CRT vs. Other Formats

[Tyler2000]

I have read that CRT is better than LCD in picture quality. Is CRT still better than any other format based on picture quality alone? The formats I know of are plasma, DLP, rear-projection, DLP/LCD/CRT front projection, & Lcos. Are there any others? Is it also true that CRT front projection is the very best of projectors?

[gshelley61]

This subject always opens up a big can of worms. The short answer is... it depends. CRT's have better blacks and contrast ratios. Fixed pixel displays like DLP can produce razor sharp, very impressive high definition images if sent a properly scaled signal. It also depends on the native resolution (or resolution capability in the case of CRT's) of the display or projector.

The CRT projectors that you mention as being "the best" are very high resolution (2500x2500) data projectors with 9" or 10" CRT's. They weigh about 250 lbs. and are enormous. In a dark home theater room, they can't be beat. Awesome. You need lots of specialized gear to run one of those, however.

The CRT rear projection units that you see at the stores are mostly "HDTV Ready", meaning they can accept a 720p or 1080i HD signal... but they do not have CRT's big enough or with the capability to actually produce a high resolution, truly HD image.

Most fixed pixel HDTV displays are 1280x720p (be careful, though - there are lots of EDTV plasma displays out there that are only 853x480p... not HD). There are some 1920x1080 displays that are beginning to appear on the market (LCD and DLP) but they are still really expensive.

Personally, I have a Samsung rear projection DLP and love it. It is lightweight, sits on a regular TV stand, and has an amazing HD picture.

Visit avsforum.com for much more on the home theater stuff. Everything about the subject is discussed in detail over there.

[pbhalerao]

whatever gshelley6 said is quite true. 1 CRT projectors do have an edge over LCD and DLP. The greatest drawback of the CRT projector is its cost. Also it is not esy to install.

LCD projectors are suited for presentations and board room becuase they give a razor sharp picture with rich colours. But their contrast ratio is not very high and if used with movies, the picture will look washed out.

DLP projectors are much better for Home Theatre because of their high contrast (2000:1 or above). This means that blacks will be richer (deep and black) and not washed out. All manufacturers have committed to the DLP technology for their flagship products.

But of late some LCD projectors have made a deep inroads into the HT arena. Projectors like Panasonic PT-AE700 and Sanyo PLV-Z3 are giving a run for the money to the DLP's.

For a comprehensive study of projecters, visit Projector Central. They have reviews on almost every projector out there and in-depth articles on the technologies - LCD, DLP, CRT, LCOS, etc.