Anthony Farr wrote:
-----Original Message-----
From: Rob Studdert [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
(prior message snipped)
CRTs are too costly to ship and produce and new technologies always demand
a
premium especially when there are marketable benefits and cool technology
labels. It's becoming very difficult to buy any kind of CRT TV/monitor in
Australia.
Rob Studdert
Besides which, CRT TVs are exceedingly difficult to keep in alignment as
size increases.
Last year we needed a new TV so bought a Panasonic 76cm, 16:9 ratio CRT. It
was unmitigated crap.
This is pertinent, as I'm looking at that very range myself.
On reflectin, it seems to me the problem might be coming from having the CRT
adhere to the display ratio...
If the screen dieplay was square, I'll bet all squiggless would go away.
But, that might be just my illusion.
The colours were diverged and the amplitude of the
raster (ie the picture width) fluctuated noticeably as the picture's
brightness changed, suggesting to me that the internal power supply was
barely adequate to support the picture, and had no excess capacity to keep
the picture size stable as the content changed.
Sets this size are already in a weight class that makes it very difficult for
the owner to haul around, move, and so on. 105 lb. plus. So, if they can pare
weight off the total package, I suspect they do it.
Where better than a heavy power supply transformer? That's one place you can't
miniaturize things much, or as you've seen, performance becomes iffy.
Like plenty of RAM in your computer, and a big memory card in your digital,
things just run more smoothly when you over-spec the power supply...
We learned that back in the old vacuum tube days. Talk about heavy amplifiers!
But, the best performing ones turned out to be the heaviest ones!
Panasonic wiped their hands of our problem by claiming that our set was
"within tolerance" although they never did state what those tolerances were.
So, we returned to the vendor, gave our story, and got a FULL refund.
A good illustration for buying from a local vendor, if you possibly can. They
will take good care of the customer service end of things.
You can't do that long distance.
Then
we chose a Telefunken set with the same specs as the Panasonic, which was
$500 cheaper than the Panasonic yet has a perfect picture with none of the
Panasonic's defects.
My brother-in-law later got a Philips 76cm 16:9 set, considerably costlier
than our Telefunken, but it displays picture amplitude fluctuations similar
to the Panasonic. I'd find it unacceptable but it's not my TV to bitch
about.
Which brings me back to my point that big CRTs are problematic in the area
of picture stability, and you have to beware of this if you're buying one.
These are problems that LCD and plasma screens would not experience.
Yes, you're right there. The fact that most LCDs of that size are only about
4-5" deep, and weigh about 35-40 lb is another big selling factor.
regards,
Anthony Farr
All good talking points, Anthony, and I thank you for it!
keith whaley
