Am I the only one who still likes CRT "tube" TV's?

[supremewhirlpol]

Well...I have a 36" Sony WEGA Trinitron that look to be made in 2004? I got it on CL and have had it for ~1year. Sure is VERY heavy! It has an awesome picture. When it does fail, I'll have to call a repair man, because it's just too awkward and heavy to move.

 

[jetcone]

My 22 inch Trinitron ran strong from

1991 until last spring almost 20 years! And my WEGA HD 36 inch from 2004 is still going strong it gets lots of use!

But I just saw the new LED's and they are now as bright and fast as my WEGA, BUT that took 6 years for flat panels to catch up, now will the FP's last as long?? I bet my WEGA has another 13 years left in it!

 

[qsd-dan]

I have 3 CRT TV's and nothing else. Picked a 28" CRT off the sidewalk 2 nights ago that had "Free, Works" taped to the screen. It's now in a loving home

 

[lordkenmore]

I can understand the HDTV argument, but it's not anything that interests me or concerns me personally at the moment. My highest resolution source is DVD. I still regularly play VHS tapes, even. (Yes, I know VHS is limited. However, the tapes are dirt cheap in thrift shops, and I'm getting a chance to see things I might not otherwise.) I don't watch regular TV--reception is hard where I am at best, and I refuse to pay for cable TV. Blu-Ray won't happen until I'm forced to buy into it, which will probably be when the library drops DVD in favor of Blu-Ray. (Most of my DVD watching is library material.)

 

[austinado16]

John, you and I have similar points of view.

We still watch VHS too, refuse to "pay" for TV, and only get 2 channels via rabbit ears. The only reason why I bagged the Blue-Ray Disc player was because I thought we might be able to use it to jump online and maybe watch some HULU and catch some episodes of things we don't get. But so far, I'm not impressed.

 

[launderess]

Many Persons Have Been Forced To Abandon

Perfectly working CRT televisions simply for want of signal.

Even with "Rabbit Ear" or other ways of capturing signal over the air, many television stations are moving programming to digital. This means even with those converter things the feds were handing out a year or so ago, some stations and or programs may no longer come though. Prices for LCD and plasma televisions have come down so low, many simply give up the fight.

Only persons around here who pick up CRT televisions kicked to the curb are the "recycle persons". Even there one hears the sound of glass shattering and banging as they simply hack the things to bits in order to get at whatever metal inside.

 

[DADoES]

 
Plasma and LCD units have default settings geared toward a "torch" picture. First thing should be done upon putting one into use is dial-back the brightness/contrast/sharpness settings to a more natural level.

 

[peterh770]

My 22 inch Trinitron

was brought new in 1984 and is still fine (except that the power button is broken, and the remote died in 2004 after 20 years of being dropped).

 

[petek]

Places like thrift stores and our local Habitat for Humanity Restore are getting so many sets in now they'll be needing to refuse accepting them pretty soon. Not too many people want them anymore

 

[appnut]

Yes I do too. Early 1980s Zenith Chromacolor.

 

[cfz2882]

zenith chromacolor

i have a big zenith chromacolor console made in 1982,works good
but has a fault in that it does not turn off all the way!
-goes dark when "shut off"but i can still hear the flyback,the
filament remains lit,and get "static"off the screen.
It's an occasional use TV so i just unplug to turn off the
rest of the way...
Sometimes i hook my RCA selectavision CED disc player to it
and watch a movie '82 style LOL(i have a lot of discs for the
CED player,a couple of them"period"rock music videos-can't
get more early '80s than watching "freezeframe"or"abracadabra"
or the like on a CED disc using the above setup!

 

[appliguy]

Love your '57 GE television!

Does it have the coaxial oval speaker in it?

Actually Alan...the little metal grille under the control knobs on the right side of the TV is the speaker. This TV was what GE reffered to as a bookcase model. That means that you could either set it on a book case or a table or a room divider etc. or you could use the optinal stand which mine has to make it look like a console TV. My favorite feature of this TV which has know been made redundant (thanks to the digital switch over) is the power tuner. When you push one of the channel buttons the whole round plate of buttons are rotated by an electric motor. It makes an awesome sound...ta chunk ta chunk ta chunk.....I got this TV back in 1996 from a very dear family friend of ours and I call the TV Norma... in honor of Norma Sharpless...the woman who gave it to me. It had sat in her closet unused since 1967 and was originally her parents TV. I need to have it looked at as I have not used it in a couple of years because it started having intermittent audio issues where the audio would stop all together and to get the audio working again I would have to shut off the TV for about 10 minutes and wait for things to cool off and then turn on the set again. What do you think guys is it a tube issue. In 1996 I had the set gone over by a local TV place that is now gone and they replaced some tubes and fixed the deteriorating wiring. Then in 2000 it was back to the shop for a few more tubes and then in 2004 it started acting up again. I love this TV and I have only ever seen one other just like it. It is a TOL 1958 model that my friend Jay owns that was his grandparents. Jay's has all the bells and whistles including the remote control...(a remote hooked to the TV via a cable was optional on mine but it was not purchased with it)....PAT COFFEY

 

[tolivac]

My current set is a CRT machine-a Hitachi High Def rear projector-capable of 1080I reproduction-and well it does.compared to modern plasma and LCD sets-RPTV's have a "soft focus"not the real razor sharp focus Direct veiw LCD and plasma have.the biggest reason you see older TV's being dumpted is analog TV transmitters have signed off-Digital broadcasting only.so if you don't have the convertor-the older analog CRT set is uselesss-unless it has a standard video in.I have on occasion seen them on trashpiles too-mostly the grey or black PLASTIC recent sets-have no interest in these.Like the wood cabs better.and the large number of these direct view analog CRT sets in swap shops.And yes-CRT and other types of RPTV sets are appearing in the second hand market too.I am going to use my Hitachi until it dies.then I will replace it with some sort of plasma set most likely-plasma and CRT are pretty related to each other-both use phosphors to produce the image.

 

[112561]

Pat

My GE television "collection" consists of a three inch color Space Mate, a nine inch, a fifteen inch, and a white French Provincial ninteen inch black and white with a record player and stereo, similar to the one in this picture. I'm surprised your base for that set doesn't contain some type of speaker, it is still a stunning survivor. Once years ago, we went to a nursery which is still in business in north Stuart FL, their kid was watching a mahogany colored console with power tuning, and the big oval speaker in the bottom. I often wonder if that set is still there!

 

[veg-o-matic]

Our current daily watcher is a 1979 Zenith Avanti. Picked it up on CL for 50 bucks and a trip to Middleofnowhere, PA.

We think it goes really well with the Anga wall system from Ikea.

veg

 

[veg-o-matic]

The Avanti replaced a 1964 Zenith roundie which is now in the collection of a collector in Michigan.

View attachment veg-o-matic++1-12-2011-09-37-43.jpg

 

[112561]

Zenith commercial-Rerun of a great ad!

Remember the Zenith with the curved cabinet? I had a chance to get one, but life wouldn't allow it at the time. The Zenith Avanti is gaining an iconic status, slowly but surely. (At least that's what I choose to believe. I loves me a good Zenith!)
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[rp2813]

I don't notice any issues with programs that don't "come through" over the air. I'm using an old-school 60's rooftop antenna that's not even UHF capable and I get lots of channels through the digital-to-analog converter box. It's all hooked up to my 1950 Admiral 10" B&W and the only issues I've seen are those associated with how the images are broadcast. Some are letterboxed and can't be changed, which makes for a very small image on an already small screen. I "zoom" in and crop the images in order to get a full screen display on any channels where it's not pre-set.

I bought a Sony 17" Trinitron in 1977 and for a part of its life it was in daily (almost all day) use. It lasted over 25 years before starting to turn everything pink once in a while. The problem got worse and didn't improve when I tweaked the CRT connections, so I finally unloaded it. Best most reliable TV I ever owned.

I'm currently shopping for a CRT type for our den. The opticals on the Panasonic have become blurry, so it's hard to read a superimposed sports score, etc. It looks like 27" is as large as I'll be able to go due to space limitation on the shelving unit. I'm cruising Craigs List and am confident it will only be a matter of time before I find a replacement.

We have a large flat panel in our master bedroom. Just last night I checked the menu and found that the contrast was set way high. It's much less blinding now that I've turned it down to mid range. Power level was also on highest consumption, so I turned that down to "standard" and the display isn't as bright. I guess they adjust these sets at the factory so they'll burn out quick and you'll have to buy a new one. I recommend that anyone with a flat panel rig to check their settings.

 

[mattl]

No, they are not set to torch mode so they will burn out faster, it's so they grab your attention on the sales floor. People then to gravitate to the sets with the most punch. For years I've used the AVIA disk to set up any display, and there are other DVDs out there that will get the basics down. Video Essentials is another one. These will guide you step by step on properly setting your display. It's not hard, takes 30 minutes or so. the image may seem a little dim to you at first glance but all the disks recommend living with the settings for a week or two, and then tweak if you must.

 

[DADoES]

 
I have AVIA, works nicely.