CRT no longer available?

[reju]

My parent's 29" Sony CRT went bad after about 10 years of use. Sony service estimated about Rs 5K for repair. Then I thought, why not go for new 29" TV for say around 16K? Then when I called up my friend in Sony World, he gave me shocker - that CRTs are NO longer available! Only 21" could be arranged, and that too "on order".

So now I am left with no option but to repair the old TV. The forced decision though has also helped me save a few thousands

They had discontinued CRT since last Diwali. Of course, decision take after research/ survey by Sony. (They also had issues with feasibility of stocking the huge CRTs). It seems that everyone is now going for LCD. The don't mind a 19" LCD, but no one wants CRT! And if one is price conscious and needs a larger screen, they may buy Videocon or similar, BUT NO CRT!

He said the overall demand now for LCD/CRT is 60:40 and next year projected at 70:30. CRT still being used in rural market.

 

[moserw]

Sony has stopped CRT production along with Plasma production so that all customers will buy their "best" LCD TVs. You should check out Panasonic Plasma 29" CRT, I picked it for 9K U/E and it's PQ is among the best.

 

[plasmoid]

Sony has stopped CRT production along with Plasma production so that all customers will buy their "best" LCD TVs. You should check out Panasonic Plasma 29" CRT, I picked it for 9K U/E and it's PQ is among the best.

Hi Moser,
I have heard a lot of good things about the panasonic crts and am planning to get a 21 inch for my bedroom. Is the 21 inch pana PQ as good as the vega 21 inch?

 

[moserw]

Hi Moser,
I have heard a lot of good things about the panasonic crts and am planning to get a 21 inch for my bedroom. Is the 21 inch pana PQ as good as the vega 21 inch?

I would say so. The Panasonic's PQ is amazing, great clarity, colors, etc. Why do you want to go for the 21" when the 29" is coming for around 11-12K?

 

[plasmoid]

I would say so. The Panasonic's PQ is amazing, great clarity, colors, etc. Why do you want to go for the 21" when the 29" is coming for around 11-12K?

Rooms pretty small otherwise would have gladly have gone in for the 29.

 

[moserw]

Rooms pretty small otherwise would have gladly have gone in for the 29.

I can understand, but do consider the 29" seriously. It might take up space, but it's great VFM and it's PQ is great. Do audition it, maybe you'll make room for it. I'm using mine more than the PV8 and the Panasonic 32" LCD I've at home.

 

[reju]

Sony has stopped CRT production along with Plasma production so that all customers will buy their "best" LCD TVs. You should check out Panasonic Plasma 29" CRT, I picked it for 9K U/E and it's PQ is among the best.

Just checked, even the big chain "Vijay Sales" no longer keeps any CRTs!

It's sad that CRT is dying so quickly in India, in the sense that HDTV is hardly here...and SD does not look very good on LCDs. In this case average Plasmas would be ideal for SD broadcast, but at the same time not future proof.

 

[moserw]

It's true to a certain extent but right now I'm watching the HD rip of The Matrix. I have the Blu-Ray disc, but I had to rip it so it would play on the HD Ready 32" LCD Panasonic TV I have. The PQ is absolutely breathtaking even of the rip. You can see the hairs on the actors face, chin, etc. something that was never visible on SD DVDs. No DVD ever gave this much clarity and I'm only comparing it to a HD rip. The original Blu-Ray disc on my brothers Pioneer Kuro is altogether something. But for TV/STB and DVDs yeah CRT is the best. However, I will admit after watching Blu-Ray and HD rips I just cannot go back to SD. It's just not that good or fun anymore.

Just checked, even the big chain "Vijay Sales" no longer keeps any CRTs!

It's sad that CRT is dying so quickly in India, in the sense that HDTV is hardly here...and SD does not look very good on LCDs. In this case average Plasmas would be ideal for SD broadcast, but at the same time not future proof.

 

[reju]

right now I'm watching the HD rip of The Matrix. I have the Blu-Ray disc, but I had to rip it so it would play on the HD Ready 32" LCD Panasonic TV I have.

Didn't follow why you need to rip? Why not play BD directly? Is it because there's no HDMI in Panasonic LCD?

 

[moserw]

Didn't follow why you need to rip? Why not play BD directly? Is it because there's no HDMI in Panasonic LCD?

I don't have a Blu-Ray player with me yet. My brother has it and he also has a Full HD Plasma in the Pioneer Kuro. I only have HD Ready PV8 and 32" LCD TV again from Panasonic. Full HD resolution does not play on the 32" LCD. Says resolution not supported. Hence I'm using ConvertXtoDVD to make DVDs with HD Ready resolution to play via DVDP.

 

[metalbandit]

Hey reju,

I bought my JVC 29" from Vijay Sales just 2 months back, and they do stock CRT's even now. Which showroom did you check?

And there are so many chains and individual dealers who can still offer excellent prices for CRT's. Yes, Sony has stopped selling CRT's; I had been to a Sony World outlet in Chembur, and there was not a single piece on display.

As pointed out by moserw in another post, electronics goods companies dictate technology trends, and since LCD and Plasma is the new technology, CRT's are not promoted that aggressively. But the good news is that if you believe in CRT, then this is the best time to buy one, since they are available at amazingly low prices. I got my JVC at 9490 without exchange as a special Gudi Padwa sale price, list price was 12000.

Except Sony, you will find models from all other major brands like JVC, Panasonic, Samsung, LG, Sansui, Videocon, Onida, etc. in 14", 21" and 29". And for SD content, which still makes up a major percentage of our viewing (HD channels are still some time away), CRT's are the best bet.

Just checked, even the big chain "Vijay Sales" no longer keeps any CRTs!

It's sad that CRT is dying so quickly in India, in the sense that HDTV is hardly here...and SD does not look very good on LCDs. In this case average Plasmas would be ideal for SD broadcast, but at the same time not future proof.

 

[vaibhav]

True, I got my videocon 29" for 9.5 k (list is 14k for this model thanks to some 400 w claimed sound output). I liked the PQ > everything i compared with (samsung, LG, Haier) except panasonic and Sanyo. I actually like Sony the best but like the original poster of this thread - I was shocked that they dont have CRTs anymore. My parents have a 4 year old 29" sony CRT that is wonderful ... i couldnt get it. I think the other major companies are not doing a great job of promoting them when there is clearly money to be made here as well ... since market leaders like sony, LG, samsung are shifting away from CRT ... anyways, my videocon CRT rocks and i am loving the IPL SD content on it !!

 

[reju]

Hey reju,

I bought my JVC 29" from Vijay Sales just 2 months back, and they do stock CRT's even now. Which showroom did you check?

And there are so many chains and individual dealers who can still offer excellent prices for CRT's. Yes, Sony has stopped selling CRT's; I had been to a Sony World outlet in Chembur, and there was not a single piece on display.

As pointed out by moserw in another post, electronics goods companies dictate technology trends, and since LCD and Plasma is the new technology, CRT's are not promoted that aggressively. But the good news is that if you believe in CRT, then this is the best time to buy one, since they are available at amazingly low prices. I got my JVC at 9490 without exchange as a special Gudi Padwa sale price, list price was 12000.

Except Sony, you will find models from all other major brands like JVC, Panasonic, Samsung, LG, Sansui, Videocon, Onida, etc. in 14", 21" and 29". And for SD content, which still makes up a major percentage of our viewing (HD channels are still some time away), CRT's are the best bet.

hmmm.... I spoke to their HO in Prabhadevi now. They confirmed they DO have CRTs. I called again in Chembur and magically it has re-appeared! Anyway the earlier guy may not have understood my requirement or maybe he is pro Sony JVC was quoted around 13K.

Anyway I think its better to have it repaired for 5K, as only the power section is a problem. It can continue to give me the good picture.

 

[reju]

I don't have a Blu-Ray player with me yet. My brother has it and he also has a Full HD Plasma in the Pioneer Kuro. I only have HD Ready PV8 and 32" LCD TV again from Panasonic. Full HD resolution does not play on the 32" LCD. Says resolution not supported. Hence I'm using ConvertXtoDVD to make DVDs with HD Ready resolution to play via DVDP.

Oh yes, now I remember the feature I had looked out for, while buying my Sony LCD. It lets me play 1080p inputs even though it is only HD ready.

DVDs cannot support HD resolution. Max resolution on DVD is 720x576.
Whatever DVDs you make out of BD rips using ConvertXtoDvd will give the best possible clarity in DVD resolution.

Just FYI the 1080p mkv rips and the original BD (raw) rips do not have much of difference. Raw rip is maybe 15-20% better, but it's not worth the effort of downloading 20-30GB as opposed to 7-8GB of mkv.

 

[adder]

Anyway I think its better to have it repaired for 5K, as only the power section is a problem. It continue to give me the good picture.

well i believe u have a HI-black trinitron model or a kirara basso its worth reparing them,i bought a new sony 21inch WEGA a year ago just after sony announced they are going to quit the crt business,but when i did buy it i found out that my 1996 sony model still had the edge in quality,the sparkling WEGA which was introduced in 2005 is realy bad although they have the trinitron picture tube.their image processing made the picture look bad,while picture may be good compared to other brands not upto the sony standards,only wega models before 2005 are good.

 

[reju]

well i believe u have a HI-black trinitron model or a kirara basso its worth reparing them,i bought a new sony 21inch WEGA a year ago just after sony announced they are going to quit the crt business,but when i did buy it i found out that my 1996 sony model still had the edge in quality,the sparkling WEGA which was introduced in 2005 is realy bad although they have the trinitron picture tube.their image processing made the picture look bad,while picture may be good compared to other brands not upto the sony standards,only wega models before 2005 are good.

It was bought in 1999 if I remember correctly I had paid about Rs. 50K from official market. It never gave a single problem until last week... 10 years of trouble free & flawless viewing!

 

[adder]

It was bought in 1999 if I remember correctly I had paid about Rs. 50K from official market. It never gave a single problem until last week... 10 years of trouble free & flawless viewing!

well is it fully flat or flat just verticaly?.ur model should sound something like KV-29M???.anyway i suggest u to repair them,i doubt whether u will like any of the new crt tvs outhere in terms of picture quality after watching in that sony.
in 2005 sony introduced this sparkling wega models to reduce the cost,since prior to these even their 21inch tvs uses start only at about 16990 to 25k, where as in other companies u could get a 29inch with plenty of speakers.