Comments on: Photo: Super-slim TV tubes

LG.Philips Displays' new picture tubes allow for thinner televisions.

[bigmanjq]

This is awesome...

This is great on so many levels. It will allow me to affort a flatter TV. It will improve competition with LCDs and Plasma's, hopefully lowering the prices. It's also good because CRT's have much longer life-spans than either LCD or Plasma TV's.

It would be ironic if these flat CRT's became the norm and the LCDs and Plasmas faded away as a fad until the next (better) flat technology came out.

[erblemoof]

I agree...

...With everything you wrote, and want to add that this may hopefully push more rapid development and release of a newer LCD technology, such as OLED (Organice Light-Emitting Diodes) which has already been touted as being a "cheaper, better version" of LCD... But so far is only available commercially, afaik, in one single product: a cellphone.

[nealda]

I disagree.

These things eventually end up in landfills where the lead they're made with leach into the environment. CRTs use much more lead than other display technologies and also consume more power than LCDs (although less than plasma.)
The sooner these dinosaurs are replaced with better technology, the better. Extending their reign is a bad idea and will reduce the incentive to develop and migrate to LCD and OLED technology.

[gbof12]

flat tv's

It's about time! Those flat panel tv's on the market right are outrageously priced. I'm ready to buy as soon as they come out. That is if the prices are really that much lower.

[lewissalem]

This is good...

..for now. I think eventually LCD will take over, because they don't suffer from burn in like Plasma. Plus the plasma's lifespan is slightly shorter. This is good for users who need higher resolutions to use this as a PC monitor also. EDTV doesn't provide sharp enough as it stands now.

[Razzl]

and why is anybody still buying projection TV's?

What I want to know is, who are the lunatics or blind people (apologies to real blind people!) who continue to buy those gawdawful projection tv's that fill up the retail showrooms? Do people really buy those after looking at a roomful of other tv technologies that all have massively superior pictures and color, or are the retailers just keeping unsellable floor models around to fill up the space?

My son's inlaws

The people who buy these things (projecton TV's) are the same ones that buy suv's and other big expensive gawky things. They think that big is better and pay no attention to performace.

[fivecentfamily]

Because they have VALUE

Pay for a 10-25K plasma screen, and what are you really paying for? The privelage of having the "latest" thing, and a huge mark-up. That's why the plasmas are always right out in front. They catch the eye, and the pocketbook, of those who don't bother to shop, and count the true cost of their purchases.

Meanwhile, the cost of projection TVs continues to fall. The 55" I bought about 9 months ago for $2500, can now be had for around $2000. And they look great.

Also, many people have entertainment centers (sometimes that cost more than the TV) that just don't work well with the new plasma sets.

Also, and this was another biggie for me. I LIKE my TV to be a "presence" in the room. I wanted a TOP on my TV to put things. Hard to stack or store anything on a skinny plasma monitor.

So for the bang for the buck, and for how it fits into my room, I wanted a projection TV. I'll look into plasmas when this TV dies in a few years. But for right now, it's perfect for me.

Rear Projection TVs

rear projection tv's offer more bang for the buck when it comes to larger screen sizes. obviously they would have advantages, or else everyone would have stopped selling them.. . projections are much cheaper than lcds and plasmas of the same size and resolution. overall, it's mostly about cost. the biggest projection tvs are around 70+ inches and thats ginormous, and those usually only cost 10000, compared to a GOOD plasma thats around 57 inches, and costs the same. go search up comparisons of different types of tvs.

ultimately, however, i agree with you that rear projections are possibly the worst type of big-screen tvs available. however, some people prefer not to spend so much on their tv.

[skoubidou]

how many?

does anyone know just how many inches THICK we're talking about here?

[kbut]

Flat TV Screens

I remember a Popular Electronics agazine article, circa 1961 that showed flat, thin color television tubes with right/angle guns....

43 years from development to productiongo figure