Is anyone else here stockpiling CRT televisions ?

[stargate]

IMO, there is nothing like playing classic gaming systems on a nice, high end CRT television. It's great because people are GIVING these things away. Last month, I grabbed a 36" Sony Trinitron for $75. This TV went for $2,500 in the stores. It is a BEAST and almost killed me getting it home, but it was well worth it. It's like brand new and came with the original stand.

Last week I got a 32" Toshiba from a coworker for free.

Then tonight I got a 27" Sony Trinitron for $25 off CL. Great condition, I have Ninja Spirit running on it in attract mode as we speak.

This might become a problem though. My girlfriend is already giving me funny looks like I'm crazy. :)

[Pete Rittwage]

I've got one of those 36" Sony's and it's the heaviest thing I've ever tried to move. I've moved a Gauntlet arcade machine that I think weighed less than that television.

[stargate]

I've got one of those 36" Sony's and it's the heaviest thing I've ever tried to move. I've moved a Gauntlet arcade machine that I think weighed less than that television.

Dude, no lie, it almost killed me. It was the heaviest and most awkward thing I have ever moved in my life. My buddy and I literally had to build a ramp down my hatchway and lower it into my basement. Every time I look at it, I think, "how the hell did we ever move this thing". It has to way about 275 pounds.

Having said this, CV: Rondo of Blood has never looked better !

[savageone]

I do wish I could find a really nice one in a wood cabinet (you know the type that sit on the floor), but that would be purely for nostalgic reasons.

I'm hopeful that eventually a nice HD set is going to come around that has awesome upscaling built in.

[guitargary75]

I've got 4!

[lotec25]

I also have a 36inch sony, coworker gave it to me about a month ago, all i could think of was playing my Nes and atari on it. i got a small 13 incher and a very old Sears tv. The Sony was heavy as all heck, luckley i had a small moving cart. I would like to have a few more and have seen some on CL down here, but i dont have anyplace to put them for storage incase my old one craps out on me. games just dont look as good on an LCD

[Lerxstnj]

I got 14, but the biggest one is only a 27". Mostly old 19"ers.

[Raedon]

I've got a MITSUBISHI 42" tube TV from 1989 I've already had moved into my game room as my main classic TV.

It's easily the heaviest technology item I've ever seen. It's my parents old TV. it has left/right swivel buttons on the remote and has it's own subwoofer. I wasn't there when the movers moved the thing but I heard that it was an effort well beyond the other large items moved (a grandfather clock, several large glass cases.)

Great S-video picture and great sound. Plus, it was the same TV I played early SNES games on.

[Tallise]

In my friends neighborhood if you get up early on trash day and stalk the streets you can find one or two good tvs. Usually they are nice older TV that still work, just missing the remote or the family got a newer one for whatever reason. I have a friend with a gigantic plasma that just barely fits in his room and consumes most of his wall. I got it free because some guys gf threw a fit or something and there is now a crack in the top right corner.

[Raedon]

When I moved into my house the only thing besides some old furniture that was left behind were the old CRT TVs. there is a 25" and a 19" in the house and a little portable TV in one of the sheds.

[stargate]

I've got a MITSUBISHI 42" tube TV from 1989 I've already had moved into my game room as my main classic TV.

It's easily the heaviest technology item I've ever seen. It's my parents old TV. it has left/right swivel buttons on the remote and has it's own subwoofer. I wasn't there when the movers moved the thing but I heard that it was an effort well beyond the other large items moved (a grandfather clock, several large glass cases.)

Great S-video picture and great sound. Plus, it was the same TV I played early SNES games on.

I can't even imagine what that monstrosity would look like.

I think from now on I am sticking with 27" CRT's.

[NEOFREAK9189]

I got 27 inch panasonic crt flat does have 1s-video . 1component 480i . 2 composite for $75 in craigslist


free 20 inch zenith 1 composite mono audio perfect for nes

[Gameguy]

I thought about keeping spare CRT TVs since they're going to be hard to find in the future but I just don't have the space to hoard them all. I have a few already, but nothing too huge. The largest is 19". Even thrift stores around me don't sell them anymore, I was told they trash any that get donated.

[stargate]

I thought about keeping spare CRT TVs since they're going to be hard to find in the future but I just don't have the space to hoard them all. I have a few already, but nothing too huge. The largest is 19". Even thrift stores around me don't sell them anymore, I was told they trash any that get donated.

Craigslist has so many of them for cheap cheap cheap.

[izarate]

I have a 29" Trinitron with a subwoofer which is my current set and a 34" Trinitron in storage. Both have component inputs (480i) and S-Video.

I'm on the lookout for anything above 32". I would love to get a 36" and a 16:9 CRT.

[Gameguy]

Craigslist has so many of them for cheap cheap cheap.
For now they do, but maybe not 10 years from now. I see plenty of CRTs thrown out every garbage day, eventually they'll be gone. Maybe the flatscreen CRTs will still be around, but most of the standard ones won't be available too easily.

I'm also well aware that there are still working sets from the 50's still out there, but they're not exactly easy to find and they may not be working that well. Just thought I'd mention that, I felt someone would point it out as a counterargument.

[maxlords]

I've got a 27" JVC I'Art CRT that I bought new, and a 32" Sony that I got from a buddy that was barely used for $200 a couple years ago. Those two TVs should outlast most of the rest of my electronics by a few decades :)

[cityside75]

I have one Samsung 27" CRT tube TV that resides in the bedroom currently, which I'll keep until it dies as I've always really liked its picture. It will end up in my game room someday.

I have a pretty nice middle of the road solution currently in my game room. It's a 47" HD CRT Projection TV from 2003. Unlike older projections, this thing has a nice bright picture and a solid viewing angle (I hate older dim and blurry CRT projections). And, being a CRT television, it doesn't have a native resolution like an LCD TV does, which is partly why the scaling looks so awful on LCD's. The picture is bigger and sharper for older games than the TV's I had as a kid, but it still has the classic CRT look about it. As a bonus, my 360 in 1080i looks great on it too.

The only downside is the potential for burn-in, but I've been using it for almost 50% gaming since I bought it new and have never had an issue. I've accidentally left static pictures on it for many hours and had no burn-in. As long as you take the TV out of "torch mode" it has a pretty high resistance to burn-in.

[cityside75]

I've got a MITSUBISHI 42" tube TV from 1989 I've already had moved into my game room as my main classic TV.

It's easily the heaviest technology item I've ever seen. It's my parents old TV. it has left/right swivel buttons on the remote and has it's own subwoofer. I wasn't there when the movers moved the thing but I heard that it was an effort well beyond the other large items moved (a grandfather clock, several large glass cases.)

Great S-video picture and great sound. Plus, it was the same TV I played early SNES games on.

I'd love to see a picture of this TV!

[YoshiM]

I've got my Commodore monitor stored safely in the basement and a Samsung 27" 4:3 HD CRT television in my game room. Picture on that Sammy looks awesome.

[Purkeynator]

I have a 26" RCA tv in my basement that I keep for light gun games as well as older consoles. I would love to find a nice 36 inch Sony Trinitron with component input. That would be the ultimate.

[Thrillo]

How about CRT monitors? I can't bring myself to go LCD, since a well-tuned Trinitron beats an LCD in every way that matters. My 21" Dell Trinitron runs nearly any resolution I throw at it (including 1080P HD) without any scaling BS, it accepts nearly any refresh rate, it has no lag like all CRTs, and it has deep colors. And I paired this up with a twin, for twice the desktop space. It was awesome...until my second CRT broke a few days ago :( .
Back to Craigslist I go...

[Soviet Conscript]

I thought about keeping spare CRT TVs since they're going to be hard to find in the future but I just don't have the space to hoard them all. I have a few already, but nothing too huge. The largest is 19". Even thrift stores around me don't sell them anymore, I was told they trash any that get donated.

that sucks, my local goodwill has a ton of cheap CRT's. most are really old and low quality though

[Sosage]

I'm tempted to find a large Wega now to replace my generic 27 inch Toshiba in the "classic" game room. I use to keep them around if they were 25-27 inch so I could convert the tube into an arcade monitor. Now...I dunno. They are kind of space hogs.

[MarioMania]

I got a 20' Sanyo..I have still, I got it still..I got a free 10' b/w TV & I have 4 Pocket TV's

[SPAZ-12]

I have a 34" crt for gaming, my dad got it from work in 1992 or some time around there. Some day I'll have to try to open it up and adjust the tube though, since the picture is rotated slightly. I also suspect that I'll need to replace either its flyback or some caps in the future, because the picture brightness varies sometimes.

Other than that, I have:
- 17" CRT monitor connected to my pc
- 19" CRT monitor in storage
- 13" color Apple monitor for my Mac IIci
- 4" travel TV being used as a monitor for my Apple IIe
- an old 15" tv for Pong and the Odyssey, old enough to only have RF in, and those cool dial channel selector knobs.

I don't think that I'll ever get rid of some of these. As nice as new TVs are, nothing beats a good old CRT for playing old games.

[nebrazca78]

I've got a MITSUBISHI 42" tube TV from 1989 I've already had moved into my game room as my main classic TV.

I've been looking for a 40" non-HD Mits for a while now. I think 40" (or 42" I guess) is the biggest tube TV you can get. Saturn looks like crap on my 50" plasma (but Genesis and SMS look great for some reason) and I want to be able to play gun games.


I have a 29" Trinitron with a subwoofer which is my current set and a 34" Trinitron in storage. Both have component inputs (480i) and S-Video.

I'm on the lookout for anything above 32". I would love to get a 36" and a 16:9 CRT.

I have a 36" 4:3 HD Wega CRT and a 32" 16:9 HD Wega CRT. They are fantastic for older games except you can't play gun games on them. I totally spaced on that fact when I got them. Now I have two 200 lb. tube TVs and the plasma but no way to play classic gun games (except on my old 27" Toshiba I guess).

[thchardcore]

I'm tempted to find a large Wega now to replace my generic 27 inch Toshiba in the "classic" game room. I use to keep them around if they were 25-27 inch so I could convert the tube into an arcade monitor. Now...I dunno. They are kind of space hogs.


Sup sosage!

[SplashChick]

In my friends neighborhood if you get up early on trash day and stalk the streets you can find one or two good tvs. Usually they are nice older TV that still work, just missing the remote or the family got a newer one for whatever reason. I have a friend with a gigantic plasma that just barely fits in his room and consumes most of his wall. I got it free because some guys gf threw a fit or something and there is now a crack in the top right corner.

That's pretty funny since it's illegal to throw away CRTs. =x

On topic, I've thought about it, but it just does not seem worth the effort and space to me. I've got a nice 19" and 13" that are pretty easy to move, but I just do not want to deal with a heavy piece of furniture like that. I've moved some other CRTs that were just in the 20"s and just that was enough of a pain to not be worth it. I see it like even if I do move that monster into my house, I'm going to have to move it out again some day when it finally breaks down.

[Gentlegamer]

Recently, the 13" CRT I have in my bedroom started acting up, so I went looking for a replacement: I felt like I was looking for the modern equivalent of an 8-track player! The only 13" CRTs still being sold are Disney-Hannah Montana, etc. sets.

My main gaming TV is a 27" CRT, nothing fancy, but I like it. I think I may need to "stockpile" some CRTs, as this thread suggests. Even when I "upgrade" to a HD LCD, I play too many classic systems to rely on LCD for quality display.

[BetaWolf47]

I want a good gaming TV myself... problem is, I want to save on my power bill in the long run, so I'm probably going to look for a good LCD screen.

I've got two current TVs. One is a roughly 19" Sony CRT which I got for my birthday 11 years ago. This thing has given me minimal problems over the years, if any, and even has a headphone jack to boot. Only problem is its really low quality. It has terrible sound and may be lower than 480i resolution. My friend said that his Xbox 360 games look worse on my TV than on his SDTV.

The other one is a 13" Magnavox which my parents let me borrow. My roommate uses it a lot more than I do though. This thing only has RF input, so I probably won't hang onto it.

My brother has a really nice CRT that I might try to acquire. It was made within the last 2 or 3 years since they stopped making CRTs. Its a flatscreen that has S-video and even component input. The only thing I don't like about it is the fact that it automatically brightens the picture if its dim, so some things don't look quite right.

[swlovinist]

I stated "hoarding" about a year ago. I now have about 8 sets, ranging from a 32 inch to 13 inch set. If I find a good looking CRT, I always pick it up.

[TheDomesticInstitution]

Currently in our house we have 3 CRT sets and one LCD. 2 of the CRT's are SD: a 24" and a 27". I wouldn't say we are stockpiling them, but more like filling spots in all of of main rooms.

While CRT sets are great for gaming, DVD's and Blu-rays look pretty great on our 46" 1080p Sony. I'll take a Blu-ray movie on an LCD set any day over a good looking DVD on a CRT. The fact that they only made up to 34" widescreen CRT sets, is also another minus as to having a HD CRT set.

I guess I don't have a real desire to stockpile CRTs, but I'd like to keep just one SD CRT around for light gun games.

[phreakindee]

Unfortunately, yes, I do try and collect CRTs. Unfortunately because I really just do not have the space. I have had to pass up on so many nearly flawless TVs it hurts. Craptons of them have been dumped at thrift stores recently since the digital TV switch. Not uncommon to see as many as 20 at a time that are worth looking at in a single Goodwill.
I have bought a Sony Trinitron 14" TV/computer monitor (has rgb inputs for old computers like the Atari ST and Amiga) and a portable color 8" Magnavox which I love since it's one of the few portables I have found with all sorts of connections.

Otherwise I have several computer monitors from various points in history, monochrome on up. These are especially important to me because computers are my main focus and I see CRT monitors becoming more scarce before TVs, at least around where I am. People at least try to reuse TVs sometimes but a new computer comes and the old almost always gets thrown away.

[Sanriostar]

Currently got:
3 Commie monitors
4 regular CRTs
and I've got a 32" coming to me in the next month or so from a friend who's upgrading to a HD flatscreen.
I'm gonna run out of storage with these things...

[thom_m]

CRT TVs are still the most common sets in Brazil, atlhough LCD, Plasma and Oled TV prices are dropping. So it's still not that easy to find big ol' CRTs for cheap like that.

My main (and only) TV is a 21" Phillips. It's not flat screen, but the image is quite good, and the sound is awesome. Too bad it's got only one AV in and no S-Video.

There's this restaurant I go sometimes that got a huge broken Sony just lying there, getting no love. They told me that's it's not worth it to fix it, or that there's no one here that can, or something like that. I wish I could buy and fix that thing but, as I said, they're not cheap here...and I doubt my Tv rack could handle that beast's weight!

EDIT: My PC Monitor is a huge, old 19" flat screen Samsung CRT that I love like a son. It was given to me used by my aunt, when she went LCD. It's handles every definition I ever tried, and the image is awesome. I'll only buy an LCD one when it's totally dead.

[VG_Maniac]

I've got a 27" Sony Trinitron CRT, which I bought brand new in 2004 (right before stores really started to get rid of their CRTs). All my older games look great on it, and the newer stuff looks really good on it too if you use 16:9 mode. I'm always going to hold onto it for classic games, and if it ever goes out...I will take it to a TV repair shop and have it fixed. I just don't like playing older games on widescreen flat panel TV's.

[nebrazca78]

That's pretty funny since it's illegal to throw away CRTs. =x


Is this true? I'll have to google it.



On topic, I've thought about it, but it just does not seem worth the effort and space to me. I've got a nice 19" and 13" that are pretty easy to move, but I just do not want to deal with a heavy piece of furniture like that. I've moved some other CRTs that were just in the 20"s and just that was enough of a pain to not be worth it. I see it like even if I do move that monster into my house, I'm going to have to move it out again some day when it finally breaks down.

Well it would be tough considering a huge TV probably weighs more than you do but you can always have a male friend or two help you out. How many times are you going to move anyway?


Currently got:
3 Commie monitors
4 regular CRTs
and I've got a 32" coming to me in the next month or so from a friend who's upgrading to a HD flatscreen.
I'm gonna run out of storage with these things...

First thing I though when I saw this was, Communist monitors? Who would buy those things? But obviously you are talking about Commodore monitors. When I was a kid I used our "Commie" monitor for NES games because it had RCA inputs. It always had a nice picture.

[betamax001]

I bought a 13" GE TV for 5 bucks at a local thrft store. It worked fantastic for awhile, but now it wont turn on. I thought it was the fuse, but it looks fine. I'll probably toss it unless I can figure out what the hell happened : /

[SplashChick]

Is this true? I'll have to google it.

Yeah, it's considered hazardous waste because of some of the chemicals inside(like mercury IIRC), so it's illegal to dump them.

[Leo_A]

It's only illegal in some states.

[Ed Oscuro]

Out here 30"+ CRT TVs are about $30 at the thrift. Pretty dang huge though.

I'm not really in the "stockpiling" mindset because I can do most everything pretty well on an LCD (if it comes down to that). There are some applications which absolutely must have a multi-sync CRT though. I try to play all my older systems on a simple CRT TV; high-end stuff (if I can ever find it) is saved for unusual applications.

A lot of the "nice" flatscreens I see have tubes that are pretty gray when off (in addition to being heavy and a waste of precious space). I already have a nice-sized TV that's almost solid black, and use it rarely enough that it should last a long while.

Here's hoping that eventually there'll be something to replace CRTs.

[SplashChick]

It's only illegal in some states.

It's still messed up.

[SPAZ-12]

Yeah, it's considered hazardous waste because of some of the chemicals inside(like mercury IIRC), so it's illegal to dump them.

Not to mention the several pounds of lead in each and every CRT.

[SplashChick]

Not to mention the several pounds of lead in each and every CRT.

Yeah, that was the other one.

Seriously guys, don't dump that crap like a douchebag.

[Icarus Moonsight]

Still on the lookout for a 30ish Widescreen CRT HDTV, 24" CRT vga (Sony 900 would be great) and the biggest screen s-vid tube TV I can find (30-40s range). Then I'll start thinking about getting a nice projector and an LCD HD set.

[Leo_A]

It's still messed up.

Just to clarify in case someone misinterprets my statement, I never said it wasn't.

I was just was replying to nebrazca78 since he had asked if your statement was accurate. All he had gotten up to that point was you reiterating the same statement again.

My answer was just in regards to the legality of it nationwide. Of course, the environmentally responsible decision anywhere is to properly dispose of your unwanted electronics. It isn't just CRT televisions that have hazardless waste in them. It applies to most electronics.

[SplashChick]

Just to clarify in case someone misinterprets my statement, I never said it wasn't.

I was just was replying to nebrazca78 since he had asked if your statement was accurate. All he had gotten up to that point was you reiterating the same statement again.

My answer was just in regards to the legality of it nationwide. Of course, the environmentally responsible decision anywhere is to properly dispose of your unwanted electronics. It isn't just CRT televisions that have hazardless waste in them. It applies to most electronics.

Yeah, it's just a shame that it's such a widely unknown fact.

[thekeepr]

I started looking in ernest for replacement/back-up CRT's for the gameroom within the last year or so,there are pallets of them at a local recycling place I take my cardboard/pop/beer cans to,I mean like 7 foot high on pallets 6x6 ft square,crammed full of what are surely still good TV's,just being cast out to be sent to TV hell,at a rate of 10-15 pallets a week!!I find them still in some thrifts,alot of places won't accept CRT TV's.I would keep my eyes open for those JVC I'Arts with the silver chassis,along with the Toshiba's of a similiar look,they are great gaming TV's,and have a multitude of inputs for your every gaming need.I also like the Thompson ProScans,they have a great "gaming" picture too!! Rob

[nebrazca78]

Yeah, it's just a shame that it's such a widely unknown fact.

Absolutely. I was under the impression that the government would never allow a product with 4 lbs. of lead (average TV) as well as mercury be produced. Not only that the digital transition has people trashing CRT TVs like never before. I thought mandatory digital transition was stupid, now I think it's borderline dangerous. The stat I saw said that 13 million TVs already get thrown out per year, now with the transition that has probably grown tenfold. Sick.

[TheDomesticInstitution]

Still on the lookout for a 30ish Widescreen CRT HDTV

I love my 30" Sony. There are 2 types of widescreen sony tubes though, just so you know. The best of the two has "Super Fine Pitch" stamped on the front of the chassis somewhere. These are usually a dark charcoal color and may be of the XBR line. Most of these don't have a digital tuner built in, so you'll need a converter box if you receive your programming from an antenna. These Super Fine Pitch sets come in 30 and 34 inch sizes only.

[Raedon]

I'm a huge fan of the Sony Trinitron line of TVs. In the last video production studio I ran, there was a small Trinitron from the 1980's that was abused to Hell but still had a fantastic picture.

I've got a 2001 27" Sony Trinitron ... they all look the same regardless of size. I got it at a pawn in 2002 and it has just a great picture.

I don't really know if the flat screen FD Trinitrons are any good. I know Sony and JVC were the last to get out of the CRT market and had several HDTV CRT monitors. Sony Trinitrons came in Super Fine Pitch 1440x1080i, Hi-Scan 853x1080i, WEGA 16:9 Enhanced 480i, and WEGA 480i at the very end.



http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/55/Sony_KV-32S42.jpg/655px-Sony_KV-32S42.jpg

[Gameguy]

I was under the impression that the government would never allow a product with 4 lbs. of lead (average TV) as well as mercury be produced.
I don't see why not, there's lead and mercury in compact fluorescent lightbulbs and they're being pushed to replace traditional lightbulbs which don't contain any lead or mercury. Sure it looks good to save on electricity usage, but most people will just chuck them into the trash and landfills will still be polluted.

What should be pushed if anything are LED lightbulbs as they are lead and mercury free, use less electricity than CFLs, and last much longer. The main reason they're not so widely produced is that they're bad for business. They cost more to produce and last much longer than CFLs so companies won't make as much money if they make LEDs instead.

This isn't really related to TVs, but it still bugs me.

[Sonicwolf]

I've got a 2001 27" Sony Trinitron ... they all look the same regardless of size. I got it at a pawn in 2002 and it has just a great picture.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/55/Sony_KV-32S42.jpg/655px-Sony_KV-32S42.jpg

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

UNCLEAN! UNCLEAN!

We had the same damn one for six years. It was horrible. Blinking black picture with a permanent green tinge. What a piece.

I wish it worked right, its just using up space in our house... Also, it weighs a LOT.

[Raedon]

lol! I shall douse it with holy water when I pull my collection out of storage. First thing!

[Icarus Moonsight]

The power of Asian Transvestite Jesus compels you? :p

Thanks for the info on the Sony widescreen tubes. I haven't seen a single one yet, but I'll keep that distinction in mind. Last one I came across was the 32" Phillips that many retail stores had a few years back. I balked, because I wasn't sure of the quality. I kinda regret it now though. It was only $200 and it would have been a decent tide over. Oh well.

[Soviet Conscript]

I don't see why not, there's lead and mercury in compact fluorescent lightbulbs and they're being pushed to replace traditional lightbulbs which don't contain any lead or mercury. Sure it looks good to save on electricity usage, but most people will just chuck them into the trash and landfills will still be polluted.

What should be pushed if anything are LED lightbulbs as they are lead and mercury free, use less electricity than CFLs, and last much longer. The main reason they're not so widely produced is that they're bad for business. They cost more to produce and last much longer than CFLs so companies won't make as much money if they make LEDs instead.

This isn't really related to TVs, but it still bugs me.

they arn't very bright and the light they emmit is very displeaseing. though i have to admit my experence with them is limited.

my Samsung CRT HDTV gives me the best picture i've ever sceen even with old games. it has the same ghosting and motion problems you get with older games run on a hdtv but in some way i like the sharp vibrant picture more then even on my sony RGB PVM.

[Game Freak]

I don't have much of a stockpile of them (not much extra space to store them) but i do have a 17" Sylvania, a GoldStar, a 25" Samsung, and a 26" HITACHI.

And truth be told, we have one of those 36" sonys upstairs... It is murderous, but the hitachi actually weighs almost as much O_O

[Compute]

What should be pushed if anything are LED lightbulbs as they are lead and mercury free, ...


You may want some kind of assurance from the mfr before assuming that the bulbs were assembled using lead-free solder. The few vendors I have asked have been unable to tell me if the bulbs they sold were in fact lead free. Those bulbs were not touted as being lead-free, however.

[AB Positive]

(With apologies to Yahtzee...)

Short answer: No.

Long answer: Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooo.

[Orion Pimpdaddy]

I don't see why not, there's lead and mercury in compact fluorescent lightbulbs and they're being pushed to replace traditional lightbulbs which don't contain any lead or mercury. Sure it looks good to save on electricity usage, but most people will just chuck them into the trash and landfills will still be polluted.

What should be pushed if anything are LED lightbulbs as they are lead and mercury free, use less electricity than CFLs, and last much longer. The main reason they're not so widely produced is that they're bad for business. They cost more to produce and last much longer than CFLs so companies won't make as much money if they make LEDs instead.

This isn't really related to TVs, but it still bugs me.

I'm not sure if the amounts of contaminents are high enough to pose a threat with the CFL bulbs. The non-compact fluorescent bulbs are much bigger and have been around for decades and are still used for most commercial lighting. Nobody rasied a stink about those. It seems like they would have more toxins in them than a CFL. I know a lot of people who purposely shatter them while throwing them in dumpsters.

CFL's can actually lower the amount of mercury being released into the environmnet because it takes less coal at the plant to light them. Burning coal releases mercury.

Your right about LEDs though.

[Canadian Psycho]

What is your opinion of the 34 inch Panasonic Tau? I have always loved Panasonic (I currently have a 1997 Gaoo, still works great but I need "insurance" for classic gaming). It is $275 though (too high a price?).

Another option I have is a KV-32FS13 FD Trinitron WEGA TV for $200, but as a rule I tend to not trust Sony (I was burned by a Sony CD player back in 1992 and I can't seem to trust them again). Your takes?

[TheDomesticInstitution]

What is your opinion of the 34 inch Panasonic Tau? I have always loved Panasonic (I currently have a 1997 Gaoo, still works great but I need "insurance" for classic gaming). It is $275 though (too high a price?).

Another option I have is a KV-32FS13 FD Trinitron WEGA TV for $200, but as a rule I tend to not trust Sony (I was burned by a Sony CD player back in 1992 and I can't seem to trust them again). Your takes?

Working as a corporate A/V technician, I use a lot of professional gear. Sony makes the best monitors out there. 80% of the studio cameras we use are Sony as well. Sony is really ingrained in the professional side of television and video, which a lot of consumers may not realize. Reliability aside, I'd buy a Sony TV. Their audio division may not be worth a shit, but they know their video.

[Gameguy]

they arn't very bright and the light they emmit is very displeaseing. though i have to admit my experence with them is limited.
I'm also annoyed with CFLs because someone I know is visually impaired and the light from CFLs give her headaches for some reason, and since traditional lightbulbs are going to be eliminated within a few years this could pose a big problem for her.

CFLs also emit UV light which can damage art work among other things. There's also potential health problems that can be caused by long term exposure to the UV light, especially if you remain close to the bulbs while they're operating(like in a lamp that's right beside you). That's something else to think about.


You may want some kind of assurance from the mfr before assuming that the bulbs were assembled using lead-free solder. The few vendors I have asked have been unable to tell me if the bulbs they sold were in fact lead free. Those bulbs were not touted as being lead-free, however.
I'll have to check some packaging again, there were a couple of LED bulbs in Wal-mart and I know the packaging said they were mercury free but I'm not sure about lead. I thought they were but I'll have to check again.


I'm not sure if the amounts of contaminents are high enough to pose a threat with the CFL bulbs. The non-compact fluorescent bulbs are much bigger and have been around for decades and are still used for most commercial lighting. Nobody rasied a stink about those. It seems like they would have more toxins in them than a CFL. I know a lot of people who purposely shatter them while throwing them in dumpsters.

CFL's can actually lower the amount of mercury being released into the environmnet because it takes less coal at the plant to light them. Burning coal releases mercury.

Your right about LEDs though.
The thing is not all power generating stations are coal powered, plenty are nuclear or Hydro-electric. If you get power from a plant that's nuclear or Hydro-electric you won't be saving any mercury emissions. But CFLs get worn out and replaced far more frequently than monitors so they'll create a ton more waste. And though most bulbs just get thrown out in the regular trash(as you've mentioned), they aren't supposed to be disposed that way. I'm currently saving up a big box of old CFLs because they're actually supposed to be brought to the local hazardous waste depot to be properly disposed of, just like old paint or old electronics. It's a pain to have to save all that up, but it's not worth a trip to just drop off a single bulb whenever they wear out. Most people just don't care so they throw them out in the regular trash anyway.

I should point out that most of the vaporized mercury becomes fused with the glass by the time the bulb wears out, but if you accidentally drop a bulb that's new, then you'd have a bigger problem of contamination in your home. It may not be all that much, but it's more than with traditional lightbulbs.

I'm convinced that the main reason why CFLs are being pushed is because municipalities can't keep up with increased demand for electricity, and rather than find a way to produce more, they find ways for people to use less. It's not really because of environmental reasons.

There's articles on Wikipedia that go into further detail with the pros and cons of CFLs and LEDs, I don't want to read through them again but most of the info is there with references.

[Ed Oscuro]

CFLs are hopefully just an intermediate step towards better devices. Lead joints in LEDs are an issue I didn't know of.

Of course, both of these are still better solutions than lightbulbs, from a pure pollution standpoint - IF you dispose of them properly. CFLs have a much longer lifespan than lightbulbs and so you won't be tossing nearly as many units. LEDs have a longer lifespan still. You just have to be able to recycle them. With any luck, you'll be able to take them back the day you go get some more to help replenish your stocks.

The light can indeed be bad. I have seen some CFL lights with terrible light wavelength output, very blue. CFL light that's more blue than an incadescent is fine; nowadays when I walk into a room with incadescent it feels rather too orange and dim. As has been said before - the shorter wavelength of the blue light makes it easier to see things. In the summer it's also nicer because they aren't creating the sheer amount of heat of incadescents (too bad we don't have any bulbs appropriate for a chandelier).

What designers really need to do is create bulbs with varying wavelengths, and some with light closer to the sun than we've seen before. In a ground-floor room in my house, there are small incadescents in a chandelier and a LCD monitor with its color temperature set low (more orange, more "warm" like the sun). This is a decent color setup for that place because the artificial light doesn't contrast with natural light. However, the CFLs don't currently replicate it (and one strange-sounding, but perhaps understandable, objection to CFLs is that the bulbs aren't found in as pleasing shapes as you can find incadescents - CFLs in a chandelier look strange).

Back to CRTs for a moment:

Sony Trinitron tubes were made with a resolution at least as high as 1920x1440 (yes, you read that right - that's the resolution of the P992, a Dell-branded Sony Trinitron from early this decade).

Trinitrons that have a color tint may just need to be adjusted. Now, the Sony / Dell P992 is a computer monitor, so it may be different than a TV, but its settings can be adjusted via WinDAS (Digital Alignment Software) software by plugging an ECS cable into your computer's RS-232 port and then into the (usually hidden and covered) data port of the monitor. The P992 has this; I found mine (although still waiting on the cable sold from this (http://www.piclist.com/images/com/geocities/www/gregua/windas/index.htm) place; they also have instructions on doing this).

Basically, instead of complaining that your television has a terrible picture, hunt down the service manual and see how you can adjust the output to be more correct.

[robotriot]

I've got a 32" Panasonic 16:9 which I bought new about 4 years ago. It's a pretty good TV, it's just that it weighs so much (and takes up a lot of space) I have no idea if I'll be able to take it with me once I move. I also prefer LCDs in terms of power usage. If only they'd scale better :/

[TheDomesticInstitution]

Most CFLs you buy in the store anymore aren't blue in the slightest. In fact our house is entirely CFL (or just flourescent) and none of the lights have a blue tint to them. With the exception of the "warming up" some of the bulbs require to get at full brightness, everything looks just as it did back in the incandescent days.

In fact here's an article from NPR while detailing the dangers of CFL mercury, shows that the energy savings over a standard bulb contribute to overall less mercury in the environment.

Here's the link. (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7431198)

Here's the quote


She says that even though fluorescent bulbs contain mercury, using them contributes less mercury to the environment than using regular incandescent bulbs. That's because they use less electricity — and coal-fired power plants are the biggest source of mercury emissions in the air.

"The compact fluorescent light bulb is a product people can use to positively influence the environment to… prevent mercury emissions as well as greenhouse gas emissions. And it's something that we can do now — and it's extremely important that we do do it," Reed says. "And the positive message is, if you recycle them, if you dispose of them properly, then they're doing a world of good."

And if you're concerned about the color temperature here's a quote from the same article that shows how to avoid the bluer bulbs.


MYTH: CFLs have a harsh, cold light quality.

Increasingly, this is less of an issue. Over the past few years, manufacturers have worked to provide a warmer color. Some people say they still notice a difference, but the gap is narrowing. For a warmer, white light, look for a color temperature of 2,700–3,000K on the package.

According to this website (http://www.sizes.com/units/color_temperature.htm) here are average color temperatures of an.

100-watt incandescent 2870
40-watt incandescent 2500


And as far as LED technology goes, it's way more expensive right now than standard CFLs or incandescent. And most of the home use ones produce the same bluish tint that people still accuse CFL's of producing. If you get a chance go to wal-mart and compare the lumen output of their LED bulbs compared to a CFL. They're nowhere close considering the price.

Anyway what was this thread about again?

[Ed Oscuro]

Great digest of the facts TDI!

Most CFLs you buy in the store anymore aren't blue in the slightest.
I can corroborate that they've been improving greatly over the last year. My CFL horror story was from a random pack found at Goodwill (that somebody had opened and then promptly donated, no doubt because of the horrid color temperature) from Feit Electric that had very inappropriate color. Ironically the package touts the bulbs as "simulating natural light" inside a little orange sun graphic. Either a bad model or a bad sample. I have no idea how old those are, either, which may contribute to it.

[TheDomesticInstitution]

Beware: Any bulb simulating natural light will be blue(ish). Sunlight is blue, although a lot bulbs that simulate natural light are not really near the 5000k range of real sunlight.

[jupitersj]

I love my 30" Sony. There are 2 types of widescreen sony tubes though, just so you know. The best of the two has "Super Fine Pitch" stamped on the front of the chassis somewhere. These are usually a dark charcoal color and may be of the XBR line. Most of these don't have a digital tuner built in, so you'll need a converter box if you receive your programming from an antenna. These Super Fine Pitch sets come in 30 and 34 inch sizes only.

The last Sony SFP sets as far as I know were:

KD-34XBR960 (and kd-34xbr960n has extra screen shield making tube darker, 16:9 tube, 28ish" 4:3, 34" 16:9)

KD-36XS955 (naturally N style, 4:3 tube, 36" 4:3, 33" 16:9)


I personally own the KD-36XS955 as I got it on sale($999) for half the XBR(2k monies) at J&R and I was willing to give up PiP and firewire the XBR offered over the XS. I gain 8-9 inches on 4:3 content over the XBR and I only lose 1 inch on 16:9 content. I believe I purchased it right before the Xbox 360 launched in USA.

They are sister televisions of each other and both 1080i sets (1440 red to red if you want to get technical, a lot better than the 800 on similiar samsung sets at the time). It's an amazing CRT television and I hope it lasts me for a long long time. Infact I'm about to go use my SNES PowerPak on it ^__^

[Ed Oscuro]

That's pretty interesting, TDI. According to this (http://www.cameraguild.com/technology/kelvin.htm) it's actually around 5600, but yeah - very interesting. The main point of that page and this one (http://www.fullspectrumsolutions.com/natural_lighting.htm) is that florescent lights have an interrupted spectrum, i.e. it's not simply a single color. The spectrum is spread over a further range than with other sources of light (i.e. combustion of a single type of material). So lol, then you start talking about "color rendering index" or "apparent color temperature." Oh fun! So much for florescent - no wonder the film and photography industry has so much trouble with it.

The last Sony SFP sets as far as I know were:

KD-34XBR960 (and kd-34xbr960n has extra screen shield making tube darker, 16:9 tube, 28ish" 4:3, 34" 16:9)
There's one marked as a 34XBR970 on eBay for $200 right now. Still spendy for my tastes, considering that CRT won't be the last word in color reproduction at home forever, and the stuff I use 'em for gets by just as well (and even better) on smaller 4:3 tubes.

[TheDomesticInstitution]

The last Sony SFP sets as far as I know were:

KD-34XBR960 (and kd-34xbr960n has extra screen shield making tube darker, 16:9 tube, 28ish" 4:3, 34" 16:9)

KD-36XS955 (naturally N style, 4:3 tube, 36" 4:3, 33" 16:9)


I personally own the KD-36XS955 as I got it on sale($999) for half the XBR(2k monies) at J&R and I was willing to give up PiP and firewire the XBR offered over the XS. I gain 8-9 inches on 4:3 content over the XBR and I only lose 1 inch on 16:9 content. I believe I purchased it right before the Xbox 360 launched in USA.

They are sister televisions of each other and both 1080i sets (1440 red to red if you want to get technical, a lot better than the 800 on similiar samsung sets at the time). It's an amazing CRT television and I hope it lasts me for a long long time. Infact I'm about to go use my SNES PowerPak on it ^__^

Yeah, I believe they discontinued the 30 inch widescreen version late in the SFP incarnation. But they did make a 30. Looks like there were 2. Here's the chart detailing the models with Super Fine Pitch.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FD_Trinitron/WEGA


I worked at Circuit City during this time, but we never got any of the SPF 4:3 sets in, so I never got a chance to play around with them. I would guess for gaming a 4:3 would work best for a lot of games. But some of the newer stuff you may want to pick up a 16:9 (again only in a 30 and 34).

And as always children you need to remember Light Guns will not work on any of these CRT HD sets. No matter how hard you try.

[TheDomesticInstitution]

That's pretty interesting, TDI. According to this (http://www.cameraguild.com/technology/kelvin.htm) it's actually around 5600, but yeah - very interesting. The main point of that page and this one (http://www.fullspectrumsolutions.com/natural_lighting.htm) is that florescent lights have an interrupted spectrum, i.e. it's not simply a single color. The spectrum is spread over a further range than with other sources of light (i.e. combustion of a single type of material). So lol, then you start talking about "color rendering index" or "apparent color temperature." Oh fun! So much for florescent - no wonder the film and photography industry has so much trouble with it.


That's why I said 5000k(ish), depending on which site you go to you'll get a slightly different answer. But yeah, while it may not be a "constant" light output, it's really really hard for a human eye to tell the difference. We even had to mix and match an incandescent and fluorescent in a fan recently, and you were hard press to tell the difference which was which.

And as far as film and video goes, it's not that big of a deal. A lot of times the biggest thing is maybe getting a flicker from a light, but that's usually adjusted by changing the shutter speed. I use video quite a bit, and it's never really that much of a problem. And if you white balance properly (usually) the color looks fine.

10 years ago when I was in film school, it was a little different though. There was a specific type of light called a KinoFlo, it was a flourescent and had a really greenish hue. It was only used in specific applications and we did have to watch our shutter speed when shooting 16mm or 35mm. In fact, here is a link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijSao-fsG9A&feature=related) to a student film I wrote(and helped design the set on) where you see these older style fluorescent lights and how they showed up on 16mm film. They're above the sinks and these particular lights are more blue. If you don't care to watch much of it you see them in a close up around the minute and twenty mark.

[jupitersj]

There's one marked as a 34XBR970 on eBay for $200 right now. Still spendy for my tastes, considering that CRT won't be the last word in color reproduction at home forever, and the stuff I use 'em for gets by just as well (and even better) on smaller 4:3 tubes.

The 970 was a marketing ploy by Sony to get people to spend more on an inferior tube using the XBR line's "prestige" success. It's not a true XBR or SFP. It is actually a replacement for the HS420 and has neither a SFP or memstick reader. It was really an underhanded move...:shameful:



Yeah, I believe they discontinued the 30 inch widescreen version late in the SFP incarnation. But they did make a 30. Here's the chart detailing the models. Looks like there were 2.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FD_Trinitron/WEGA


I worked at Circuit City during this time, but we never got any of the SPF 4:3 sets in, so I never got a chance to play around with them. I would guess for gaming a 4:3 would work best for a lot of games. But some of the newer stuff you may want to pick up a 16:9 (again only in a 30 and 34).

And as always children you need to remember Light Guns will not work on any of these CRT HD sets. No matter how hard you try.

Even though mine is 4:3 it's still a 1080i tube so you just get black bars on the top and bottom with highdef...works out to be 33" during widescreen content. Yeah, unfortunately gun games will not work on these SFP crt hdtv's because even though a tube is analog it is digital processing hardware.

[Rickstilwell1]

I've got 3 CRTs. An 13" Amdek AV color monitor w/ mono speaker from probably the early 80s, a 19" Philips TV from around 2001, and a large woodgrain Magnavox console with stereo speakers from probably the late 70s or 80s. This one was my dad's and forget the screen measurement probably 32" or so.

The smaller ones are chiollin' in my friend's shed and the big one I just brought home from there yesterday. I'm loving the new setup. I have my smaller Magnavox 15" HD flatscreen on top of it along with other pieces of equipment.

My big screen Sharp 52" HD TV is being used by my friend.