I didn't see this posted anywhere...

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article...000878,00.html


I'm not sure if this is a good move or not. I think they're getting a bit carried away after they made the news when they stopped selling VHS units.

I've seen a lot of LCD televisions, and even the smaller JVC ones give a poor display compared to the 14" CRT I have now. The price really turns me off - but I guess you're getting widescreen and a DTT tuner...

Any thoughts?

Nothing can beat CTR for defination, and a scrote can't nick a 42" because of the weight

If you notice where Dixons are situated - right in the middle of the high street, and therr windows displays look fantastic with all that electronic wizardry. A massive 42" TV will take up a whole window.

So all thats is happen is that DSG international[1] reorgainising there brands so they don't compete too much

[1] DSG international also own Curries (which is still selling CRT TV's)

So.... Dixons are only going to sell TVs with sub-standard picture quality, eh.

I suppose it won't be long before other retailers follow suit, and the gullible public will lap it up in the belief that if its new technology it must be an improvement.

I just hope my two year old widescreen CRT lasts me until plasma and lcd are replaced by something better.

35mm cameras, VHS, CRT all not part of Dixons plans

I went there for a toaster, but was told that I needed a flat panel one, which overheated and produced poor quality toast

Dixon's are right behind you, all the way to the till.

I'm sure that the first few such Dixons announcements served the purpose of some free advertising, but I think they're losing their impact.

My reponse to Dixons- it's your business; please yourself!

As with 100Hz sets,most of the plasma and LCD sets are bought by idiots who would not recognise a quality display if it blew up in their face.
These are the same people who watch 4:3 pictures stretched on their widescreen sets in composite simply because they don't even know how to set them up.
The only reason they buy it is because its "the latest thing".
You can see the salesmen's eyese lighting up when they approach.
These are also the same people who gleefully enjoy watching the HD display currently on show in Curry's but don't have the brains to ask to see how poor the picture will be on from their Freeview or Sky Digital box,as they don't actually have any HD to display on it at the moment.
Obviously,there are the more knowledgeable buyers who buy now as they know HD is on the way and they can tolerate how crap non HD broadcasts are,but most of these sets go to people who are ripping themselves off.
This Dixons announcement is just to make the Sun readers aware that they need a new tv

I know - good quality analogue systems are much better than bitrat-ted modern stuff.

MP3 and compression < decently recorded audio tape, vynal, 8-track systems.

Although someone compared a decent audio tape recording to a 64Kbps mp3 file!

Alex -

I went to Dixons today funnily enough and saw the TVs on offer. They all looked pap to me, from the smallest to the biggest - at least when compared against a CRT.

The image is so grainy and pixellated it's like going backwards. I did go to Bennetts and see a Samsung LCD which impressed me though.

Although at Bennetts they're using an analogue signal and are stretched to 16:9. I was telling my Dad about this when we were there as a salesman came up to us.

I have relatives who would be down there tomorrow, would buy the 40" Plasma without the sockets/connections/features they'll need in the future and put it in the corner. They'll pay any price and still connect the Sky box via an old RF lead...

I was thinking of saving hard and getting a 32" LCD (like the Samsung I saw today), but the picture can get quite silly and News 24 isn't going Hi Def any time soon... I think I'll wait until SkyHD is out for a year and the teething problems have gone, and maybe 1080p will start to get to a reasonable price.

I'm loathed to spend £300 on a CRT televison when it might be the right time to get SkyHD a year later, but for watching a load of stuff still in 4:3 on Sky, like shows from 5 or 6 years ago it's going to be a waste of money.

I read that shows like Law & Order have been taped in 16:9 since 1996 and only ever shown in 4:3. These are being converted to HD, so it might not be so bad. Despite Sky showing episodes in 4:3, they have been taped and aired in HD since 2002. Maybe if Sky can pull something out of the bag it won't be as bad...

One of the problems with LCD is that a resolution of 1368 by 768 scales badly to a PAL broadcast and thus looks washed out.
Thus a perfectly matched PAL resolution panel would be both better and use less power.

However LCDs with computer in attractive propostion. Plus 2007 will be the year of high definition, at least for sky box owners.

Yes technology marches on... image quality marhces backwards...

First we got digital with it's smudgy pictures compared to decent analogue reception and now we view it at reduced resolution on budget or low spec Plasma and LCD screens and have simply addded more digital noise to an already digitally noisy image.

roll on HD CRT's hehehe

Just another publicity stunt, the proffit margins are probably somewhat higher on plasma screens than the standard CRT tubes.
As for new 'improved' digital Vs Analogue:

on DTT ive noticed the image sometimes looks a bit blocky on fast moving things ( ie fire / water) on a few different set top boxes ( sony/goodmans/pioneer/topfeild/panasonic) the blockyness isnt there at all on analogue - which gives a crystal clear picture.

Radio: FM sounds much better than some piss poor 128kbs (and below) bit rate

mobile phones: i can remmeber talking to people on these when the reception just went a bit fuzzy, now then just cut out all together.

af course thats with a good analogue signal.

I read some where that it's all about Lifestyle products:


- A big bulky CRT just doesn't do it for them any more!

not such a funny thing. i actually saw one of thses when i was in Harrods last year. it was hd and about 40". so not so it looks as if its already here.

The reason I imagine is that Dixons are trying to change their image to be more of a new technology shop, rather than general electrical (their slogan is First for New Technology), anyway DSGi have Currys to sell VHS and CRT.

But where do you hide the mess of cables if not behind the bulky CRT?

If and when I get a LCD TV I'll be making efforts to put it on the wall, but I can't help notice how many people who do this hang it where a picture or mirror might go - which is much higher than the stand that comes with a CRT.

I'm quite happy to get a CRT television, but everytime I go to Dixons or Bennetts the guys always have their other halfs there pointing at different Plasma TVs. If people want to dispose that disposable income though...

what is Bennetts?

Large retailer based in Eastern England:

http://www.bennettsonline.co.uk/

Another nice FREE plug for Dixons then?

Remember when the hit the news when they said they would stop selling VCRS? The store here still selling 2 models, although they are £99 each (5 x more than the cheapo DVD players).

LCD and plasma quality is much better than it was a year ago. People prefer slimline aesthetics over quiblling with a bit of picture quality.

I can just imagine the headline in six months times from dixons.

"We have decided to stop selling all types of tvs (LCD,Plasma, CRT's) because there not futuristic enough. Instead customers can pre-order new 3D holographic TV's for delivery in 2015."

So whos going to rush out and pre order one!!!!!!

Think they may shoot themselves in the foot here, I don't think the average person in this country is overly arsed about flatscreen/plasma yet, a lot of people still buy CRT for its price. I don't think flatscreen is popular enough to be the norm yet, but maybe that's what they're trying to improve.

Agreed, CRTs win on price and quality every time. Though I suspect the Dixons announcement is nothing of the sort - the still do sell VCRs and 35mm cameras despite 'dropping' them both.

I'm reluctantly getting rid of my CRT in a room re-jig because I just haven't got the space for it. LCD is the one that will replace it quality-wise and they're already better than plasma for colour and depth. To be honest, it's not like I watch so much TV most of the time anymore that it's going to matter that much.

But thats a good point - nowhere to hide the cables anymore! Might have to use a SCART switcher and then just have one cable up to the LCD.

Well it won't be long til SED hits the market, every bit as a good as CRT from what i heard, but flatscreen.
SED - surface conductor electron emission display, similar to how CRT works, but each phospher pixel has it's own tiny gun.

Like all new technology it'll be a while before it reaches the price point that most people can afford.