You're probably dusting the dirt from your spectacles as we speak, but yes, the set you see above is an RPTV. You know, those not exactly wafer-thin rear-projection TVs that used to be all the rage? This 61-inch set provides an awful lot of screen space for not a lot of dough (comparatively speaking), and as with most sets with a little junk in the trunk, picture quality was seen as "excellent" in a recent CNET review. On the downside, off-angle performance was expectedly poor and there was no 2:3 pulldown for SD sources, but the positives here far outweighed the negatives. For under $1,800 (way under in some places), you can get 61-inches of LED-backlit goodness in your den -- just have to make room for it, is all.

[Thanks, Matthew]

Not so long ago, the good people at DisplaySearch were forecasting good times for plasma. But there's no way around the first quarter of 2008 global sales numbers that show LCD outsold plasma by an 8 to 1 margin. Take a breath -- those are global sales numbers -- but it still isn't the most encouraging news for plasma fans. Worldwide, plasma has a frenemy in good old CRT, though, which actually edged out LCD on its way to the highest sales volume. Click on through for all the numbers, but globally it looks like this: LCD is taking over, plasma is moving into a very small niche, RPTV is all but gone and CRT is going down with a fight.

Granted, almost half of OTA-only households in America (48-percent, to be precise) are planning on picking up a digital converter box in order to get a few more years of life out of their old set, but for those taking other routes -- like spending their stimulus checks on a new flat-panel -- it seems as if tossing 'em in the garbage is a last resort. According to new research from the Consumer Electronics Association, fewer than 15 million NTSC-only TVs will be removed from homes through 2010. Of those, 95-percent will be resold, donated or recycled -- or so the owners say. We can also remember a time when Salvation Army accepted bulky, inefficient CRT computer monitors with open arms, but trying to hand one over today can be a lesson in futility depending on the store. All in all, we figure it's easy for respondents to voice good intentions, but shortly after these sets become useless in the OTA realm without a DTV converter, we have our doubts about the vast majority of them dodging the dump for very long.

Just months after Sony hauled its RPTV production business off to the graveyard, the firm is now bidding a fond farewell to the Trinitron CRT. Believe it or not, the first Trinitron became a reality in 1968, and here we are some 40 years later shedding a tear as LCDs and OLED displays steal the thunder. Reportedly, the firm has moved some 280 million units worldwide between televisions and computer monitors, but we suppose all good things must eventually come to an end. So long, Trinitron -- it's been a mighty impressive run.

[Via Slashgear]

Just days after Sony vaulted to the top of North American LCD sales charts, DisplaySearch is now reporting that worldwide shipments of LCD TVs have overtaken CRT TVs for the first time in the history of the universe. More specifically, LCD TV sales rose some 56-percent year over year, and 47-percent of the world's TV market is now held by said technology. Reportedly, the transition from CRT to LCD was seen as a logical one, considering that it could extend down to sizes smaller than 20-inches and satisfy desires for large-screen sets. We know you're just itching to go diving head first into more numbers on the subject, so feel free to toss on those wire-rimmed glasses and hit the read link below.

[Via TGDaily]

While the rest of the world seems to be bailing on RPTVs, Samsung is using CES to showcase a pair of all new DLP rear-projection sets. Up to bat first is the 61- / 67-inch HL67A750A, and here's a look at what it's packing:

• Next-generation LED light engine: no color wheel, longer set life (30,000 hours)
• Full HD 1080p resolution and 10,000:1 contrast ratio
  
• 3D Ready integration with 3D accessory kit (sold separately)
  
• Four HDMI 1.3 ports with CEC
  
• USB 2.0 socket for PMPs, cameras, etc.
• Single-tuner picture-in-picture (PIP) can display two separate sources without an external tuner

But wait, there's more! Click on through to see it.

It was around this time last year when we saw RPTV sales hit an unexpected jump, but honestly, we wouldn't read too much into it. Manufacturers are bailing from the aging technology left and right, and even though sales were up 27-percent in October over September (tallying "the highest unit sales since May"), these figures are still "less than half" of what was seen in January. Additionally, 1080p LCDs outsold 1080p plasmas in the 50- to 54-inch arena "by nearly three to one," and research from Pacific Media Associates also discovered that LCDs "made up 80-percent of flat panels sold" in the 26-inches or larger category. Also of note, street prices sunk around 30-percent from the same month a year ago, and while Samsung led the flat-panel market with a nearly 20-percent share, Toshiba's 32-inch 32HL67 was said to be the best seller.

[Image courtesy of NFM]

Not even a full month after Hitachi pulled the plug on its own RPTVs and started looking to sell off its CRT operations, Seiko Epson has come forward and announced that it too will discontinue the production and sales of its rear-projection televisions. Reportedly, the outfit will be refocusing efforts on front projectors, and judging by its installation at CEDIA, we can't say we're shocked to hear it. It should be noted that the firm will "continue its research and development activities for rear-projection models," and moreover, a company spokesman proclaimed that it wasn't totally withdrawing from the rear-projection TV "business" -- whatever that means. Another one bites the dust, we suppose.

[Image courtesy of Astera]

A whole bevy of companies have been named in a suit alleging that a CRT-cartel has been price-fixing the good-old tube. Companies claimed to be "in on the fix" include Philips, LG, Tatung, Matsushita, Samsung and Toshiba. The suit states that these companies banded together in the face of (precipitously) dropping demand for CRT-based sets to, you guessed it, keep prices artificially high. The plaintiff's lawyer cites "...unnatural and sustained price stability, as well as inexplicable increases in the prices of CRTs" as evidence of the shady goings-on stretching back to 1998. Ten years seems like a stretch to us, and we haven't exactly been keeping up with CRT prices; but we'll see how this one settles out.

[Image courtesy of TheHarrowGroup]

Not even a month after Hitachi announced that it would be axing production and sales of RPTVs in North America, the firm has followed up by stating its intentions to sell its entire stake in a Chinese joint venture that produces CRTs. More specifically, the firm will offload its 25-percent stake in Shenzhen SEG Hitachi Color Display Devices to a local investor for 175 million yuan, or around $24 million. Reportedly, the company will be focusing the newly-freed resources on "growth areas such as plasmas," but that doesn't exactly jive with Hitachi's previous viewpoints on the generally shaky PDP market. Nevertheless, we can't say that we're shocked to hear of this exit, but so long as we're headed onwards and upwards, you won't find us tearing up over the loss.

Hitachi has announced it's stopping production and sales of its LCD- and CRT-based RPTVs in North America. The production facility in Mexico which serves the North American market was actually shut down this summer. While this might not come as much of a surprise to us, this is a sure sign that the average consumer's idea of what a "big screen, HD" TV is has shifted from a monstrous box to a slim flat panel. The torch has been passed, and recent announcements indicate that Hitachi is smitten with the "thin is in" concept as well. We expect to see similar decisions from other manufacturers in the future as LCDs and PDPs continue their roll. There's some nostalgia for the huge behemoths that were our introduction to HDTV, but you really couldn't pay us to go back.

Vizio may have snatched the sales crown when it comes to LCDs in the U.S., but Samsung maintained it's position as the largest worldwide TV manufacturer in the second quarter. Following Samsung's 12.4% market share were LG with 11.4% and Philips with 7.1%. The numbers were run by iSuppli, who forecast the quickening demise of the CRT, with it dropping to 38% of unit shipments in 2009, compared to 56% this year. No word on exactly what part of that was HDTVs, but we hope buyers are getting the most quality possible out of those new plasmas and LCDs.

[Via TV Snob]

CNET took 54 HDTVs and analyzed their power requirements to answer this question. The results are interesting, but not very surprising and include an estimated yearly expense for each. The yearly number is based on leaving your TV on for eight hours a day and sixteen hours in stand-by. While most technologies used similar amounts of power, there were some exceptions like the 65-inch Sharp LCD which uses almost 600 watts of power in their tests. This is more than any of the Plasmas which were around 500 watts for a similar size. In the end the size made the biggest difference and microdisplays overall used the least amount of power. As interesting as we find this, in the grand scheme of things it isn't a lot of money, even the most expensive TV only costs $19 a month to run.

[Via TVSnob.com]

Even if you don't know what 1:1 pixel mapping is, you probably think your TV supports it. If your TV does support this viewing mode, odds are it isn't on by default. 1:1 pixel mapping means your TV is capable of displaying the image sent to it pixel for pixel, without scaling or processing the video in any way. In other words, if your TV is fed 1920x1080p, then it displays 1920x1080p. Believe it or not usually your digital LCD, DLP or even Plasma takes the 1920x1080 image, shaves off a few lines and displays it. The reason isn't a good one, but it's 'cause TVs have had overscan so long that when digital TVs came along they actually engineered overscan into the set. This is not the case at all on computer monitors, where even one missing line is noticed. So if you want to see if your TV is capable of showing you the whole picture, look it up in your manual for a "pc mode" or even "dot by dot", or just head over to the AVSForum for a comprehensive list of HDTVs that support this elusive feature.

Yeah, we've already let you guys voice your opinion on the best HDTV out there, but now its time for CNET to dish out an updated version of the "top-rated HDTVs regardless of type, technology, brand, or size." Taking a respectable fourth is the Samsung LN-T4665F, which was praised for its excellent shadow detail and beautiful styling, while the Pioneer PDP-5070HD managed to squeeze into third thanks to its accurate color decoding and impressive array of inputs. The first loser (or runner-up, depending on perspective) was the Mitsubishi WD-65831, which was dubbed "as good as it gets" in the 65-inch range for those not savvy with high-end plasma pricetags. Unsprisingly, Pioneer's stunning PRO-FHD1 took top honors due to its excellent detail with 1080-resolution material, deep blacks, and all around excellent picture quality. Of course, this very set also took home the gold in an earlier showdown, so if you've been teetering on how to blow wisely spend $8,000 or so, the choice seems pretty clear at this stage.