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CRTs are marvelous technology, but I don't miss them at all. Not a bit. Not the weight, the heat, the power consumption, the footprint on my desk, the depth, the whistle, the fuzzy pixels, the X-rays.

My dad told me around 1970 that the two greatest inventions would be a TV you could hang on the wall like a picture and a typewriter that could fix mistakes.

He was right on both counts :-)




I liked the fuzzy pixels (note, I had a quite sharp 1600x1200 @ 85Hz CRT) - the purpose of a screen is not to show pixels, but a pleasant image. The fuzziness was just right for text, and LCDs took a long time to mostly catch up with CRT color reproduction. I waited witch switching to LCD until IPS LCDs with low input lag became available. My next screen will hopefully be OLED...

Today, fuzzy pixels for text are available in E-ink displays. They produce good sharpness and no visible pixels at resolutions lower than you'd think.


I got an old Bang & Olufsen Beovision 1 CRT TV for free. I use it at a cottage just because I assume no one will break a window to steal a CRT TV, especially one that weights 38 kg (84 pounds) not counting the motorised steel floor stand. I found a set-top box with digital reception and USB input that also had a SCART connector.

I knew the sound would be good.

But I was surprised how great the image is. It just look good from all angles and in all condition, when it gets a good input. And I do not notice the lower resolution much.

I am sure a modern B&O is better. But they cost from $6,675 (the B&O Harmony from $18,250) A used Beovision 1 can be bought for $30.


I also had a 19" CRT that I ran at 1600x1200 most of the time. It was quite sharp, not as sharp as an LCD but not something I would consider blurry. As you say, just the right amount of fuzz for text.

The interesting thing is that I never enabled anti-aliasing in games with that screen. I just didn't feel the need for it.

Once I got an LCD (I was late to that party), I immediately gawked at how its sharp rectangular subpixels made jaggies pop out.


I do kinda miss the flippy-flappy electro-magnetic leaderboards at the airport, though.


Split-flap displays! So satisfying[0]. Heres another video about just the split-flap clock[1], also very entertaining.

[0] https://youtu.be/cj32w5z81Ak

[1] https://youtu.be/ZArBfxaPzD8




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