The infamous CRT rear projector, whether NTSC or HDTV, remains one of the greatest display products to have hit the consumer market. They lasted over two decades until the flat panel display phenomenon wiped them out. The same can be said of CRT direct view, the TVs we all grew up on. While big, bulky and heavy, these displays could deliver some great imaging, producing bright dynamic pictures and inky blacks in medium to dark ambient light environments. For rear projection, smaller sizes (below 50") could even perform well in brighter environments. CRT rear projection and direct view technology was used to drive the HDTV revolution out of the gate and along the way there were some really stellar videophile performers meeting most of the imaging science aspects of video standards. These products have a typical 10-15 year life span based on normal usage and CRT wear and tear. Before deciding to throw out this technology, you should reflect on the imaging performance you will be losing, the less expensive service costs and how you use a display in your application.

Dispelling Four Consumer Myths

1) All my past TV's lasted for years and never needed a repair, so they must have been good.

FALSE: It's all about failure rates and the luck of the draw. Nearly every time I hear this all I can think about is how I made a living fixing those same TVs. Often times I wonder how their TVs have never had the same common problems of their siblings; I guess I need to remind myself as well that it's the luck of the draw.

2) My TV broke down, it must be a lemon or cursed and that means it will break again.

FALSE: While nobody has a crystal ball, odds are in your favor that your TV will meet or exceed the normal life span after one out of warranty repair. This does not include repairs under warranty; that is why the warranty is there. That also does not include lightning or power surges; these are often referred to as "Acts of God" and are hardly the fault of the product.

3) If I buy a new TV it shouldn't fail.

FALSE: When I hear this it is difficult to not smile or laugh. We repair plenty of new TVs as well as older TVs, and just like the first myth, it's all about failure rates and the luck of the draw.

4) With the switch to DTV in 2009, my NTSC TV won't work.

FALSE: This myth that has finally begun to be put to rest over the last year now that the retailers are getting their act together on the subject. For more information on why your current TV could last quite a bit longer than the DTV cut-off, check out the HD Library Forum post, HDTV: What is it? (DTV).

Dollars and Cents

Now that we have the myths out of the way, let's talk the dollars and cents of fixing your TV. Those new wonderful display technologies are far more expensive to fix than that seemingly old and outdated technology called CRT. Lamp based micro-display rear projection such as DLP, LCD, SXRD, DiLA easily double the service cost ... and plasma runs even a few $100 dollars more. The jury is still out on LCD TV but at this time they are easily just as expensive, if not more expensive, than CRT service. All flat panels come with higher minimum "bench" or service call fees. So how much does CRT rear projection service cost? Nationally, you are looking at somewhere between $300-500 for common everyday repairs depending on the cost of doing business in your location of the country. For CRT direct view, $100-$400 depending on size and technology (HDTV versus NTSC). There is a catch though; such pricing typically requires component level service rather than board replacement. About 10 years ago manufacturers made the big push to return to the old modular days and the worst thing of all is that component level repair of these boards in the new flat panels is simply not supported by most manufacturers. Even when we can get the schematics, good luck getting the parts. CRT on the other hand allows component level repair in most cases. What you will need to find is a service shop in your area that still has component level expertise. To find that company you need to ask if they do component level service or only replace boards. I can't tell you how many times we have received phone calls about huge estimates to replace boards that are not available or never were; consumers beware and do your local research. Good places to start are NESDA, your local yellow pages and manufacturers website's.

Isn't My HDTV CRT Display Outdated?

I'll be the first to tell you that new digital displays, especially those that are native 1920x1080, flesh out more detail responding better to the high resolution of HDTV and Blu-ray. The fact is, however, that most viewers are sitting too far away, over 4 screen heights (3 is recommended), to take full advantage of this performance attribute. Bear in mind that resolving power is but one aspect of quality imaging and not even at the top of the list for most applications. Good blacks and dynamic light output are number one, and this is exactly where CRT shines. As for digital video, the later models have a DVI or HDMI digital video input. If yours doesn't, there is an inexpensive product called the HDfury that will fix the problem. For most users that concern won't come into play for a good while yet and you can continue using analog component video cables even with Blu-ray. For Home Theater Videophiles who want that HDMI support now, you can have it with your legacy HDTV CRT display!

Save Money, Save the Environment, Just Two Examples

A customer was going to toss two 53" 4:3 TVs in the landfill. The stories this customer created to convince himself to spend over $2200 for new, run of the mill and smaller, 42" LCD displays were completely unfounded. He just knew there were going to be major repairs. One was a 1999 NTSC TV for the kids that never looked right with DVD and the picture jumped. The red and blue channels on the DVD player were reversed, the repair was $350 and the tune up for another $50 made it shine like new. The other was a 2002 HDTV that had died altogether. And even when it worked, HDTV hardly looked any better than SDTV. The repair was $370, the HD cable box was connected to the antenna input which I moved over to the HD component input. A tune up was difficult to justify for his casual viewing needs at 6 screen heights. Needless to say, he was pleasantly shocked by the outcome and the savings! He was also surprised to learn that to maintain his original 53" 4:3 picture size required a 65" HDTV. The least expensive technology in that size is DLP, currently running about $2500 or $5000 for the pair, which was quite a revelation compared to his initial thought of $2200 for a pair of 42" LCDs.

Final Thoughts

Regardless of technology, all rear projection displays have optics and a mirror that require maintenance to keep that image at its full performance potential. An image performance check should be part of any repair and recommending a tune up is common. Some shops do this at no additional charge and others charge a small fee. You should inquire about this service during any rear projection repair. Be wary of comparing your old un-maintained display to a new one that could easily have you thinking replacement is necessary. Without maintenance you are making an anecdotal conclusion that parallels replacing your car because it hasn't been washed for years.

Check the back of your TV and find out how old it is. If ten years or more you should know that while most of the parts are generically available, some of the parts are proprietary and if yours needs one of those and the manufacturer no longer stocks it, the TV cannot be repaired. After a successful repair there is that small chance it could fail again and this proprietary parts problem could come back to haunt you and your service center.

While HDTV content has increased dramatically over just a few years ago, and providers are stating they have so many more HDTV channels, most of those channels are simply upconverting SD content. There is a plausible position that casual viewers might fair better with their old NTSC TV watching the SD 4:3 version versus an HDTV and HDTV channels where much of what you want to watch is the same SD that just ends up geometrically butchered due to being stretched to fill out those 16:9 HDTV screens, lest end users complain that every square inch of the screen is not being utilized. If this is you, then keeping that old NTSC around may very well be the better choice for the short term.

Posted by Richard Fisher, June 12, 2008 12:32 PM