I am using (recently purchased the Toshiba 65H84C) and would probably continute to use CRT tv's. Space is not an issue, but CRT is tested and reliable, real blacks, great picture when calibrated (and kept calibrated).

LCD/DLP/D-ILA etc...have come alone way, and one day CRT will be gone and we will have another tried and true technology to fall back on :)

~Andrew

After spending so many hours researching HDTV's on the Net my eyes are tired :D
I have come to the conclusion direct view CRT TV's still provide the highest
resolution picture.

We have a long, narrow living room and we view across the narrow sides so
anything much over 40" would be useless.

We have spent many days looking at different manufactures DV-CRT-HDTV's
and without a doubt the best so far is the Sony's KD34XS955 34" FD Trinitron®
WEGA® Widescreen Hi-Scan™ TV

The dot pitch on this tube is so fine I can't see the Trinitron bars with my nose
on the tube. :)

I cut a piece of cardboard the size of the Sony's screen and the screen size
looks about perfect.

I'm on ExpressVu and they will have the new 9200 HDTV+PVR receiver out
in early July. Bell sent me a 24" dual LNA dish and I had it professionally
set up....very short cable run to the TV....some transpounders give me
93%-95% and even the "low" ones are 78%-82%....I'm all set for the Fall. :D

FaxCap

Let's see, i have a 8 lb tv and a 106" screen for the fraction of the cost of plasma.
I have a 238 lb tv @ 51 inches for the fraction of the cost of plasma :D RP CRT best bang for your buck

I bought a Toshiba 44nhm84 DLP in November.
I love the hi-def picture, but some standard def channels are almost unwatchable, especially sports.
To be honest, I sometimes wonder if I made a mistake - and should have gone with a normal CRT tube TV. The standard def channels would have been much more watchable.

Add me to the CRT RPTV list. I currently have a 51S500 purchased last year and calibrated by an elite calibrator. Combined with HDTV signals (OTA), or upscaling 1080i DVD signals (LG7832) the picture quality is simply stunning. Visitors have been amazed. All the reviews point out that a properly calibrated CRT RPTV is the one to beat for image quality on larger displays. I was originally leaning towards a sexy new DLP or LCD last year, but I decided to use my head. The CRT RPTV was cheaper, and had better PQ. The size is a non issue (as mentioned earlier) because my main speakers need to be out from the wall for proper use anyways. The newer technologies all seem to have advantages/disadvantages. I think they need more time to be refined and sorted out. And resolution keeps increasing on these digital sets.

Right now the CRT RPTV still rules the roost, imo. But in the future some of the new technologies with further refinement may finally meet expectations. And be more competitive from a pricing perspective as well.

kw..........

After all the considerations of the next best thing in HDTV tecnology like 1080p displays and advanced contrast ratios to go with it. As much as I've wanted a 1080p display, considering the downfall in my business or industry. I've decided to take the plunge at this time to purchase a amazing door price crasher on the 2004 Panasonic
50" DLP HD2+ Rptv at an incredible price at$2499. and matching stand $650. at Trutone Electronics in Mississauga.There are some awsome deals to be made for some clearance products like a Samsung LCD Flat Panel 46" at $5999. with 1080p x 1920 resolution. Thanks to Neil and Paul for making my
dreams come alive.

There were two legitimate factors in our decision to go LCD:

- Owning a small townhouse in downtown Vancouver means we have very little room for a free standing or table top TV. LCD gives us the biggest screen possible with the least space required. We mounted it above our fireplace* and it is less than 3 inches deep. We slightly inclined it, so it's at a perfect height for viewing from the recliner or when laid out on the couch.

- Tons of windows and skylights and being surrounded by tall buildings means there is always a lot of ambient light. LCD is nice and bright and seems to work well in the daytime, and the contrast with the ever present ambient light means we always get a good picture from LCD.

Other factors: OK, we think that it looks cool.

Dave

* Fireplace warning: Our gas fireplace isn't very warm - it is more decorative than functional. Before we mounted the TV, we turned the fireplace on for over an hour and measured the temp above the mantel and inside the drywall enclosure hiding the exhaust pipe, and it was only a few degrees above room temp. I could place both hands on the exhaust pipe and leave them there. Be warned that fireplaces can be a lot hotter, and high temps are not a good thing for electronics.

I have a 4 yr old sony direct view 32" crt in the living room .Digital ready they called it back then.Picture to me is just as bright and crisp as the day i bought it.I didn't buy the sony xbr model hdtv back then because it was really expensive and being with shaw at the time (presently with bell 5800pvr).I couldn't justify the expense.Right now i would buy a direct view crt hdtv not sure what brand between 32"and 36"and then the bell hd 9200 pvr .Basement set is a toshiba 27" direct view crt bought this year and kitchen set is a 13"toshiba direct view crt .

I've seen them all ...well ok not all, but close. I'm still very happy with my hitachi 57s500 rpcrt. Great with ALL my sources ...hd pvr, hd dvhs vcr, dvd. Just awesome. IF I had to buy today I'd buy the Viewsonic 55" plasma I've seen on display at Costco for $5600(last time I saw an ad for plasma this size it was 20g). It's the only exciting set I've seen in a long while that really made me pause, watch, and drool. It's really stunning and considering Costcos return policy there's very little risk to the purchase . If I was buying a year or 2 down the road sxrd would be the likely candidate for 1080p 3chip tech. Reality where I live is hd content is still very small so I still get plenty of use from my analog sets and my sony 35xbr48 is still the most watched set in the house for news, weather etc. With summer my other hobbies get priority, come fall I'll start trolling stores for hd dvd but display wise I'm good. I buy my sets for the long term and so far that has worked out really well.

Happy Shopping

I purchased a Samsung HLN467WX DLP in December 2003 and I love it. I've had no problems with the colour wheel or rainbow effect or anything of the sort. HD content looks superb on it, as well as DVDs played on my accompanying Samsung HD930 upconverting DVD player connected via DVI set at 720p. However, SD content on channels that aren't given a lot of bandwidth, i.e.: OLN (watching the Tour de France was just painful) really highlight how this is very much a "garbage in/garbage out" display. Another concern is having to purchase a new lamp every few years or so, but I already considered this when I made my decision. I'm still on my first lamp with 4000 hours on it.

If I were to make a decision today, I may actually change my mind and go with a nice direct view CRT. The screen sizes can't match my current 46" display, but in terms of picture quality, a direct view CRT can't be matched for black and colour reproduction.

I'll keep my Samsung DLP, but I'll probably by a nice Sony direct view CRT for the bedroom.

That is, until the new 1080p technologies start coming out and their prices drop.

We have spent many days looking at different manufactures DV-CRT-HDTV's
and without a doubt the best so far is the Sony's KD34XS955 34" FD Trinitron® WEGA® Widescreen Hi-Scan™ TV
You will be very happy with this TV... it is a perfect size for viewing from around 8 feet.
I had mine ISF calibrated after a couple of months and the improvement was amazing in definition in the darker/contrasty scenes. The expenditure was well worth it on hindsight, before I was pretty happy with the picture.
After the calibration I am a believer that all HDTV's should be calibrated.

I had mine ISF calibrated
ISF??


FaxCap

I have a 238 lb tv @ 51 inches for the fraction of the cost of plasma :D RP CRT best bang for your buck and the best weight for the buck! ;)

I didn't see the LCoS choice. Reduce the 'other' by one and increase 'LCoS' by one.

Been lurking for awhile, great site a lot to learn.

Looking for some advice as to what type of TV (Plasma, LCD or DLP) will look the best (If any) using regular cable or Rogers digital cable. I currently have a Sony 32” CRT which I think is great, but I’m looking for something bigger (42 or 50”) currently watch 70% regular cable an about 30% VHS/DVD, the room is roughly 12X20.

Should I stick to a regular CRT for my needs?

Paul, check out the sticky thread in this forum entitled what Are you buying? Fall 2005 - HDTV Comparision Discussion as well as search through the many threads where folks ask similar questions.

A lot depends on your budget. I'd avoid a CRT RPTV and look at DLP or LCD RPTV as its a nice trade-off between size and money. If you have the bucks then the new generation plasma's are sweet but IMHO still too expensive.

Since much of your viewing is 4:3 and regular cable then be wary of the distance. The poorer the picture the farther you should sit away or else you really notice the poor signal quality.

Read the FAQ's, read many posts and good luck.

As an owner and big fan of my rp crt hitachi s500 I honestly don't know what I'd buy now(high end rp crts are gone). The best looking sets I've seen in showrooms lately have been plasma but with 1080p dlp sets starting to arrive I might wait a bit to see how these look...a bit more future proof. I think my next set will be a Sony sxrd and it will need to drop to about half what it costs now.

I have a Tosh 34hf81 CRT, so I think it's time for me to get something better. I'm very impressed with the DLP's. The price and quality are very good compared to Plasma's.

I'll probably get a Toshiba 52hmx85. Heard alot of good things about it.

Actually I might wait to see how the 56hm195 is. Whenever they decide to release it.

Guys at the high-end audio video store still claim that my 64" Pioneer RPTV will smoke much of what is out now at this size in terms of pic quality on Stnd defn and will be at least par on HD. And this coming from a retailer that no longer carries any RPTVs and only focuses on high-end projector, lcd and plasma.

Also, having just had my set ISF calibrated this past weekend (what an incredible difference), I can believe it. Even my wife said WOW! (believe me, that's saying alot). RPTV is our most used TV, not only for the full HT experience, but for watching our reg shows. For this reason a projector would not work for us.....bulb costs. If I was to buy again now, probably go rptv again...its just a shame that Pioneer no longer makes their RPTV lines.