Bad News for CRT users...

[Malichite]

Further bad news for CRT owners. I sent another email to NEC/Mitsubishi trying to verify the TCO standard '99 certification they list in the user manual for the 930SB (19") / Multisync 2141 (22") and here is the reply.

Thank you for contacting NEC/Mitsubishi. The web site may not list all
supported standards. The information in the manual should always be
accepted over information on the web site, so the 2070SB and 2141SB
models are TCO95/99 compliant.

However, we would like to make you aware that all CRT products are
being discontinued, not just the DP930SB.

Thank you

Mike McGill
NEC/Mitsubishi Service & Support
Telephone: 1-800-632-4662
Email: techsupport@necmitsubishi.com

 

[boyRacer]

Heh... Sony and now NEC...

 

[Astu222]

"are being discontinued" they dont say when exactly, could be next month, could be in 3 years... who knows?

 

[Malichite]

Possibly, but here was my previous response from them a few days ago in response to my question on low / no vendor supply for the Diamond Pro 930SB (19").

Contrary to what was posted earlier, this is an official response email from NEC/Mitsubishi:

Thank you for contacting NEC/Mitsubishi customer service & support
regarding your questions on the DP930SB-BK.

At this time, NEC/Mitsubishi Displays of America will be discontinuing
the Diamond Pro 930 series of monitors. This is why it is no longer
available in stores. We have not been told a definite end to 19" apperture
grill monitors, but for now they are being taken off the market.

If you need further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us in
the future.

Sincerely,

David Roach
NEC/Mitsubishi Service & Support
Telephone: 1-800-632-4662
Email: techsupport@necmitsubishi.com

 

[ponyo]

The end is near for AG monitors. First Sony Trinitron. Now Mitsu DiamondTron. That only leaves ViewSonic Flatron. I wonder how long before ViewSonic calls it quits.

Sad news if it's true.

 

[cryptonomicon]

why would anyone discontinue CRTs? they have superior refresh rates and quality over LCD dont they? sure the average person is gonna pick the LCD, but as a gamer i would always take CRT for the performance... or is there some other kind of monitor i've been out of the loop on?

 

[Xed]

my 2001 fp has a much better picture quality than all 3 of my 19 inch trinitron's, there are a lot of good lcd's out/coming out lately. Lcd's still have a bit of improving to do of course but I guess with declining crt sales they figure they won't lose much overall. (my speculation)

 

[boyRacer]

Originally posted by: cryptonomicon
why would anyone discontinue CRTs? they have superior refresh rates and quality over LCD dont they? sure the average person is gonna pick the LCD, but as a gamer i would always take CRT for the performance... or is there some other kind of monitor i've been out of the loop on?

because gamers are a niche market.

 

[MadEye2]

They're improving the refresh rates on TFT monitors all the time, and i'm pretty sure they make more profit from a single TFT monitor than a CRT one wit respect to cost of components

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: cryptonomicon
why would anyone discontinue CRTs? they have superior refresh rates and quality over LCD dont they? sure the average person is gonna pick the LCD, but as a gamer i would always take CRT for the performance... or is there some other kind of monitor i've been out of the loop on?

Higher profit margins on LCDs? Much cheaper shipping costs, they take up less space on store shelves and in warehouses, they don't weigh a ton, and they can get people to pay more for them... from the business end of it, they're far superior.

Gamers are a tiny, tiny, tiny fraction of the PC market, and LCDs have been making a lot of strides in terms of response time and color reproduction (they're still not as good as professional-level CRTs, but frankly, few people other than graphic artists really need super-accurate color reproduction). They don't need ultra-high refresh rates because they don't flicker like CRTs do at lower refresh rates. The biggest thing left that differentiates them is response time -- but a lot of people (even gamers) find the newer 16 and 12ms panels to be very acceptable in this regard. There's also the issue of resolution scaling -- but again, it's something that only really affects gamers, and even then it's only a major issue on 21" (1600x1200 native) screens if you have an older graphics card that can't play newer games at 1600x1200.

For the average user, the benefits of LCD monitors (small size and light weight, excellent brightness, lack of flicker) far outweigh the negatives (fixed resolution, worse black level, low response time, less accurate color reproduction). CRTs seem to be rapidly becoming a specialty item.

 

[CraigRT]

that's a shame, they make amazing CRT monitors.

 

[Bucksnort]

Originally posted by: Naustica
The end is near for AG monitors. First Sony Trinitron. Now Mitsu DiamondTron. That only leaves ViewSonic Flatron. I wonder how long before ViewSonic calls it quits.

Sad news if it's true.

Duh, Viewsonic does not manufacture their monitors, they are acquired from the pacific rim and They definately don't manufacture tubes. Viewsonic ag monitors use the mitsubishi stock diamondtron tube. There are only 2 manufacturers of trinitron based tubes, sony and mitsubishi.

 

[ponyo]

Originally posted by: Bucksnort

Originally posted by: Naustica
The end is near for AG monitors. First Sony Trinitron. Now Mitsu DiamondTron. That only leaves ViewSonic Flatron. I wonder how long before ViewSonic calls it quits.

Sad news if it's true.

Duh, Viewsonic does not manufacture their monitors, they are acquired from the pacific rim and They definately don't manufacture tubes. Viewsonic ag monitors use the mitsubishi stock diamondtron tube. There are only 2 manufacturers of trinitron based tubes, sony and mitsubishi.

Yes, you are correct in that only two manufacturers make tubes with Trinitron technology: Sony and Mitsu. ViewSonic Flatron is adaptation of Mitsu DiamondTron.

 

[RussianSensation]

Originally posted by: cryptonomicon
why would anyone discontinue CRTs? they have superior refresh rates and quality over LCD dont they? sure the average person is gonna pick the LCD, but as a gamer i would always take CRT for the performance... or is there some other kind of monitor i've been out of the loop on?

Yeah but the thing is, are there more "average" people who dont care, or gamers who do?

Some LCDs today make great alternatives to CRTs, so don't be so discouraged. In 2-3 years, when they all get to like 5ms refresh rates and 19 Inch will cost $250, no one will look back.

Besides can you imagine dual-CRT setup? It would take up the whole desk and weigh 100lbs.

 

[uOpt]

For me the advantages of CRT are:

1) more resolution for the price

2) looks good when not driving at native resolution. Big deal for people who use the computer mainly for work and do casual gaming. They have 1600x1200 on their desktop but don't buy ninja-macho GeForcensensen for their games, so they can't use the game at that resolution.

Also, many application don't support scable fonts and are just not really usable at small dotpitches.

 

[MDE]

Crap, I wanted one of those monitors too. My 17" Sony is getting to be too small for my tastes and I want to run my 6800GT at 1600x1200.

 

[BenSkywalker]

Besides can you imagine dual-CRT setup? It would take up the whole desk and weigh 100lbs.

Don't be absurd, 100lbs? My 2141 weighs 70lbs by itself

If they are planning on dropping CRTs maybe I should look to buying another 22" DT before they are discontinued for use when my current ends up dead. Hate to be stuck using a POS like the 2001FP if something should happen to my CRT

 

[ancientpalace]

Originally posted by: cryptonomicon
why would anyone discontinue CRTs? they have superior refresh rates and quality over LCD dont they? sure the average person is gonna pick the LCD, but as a gamer i would always take CRT for the performance... or is there some other kind of monitor i've been out of the loop on?

http://img25.exs.cx/my.php?loc...3-ViewSonic-VP201s.jpg

1600x1200 85Hz from what i've read i like everything about this monitor except the price

 

[ZobarStyl]

Yes, I can imagine a dual-screen CRT setup...I'm typing this right now on that exact style system...and yes, I have no desk space left between the 2 19" 's and they probably weigh in at, oh say, 60 pounds total. I won't move to LCD until the price is reasonable...my two 19" CRT's cost as much as one LCD equivalent (at the time)...now it's about 1.6-7 times more. I will tell you though, LAN's can be a complete pain.

 

[Insomniak]

I would prefer CRTs hang around for another 2 or so years while LCDs cheapen up a bit, but if they go the way of the dodo, so be it. Means I'll have to upgrade a bit sooner than I was planning to.

 

[Cawchy87]

Are you kidding? No trinitron or diamondtron tubes! This really sucks.

 

[The Green Bean]

I would buy LCDs when they are reasonably priced...Heck where I live I can only find a 17" 25ms for 350$ and 12ms for 600$

 

[CaiNaM]

umm.. am i missing something here?

i didn't think crt's are being discontinued, rather just aperture grille monitors? this would make sense, as not only are lcd's getting better (still too expensive and not flexible due to "native" resolution), but the quality of non AG flat CRTs are such that the AG doesn't offer THAT much more for the price.

 

[yhelothar]

I thought flatrons are from L&G. It's a psuedo AG/SM design. Brightness of the AG without the grill lines.

 

[darkswordsman17]

I don't really see what is surprising here, it had to happen sometime. Even professionals are switching to LCDs (Apple Cinema Displays for instance). Like has been said, LCDs use less power, look better (I mean aesthetically), take up less space, and are getting better and better as far as IQ goes. Most people I know (and I do know more than a few gamers) leave their resolutions the same (meaning if they run their desktop at 1280x1024 they game at that resolution).

Also, how many times has it been stated that refresh rates don't apply to LCDs like they do to CRTs. I have far less eyestrain on my 2001FP at 60hz than on any CRT I've ever used, this includes 20"+ Sony Trinitrons running high refresh rates.

I'm not saying CRTs are bad, or even worse than LCDs (although it kinda sounds like it), I'm just saying its an evolution of technology.