Could CRT TV's be hitting rock bottom prices? [Archive]

BetaWolf47

11-28-2011, 07:46 PM

Lately, LCD TV's have been dropping in price. Many which cost $1000+ a year ago on Black Friday cost far less this season. They were on almost everybody's mind this year. A co-worker was looking at a bargain brand 32" LCD for $188. I stood in line for some stuff at an electronics store this year, and when the store opened, everyone dashed to the HDTV's. I myself walked out with an LED LCD monitor. Now everyone's trying to get rid of their CRT TV's.

On a side note, I even found a working 27" Sony Trinitron WEGA on the side of the road today. Giving that to one of my friends :P

Although you could get CRT's for under $100 previously, the electronics sections of classifieds like craigslist is now highly populated with people trying to get rid of them. My local craigslist has about 10 on there within the last few days. Could this overpopulation of unwanted CRT's cause people to get rid of CRT's for next to nothing?

k8track

11-28-2011, 07:49 PM

Since I am only interested in CRTs (particularly those Sony Trinitrons), this is extremely good for someone like me. Don't care for the flat screens.

Leo_A

11-28-2011, 07:56 PM

Could this overpopulation of unwanted CRT's cause people to get rid of CRT's for next to nothing?

It has been happening for quite sometime now.

Ludwig

11-28-2011, 08:48 PM

What's so special about the sony things?

Compute

11-28-2011, 10:10 PM

What's so special about the sony things?

I had a 27" that I bought brand new. Awesome TV. Great picture, great sound, abundance of inputs. I remember something about a comb filter, and some other doodads. I really liked that tv.

As far as tv's being cheap, part of that is because it now costs money in most places to throw a tv away. So the guy who legitimately thinks his 19" Haier is worth $75 is being torn to shreds by everyone who owns a 32" Toshiba that just wants it gone.

soloman

11-28-2011, 10:34 PM

You can always find decent CRTs at Goodwill or thrift stores. I bought a 19" for old game playing at only $20.

theredlineboss

11-28-2011, 11:08 PM

Greg2600

11-28-2011, 11:26 PM

You have two ways of getting a fully functioning CRT TV of a decent size. You can either pay a laughable amount on Craigslist, or garbage pick. We've actually given away a few working crt TV's over the last few years as we got HD's. I just put them on Craigslist and say come get it.

I've kept an old RCA 27" ColorTrak we got in 1993 for "SD" gaming. Compared to an HDTV, you aren't going to notice picture quality differences between old sets. Just as long as it is not damaged in any way. Though you do wonder now if the rush on HDTV's could lead to a mass trash out of most of the remaining CRT's?

BetaWolf47

11-28-2011, 11:35 PM

I've kept an old RCA 27" ColorTrak we got in 1993 for "SD" gaming. Compared to an HDTV, you aren't going to notice picture quality differences between old sets. Just as long as it is not damaged in any way. Though you do wonder now if the rush on HDTV's could lead to a mass trash out of most of the remaining CRT's?

I don't know... I guess I haven't been paying attention, but I haven't noticed a rush quite like this. They're getting nearly cheap enough to have one for every room one normally has a TV now: a 40" for the living room, a 32" for the family room, and a 24" for the bedroom. There was a rush before, but I thought that was just people getting a single entertainment center TV. Now the kids can toss out their 18" CRTs and get a $188 LCD for Christmas.

jb143

11-28-2011, 11:44 PM

If free beside the dumpster is considered rock bottom pricing...then yes. That's how I've picked up several nice sets for a few years now.

Sinizar

11-29-2011, 12:03 AM

I got this in perfect shape from a thrift sale in the Spring. Zenith HDTV C32V37. I have all my old consoles hooked up to it.

goatdan

11-29-2011, 01:09 AM

You can always find decent CRTs at Goodwill or thrift stores. I bought a 19" for old game playing at only $20.

Yeah -- depends on the Goodwill. One around here that gets a lot of old TVs has BIG SCREEN, nice TVs for $9.99, and smaller ones for $4.99. Ones with built in DVD players and remotes that are big cost a whopping $19.99.

The MGC bought about 30 of these not too long ago :)

udisi

11-29-2011, 01:14 AM

Yeah HDTV's are getting super cheap. I just picked up a 60 in Sharp Aquos for $799 for my living room.

I still have my 32in Toshiba Cinema Series for classic gaming. Funny , the Toshiba cost more than my 60 in back in 1999 lol.

kedawa

11-29-2011, 01:34 AM

It's hard to even give them away around here.
Unless it has RGB inputs, I won't even look at a CRT anymore.

otaku

11-29-2011, 03:06 AM

I recently gave a friend a very nice trinitron wega by sony for free since he had no tv. I then had to sell my 32in lcd sony sadly. I still however have my 60inch projection and one more crt 32in given to me free by family. Hope to get a trinitron again for old games or another nice lcd someday

buzz_n64

11-29-2011, 03:35 AM

CRT prices are about as rock bottom as they'll ever be right now before they become rare antiques and collector's items in the future because more and more of them are getting recycled and tossed out.

StealthLurker

11-29-2011, 03:42 AM

Unless it has RGB inputs, I won't even look at a CRT anymore.

Same here. Nice thing though, I've had lots of luck lately with cheap Sony PVM 20" RGB monitors. Got 3 spare PVMs just sitting unused in the closet. Also got this other Sony display monitor with a true japanese 21-pin RGB input. They'll be good spares once my 25" PVM bites the dust.

.

Collector_Gaming

11-29-2011, 04:25 AM

In my area on craigslist they give crts away for free. And if you feel the need for one of those big bastards some will actually pay a small fee to haul away their thousand pound 50 inch crt tv lol

Kevincal

11-29-2011, 02:44 PM

ya crts have been rock bottom for years... you can get a nice big sony for free or cheap. i got a 40 inch xbr trinitron (biggest crt they make top of the line) for $40. oh my god that thing is insanely heavy. nobody wants crts cus they weigh too much and are a bitch to move. i have 4 sony tvs 19 inch 35 37 and 40 inch. the picture on the 19 inch is plain incredible. really bright and sharp. even with AV cables games look stunning.

my next tv though is gonna be a 65 inch sony 1080 hd tv. :) used of course, can find em for good deal.

Sunnyvale

11-29-2011, 02:49 PM

I got one I gave to my dad for $5. 36" screen. Heavy, sucked to move, but yard sales are the place to get CRT sets.

Or next to dumpsters.

BlastProcessing402

11-29-2011, 03:08 PM

I got a Sony HD CRT off craigslist a few weeks ago. Then when I got it home, it was too heavy to get up the stairs, so it's just been sitting down in the hall by the front door. :oops:

Greg2600

11-29-2011, 07:21 PM

I got a Sony HD CRT off craigslist a few weeks ago. Then when I got it home, it was too heavy to get up the stairs, so it's just been sitting down in the hall by the front door. :oops:

I see those on Craigslist all the time. If I recall, they often were produced on top of a stand/base, which practically doubled the weight of them. I always thought about them, but I've read a few times that many of the "HD" CRT's don't work properly with light guns.

Kevincal

11-29-2011, 07:53 PM

heres a good question, what in the world makes crts weigh so much anyway? they got freakin lead in them!?

RP2A03

11-29-2011, 10:07 PM

heres a good question, what in the world makes crts weigh so much anyway? they got freakin lead in them!?

Actually, yes, although it's only a few pounds. The primary purpose of this lead is to block X-ray emissions.

Most of the weight in a CRT is actually the really thick glass. The glass has to be thick so that it can withstand the tremendous pressure that threatens to implode the vacuum tube. The bigger the screen or the flatter the tube, the thicker the glass has to be.

jordandavid

11-30-2011, 01:36 AM

The Sony Trinitron WEGA 27" was dicussed pretty thorougly here, so maybe this will help. http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=151819

I don't post on here very often during the semester when I don't have a lot of time, but I've been lurking lately and I saw this post. I went to the Goodwill yesterday and found a ton of crt tvs, including two Sony Trinitron's, one dated 1999 and one dated 2001. (Haven't seen a single one in a while, so maybe the OP is on to something.) I think the 'newer' one had numerous s-video, component, and composite inputs in the back. However, I didn't notice a 'WEGA' logo anywhere on either TV.

Ryudo

11-30-2011, 04:18 AM

I got his at Goodwill a month ago for 30$
Sony 27 inch Wega. 480P with component and simulated surround.Man playing SNES/Genesis on it is sublime
http://i.imgur.com/gBcv2l.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/fSQkbl.jpg

Satoshi_Matrix

11-30-2011, 11:11 AM

I should post mytv pick up in case you guys didn't see in this thread. A little while ago I picked up an amazing vintage CRT that does RGB.

I made a thread about it
http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=156865

and check out my videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctnFFU9FXJ8

and bonus! this NTSC tv plays PAL50!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nxomAjMjU0

BlastProcessing402

11-30-2011, 04:08 PM

I see those on Craigslist all the time. If I recall, they often were produced on top of a stand/base, which practically doubled the weight of them. I always thought about them, but I've read a few times that many of the "HD" CRT's don't work properly with light guns.

This one has no stand/base. Actually if it did it might make it easier to move, since there'd be more area to hold onto, push against.

I never heard that about HD CRT and lightguns, but it's not like they work with LCD's either. Moot for me, since I've never even owned a lightgun.

BetaWolf47

12-01-2011, 09:21 AM

I got his at Goodwill a month ago for 30$
Sony 27 inch Wega. 480P with component and simulated surround.Man playing SNES/Genesis on it is sublime
Odd, that's the same TV I mentioned in the thread title, but it doesn't do 480p... just really good 480i with component.

<EDIT> Wait, it's not the same. Mine says Trinitron SRS on the lower left, and WEGA where yours says Trinitron. I should mention that the built-in speakers are phenomenal for built-in speakers. It may be a better TV than my 36" Trinitron, but I can't keep it :(

Tempest

12-01-2011, 09:42 AM

This one has no stand/base. Actually if it did it might make it easier to move, since there'd be more area to hold onto, push against.

I never heard that about HD CRT and lightguns, but it's not like they work with LCD's either. Moot for me, since I've never even owned a lightgun.
I can confirm that lightguns don't seem to work with HD CRTs. I'm sure it's a different reason than why they don't work with LCDs, but the end result is the same (which is a shame because I own a nice 36" 4:3 HD CRT). That's why I have two 20" regular CRTs that I keep around for my older systems. Of course my Saturn and DC are hooked up to my VGA monitor which I assume will work with a lightgun but I haven't tried it yet.

Scott84

12-01-2011, 12:32 PM

Tempest

12-01-2011, 12:53 PM

I got a 34" Toshiba CRT HD.... its retrogaming bliss... has a/v, s-video, component and hdmi inputs... great for any gaming system from NES to 360/PS3... primary gaming tv.

If it broke, i would pay to have it fixed or buy another one the exact same model.

Highly recommended.
Do older systems look ok on it? My HD CRT is great for anything S-video or above (PS2 on up really), but looks pretty bad with composite like from the NES.

thegamezmaster

12-01-2011, 12:58 PM

I'd say that CRT's have been at rock bottom for awhile now. I recently got a 37" CRT for free from my grandmother's neighbor just because his daughter convinced him to get a flat screen. Works great for all my gaming needs :D

-Rob

Sweet!:) I had the same thing happen to me from a old neighbor. Got a 36" Toshiba CRT that was like new for Free! Has two RF inputs, two or three composite inputs, s/video input, and component input called DVD input. She also had the remote control that was like new with original paperwork! Awesome picture and sound! Got it in my game room and totally happy!:)

kedawa

12-01-2011, 02:51 PM

I used to have a 36" RCA that had two VGA ports, but oddly couldn't do 480p through component.
It was great for Dreamcast and PC, although the maximum resolution was 800*600.
Anyway, I payed about $1000 for it, but gave it to my brother when I moved to a smaller place. He gave it to my nephew, who used it for several years before it died.
I could probably find something like that now for free, or even get payed to remove it.

jdc

12-01-2011, 05:22 PM

I love the smaller CRT sets for my older consoles. I have a bunch of 13" name brand tvs and a beautiful 20" set, all obtained free of charge. Our retro gaming room is small, so with seating that is lower in height and closer, the image on the smaller sets is very sharp. I leave the LCD to the larger current gen room.

leatherrebel5150

12-01-2011, 08:00 PM

I was thinking about picking up one of the trinitrons since I've heard so much about them. Then the other day I was sitting in my room and just happened to look at the tv and realized that it says trinitron in the upper coner. I had the dam thing the whole time and didn't know it. It is built into its own entertainment cabinet and yes it weighs a friggen ton.

Tupin

12-01-2011, 08:26 PM

The only thing that I don't like about CRT TVs is that most of them didn't include stereo sound or S-video unless they were like 20 inches, and that is too big to have a setup with several TVs.

I'm thinking that I'll only find TVs that fit those specs if they were made by Sony. Or I'll keep an eye out for one like Satoshi_Matrix's, that would be awesome, I wouldn't even care about space...

Leo_A

12-01-2011, 10:06 PM

The only thing that I don't like about CRT TVs is that most of them didn't include stereo sound or S-video unless they were like 20 inches, and that is too big to have a setup with several TVs.

Years ago that was the case. You usually wouldn't of even had a composite input on a smaller set (Such as a 13" tv) during the 1990's.

But during the last few years of CRT production, premium features trickled down to even small budget sets. I have several cheap late model CRT's in the 13" range that offer stereo sound, secondary side or rear composite inputs to easily swap things out, flat screens, and s-video and component connections. The type of set you could buy for under $100 at a Wal-Mart before they started to disappear a couple of years ago.

Jaruff

12-01-2011, 11:12 PM

In my area on craigslist they give crts away for free. And if you feel the need for one of those big bastards some will actually pay a small fee to haul away their thousand pound 50 inch crt tv lol

This. I helped a friend get this old 50-60 inch beast a few years ago and the lady paid us $50 to take it away. He kept the TV and we split the cash.

I haven't bothered with them lately but I would always pick up free ones when I went to college. I could sell them to kids in the dorm for $10-20. Hell, I sold one with the old dial tuners to this one kid for $10. Basic cable was free and guys just needed a cheap TV to get them through the quarter. I even found a few at the dumpster and resold them the next quarter.

My grandparents still have three CRT's. Two budget brands and one vintage (early 90's) 37" Sony Trinitron. I'm tempted to buy them an LCD next year just so I can have the Sony.

Tempest

12-02-2011, 09:09 AM

BlastProcessing402

12-02-2011, 06:06 PM

This is the one I have, well worth it if you can find one still (pick up obviously, it weighs 250 pounds!): http://store.sony.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&partNumber=KD36XS955

Lop off a few inches from the top to make it a 16:9 instead of 4:3 and that's the same one I haven't been able to get up the stairs. Even the model number is practically the same, just change 36 to 30.

kedawa

12-03-2011, 02:03 AM

I always wanted this white 9" Sony Trinitron, but it was so expensive, like the cost of a 24" TV at the time. I wonder If I could find one now.

Sunnyvale

12-03-2011, 02:16 AM

I've been loving the low prices to be honest. I like to run my games on periodish gear, and $5 sets make that feasible, even with storage taken into account. Once my living space is larger, a projection screen is gettin picked up...

Tempest

12-03-2011, 09:15 AM

Lop off a few inches from the top to make it a 16:9 instead of 4:3 and that's the same one I haven't been able to get up the stairs. Even the model number is practically the same, just change 36 to 30.
Yep, they also made a 16:9 version which would be more desirable depending on what you want to do with it (old or new games). Unfortunately I couldn't find that one locally when I was looking and had to settle for the 4:3 model. I got it at a local electronics chain when they were clearing CRT's out for something like $250-$300 (this was about 5 years ago).