, who is a book designer and has "good eyes" reckons she much prefers the picture quality of CRT, so is always on the lookout for old Sony Trinitrons.

To my eyes, a lot of flat screen TV's seem to make 'real' stuff look like it's animated. Could just be how they are set-up though?


 
Posted : 19/04/2016 9:29 am
Posts: 77347
Free Member
 

Could just be how they are set-up though?

Almost certainly.

I fought tooth and nail to keep my old "there's nothing wrong with it" Sony CRT, eventually buckled under spousal pressure and replaced it with a 42" Toshiba flat screen. My gods I wish I'd done it years ago, the difference is startling.

There's an argument for CRTs for retro gaming, but beyond that it really should be consigned to the same bin as the vinyl so beloved of half-deaf 50-somethings who still think the sound of frying chips in the background adds to the experience.


 
Posted : 19/04/2016 9:41 am
Posts: 0
Free Member
 

Panasonic widescreen CRT, must weigh about 50kg!

The thing refuses to die 🙂


 
Posted : 19/04/2016 9:45 am
 DezB
Posts: 54367
Free Member
 

I vaguely remember thinking the picture wasn't as nice when we got rid of a knackered CRT (one of those bizarre small-form big-screen Samsungs that weighed more than was possible for something of their size ([edit]probably same thing as above!)) for a Plasma.
But that was so long ago, I really can't remember what a CRT's picture looks like and I can't see myself ever caring.


 
Posted : 19/04/2016 9:45 am
Posts: 21016
Full Member
 

Flat screens are excellent, now.
They were pretty crap for standard def broadcast for ages though, to be honest.

Our first 24 inch (ooh the decadence) flat screen, about 8 years ago,was a blocky, laggy mess.
Ace for gaming and DVD's though.
🙂

I can see the vinyl comparison, but music has a deeper emotional connection for most of us, surely?

I get the nostalgia for vinyl, love the whole process myself.
But I can't get nostalgic about old TVs or crappy VHS tapes.

Emulation v consoles?
My neice and husband have a room full of old consoles (mostly mine 🙂 ) and games.
Everything from Binatone Pong, all my old SNES stuff, consoles I've never heard of.
Even they don't have a CRT though, they use a projector.
4 player Bomberman is still fantastic. 🙂

I've got a DS, Wii, PS2 & 3 and a GameCube at home.
The Sony things are pretty much appliances, really, but I do love using the Nintendo stuff.


 
Posted : 19/04/2016 10:21 am
Posts: 7169
Full Member
 

Are all the people still watching CRTs still riding 26" rigid MTBs?

Upscaling of SD signals is a LOT better than is used to be, and HD signals are available for quite a lot of the main channels.


 
Posted : 19/04/2016 10:24 am
Posts: 40225
Free Member
 

I fancy a CRT for pre HDMI gaming. Sega, Nintendo and ps1/ps2 look dogshite on a plasma or led.

Keeping ours in the play room for the kids to do just this.


 
Posted : 19/04/2016 10:27 am
 Yak
Posts: 6920
Full Member
 

Are all the people still watching CRTs still riding 26" rigid MTBs?

Whut? There are other types of bike? Get out! 😀


 
Posted : 19/04/2016 10:43 am
Posts: 17728
Full Member
 

Cougar - Moderator

....but beyond that it really should be consigned to the same bin as the vinyl so beloved of half-deaf 50-somethings who still think the sound of frying chips in the background adds to the experience.

Not if they're still working though, shirley? I suppose it depends on how much you care about the picture quality. Yes, I'm sure a new HD TV is better than the CRT sat in the corner of our living room. But replacing it with a flat screen will cost at least £500 I reckon, whereas keeping it doesn't cost anything!
Would an HD flat screen make Emmerdale come alive??!!

But what do I know....the car I've just got rid of was over 12 years old and didn't even have an input for an MP3 player! Pretty archaic. And my phone was 3 years old at the start of this month, so is apparently a dinosaur. But hey, it still works and does everything I want without bother. Fancy that!!

jimdubleyou - Member

Are all the people still watching CRTs still riding 26" rigid MTBs?

Not rigid, but both of my mountain bikes are 26" and I am considering taking the boingy forks off my On One and replacing with some carbon rigid, as they will be more suitable for the sort of riding I use it for.
Oh, the shame - they're both still 3x9 too because keeping the cranksets is cheaper than buying new ones with less rings...!!


 
Posted : 19/04/2016 12:53 pm
 nbt
Posts: 12381
Full Member
 

29" rather than 26", but yes I'm still riding rigid. My 26" bike is bouncy at both ends though

I'm not a luddite, just too tight to pay out good money to replace something that's working fine. I don't value TV highly enough to want to spend that money, it's only TV at the end of the day


 
Posted : 19/04/2016 1:21 pm
Posts: 7167
Full Member
 

There might be a reason why people with CRT TV's can live in houses that are worth £750K.
Possibly because they dont waste money on consumerism and fad following and bought something decent in the first place that ( as if by magic/its a christmas miracle ) is still working prefectly after 20 years so why change it?


 
Posted : 19/04/2016 5:13 pm
Posts: 31206
Full Member
 

a lot of flat screen TV's seem to make 'real' stuff look like it's animated. Could just be how they are set-up though?

One of the things I noticed when we switched was that the sharper LCD picture meant I could see the edges of the MPEG compression tiles that had previous been softened in the blur.

Until I got used to it I felt like I was watch TV through a small net. Still annoys me sometimes, especially on dark scenes.


 
Posted : 19/04/2016 5:19 pm
Posts: 77347
Free Member
 

Upscaling of SD signals is a LOT better than is used to be, and HD signals are available for quite a lot of the main channels.

And the quality of some broadcast SD is a lot worse than it used to be, which I reckon is at least in part why SD looked "better" on a CRT. You're not comparing the same things.

replacing it with a flat screen will cost at least £500 I reckon

For [url= http://www.richersounds.com/product/tv---all/blaupunkt/32-133i/blau-32-133i ]something comparable[/url] to the size of a larger CRT you're looking at a quarter of that. £500 will net you a [url= http://www.richersounds.com/product/tv---all/panasonic/viera-tx49ds500b/pana-tx49ds500b ]49" monster[/url] 4K from a respected manufacturer.


 
Posted : 19/04/2016 6:06 pm
Posts: 17728
Full Member
 

Cougar...yeah, you can get cheap flat screens in 32" or so.

But, the house we moved to 5 years ago has a long lounge. It's fine for us two with a 32" tv as we sit towards the end of the room where it's sited.
But, if we have people round who are sat on the sofa at the other end of the room, the tv does look a little small so when we do finally replace it we'll probably be looking at something like 48"...

We'd have to buy a blu-Ray at the same time 😀 with the associated extra cost of blu-Ray discs and then I'd have to buy a surround set-up and probably a NAS to hook put to it...and...erm.....


 
Posted : 19/04/2016 8:12 pm
Posts: 8527
Free Member
 

I have one For Sale 🙂

Samsung 40Inch LCD TV (4years old). Excellent condition and working.

£75

Bristol Area...mail me 🙂


 
Posted : 19/04/2016 8:15 pm
Posts: 77347
Free Member
 

We'd have to buy a blu-Ray at the same time

If it's any help, my BD player has been dormant for years. If fact, I've got a spare I'd let go for not much money.

And you could wall-mount a flat-screen in the middle of the room rather than relegating a big box set to the end.


 
Posted : 19/04/2016 8:40 pm
Posts: 65
Free Member
 

The only reason I think I might get rid of our B+O CRT is that I struggle to read subtitles now. I think subtitles have been shrunk since they presume most folk have enormous screens.


 
Posted : 19/04/2016 9:19 pm
Posts: 357
Free Member
 

And the fact a big CRT gulps £50 or leccy a yr vs £10 for a LED. 70p for an iPhone FYI.


 
Posted : 20/04/2016 12:49 am

6 DAYS LEFT
We are currently at 95% of our target!