DIRECT-VIEW CRT

DIRECT-VIEW CRT (Cathode Ray tube or "Tube" for short): This is what we've been watching for years. I'm sure it will come as a surprise to many of you, but, the high end Tube HDTV's still have the best picture bar none. Consumers have been very quick to write these screens off, but they have many advantages over the flat screens when it comes to picture quality. Movie studio's and top of the line surveillance systems rely on CRT Broadcast Studio Monitors as they still produce the most accurate picture.

Pros:

• The best black levels
• Best contrast ratio
• Most accurate color replication of any display types.
• They also have the ability to replicate multiple resolutions as they are analog in nature and not pixel based like the digital LCD's and plasmas. Essentially, they do not have a "native" resolution.

Cons:

• The largest widescreen HDTV crt is only 34".
• Tubes weigh a lot, upto 250lbs in some cases.
• Geometry is not perfect, so there is some overscan where the picture doesn't fit the screen perfectly, some parts of the picture may be cut off. Calibration can help eliminiate this.

Recommendation: The KD34XBR970 is the reference HDTV for High Definition. It's picture quality has been likened to that of a $36,000 studio broadcast monitors. This carries a price tag of $899, so if you can put up with the size and weight of it, you'll own the best HDTV money can buy.