Tube TV’s: Never Can Say Goodbye

May 27, 2008

Tube TVYes I was thinking of that song when I punched in the post title, anyway yeah… While doing a bit of catch-up this week I ran across a headline from Dealerscope that read “Weak Economy Leads to Tube TV Comeback”. I thought for a second, hey didn’t we get rid of tube televisions? Ok, no just kidding. The article I was thinking of was in reference to Best Buy selling their last “analog” television; obviously tube televisions can handle digital tuning.

But all of the tube-TV comeback talk got me to thinking, does a technology really ever “go away” at least in the way we generally think of going away? I suppose they do, it’s been years since I’ve seen a amber monochrome monitor (ah the good ol’ days) but getting back to my point. Honestly it’s a shame that Samsung’s idea of slimmer tubes didn’t catch on, at least for a short while. I would have like to have seen if anything else could be squeezed out of the technology.

CRT displays are still capable of displaying some of the best (or the best depending on who you ask) images I’ve ever seen and to be honest I feel like a bit a dinosaur just imagining a world without them. But I know much of that is just nostalgia and in this day of $4 (plus) a gallon gasoline we can’t be shipping around 100 pound displays like there’s no tomorrow. But still…there’s just something about a good CRT that feels real, solid and right, or at the very least, heavy.



Posted by B.Greenway | | Filed Under Display Technology


Comments

  • Mark
    CRTs still rule!!
    I bought a 34" Sony HD widescreen tube TV last year and the picture still blows me away. The blacks are black, the whites white, and the colors vibrant. There's no reflection on the screen, no washout. It doesn't have that pixelated, screen door look like LCDs do. Smooth edges. And fast motion looks natural. Other than it's weight (200 lbs), this TV is superior to any of the new tech TVs out there.
    Now I'm trying to find a 26-27" widescreen HD TV for my bedroom and having difficulty doing so.
  • kelly
    people are buying tube tvs today because they still have the best picture quality best frame rates-overall a great value tv!stand at the wall of tvs from any store and you will see five different brands of tvs and five different shades of blur on the nontube tvs.samsung is on the right track with the hd tube tvs!old school love from the old school guy thanks 4 reading.
  • Daniel
    I'm glad to see that somebody is still talking about CRTs. I just bought a used high end 38' Loewe Aconda HDTV the other weekend for $200. The PQ is awesome and you can't beat the price. Original price for this TV back in '01-'02 was $5000. I hope this TV will last until (maybe) Canon (or Toshiba) finally bring SED TVs into production.
  • Mini Cube Speakers
    For someone like me who can't justify buying a new TV until the current one dies, this is devastating! I've been holding on, hoping that my TV would die so I would be forced into buying a new TV, AND was comforted knowing that most stores don't carry tube TV's anymore, I would be forced to buy a flat screen. My wife doesn't want to spend the money on it, but if we had not other option, we would have to buy one. Now that they're selling again, I'm hoping my tv lasts long enough for me to see the end of tube TV's!
  • Eric Peacock
    I've found that good LCDs or other flat screen technologies that handle color well enough for professional photo or color correction use are still cost-prohibitive. A nice CRT still wins here, but it's probably less and less so as technology marches on. The LCDs that really excel at pro stuff are way more than what you see at Best Buy, etc.

    Despite that, I think we all appreciate the smaller footprint for larger sizes even though viewing distance is often completely disregarded by most homes I see with an HD screen (couch is like five feet from a 40+ inch screen).

    Folks want bigger, as always. If it takes up less space it's going to appeal to anyone that used to have a CRT, especially when you're talking about anything over 26 inches. The flat tube tech should have found a way between the tech, but I suppose if that had happened you wouldn't see the prices coming down on LCDs and Plasmas the way it has.
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