21-24" CRT recommendations?

WestLondoner99 · 14-05-2007, 10:42

Can anyone recommend a good quality CRT TV available now? Basic requirements are size 21" to 24", 2 SCART sockets, able to handle Freeview RGB input. Sound just as important as picture as I will be using it for watching music videos/DVDs. Not expecting miracles, just worried that many of the remaining CRTs on the market will have weak and tinny sound.

thanks for any suggestions

Nigel Goodwin · 14-05-2007, 11:08

There are no good quality CRT sets any more, no decent manufacturers make them. You're also going to struggle finding decent sound quality, using a seperate sound system would be your best hope - even when you could buy quality sets, very few had decent sound, and you had to spend a LOT to get one that had.

The sound situation is even worse for LCD/Plasma - their slim shape means there's no room for decent speakers or enclosures.

ianflo · 14-05-2007, 11:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nigel Goodwin

There are no good quality CRT sets any more, no decent manufacturers make them. You're also going to struggle finding decent sound quality, using a seperate sound system would be your best hope - even when you could buy quality sets, very few had decent sound, and you had to spend a LOT to get one that had.

The sound situation is even worse for LCD/Plasma - their slim shape means there's no room for decent speakers or enclosures.

I know you stock mainly sony Nigel, but what makes would you rate as reliable (for lcds), and are there any decent small (cheapish) lcd tvs? Or is it a case of pot luck with cheaper makes?

Is the price premium between good brand and unknown makes really worth it?

Have a friendly indepenant locally but they tend to push panasonic mostly (have Panny 28"crt from them and had problem with Tv going into standby and not coming on. They couldn't find fault. Wary of another Panny)

You have much more knowledge on this than me so I would be grateful for any input.
Ian

asdigi · 14-05-2007, 12:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by ianflo

I know you stock mainly sony Nigel, but what makes would you rate as reliable (for lcds), and are there any decent small (cheapish) lcd tvs? Or is it a case of pot luck with cheaper makes?

Is the price premium between good brand and unknown makes really worth it?

Have a friendly indepenant locally but they tend to push panasonic mostly (have Panny 28"crt from them and had problem with Tv going into standby and not coming on. They couldn't find fault. Wary of another Panny)

You have much more knowledge on this than me so I would be grateful for any input.
Ian

just incase your aren't aware about this with panasonics, to put the tv in standby and take it out of standby you need to hold the standby button down longer than normal.

ianflo · 14-05-2007, 12:25

The tv came on in standby and stayed there no matter how long I kept finger on button

It only fired up after some time and when I pushed a channel button (1).

It hasn't done it for a while (touch wood) but it hasn't been cold for a bit ......

I'm using a panny digi box, tv shouldn't get confused by this should it??

Ian

Nigel Goodwin · 14-05-2007, 12:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by ianflo

I know you stock mainly sony Nigel, but what makes would you rate as reliable (for lcds), and are there any decent small (cheapish) lcd tvs? Or is it a case of pot luck with cheaper makes?

Is the price premium between good brand and unknown makes really worth it?

As I always say, compare them side by side, generally there's a HUGE difference between cheap sets and expensive ones - I was looking at the sets on display in Ada the other week, and the Sharp and Sony LCD's were better pictures than the cheap CRT sets they had on display. Cheap LCD's usually look just that!.

Quote:

Have a friendly indepenant locally but they tend to push panasonic mostly (have Panny 28"crt from them and had problem with Tv going into standby and not coming on. They couldn't find fault. Wary of another Panny)

You have much more knowledge on this than me so I would be grateful for any input.
Ian

Just like your local dealer is mainly Panasonic, we're mainly Sony - so I tend to be biased, but a BIG advantage of Sony is that we do our own service on them (or at least I do).

It's hard to give suggestions unless you have a big sample to compare with, we've sold quite a few Samsungs, and have found them really reliable, but another dealer on here (who presumably have sold a lot more?) says they are really poor.

The only cheap LCD's we've sold are a couple of Digifusions, and they haven't gone wrong yet

but the picture on them is truely awful!.

mediafriendly · 14-05-2007, 14:59

i am so glad i sneaked in and got what was probably the last ever 36" Philips Pixel Plus TV - with Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. It's superb.

asdigi · 14-05-2007, 16:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nigel Goodwin

As I always say, compare them side by side, generally there's a HUGE difference between cheap sets and expensive ones - I was looking at the sets on display in Ada the other week, and the Sharp and Sony LCD's were better pictures than the cheap CRT sets they had on display. Cheap LCD's usually look just that!.

Just like your local dealer is mainly Panasonic, we're mainly Sony - so I tend to be biased, but a BIG advantage of Sony is that we do our own service on them (or at least I do).

It's hard to give suggestions unless you have a big sample to compare with, we've sold quite a few Samsungs, and have found them really reliable, but another dealer on here (who presumably have sold a lot more?) says they are really poor.

The only cheap LCD's we've sold are a couple of Digifusions, and they haven't gone wrong yet

but the picture on them is truely awful!.

what about Toshiba LCD's? i've been looking at the 37C3030D (think thats the model) and the 37X3030D. Have you had any experience with them?

iDan · 14-05-2007, 16:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by asdigi

what about Toshiba LCD's? i've been looking at the 37C3030D (think thats the model) and the 37X3030D. Have you had any experience with them?

I have.

Awesome TV at a great price, brilliant reliability too.

Nigel Goodwin · 14-05-2007, 23:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by asdigi

what about Toshiba LCD's? i've been looking at the 37C3030D (think thats the model) and the 37X3030D. Have you had any experience with them?

Some Toshiba's are cheap bought-in and badged sets, the only ones we have sold (only in small quantities) were actually badged Beko's.

I don't know who makes those particular models, but Toshiba don't make their own LCD panels.

iDan · 14-05-2007, 23:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nigel Goodwin

Some Toshiba's are cheap bought-in and badged sets, the only ones we have sold (only in small quantities) were actually badged Beko's.

I don't know who makes those particular models, but Toshiba don't make their own LCD panels.

The only outsourced Toshiba's are the WLT56 series (23" and below), all of the others are official Toshiba.

Nice sets too. The WLT56 range is actually made by Vestel.

So, if you're looking at anything above 23" then it's a Toshiba.

asdigi · 16-05-2007, 18:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by Telly_Man

I have.

Awesome TV at a great price, brilliant reliability too.

that's good to know thanks

I currently have a Toshiba 28" CRT flat widescreen but I want to upgrade to something bigger as I find it a bit small.

I have spoken to Toshiba customer services a couple of times last year regarding a faulty portable TV and found their service to be excellent so I am more than happy to buy from them. I had a portable TV which developed a strange problem, one day just decided to display a black screen with bars scrolling from top to bottom which would get faster then change direction and the screen would gradually go darker. It was 3 years old and it didn't have an extended warranty but i gave them a call, it was answered very quickly and they sent me out a brand new replacement for free and just asked me to put the old one in the box for the courier to take back

I know it was only a portable TV but i was very impressed by their service (Sky take note!!!!

)

I will mainly be using the TV for normal Sky+ and will buy a DVD player with HDMI output as they are much cheaper now.

I've been looking at various models for a while now before buying so I'm not disappointed with what I buy, I did consider Samsung but Poor sound seems to be an issue with them which has put me off. I'm between Toshiba, Panasonic and Sony at the moment which I have allways considered to be the best TV brands to go for anyway but Toshiba seems to offer the best value for money at the moment with good reviews too. Empire direct currently have the 37" C series for only £619 at the moment aswell which keeps screaming out "buy me buy me" when i look at the page

iDan · 16-05-2007, 21:39

That's an awesome price for the TV.

You'll not be disappointed.

WestLondoner99 · 27-05-2007, 22:15

My original question got slightly hijacked by this discussion. My standards are not particularly high - I currently have a 4-year old Tosumi which sounds pretty clear but unfortunately does not accept Freeview RGB. I have tried a new 21" Panasonic but while it accepted Freeview RGB it had really murky sound - whether this was a fault or just declining standards of manufacture is difficult to say; at any rate I have returned it to the retailer. All I'm looking for is an available CRT which is suitable as a main TV for my household and will avoid a major and expensive upgrade.

DigiRich · 28-05-2007, 00:50

Have you tried looking for a second hand one? Older ones are made alot better than the dregs that are left out there now. Some of the last of the line top brand ones should be getting cheap due to people upgrading to LCD/plasma.

14-05-2007, 10:42	#1
WestLondoner99 Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 28	21-24" CRT recommendations? Can anyone recommend a good quality CRT TV available now? Basic requirements are size 21" to 24", 2 SCART sockets, able to handle Freeview RGB input. Sound just as important as picture as I will be using it for watching music videos/DVDs. Not expecting miracles, just worried that many of the remaining CRTs on the market will have weak and tinny sound. thanks for any suggestions

14-05-2007, 11:08	#2
Nigel Goodwin Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: North Derbyshire Posts: 41,789	There are no good quality CRT sets any more, no decent manufacturers make them. You're also going to struggle finding decent sound quality, using a seperate sound system would be your best hope - even when you could buy quality sets, very few had decent sound, and you had to spend a LOT to get one that had. The sound situation is even worse for LCD/Plasma - their slim shape means there's no room for decent speakers or enclosures.

14-05-2007, 11:24	#3
ianflo Forum Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Durham. Posts: 259	Quote: Originally Posted by Nigel Goodwin There are no good quality CRT sets any more, no decent manufacturers make them. You're also going to struggle finding decent sound quality, using a seperate sound system would be your best hope - even when you could buy quality sets, very few had decent sound, and you had to spend a LOT to get one that had. The sound situation is even worse for LCD/Plasma - their slim shape means there's no room for decent speakers or enclosures. I know you stock mainly sony Nigel, but what makes would you rate as reliable (for lcds), and are there any decent small (cheapish) lcd tvs? Or is it a case of pot luck with cheaper makes? Is the price premium between good brand and unknown makes really worth it? Have a friendly indepenant locally but they tend to push panasonic mostly (have Panny 28"crt from them and had problem with Tv going into standby and not coming on. They couldn't find fault. Wary of another Panny) You have much more knowledge on this than me so I would be grateful for any input. Ian

14-05-2007, 12:16	#4
asdigi Forum Member Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 2,914	Quote: Originally Posted by ianflo I know you stock mainly sony Nigel, but what makes would you rate as reliable (for lcds), and are there any decent small (cheapish) lcd tvs? Or is it a case of pot luck with cheaper makes? Is the price premium between good brand and unknown makes really worth it? Have a friendly indepenant locally but they tend to push panasonic mostly (have Panny 28"crt from them and had problem with Tv going into standby and not coming on. They couldn't find fault. Wary of another Panny) You have much more knowledge on this than me so I would be grateful for any input. Ian just incase your aren't aware about this with panasonics, to put the tv in standby and take it out of standby you need to hold the standby button down longer than normal.

14-05-2007, 12:25	#5
ianflo Forum Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Durham. Posts: 259	The tv came on in standby and stayed there no matter how long I kept finger on button It only fired up after some time and when I pushed a channel button (1). It hasn't done it for a while (touch wood) but it hasn't been cold for a bit ...... I'm using a panny digi box, tv shouldn't get confused by this should it?? Ian

14-05-2007, 12:49	#6
Nigel Goodwin Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: North Derbyshire Posts: 41,789	Quote: Originally Posted by ianflo I know you stock mainly sony Nigel, but what makes would you rate as reliable (for lcds), and are there any decent small (cheapish) lcd tvs? Or is it a case of pot luck with cheaper makes? Is the price premium between good brand and unknown makes really worth it? As I always say, compare them side by side, generally there's a HUGE difference between cheap sets and expensive ones - I was looking at the sets on display in Ada the other week, and the Sharp and Sony LCD's were better pictures than the cheap CRT sets they had on display. Cheap LCD's usually look just that!. Quote: Have a friendly indepenant locally but they tend to push panasonic mostly (have Panny 28"crt from them and had problem with Tv going into standby and not coming on. They couldn't find fault. Wary of another Panny) You have much more knowledge on this than me so I would be grateful for any input. Ian Just like your local dealer is mainly Panasonic, we're mainly Sony - so I tend to be biased, but a BIG advantage of Sony is that we do our own service on them (or at least I do). It's hard to give suggestions unless you have a big sample to compare with, we've sold quite a few Samsungs, and have found them really reliable, but another dealer on here (who presumably have sold a lot more?) says they are really poor. The only cheap LCD's we've sold are a couple of Digifusions, and they haven't gone wrong yet but the picture on them is truely awful!.

14-05-2007, 14:59	#7
mediafriendly Forum Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 2,183	i am so glad i sneaked in and got what was probably the last ever 36" Philips Pixel Plus TV - with Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. It's superb.

14-05-2007, 16:54	#8
asdigi Forum Member Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 2,914	Quote: Originally Posted by Nigel Goodwin As I always say, compare them side by side, generally there's a HUGE difference between cheap sets and expensive ones - I was looking at the sets on display in Ada the other week, and the Sharp and Sony LCD's were better pictures than the cheap CRT sets they had on display. Cheap LCD's usually look just that!. Just like your local dealer is mainly Panasonic, we're mainly Sony - so I tend to be biased, but a BIG advantage of Sony is that we do our own service on them (or at least I do). It's hard to give suggestions unless you have a big sample to compare with, we've sold quite a few Samsungs, and have found them really reliable, but another dealer on here (who presumably have sold a lot more?) says they are really poor. The only cheap LCD's we've sold are a couple of Digifusions, and they haven't gone wrong yet but the picture on them is truely awful!. what about Toshiba LCD's? i've been looking at the 37C3030D (think thats the model) and the 37X3030D. Have you had any experience with them?

14-05-2007, 16:57	#9
iDan Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 8,812	Quote: Originally Posted by asdigi what about Toshiba LCD's? i've been looking at the 37C3030D (think thats the model) and the 37X3030D. Have you had any experience with them? I have. Awesome TV at a great price, brilliant reliability too.

14-05-2007, 23:26	#10
Nigel Goodwin Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: North Derbyshire Posts: 41,789	Quote: Originally Posted by asdigi what about Toshiba LCD's? i've been looking at the 37C3030D (think thats the model) and the 37X3030D. Have you had any experience with them? Some Toshiba's are cheap bought-in and badged sets, the only ones we have sold (only in small quantities) were actually badged Beko's. I don't know who makes those particular models, but Toshiba don't make their own LCD panels.

14-05-2007, 23:28	#11
iDan Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 8,812	Quote: Originally Posted by Nigel Goodwin Some Toshiba's are cheap bought-in and badged sets, the only ones we have sold (only in small quantities) were actually badged Beko's. I don't know who makes those particular models, but Toshiba don't make their own LCD panels. The only outsourced Toshiba's are the WLT56 series (23" and below), all of the others are official Toshiba. Nice sets too. The WLT56 range is actually made by Vestel. So, if you're looking at anything above 23" then it's a Toshiba.

16-05-2007, 18:30	#12
asdigi Forum Member Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 2,914	Quote: Originally Posted by Telly_Man I have. Awesome TV at a great price, brilliant reliability too. that's good to know thanks I currently have a Toshiba 28" CRT flat widescreen but I want to upgrade to something bigger as I find it a bit small. I have spoken to Toshiba customer services a couple of times last year regarding a faulty portable TV and found their service to be excellent so I am more than happy to buy from them. I had a portable TV which developed a strange problem, one day just decided to display a black screen with bars scrolling from top to bottom which would get faster then change direction and the screen would gradually go darker. It was 3 years old and it didn't have an extended warranty but i gave them a call, it was answered very quickly and they sent me out a brand new replacement for free and just asked me to put the old one in the box for the courier to take back I know it was only a portable TV but i was very impressed by their service (Sky take note!!!! ) I will mainly be using the TV for normal Sky+ and will buy a DVD player with HDMI output as they are much cheaper now. I've been looking at various models for a while now before buying so I'm not disappointed with what I buy, I did consider Samsung but Poor sound seems to be an issue with them which has put me off. I'm between Toshiba, Panasonic and Sony at the moment which I have allways considered to be the best TV brands to go for anyway but Toshiba seems to offer the best value for money at the moment with good reviews too. Empire direct currently have the 37" C series for only £619 at the moment aswell which keeps screaming out "buy me buy me" when i look at the page

16-05-2007, 21:39	#13
iDan Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 8,812	That's an awesome price for the TV. You'll not be disappointed.

27-05-2007, 22:15	#14
WestLondoner99 Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 28	My original question got slightly hijacked by this discussion. My standards are not particularly high - I currently have a 4-year old Tosumi which sounds pretty clear but unfortunately does not accept Freeview RGB. I have tried a new 21" Panasonic but while it accepted Freeview RGB it had really murky sound - whether this was a fault or just declining standards of manufacture is difficult to say; at any rate I have returned it to the retailer. All I'm looking for is an available CRT which is suitable as a main TV for my household and will avoid a major and expensive upgrade.

28-05-2007, 00:50	#15
DigiRich Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Bristol or Southampton Posts: 1,151	Have you tried looking for a second hand one? Older ones are made alot better than the dregs that are left out there now. Some of the last of the line top brand ones should be getting cheap due to people upgrading to LCD/plasma.

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21-24" CRT recommendations?