CRT HDTV's Any good?

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Bones117

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Jan 22, 2005
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I'm currently at work and wasting time away by looking for information on using CRT HDTV's for HTPC's. I have found some mixed information on how well these perform.

I currently have a Samsung Slimfit 30" CRT HDTV. It's a great little set with some nice quality and was inexpensive when I purchased it.

I plan on building an HTPC and connecting my TV with a DVI to HDMI cable for 720p or 1080i resolution.

Does anyone here currently have this set or other CRT HDTV's setup at home? How is the quality? Is there anything I should look out for or tips I should know about?

Thanks!
 
I say stay away from CRT HDTVs. Big and very heavy. A friend of mine had a 30" 720p/1080i CRT HDTV, it was ok.
 
I own a 30 inch Panasonic HDTV, 480P and 1080i only. I plan on getting rid of it or passing it to my son sometime this year.

The biggest issue with CRT HDTV's when using with a HTPC is the overscan. You WILL get it on a CRT HDTV. You cannot adjust an nVidia card to use overscan adjustments on 480P, and you can only make one set of overscan rules for one resolution.

If your CRT HDTV does 720P, this won't be much of an issue I think. You'll probably end up with a resolution of like 1200x670 progressive, but for me I'm forced to run at 1780x978 (ish, don't remember exact) interlaced. Interlaced is fine within media center, just don't expect to be able to browse the web or read emails.

You also have to game at the resolution you have setup with overscan. Honestly though, if my TV did 720p I don't think I would mind the overscan issue at all.
 
I have a 36" Sony model with a Super Fine Pitch tube. Definitely a great set. Black levels are perfect, colors are crisp and vivid, and HD content (like Xbox 360, 1080i DVD sources) are jaw-dropping.
 
crt's still have unmatched colors and blacks... i love them
 
I once owned a Sony Xbr960. It was a great set with an awesome picture. Only downside with them is they heavy and take too much space.
 
At my mates club he still has a 40 odd inch tv from the 1990's and using the standar definitin channels off sky, it looks better than the shiny new sony LCD's and siemens projectors.

Obviously its not HD though but just saying CRT's deserve a year or two longer until more HD content is available!
 
my brother in law has a 32" CRT HDTV, the Insignia model sold at BB, it works well, but the 360's output doesnt quite match the screen resolution just right, he loses a little on the sides for some reason, we have checked and double checkd every TV and 360 setting, it's just his TV from what we can gather....

my 46" rear projection Toshiba 46H84 HDTV which is one of the very last RPTV HDTV's they made before everything went LCD/DLP, etc......is very good at preserving the image, i dont have any of those issues, but i guess thats the difference between spending <$500 and spending >$1000.....other than size of course
 
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