I just read a post from someone who said most of what he owns is
inherited or repaired; because of that he is always "about two steps
behind the current technology". I am writing to say I am like that as
well. I do not own a plasma or LCD TV at the present time (still have
two 19" CRT TVs in my apartment, one nine and the other four years
old--both work quite well); it may be some time, if ever, before I do
get any kind of flat-panel TV.

I cannot afford $6000 (!) for a large plasma TV, not to mention the
fact that my apartment is far too small for any 60" set. Heck, I
didn't get my first CD player (as part of a new bookshelf stereo
system) until four years ago when I moved here, I replaced my computer
monitor with a flat-screen (not flat panel) model just last year when
the last one (CRT) failed, and I just recently (as in about a year
ago) got digital cable. However, I do not yet have a DVD player (I am
one of those people who are still fiercely loyal to VHS [I have about
50 VHS cassettes, give or take a few, almost all of which have old TV
shows and movies on them], and probably will be until the technology
is legislated out of existence or is rendered hopelessly
obsolete--that and the fact that I believe in keeping things as simple
and reliable as possible. VHS VCRs, and Betamaxes before them, have
been with us for over 25 years and have proven themselves to be
reliable under most circumstances; DVD players have just recently
become popular and still have a few bugs which must be addressed).

Please note that I am not against the new technology; it's just that
I cannot afford most of the new stuff at the present time, and as I
mentioned above, I am a meat-and-potatoes Midwesterner who tends to
stay with proven technology. When one has bills to pay, and precious
little money with which to accomplish that end, it is difficult or
even impossible to justify large expenditures for luxuries such as
large-screen TV. I do not know anyone at this time among my relatives
or friends who owns a large-screen TV or even a DVD player, but then
again most of my relatives are elderly people on fixed incomes and my
friends have families to support. When one is in either of those
situations the necessities of life must come first.

The other two big reasons I am reluctant as all get-out to get any
kind of LCD or plasma TV are the longevity factor of this technology
(many plasma panels do not last longer than two or three years at this
stage of their development), and that plasma screens are susceptible
to image burn-in. I also read a post to this group recently which
stated that the projection lamps used with plasma panels and LCDs do
not last very long at the present time, and cost about $400 to replace
when they eventually burn out. The filaments in CRTs used in ordinary
televisions often last for 20 years or more; the failure mode of CRTs
is ordinarily decreased cathode emission of the electron guns or
heater-cathode shorts. I have yet to hear of the phosphors on the
screens of conventional CRTs wearing out; the chances of modern CRTs
developing screen burns (what TV technicians used to know as ion
burns) are very slim if not nonexistent these days. The only way any
kind of screen can develop image burn-in is if a static image (test
pattern, network logo, video game board, etc.) is left on the screen
indefinitely, but then again conventional CRTs are prone to burn-in
under the same conditions as well.

I am sure plasma and LCD TVs will improve as time goes on, and
heaven knows the prices will drop as the technology becomes more
widespread, but at the present time it is far too expensive for most
people to afford (and there are bugs which must be worked out such as
the image burn-in problem, et al.). There are still instances,
moreover, of some new projection sets (Zenith comes to mind as I write
this) developing severe problems which have led to massive recalls,
such as the infamous Zenith recall of some models of its projection
sets a few years ago because of a tear in a gasket which caused a
coolant leak. Until the design flaws which cause manufacturers to
issue these often massive recalls are addressed and corrected, many
consumers are going to be extremely reluctant to buy any kind of
large-screen television. It is for this reason that I feel CRT-based
TVs will be with us for some time yet. There will always be people who
simply cannot afford thousands of dollars for a TV set, and more on
top of that to keep the thing running when it eventually requires
service (all TV shops charge outrageous fees just to look at a set;
then there are the repair charges themselves). Add to that the cost of
a satellite system or cable hookup (neither of which are cheap), and
you have even more reasons why most of us are still using the
time-proven 4:3 CRT technology, VHS VCRs, and in some cases getting
our TV reception over antennas (as some folks on audiokarma.org's
antique-TV forum have reported).


Kind regards,

Jeff Strieble, WB8NHV (mailto: )
Fairport Harbor, Ohio