HDTV Help Please

SnoopKatt

I am looking for a nice, affordable HDTV for my bedroom. Right now I have a junky old Zenith SDTV with the red colors starting to fade in with everything, so it sounds like I should just get a new HDTV. I am looking for one that's no more than 30" wide (however, due to the stand size there isn't really a limit on the height and depth), HDMI, component and composite inputs, an HDTV tuner, and support for 720p. I don't want to spend more than $500, but I can fluctuate on the price a little bit if I have to. What would be an ideal tube HDTV to get and where could I buy it from?
Thank you in advance

Lucky Ducky

If you are looking for a HD CRT I think you will have to go for a used one. No one is building them and shipping them any more.

There are lots of peeps unloading HD CRTs on my local craigslist here in Seattle. I guess ebay would be an option too.

As far as price I have seen peeps asking any where from $300 to $600 and the prices are going down. Often they come with the stand that was made for the TV.

Any of the Sony XBR HDTVs will be a huge improvement over you current SDTV. As far as risk buying used, I picked up two Sony CRT HDTVs off craigslist a few months ago and both were well cared for and are working great with no problems.

As far as the ideal tube TV, the best Sony made were the 900 series that came with the super fine pitch tubes. Those were top of the line HD tube TVs. Here is a handy list of all the Sony Trinitrons made along with some specs. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FD_Trinitron/WEGA

zip2play

Snoop,

You are probably looking at for 32 inch (diagonal) to fulfill your width requirement and it needs bottom speakers, not sides.
Check stores like TARGET, BJ's etc. THe bargain lines like LG, Olevia, Vizio, or Magnavox should get you something in an LCD for that $500 priice tag if you are a good shopper. Look for sales.

DON'T go with a 2 ton cathode ray HD and don't buy somebody's used junk. Just shipping one of these behemoths will cost a fortune and every time you move it you will risk a blown vertebral disc.

Why the width requirement? (I got a GREAT 37 inch LCD for $775 a year ago...and could do better now. But it's a LOT wider than 30 inches with frame and speakers...43 inches in fact)

Rick-F

A Vizio VX32L is: 31.4" W x 23.3" H x 10.4" D

Speakers are on the Bottom-- not too many 32" TVs under 30" Wide-- this one is close . . . and it's a very good TV for the money. Without the stand, TV is less than 4" Deep

SnoopKatt

Thanks for the replies
I was thinking about getting an LCD too. I'm a lot more comfortable with buying a new LCD TV instead of a used CRT. With a tube TV, my limitation is about 30" just because of the platform it's on, but if I get an LCD TV, I could mount it on the wall. Then I would have about 42" of room for width, but then again I'm still on a budget, so I probably can't fill up all of that space. Unfortunately, the budget is a problem for the TV zip2play recommended, but that Vizio Rick-F recommended seems to be a good candidate

I was poking around and I found a deal for an Envision L32W761; what do you guys think of it? wyw.costco.c0m/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11272731&search=envision&Mo=6& cm_re=1_en-_-Top_Left_Nav-_-Top_search&lang=en-US&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&Sp=S&N=5000043&whse=BC&Dx=m ode+matchallpartial&Ntk=Text_Search&Dr=P_CatalogNa me:BC&Ne=4000000&D=envision&Ntt=envision&No=5&Ntx= mode+matchallpartial&Nty=1&topnav=&s=1
It says I can't post links yet, so if you just replace some of the characters the link will work

oliverjr73

check out newegg. they've usually got some deals on cheap tv's. i got an olevia 37 inch for 549 and 30 shipping a few months ago. its definately not the best hd around, but it does 1080i and the picture is still great. it doesn't have a tuner built in, but i think the one with the tuner is going for about 60 bucks more.

olevia 32 inch with tuner
599 with free shipping & tuner. 549 without. (neither do 1080i)

olevia
27 inch for 399. free shipping.

you can also check pricewatch
there's also a toshiba regza 37 inch going for 649 on newegg. if i were you, i'd save up and get that. i rented a regza 42 inch and the picture was beautiful. happy hunting

scubabel

Personally, I think this is a great time to buy used.

Firstly, due to the fast technology changes there are a ton of cheap used TV's and monitors around. For a low price I personally picked up a super-fancy SDTV unit that originally listed for $10K a while back, and have been very happy with in to the extent that I prefer it over our HDTV since it has a lot of cool features like being directly usable as a good quality computer monitor.

Secondly, I think the technology is still changing pretty fast, and so I would be tempted to hold off a big purchase if you are a technophile who won't be able to re-visit & upgrade your choice in a year or two.

leevitalone

full ageement! I got my xbr hd crt for $600.00 NEW!! then saw it a BB for $800 open box!
but don't go under 34" not worth it