CRT TV Buying Guide
Before buying a CRT TV there are few factors you should consider:
What size TV are you looking for?
If you are looking for a diagonal screen size of less than 96cm, a CRT TV should be considered when deciding which TV to purchase. The physical size and weight of the TV will be more than that of an equivalent Plasma or LCD TV, but the cost will be significantly less.
How much space do you have available for your TV?
When the amount of space available to put your TV is not a concern or you do not want to wall mount your TV a CRT TV can be ideal. Keep in mind that CRT TV's are over 7 times deeper than the equivalent LCD TV so this also means your couch has to be positioned further back to keep an appropriate viewing distance. To calculate the correct viewing distance see here.
What kind of TV will you watch on your CRT?
The TV resolution best for you will vary depending on how you want to use your CRT TV. Will you watch DVD's, sport, analog TV, Digital TV or will your use your CRT TV as a computer monitor?
- CRT TV's generally aren't suitable for use as a computer monitor - CRT computer monitors, while based on the same basic technology, have a much higher resolution than CRT TV's.
- If you will be primarily watching broadcast TV or sport, you can get away with a resolution less the 1024 horizontal pixels as the rapidly changing images tend to make the lack of image definition less noticeable. Keep in mind that the advantages of High Definition TV will be lost on a Standard Resolution CRT TV.
Do you have a limited budget to spend on a TV?
It's hard to go past a CRT TV if price is your main consideration. For raw size, CRT TV's give you greater value for your dollar. Also, with the continual improvements in Plasma and LCD technologies and the cost of these newer technologies frequently falling - it might not be a bad idea to buy a new, modern CRT TV now and buy a nice priced, latest technology TV in the future.
Is a CRT TV Right for Me?
So, is a CRT TV the right choice or should I consider another type of TV? To assist, we have put together a list of common scenarios to guide your purchasing decision.
Scenarios where a CRT TV is worth considering are:
- If you have a limited budget. CRT TV's still offer the best value for money when it comes to raw picture size.
- If you are looking for a TV that is simple to use, setup and maintain. With CRT TV's all you have to do is take it out of the box, plug it in, connect the aerial and you are set to go. There are also no lamps or filters to replace like some other TV types.
- Rooms that are brightly lit or commonly have the light switched on won't impact the image quality on a CRT TV.
- Many CRT TV's are now high definition or digital TV ready, and are still capable of providing excellent picture quality, colour performance, contrast and true blacks. In some cases, a high definition CRT TV can still display a better image than the newer TV types.
- If you are looking for a small to medium size TV, CRT TV's are still an acceptable size.
Scenarios where another technology might be more effective include:
- Where you have limited space or want to wall mount your TV. Because CRT TV's are quite deep they are unable to be wall mounted and take up a fair bit of floor space.
- If you are looking for a large screen TV above 102cm (42"). The largest CRT TV's range between 81 to 96cm (38"), and there are no plans for CRT TV's to get any bigger as they are constrained by their weight and size. By contrast, an LCD, Plasma or rear projection TV's are often much larger than this, and are increasing in size all the time.
- The need for newer inputs such as DVI or HDMI to support cable, video game consoles and computer monitors.
- When you want to use the TV as a computer monitor. The limitied resolution of CRT's mean that you may want to consider using an LCD flat panel model instead.