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Hi folks

I'm wondering if you could give me some assistance and advice?

We have a 21" Sony Trinitron set which is ace. The picture is perfectly good enough for our needs, and the sound is great. However, we're beginning to watch more films and the 4:3 ratio of the TV means that we get a tiny 'letterbox' image when watching 16:9 content.

So, I'm thinking that we might get a widescreen TV. I'm not convinced about LCD or Plasma yet, and we certainly don't need any kind of HD capability because we'll only be watching regular TV through Virgin Media, DVDs, Videos, and occasionally using our PS1 - oldskool! We're also not in a position to spend a lot of money, so I'd be forced to buy a budget LCD which wouldn't last long.

So, the obvious choice is to get a decent 2nd hand CRT.

I think 28" screen would be fine in our room. We'll be sat about 2½ - 3 metres from the set. 32" would probably work too, so really it comes down to what's available and what's going to give me the best picture and sound.

While we're at it, I thought it might be cool to get 5.1 surround sound too. I believe some TVs come with it bult-in, and I've also seen some ebay auctions where a separate system is bundled in.

I've been looking at Panasonic because I've read that the Quintrix screens are superb, and they have a good reputation for sounding nice. Other than that, I'd have another Sony because our current one is great. I'd probably avoid Philips because my Dad has one and I think the picture quality is terrible.

Any thoughts are welcome. If anyone can suggest particular model numbers then that would be ace. Or, maybe suggest which brands to consider. Any help is appreciated.

Thanks
 

Andy Clough

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I used to have a Panasonic 32in Quintrix TV which was excellent, and is still doing solid service for the friends I sold it to. Can't remember the exact model number, but it had built-in Dolby Pro-Logic surround sound. Might be worth looking on ebay to see if there are any for sale.
 

kitkat

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Hello, I have a Panasonic Quintrix 28" widescreen 7yrs old now and used a lot and I am looking for a bigger tv, and like you I still am not convinced about the lcd picture even Panasonic, I can tell you that the Panasonic Quintrix picture is fantasic the one I have now replaced a Sony Trinitron and it is far far better picture than the Sony I am very fussy and have looked on ebay to replace it with another Quintrix it puts lcd to shame and you will find loads on there, I would recommend two things 1: try to buy a 100hz model better pic with no flicker 2: use good scarts to get the best picture.
 
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Anonymous

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Excellent!

Thanks for that. Seems that I was right about Panasonic's Quintrix sets.

I missed one just before Xmas that went for £95 - 32" with separate Pro Logic system and stand!!! That would suit us nicely.
 

peanutfrenzy

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We're currently using a 32" Quintrix set - TX-W32D2 - which has been excellent as far as standard-def viewing goes. It must be about ten years old now but it's the main reason we haven't jumped on the plasma/LCD bandwagon just yet. However, if you want to go Panasonic, I would urge you to consider what you plan to connect to it. Apart from the aerial, our set only supports three Scart inputs, and only the first of these is full-RGB. The second can only do S-Video and the third (unless I'm mistaken) is limited to composite! Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe Panasonic still use this system in all of their current sets and, while the arrival of component and HDMI has made this less of an issue on recent models, connectivity on these older sets is compromised. Obviously the TV's tuner is terrestrial analogue only, so if you're adding Freeview/Sky/cable that's one Scart down already. On the plus side I can say that the sound (Nicam stereo on this set) is pretty good for a built-in speaker system.

As well as the size of the screen have you considered the overall size of the set? Ours, with its 32" tube, sits 34" wide and 22" deep (865 x 560mm), that's just over five square feet of floor-space. It's heavy too, so make sure whatever it sits on can take the weight.

I know I've mentioned a few downers, but if none of this puts you off then I can honestly recommend one.
 
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Anonymous

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Thanks Mr Frenzy

I hadn't given much thought to the physical size of the set, but I will take more notice of it now.

As far as connections go, I'm a little out of my depth. Our Sony has 2 SCARTs. We plug the DVD player into one, and I think the video into the other. The Virgin Media box goes into the video first. We don't use any of the other inputs or outputs.

I don't understand what it means to have "full-RGB", "S-Video" or "composite". Anyone care to try and simplify that?
 

kitkat

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Hello again, well RGB means red, green and black its the best feed possible for a scart lead and will give you the best pictures from your dvd player and digi / sky box as long as these are set to output the rgb signal, Mr Frenzy is right I have the same tv as him (just smaller) and these old sets have only 1 rgb input but its easy to get round as I have a digi box and dvd player going into 1 rgb scart all I use is a high quality scart junction box which means you can feed upto 3 rgb outputs to 1 rgb input on the tv, the video player cannot output rgb so you can feed this into any other scart input on the tv, but if you go for a Panasonic crt then the newer sets some have 2 or even 3 rgb inputs so chech before you buy and get as new as possible. I think you said you don't have any plans for hd so you will not need hdmi which these sets do not have, s-video and composite and just other ways to connect things up to the tv.
 

peanutfrenzy

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Well I'm sure that one of the editorial team here could probably explain it better but my understanding is:

Full-RGB splits video data into separate Red, Green and Blue channels and, as the three streams run in parallel, this means more video information (detail) can be carried from source to display.

S-video splits the data differently - into two channels: chrominance (what colour) and luminance (it's intensity). Overall, less information can be carried than with full RGB but it's still better than...

Composite, which squeezes all of the video data down a single wire. You may have noticed the yellow phono socket on the front/side of most TVs - that's what it is. Even the least fussy viewer will notice a marked deterioration in video performance if using this connection.

All of this waffle can basically be summarised as: Full RGB = best, S-video not as good, Composite best ignored. Of course, a chain is only as strong as it's weakest link so if a DVD player only has an S-video output (as our first player did), S-video is the best you'll get.

Ultimately though I may have worried you more than is necessary - if you're only plugging two things into your TV you'll probably find the best two scarts perfectly adequate. I certainly have a lot of praise for our TV and wouldn't consider changing it for anything less than, say, a Pioneer Kuro or Bravia X-series (both around the £2000 mark)!
 

Matt_B

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Could also look at Sony FQ80. The 32 has 4 scarts, two are RGB but it also has a shortneck tube so the depth and size of the unit at the back is significantly smaller than most 32 crt's
 
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Anonymous

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I have a Philips 36pw9525 CRT (36inch screen) 100hz tv,Which ive had for 7 years now.Its a amazing tv.I have been reluctant to get rid of it for a LCD/Plasma because of the picture quality and the sound that this tv produces is so good.It is a big tv and you need a few strong mates to lift it but when it came out it was the best CRT you could buy.It has connections on the back for connecting surround sound 5.1 but the built in speakers which include a subwoofer are amazing best ive heard on a tv ever.To be honest if this tv did HD i would been very happy to keep it but because im going all Blu-Ray and HD now I needed to get a new tv (a samsung le40m87 by the way) Which i already know isn't sonically as good as my old Philips but i have onkyo txsr 605 to handle that side of things.
My mate has bought mine off me and im sure it will last years so if you can get your hands on one of these and its not to big for your room i can highly recommend it.
Check this review when it came out.
http://www.digitalhomemag.com/reviews/default.asp?pagetypeid=2&articleid=18589&subsectionid=1306&subsubsectionid=961
 
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Anonymous

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Again, thanks for the suggestions.

I've found a JVC set for sale on ebay which seems to get good reviews. Wondered if anyone had experience on views on these? I guess I can add surround-sound speakers to it.

JVC AV-28WFR1
 

kitkat

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JVC are a poor mans Panasonic, JVC are owned by Panasonic but no where near as good best to go with the Panasonic tv, the JVC you are looking at gets quite poor reviews and for your info you can still buy JVC crt tv's new Currys have them at around £200 - £300 but I would'nt buy 1.
 
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Anonymous

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My Panasonic TX36PB50 (now sold and never put a foot wrong) had a far superior picture to the LMD70 LCD I have just bought!

My circumstances have changed somewhat, so the 36" CRT had to go, but when it comes to get back to a large screen TV, I will certainly have my work cut out!
 
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Anonymous

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[quote user="kitkat"]JVC are a poor mans Panasonic, JVC are owned by Panasonic but no where near as good best to go with the Panasonic tv, the JVC you are looking at gets quite poor reviews and for your info you can still buy JVC crt tv's new Currys have them at around £200 - £300 but I would'nt buy 1.[/quote]

Im with KitKat on this one my neighbour has a JVC 28 widescreen tv and the picture is shocking and the sound is rubbish.If i was looking for a CRT TV id stick with Philips or Panasonic I have owned both brands of tvs and both are still going strong and producing great sound and pictures.
 
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Anonymous

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RakeshP - Certainly interested in your Loewe. Email me - richard.rodriguez1@n-t-l-w-o-r-l-d-.-c-o-m (remove the dashes).

Let me know the model number, asking price and your location. Thanks

Meanwhile I've been offered a Panasonic TX-DTX1 including stand for £50. Great price, and I'm going to check it out at my mate's house. Any opinions?
 

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