Best Buy kicks analog TVs to the curb
By Matt Burns 
posted Oct 17th 2007 1:48PM
posted Oct 17th 2007 1:48PM
Best Buy is saying sayonara to analog TVs by announcing that it has pulled all analog sets from its shelves, which marks the first time a big box retailer of this magnitude has publicly announced an exit from the analog TV biz. Of course, this decision now enables the firm to shamelessly proclaim that any television purchased within the confines of its brick and mortar walls will work in the all-digital future -- and for those not willing to pick up a new set, it also stated that it will be participating in the NTIA DTV Converter Box Coupon Program starting early next year. At first glance, the announcement sounds like much needed progress towards getting folks ready for the 2009 switchover, but for moms and pops scouting a 13-inch analog CRT on the cheap for that garage / playroom, it looks like you'll be "forced" to check out one with a digital tuner... or an LCD. As if you needed another excuse, right?
Thank God
There is nothing worse than watching people walk out with these 19" tube TV's for their home cause they think its a good deal at 200 dollars or whatever. Those combo non stereo TV DVD players are the worse too. Now if only Target and Walmart would do this.
Nothing worse, eh? I'd love to live in your world where the biggest problem is someone else buying outdated technology.
First, I'm not sure if the sarcasm filter is on for you. If it IS, then LOL.
If not, no one said they're doing away with CRTs. Regardless, let's hope that this'll bring down the prices of LCDs more!
Walmart changed all of their tv's to digital tuner models back in May. No big news here.
Tube/CRT televisions still have their [heavy] place in the TV market. Screen quality-wise, plasmas and LCDs are still more expensive than a comparable CRT.
"but for moms and pops scouting a 13-inch CRT on the cheap for that garage / playroom, it looks like you'll be forced to throw down for an LCD or head elsewhere."
Or, you know, buy a 13" cheapo CRT with a digital tuner instead of an analogue tuner. 's how it works in the UK, at least.
I just looked around and there are a number of digital 13" tvs for the same $100 of analogs. I don't see this causing any problems.
On the other hand, without tube tvs, people will have to lay down a few hundred dollars more on a flat panel tv, which sucks. A HD flat panel is nice, but I don't see anything wrong with a tube tv for a fraction of the price. Not everyone wants to spend $1000 on a tv.
Good riddance. On to the future! If you really must have an analog TV there is always Wal-Mart and garage sales. In fact I have a 27" that I'd sell right now...
Well... as long as it works with my Betamax player I'm ok with it.
CRTs can have digital tuners!
/sigh poor people. BUY A TV MADE THIS CENTURY.
i'm pumping 720i into my 1986 Zenith System III, i bet it beats the ass off your $15,000 73in 1080zomfg with 120hz, dlna or whatever bullshit companies are pushing these days.
call me the day your plasma hits 20 years old, and i'll tell you to throw out your paperweight, fact of the matter is things arn't made like they used to be, all this technology is great and good and all, but i don't want to spend $600 on an LCD tv that is going to not work in a decade when i can spend half as much and get a good tube tv (with a digital tuner) that will last me twice as long.
Personally, i'm not ready to switch, i'm not getting a new TV, and i'm not getting a box, NOW GET OFF MY LAWN!
but seriously, i'm holding on to my TV until it just stops working, be it due to overuse or the fact that it can't be adapted to whatever i want to input into it.
Am I the only person who realizes what this guy is doing wrong?
I didn't buy into HD either yet, I'm still using I think a 97 Sony Trinitron 27 inch. It looks way better than most non-HDTVs you see in stores nowadays though. I hate those stupid Mono sound with DVD player built in units, Not only does the picture look like crap but Mono sound? WTF? I realize mono still has its place in certain applications but not here, no way.
I'm waiting for a good CRT HDTV (It will probably last forever :P ) Or a nice LCD, and by nice LCD, I mean without the half-assed built in speakers and tuner. I get a pretty damn decent cable box with HD service around here so I'd rather use that. I'd also rather use some decent speakers that I already own. So that cuts the cost considerably. I don't really have a problem waiting either because they just keep getting better and cheaper, so until this TV dies i'll stick with it.
@paragraph
wow I really hope you're not being serious. CRTs shift constantly and degrade slowly but surely over time. LCDs for the most part do not suffer from this, good ones anyway.
So you're not getting a "new box" (digital tuner). Well have fun staring at a blank screen in 2009. That is until the spectrum is auctioned off. Then who knows what you might pick up on those channels.
personally I'm upset the FCC pushed back the switch over date. The company i worked for spent millions trying to be compliant by broadcasting digitally. We were forced to switch but consumers were alowed to procrastinate for a few more years. By the time consumers are ready I'm sure many of the local stations that had to upgrade their equipment will need to do so again to stay up to date with current technology.
there's also nothing worse than to spend all the time and effort producing something beautiful, pristine and calibrated only to have someone watching it on a 30 year old set.
@Shibathedog:
I'll sell you my 40" Sony Tube HDTV... It's Huge, heavy, and has a great picture!
A couple of years ago I purchased a 27" Samsung CRT HDTV. DVI and component inputs, good up to 1080i. Looks great with SD programming, looks GORGEOUS with HD programming.
I know flat panel LCDs and Plasmas are all the rage these days but I'm just not there yet. I see no reason to abandon CRTs just for the sake of a skinnier TV. A CRT can still have a picture every bit as good as (or better than) an LCD or plasma. What do you think they use for monitoring in broadcast facilites, anyway?
As for analog versus digital, most stores have already done away with analog only TV sets and are exclusively selling models with ATSC tuners (regardless of if it is an HD set or not). The few remaining sets that are analog only are required to have a sticker on them saying that they will not work with OTA signals after Feb 2009.
And thus I will not be buying a TV from Best Buy any time soon.
Why? Are you desperate to hang on to your TV with the analog tuner that won't work in a few years? They're not saying that they will only carry HDTVs, or only LCD/Plasmas, they just won't carry the ones with the analog tuners.
People that make snarky comments without understanding what they are talking about piss me off. Unless you already knew this; in that case...refer to my original question?
Wait i work there, and i havnt seen an analog tv there since January were we got one that was being serviced for a costumer. hmm i thought they had already kicked em out
Why does everyone in the US think that you need a new TV after the switchover to Digital? Sadly, our government has decided to subsidize the cost of converter boxes that will be available so your old TV can still pick up broadcasts when they switch over. (Sad about the subsidy, not the availability of said boxes - if you must watch TV, pay for your own converter box or new TV, don't make me pay for one for you.) Converters will work to ensure that old TVs can pick up the new signals.
Anyway, for this story, it doesn't say that CRTs are going away, just that all TVs will have Digital tuners instead of Analog tuners so you won't need a conversion box in a couple of years. No major problems with that unless it means you also need an Analog -> Digital converter to pick up broadcasts for the next year or so. I agree with the above comments - LCD TVs are more expensive and don't fit within everyone's budget. I'd love to have one, but if it's down to me dropping an extra $500 for that luxury, I'll be buying the CRT (unless one of you wants to cough up the difference :-).
-Pete
PETE: THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!
If you want a cheap @ss analog TV then buy it at Wal-Mart or any garage sale...I'll even sell you mine for $50..
I'll give anyone both my CRT analog TV's. Come and pick 'em up. I'ts gonna cost me $15 bucks apiece to dump them off at the transfer station.
Analog vs digital != CRT vs LCD
IsNerdy(b.essiambre)= True
isMail("Jalan Sultan Ismail")=True
Why does it say "ready for the 2009 switchover"? Didn't the FCC extend
that date to 2012? If you don't think so, google it!
The FCC extended the date for cable companies. Analog broadcasts will still end in Feb. 2009. Cable companies can continue to carry analog until 2012. It's complicated, but if you want to understand it, google it!
Aren't the people on basic cable the ones that are most worried about it anyway? Out of all the customers I've talked to, only about 2 have been on antenna alone.
Now Best Buy will implement stage 2 of "Trick-Grandma-In To-Buying-An-HDTV-She-Can't-Possible-Afford".
You're an idiot...the trick would be selling you a TV that won't work in 2-4 years when the life span of it is 10+ years. No to mention that you don't necessarily need an HDTV to receive a digital signal, even though it's going to be inevitable soon. Thanks for entertaining us with your ignorance.
Actually you are the idiot.
This has actually happened to few elderly people and has been reported in the news. The elderly are told by store employees (though I dont remember if it was in fact Best Buy)their TV sets won't work when 2008 rolls around and that they NEED a HDTV. An expensive one of course.
Yes the TV Grandma bought will last a lot longer then 2 years, but she will be paying it off and eating dog food because her social security check just won't cut it.
You understand now Arseface J? I know you dont need an HDTV, but Grandma doesnt. And if your Grandma is as dumb as you I would run over to her house right now before she takes out her lifesaving so she can watch Oprah after 2008.
Although I'll hand it to ya for actually showing SOME intelligence in your post this time around, I hope you realize you just proved my point when I called out the ignorance of your original post by admitting that you don't even know if the retailer doing it was Best Buy. If you read what I posted, I never doubted whether or not there are scumbag salespeople out there that will exploit the average person's lack of knowledge to make an extra buck...but the ignorant bias by people to think that BBY or all general retailers do this is absurd. How am I not understanding? Even if it WERE happening there or at other big box retailers, it is usually the selfish acts of a handful employees which is unfortunate and undoubtedly wrong, but it should not automatically brand an entire company of being corporate scam artists unless the reports are consistent. My philosophy is based around posting comments that are actually thought out and at least attempt to sound intelligent, not blindly sarcastic and biased comments when you don't even know if what you are saying is totally true...which more or less is the definition of ignorance. But apparently I'm the dumb "arseface" for reasons that you have still yet to explain.
I dont need to explain my use of "arseface" to you, the people have voted. They get it, you dont.
Your originally post in no way makes reference to any other "points" you say you were trying to make in your 2nd post. I see 0 connection to these "points" and the original post, and in fact your "points" just seem, well, pointless.
Try posting under a different letter of the alphabet next time. Perhaps by "z" you'll start making some sort of sense, though I really doubt it.
The keyword here is ANALOG Tuner they are still selling plenty of Tube TV's
http://www.bestbuy.com/site//olspage.jsp?id=abcat0101006&type=category
I was at Best Buy last night and saw analog tv on sale. Maybe its somting they started today.
I cannot afford one (although I would love a HDTV so I can finally play Lost Planet and Gears the way it was meant to play). I just lost my gaming TV to a drunken wrestling accident and the only other tv I have in the house is so old that it does not have any RCA jacks. So now my x-box is at my gf's place. My budget for a TV is $150 if anyone can point out an LCD tv that has a screen bigger than 19" for that price I'll buy one but until then im going to the Re-Store store or a pawn shop and getting my CRT cheapo TV
"drunken wrestling accident"
Dude get help.
This would be great for consumers if there were any high quality LCD TVs in comparable sizes with decent prices. Two years ago I could have bought a very nice 24" SONY Wega analog TV for $350. A 32" LCD of similar quality costs $1000. (Even if it looks nicer for a few TV stations, most are still SD and I'm not willing to pay for DishHD yet so it pretty much doesn't matter.)
I have a Sony HDTV CRT (tube) television, so don't mistakenly think this would limit you to LCD or plasma, neither of which look as good as CRT.
about bloody time.
I bought my new analog 13" CRT 3 years ago, so watch out as my analog "brass band" takes to the streets.
It seems like a myth that converter boxes will be subsidized, because I have a converter now for my analog TV (built into my Comcast DVR) and no one's subsidizing it.
cable DVR box = optional, only need it if you want to watch pay-cable and/or record it
Subsisdized box = required to watch free OTA broadcasts in the future
unhook your cable and stick rabbit ears in it... you'll still get a signal... hence no subsidized box yet.
I have 2 years to get a new bedroom TV...my 21" Phillips w/ mono sound has been doing the job quite well...
I have a TV that I bought in 1976, it still works. Does this mean it will quit working in 2012.
And isn't 2012 supposed to be the end of the world anyhows, so why do you really need a new TV.....
Wal Mart may not have announced it, but I haven't seen an analog tv in at least 4 different Wal Mart's in the last 3 months.
from some of the comments it seems there is still a lot of inaccurate information out there about the DTV switchover. Analog TV broadcasts end on February 17, 2009.
This is over the air broadcasts only, affecting 15% of the population.
DTV encompasses both standard def TV and high def TV broadcasts.
Cable and satellite will continue to work for everyone since they are 'broadcasting' on their own systems, not OTA and their HD offerings will vary depending on your level of service.
Don't buy one now....wait till end of next year....bet the prices will be half of what they are now!!!!!!
F.Y.I CRT or "Cathode Ray Tube" Televisions will probably be around longer than expected they will just have internal digital and analog tuners just like most flat panel tvs have today.
Not to mention that HD CRT televisions have been available for several years now.
My gf has a 10 year old Phillips in the bedroom and it looks as good as the Phillips HD we just got the other day, so I don't see what the problem is-each to his own, let's not comment on other's intelligence or call names.
They should bring the Analog TVs back and phonographs and 8 tracks as well.....
buying on line, even with the shipping and handling appears to be cheaper and you can get what you want. go to Froogle.com or whatever they call it now and put in what you want.
Lol I'm still using an old slyvania floor model. Sharp as can be picture with cable. Have an rf box hooked up to it for dvd player, video games, etc. I'll just grab a digital tuner and continue to use my tv for the next 100 years.