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May 18, 2013

What will you be doing with your CRT televisions?

by Brad Trechak, posted Jul 2nd 2008 9:02AM

CRT TelevisionOn February 17, 2009, all wireless television signals will switch from analog to digital, freeing up broadcast space so some folks can make up a lot of money auctioning it off. Granted, any American that uses cable or satellite will still be able to use the old televisions, however those who still use an antenna will have to purchase a digital tuner. Full details can be found on the FCC site.

My first question is: who out there still even needs a converter box? Most everybody I know has cable or satellite television. You can even get a discount on the device.

In my home, I have four televisions (I'm such a television enthusiast, I should write about it. Oh wait. I am). They are an LCD TV, a plasma, a large-screen CRT from the dark ages of 1991 (when they were first released. It was a hand-me-down) and a 27 inch CRT from about 10 years ago.

I've been trying to sell the 27-inch in order to upgrade and get another flat-panel, but nobody has been answering my ads on Craigslist. I started at $100, then lowered to $75, then lowered to $50. After weeks of no bites (except for the occasional "is it HDTV?" question), I gave up.

My second question is, for those of you who own one, what will you be doing with your old standard-definition CRT televisions? Will you be giving them to charity? Will you try to sell them? Keep them and get a converter box if you're using strictly antenna? Please respond either via the following poll or the comments.

What will you be doing with your old CRT televisions?
Donate to charity/school46 (37.1%)
Junk it46 (37.1%)
Make a fish tank out of it6 (4.8%)
Turn it into modern art7 (5.6%)
Donate it to Letterman and let him run a train through it19 (15.3%)

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21 Comments

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hyghwayman

My CRT's are staying put. When I up-graded in 2006 I could have got an LCD, Plasma or DLP but wanted the best bang for my buck and at the time it was CRT. Also when Mr. Robber comes looking for a TV he'll pass up my 194lb beast and grab that shinny 50lb'der hanging on someone elses wall!

July 06 2008 at 7:26 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Nathanael

I don't have cable/satellite, so I actually applied for the coupon and picked up a converter box. It works quite nicely, and the picture is (predictably) better than watching an analog signal, so I'm happy...

July 04 2008 at 9:33 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Beanie

I'm really surprised at how misleading the title of this entry is..

CRT does NOT equal analog signal! Man, you just keep spreading the fodder. I have a 30" Samsung CRT HDTV, which has a beautiful picture (but weighs a ton) and has a built-in digital receiver. There's really enough misinformation going around thanks to Best Buy about the digital transition, I figured a blog called TVSquad would be able to handle it. Not mad, just disappointed.

July 02 2008 at 4:58 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Jere

I use my 27" CRT for my Xbox. The 360 is plugged into the HDTV. The Xbox is plugged into the CRT. I can play games and watch TV at the same time.

July 02 2008 at 2:14 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Jennifer

After finding out that my new flatscreen is likely to die within the next four years, whereas my old TV lasted for over a decade with no problems whatsoever...hell, I may pick up a box and keep the old TV.

July 02 2008 at 12:34 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
CJ

Geez, I'm tired of people saying stuff like "who out there still even needs a converter box?". While I like TV and shows that are on cable, I can honestly find better things to do with my cash. We just got a new DVD recorder with a converter built in and it's been a night and day difference. We have none of the antennae problems from before and get a slew of new channels. We plan on upgrading our TV eventually, but we're in no rush... the CRT still works fine and look a LOT better with the digital signal now.

July 02 2008 at 12:23 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Franklin

Until the prices for HDTVs comes down from the stratosphere I'll be sticking to my old-style TVs. I'll be damned if I'll pay even half of what they're currently asking for hi-def units. It's only vapid entertainment and I'm not about to shell out a thousand bucks or more just to see more ugly detail in an actor's face.

July 02 2008 at 12:13 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
John Howard

I don't really understand why you would conflate the digital TV switch with flat panel vs CRT TVs. The two have nothing to do with each other. Also, there are plenty of newer CRT TVs with SDTV tuners that will work fine after the switch.

July 02 2008 at 11:33 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
2 replies to John Howard's comment
Bradley Robertson

Thank you for pointing that out. I get so tired of people confusing the terms digital and HDTV. Digital television can be both SDTV and HDTV. Best Buy and many other retailers still sell CRT TVs that have digital tuners. If you want a TV for your garage and don't have an old one are you going to spend $100-$150 for a tube tv that is more likely to take the abuse of being in the garage, or are you going to buy a flat-panel that has a finite life-span and may not handle the dust and temperature changes a garage can hand it.

I love my HDTV, but I can think of plenty of other cases in addition to the one above where I would want to buy an SDTV CRT.

July 02 2008 at 3:24 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Joel Keller

I don't think Brad's making that leap, that the digital upgrade means you have to junk your tube TV. He does mention that you'll either need a converter for over-the-air signals or do nothing if you're a cable or satellite customer. But, as the price of HD flat-screens comes down, more people are going to make the upgrade and more tubes are going to flood the secondary market / landfills.

To be honest, the only reason why I'd buy an LCD or plasma is to watch sports in HD. SD looks like crap on one of those TVs, especially when you expand the picture to fit the screen, like most people do. And I kind of wish tube-based HD sets were still being made, since I bet the HD pictures they produce are much sharper than anything produced by a comparably-sized LCD or plasma.

July 02 2008 at 4:40 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Michael

We have four TV's, and I will be putting converter boxes on them all. We get seven channels, most of which are reruns or infocrap. I have looked at the cable listings and it isn't any better there. They say that digital tv will make the picture and sound so much better...but the programming will still be crap!!!

July 02 2008 at 11:19 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
cckrobinson

I don't have any :)

July 02 2008 at 10:59 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply

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