I've heard that LCD TVs, while great for HD, don't give as good a
picture on regular broadcast programs as do CRTs.  Is that true? 
Thanks

Hi,
There is some truth to what you have heard.

The advantages of CRT over LCD are as follows:

- Cost. Dollar for dollar, it is possible to get a larger and better
display buying a CRT <Commercial LCDs go up to 65" - CRTs up to
roughly 40">.

- High refresh rates and response times makes them better able to
reproduce fluid motion.

- Color clarity of CRTs cannot be matched by an LCD screen. A myriad
of adjustments can be made to the contrast, brightness and hues, CRTs
are better able to represent actual colors.

- Better & wider viewing angles. LCD screens are limited to the angle
one can see the image on the screen.


The biggest drawback to CRT monitors is their bulkiness and weight,
compared to mere inches in depth and light weight of LCD screens.

LCD viewing angles cannot match those of CRT displays. You tend to see
some brightness and color shift when you?re sitting at too far an
angle from your LCD, while a CRT's picture remains fairly solid. LCDs
also have lower contrast ratios than plasmas and are not as good at
rendering deep blacks. Additionally, they are not as good as CRTs in
tracking motion and fast-moving objects may exhibit what is called,
lag artifacts.

Some pros and cons for LCD screens:

Pros: 
Takes up Little Space on Desktop 
Light Weight 
Energy Efficient 
Causing Less Eye Fatigue 

Cons: 
Expensive 
Blurry Images Outside Native Resolution 
Motion Blur on Fast Moving Images 
Washed Out Colors

To get technical background how LCD and CRT screens work:
http://computer.howstuffworks.com/monitor8.htm

Search Engine used:
://www.google.com

Key words used:
refresh, rate, lcd, crt, vs, tv, biggest

Sources used:
http://compreviews.about.com/od/multimedia/a/CRTvsLCD.htm
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/8087100/
http://computer.howstuffworks.com/monitor8.htm

---

Request for Answer Clarification by thenumber1curiousone-ga on 28 Jul 2005 09:50 PDT

Thanks very much for your reply.  One question, does the fact that
broadcast TV, being a lower resolution than that of the native
resolution of an LCD, unfavorably affect the way it appears on an LCD,
vs. high-def or DVD programing?

---

Clarification of Answer by landog-ga on 29 Jul 2005 10:33 PDT

see my last comment.

A thoughtful and informative response.  Hope there are more of this quality.

Hi thenumber1curiousone

Just read this
http://compreviews.about.com/od/multimedia/a/CRTvsLCD.htm

Comparison which shows LCD more energy efficient
http://www.viewsonic.com/monitoruniversity/lcd.htm

http://www.glencoe.com/norton/n-instructor-/updates/1999/51099-3.html

This is not an answer
This is only a Comment
Regards
sultanarun

Hi Again,
Popular resolutions for LCD tvs are: 1366 x 768, 1280 x 768, 1920 x 1080.

In order to display non-native resolutions the LCD TVs have
interpolation converters to 'fit' the image onto the screen. This
always results in some distortion, but it's more of a personal taste -
what looks good to you is best.

Sweet spot of LCD TV size is 26". Due to good interpolation conversion factors.

Regarding HDTV - LCD screens below 20" are not suitable for the HDTV
specifications (1280x768) due to the fact they have 640x480 to 800x600
resolutions.

Current DVD resololution is 720x480 (NTSC) or 720x576 (PAL) - so some
interpolation will most likely take place with an LCD TV.

Things tend to get funky when anamorphic widescreen transfers take
place (4:3 to 16:9 conversions) take place in widescreen viewing. If
this interests you read more here:
http://www.doom9.org/aspectratios.htm

A good article on LCD TVs is over at Tom's Hardware Guide:
http://graphics.tomshardware.com/display/20050329/

Enjoy!

Seems to me the biggest concern is "Bulky/Weight" for a CRT.    Just
how many of you guys are carrying your sets around a great deal? 
Personally, I enjoy watching!   I have weights when I need to lift
something heavy, and just leave the set alone.  Dollar for Dollar, you
can keep all the new fangled junk!   It's just not worth the price.  
Did I forget to mention that I've got lots of room for that Sony 40"
CRT, just can't seem to locate one.  All the other CRT's I own  (some
over 20 years) still work great.  I did get to look at my
brother-in-laws 55" Sony LCD.   Sad...except for watching a DVD, poor
picture, espcially on regular cable....what a waste of cash.  They've
got a long way to go before they suck me in!