LCD vs CRT TV. CRT is better.......

Amanda

....when viewing non high-definition tv!

Everybody is so keen on LCD tvs with flat screens at the moment. One thing I increasingly notice is how poor standard non-high definition picture quality is compared with a normal Cathode-ray TV!

I think its a case of the 'king's new clothes'! We are all scrabbling to buy these new TVs, and I do have my eye on getting one myself so I'm no Luddite, but really, the picture quality is not as good as on a CRT television unless in High Def broadcast!

We are all taken in by promises of high def picture qulity but in reality, for the time being at least, I would guess that a high percentage of those with LCD tvs will watch the majority of content in standard quality which looks terrible compared with a CRT!

I'm expecting an assault by the techies now who will bang on about he advanced technology and surround sound and Blu ray etc but when all's said and done, CRT beats LCD in standard broadcast every time!

JoolzS

Up to a few weeks ago I would have agreed with you - then I bought my new LCD TV. I had old CRT TV plus a cheap LCD TV, and the CRT picture was a lot better than the LCD. I've since bought a better LCD TV and it beats the CRT hands down. I am only referring to broadcast TV here, as I don't have any way of playing any sort of HD stuff.

When I bought the first LCD TV I was actually horrified at how bad the picture was and thought there was something wrong with it until I did some reading online - I then discovered I wasted my money by buying that particular model. As I'd already promised the TV it was replacing to someone else, there wasn't much I could do about it so I put up with the bad picture. This time around I did my research first and picked a TV that had great reviews pretty much across the board and I am now astounded at how good the picture is.

Julie

vansboy

If you see some of the bargain 32'' CRT on e-bay, not the cheap when new, models, something like Philips 32PW9308, you'll have a super tv, for £100, which was £800ish 3 or 4 years back!

You WON'T have much space in the living room, though!!

So that's really the advantage on big screen flat panels. They take up much less room.

& it does still seem to be plasma, on the larger sets 42'' + for the best definition.

You'll spend hours debating if you went to!! But plenty of answered Q's in http://www.avforums.co.uk

VB

Antispam

I find LCD is fine for SD broadcast in DVD, Freeview although freeview is digital. A lot depends on how good your tv is at scaling plus other factors at play. a Analogue tuner is terrible though, often interference, poor aspect ratio

It also factor on how good the SD broadcast is, bitrate, how close you are to the mast etc for SD broadcast

john_s_2

For some mad reason we bought ourselves a 42" plamsa telly this Christmas. I was worried what the standard definition (SD) broadcasts would look like - as you point out - this is the majority of what we watch. (In fact, it is everything we watch as we have neither a HD telly service, nor a bluray player.)

But my fears have been allayed I'm pleased to say. Everything looks fine. The only time I've really noticed it was the snooker a couple of weeks ago. The problems with upscaling a SD picture to a HD screen was very obvious.

But I haven't noticed a problem anywhere else.

angelapops

When I bought the first LCD TV I was actually horrified at how bad the picture was and thought there was something wrong with it until I did some reading online - I then discovered I wasted my money by buying that particular model. As I'd already promised the TV it was replacing to someone else, there wasn't much I could do about it so I put up with the bad picture. This time around I did my research first and picked a TV that had great reviews pretty much across the board and I am now astounded at how good the picture is.

Julie


Hi Julie, I'm on the lookout for a new tv which one did you buy

Angela:A

bob_a_builder

For some reason when people come to enquire on here about getting a new TV they always say "'lhelp me look for a new LCD tv"
LCD seems to be be the new "hoover" i.e. its becoming a generic term for a flat screen.
This means they overlook the benifits of a plasma, not only that but the rush to Full HD when most of us will never need it, isn't helping, 720P is fine

The panasonic plasma 42px80 and 37px80 are well known to provide one of the best SD pictures going (plus very good value for money) - pop round to someone who has one of those and compare freeview pictures with your CRT - I think you'll be pleasantly suprised

vansboy

angelapops wrote: »

I'm on the lookout for a new tv which one did you buy

Angela:A

We bought LG42PG6000 from Argos £620ish - with 3year warranty. (cheaper other places, but 12month warranty) It's a really smart looking set, as it has a totally flat glass screen, which also covers the 'frame', as well as giving 1st class definition.

But once you start asking, you'll get dozens of peoples favourites.!!

The Panasonics, do have a good reputation, too - but cosmetically don't do it for me!!

VB

aliEnRIK

Its down to the hdtvs internal 'scaler'
My pioneer will probably trounce your CRT for SD material. In fact people have mistaken it (Including myself!) for hidef material at times.
Granted, a LOT of scalers are 'crap'. But then you get what you pay for. People think that because they got a 40" LCD for 250 quid then its a bargain. Its not, its junk.......

M4RKM

cheap tv's are exactly that, i know i'm probably repeating what other people are saying, but, you do get what you pay for

i've recently upgraded my crt to an LCD, but i do have sky+hd, and PS3/Blu Ray, so I am using the feature of the HD... however, my SD broadcasts look nice and clear and the only channel i see any picture degregation on are things like setanta.. oh.. but i got that before anyway..

oh, and freeview does look a bit pants, but i rarely use freeview built in on my tv set anyway!

M

Marty_J

aliEnRIK wrote: »

Its down to the hdtvs internal 'scaler'
My pioneer will probably trounce your CRT for SD material.

CRTs don't have to scale an SD picture to fit their screen, do they?