Please don't let CRTs come back in style. After a while they tend to develop thi... (2024)

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tuxracer on Oct 11, 2020 | parent | context | favorite | on: A 20-year-old CRT monitor can be better than a 4K ...


Please don't let CRTs come back in style. After a while they tend to develop this headache inducing high pitched tone almost akin to tinnitus that is emitted constantly while they're powered on. It seems to be so high pitched most people cannot hear it at all but if you're one of the lucky few who can it can actually be really disruptive. Unfortunately it's also often loud enough to hear through doors, walls, etc... Please be mindful of this before setting up a CRT if you go down this path. For example a house might be better for this setup vs an apartment or condo.

Please don't let CRTs come back in style. After a while they tend to develop thi... (2)

jyoshi on Oct 11, 2020 | next [–]


For the longest while I used this to tell my friends in high school I had a mini-superpower. Because I knew when there was a television on in the house, and somehow none of them heard it.

There is an old telly in my apartment, I turned it on to test it last week and heard the tone again, must have been like 18+ years since I last turned one of those on.

It never gave me headaches but I definitely heard (and still hear it) all the time.

Please don't let CRTs come back in style. After a while they tend to develop thi... (3)

knuthsat on Oct 11, 2020 | parent | next [–]


Yep. I experienced this too. My left ear hears 22kHz to this day and I could hear even even plasma TVs.

Please don't let CRTs come back in style. After a while they tend to develop thi... (4)

werdnapk on Oct 12, 2020 | parent | prev | next [–]


I thought this was my superpower too as a kid. I don't really notice it anymore with all the digital equipment, but analog was noticeable.

Please don't let CRTs come back in style. After a while they tend to develop thi... (5)

sokoloff on Oct 12, 2020 | parent | prev | next [–]


My hearing is not even that great in some ways, but I can easily hear the old CRT whine. It blows my mind that not everyone can hear it.

Please don't let CRTs come back in style. After a while they tend to develop thi... (6)

hedberg10 on Oct 13, 2020 | parent | prev | next [–]


Holy sh*t, I wasn't crazy all those years

Please don't let CRTs come back in style. After a while they tend to develop thi... (7)

titanomachy on Oct 11, 2020 | prev | next [–]


When I was a kid I would always hunt down and turn off CRTs left on anywhere in the house since the sound annoyed me so much. Either my hearing has gotten worse or all the CRTs are gone now... probably both.

Please don't let CRTs come back in style. After a while they tend to develop thi... (8)

ImaCake on Oct 11, 2020 | parent | next [–]


I read somewhere that you lose high pitch hearing first, which is why the young could hear the CRTs when the elderly could not. I tried to google for this (actually DDG) but all I got was SEO spam.

Please don't let CRTs come back in style. After a while they tend to develop thi... (9)

hvis on Oct 11, 2020 | root | parent | next [–]


Something like this?

https://medlineplus.gov/genetics/condition/age-related-heari...

https://playback.fm/hearing-test

and

"gradual loss of sensitivity to higher frequencies with age is considered normal" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hearing_range)

Please don't let CRTs come back in style. After a while they tend to develop thi... (10)

tzs on Oct 12, 2020 | root | parent | next [–]


I wish there was audiophile equipment for older people that took that into account. Headphones and speakers, say, that only go to 14 KHz instead of 20 KHz. By not needing to design for as wide a frequency range, they should be able to either make them less expensive, or more accurate, or both.

Please don't let CRTs come back in style. After a while they tend to develop thi... (11)

Kuinox on Oct 12, 2020 | root | parent | next [–]


Capping the hertz won't make it cheaper or easier to produce...

Please don't let CRTs come back in style. After a while they tend to develop thi... (12)

cozzyd on Oct 12, 2020 | root | parent | prev | next [–]


I doubt most headphones can reproduce sounds above 14 kHz.

Please don't let CRTs come back in style. After a while they tend to develop thi... (13)

Kuinox on Oct 12, 2020 | root | parent | next [–]


They can

Please don't let CRTs come back in style. After a while they tend to develop thi... (14)

parksy on Oct 12, 2020 | root | parent | prev | next [–]


"The Mosquito" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mosquito) came to my attention when we were walking out of a multi-story car park with my kids. They complained of an irritating repeating high pitched noise that gave one a lingering headache and sense of nausea that lasted for about 20 minutes after leaving the area. If I concentrate very hard I can hear it myself but age and probably one too many loud concerts has rendered that range basically silent to me.

Please don't let CRTs come back in style. After a while they tend to develop thi... (15)

andai on Oct 12, 2020 | root | parent | next [–]


Teen repellent! My school had one above the entrance.

Please don't let CRTs come back in style. After a while they tend to develop thi... (16)

Nition on Oct 12, 2020 | parent | prev | next [–]


Probably both. The CRT sound was between 15,625 and 15,734Hz which is high enough that you almost certainly lose it as you get older. It now lives only in our minds.

Please don't let CRTs come back in style. After a while they tend to develop thi... (17)

nsajko on Oct 12, 2020 | prev | next [–]


The responsible component in the CRT is probably the flyback transformer. Supposedly replacing it with one that is more well made or applying some high-voltage silicone putty to it should prevent the sound.

Of course, this DIY solution does not scale well, so it wouldn't necessarily help with a room full of CRTs with bad flyback transformers.

EDIT: the voltages involved are potentially lethal

Please don't let CRTs come back in style. After a while they tend to develop thi... (18)

musicale on Oct 12, 2020 | prev | next [–]


Oh the flyback transformer noise or whatever it is, that you notice whenever you enter a room where a CRT is powered on. It's very annoying. But I love how old games look on my vintage CRT monitor!

Now that you've reminded me of it I swear I hear some high pitched noises coming from some other electronics. ;-p

At least you can escape the high pitched noise by going into another room. Low frequency rumble – usually from aircraft – is a nearly inescapable torture that cities have somehow decided that their residents must endure.

Please don't let CRTs come back in style. After a while they tend to develop thi... (19)

quesera on Oct 11, 2020 | prev | next [–]


That was the flyback transformer. I could hear them too, but it never really bothered me much.

It was useful ability if you were responsible for closing up a computer lab at night.

Please don't let CRTs come back in style. After a while they tend to develop thi... (20)

pmiller2 on Oct 11, 2020 | prev | next [–]


You can often get a CRT to stop whining, at least for a little bit, by either turning it off for a few seconds, then back on; or degaussing it. At least that's my memory of the situation. I haven't owned a CRT monitor in 20 years, and I don't miss that 90-lb monster one bit. That may be because I carried it up stairs a few too many times. :-)

Please don't let CRTs come back in style. After a while they tend to develop thi... (21)

lostgame on Oct 12, 2020 | prev | next [–]


This noise bothers me intensely, has since I was about 4 years old; and still very much does. (31 atm)

It's why I don't keep any iMac G3 units around any more, even though they are gorgeous art pieces. The iMac G4 obviously does not emit such a similar tone, being LCD-based. :)

Please don't let CRTs come back in style. After a while they tend to develop thi... (22)

willis936 on Oct 13, 2020 | prev | next [–]


A horizontal scan rate of 16 kHz is audible. If CRTs were brought back today they very likely would not run NTSC. I wouldn’t worry about coil whine at 30+ kHz.

Please don't let CRTs come back in style. After a while they tend to develop thi... (23)

stragulus on Oct 12, 2020 | prev | next [–]


You might not hear it anymore by now if you are still of a CRT generation since that tone is 16kHz and you quickly lose the ability to hear it.

Please don't let CRTs come back in style. After a while they tend to develop thi... (24)

oblio on Oct 11, 2020 | prev [–]


Besides that (I have the same problem), there's the obvious "electron GUN pointed at your face/eyes" problem.

Please don't let CRTs come back in style. After a while they tend to develop thi... (25)

sigstoat on Oct 11, 2020 | parent [–]


maybe if you spoke a different language you wouldn't be bothered?

electrons can't travel very far in glass, or atmosphere, which is why the tube has a vacuum inside of it.

Please don't let CRTs come back in style. After a while they tend to develop thi... (26)

oblio on Oct 12, 2020 | root | parent [–]


What does the language bit have to do with anything? I speak 2 foreign languages and I'm not a native English speaker.

There is still the fact that the CRT display is very eye straining. Due to both the flicker and the way it works. My eyes would constantly be red after using them for a long time.

Please don't let CRTs come back in style. After a while they tend to develop thi... (27)

sigstoat on Oct 12, 2020 | root | parent [–]


> What does the language bit have to do with anything? I speak 2 foreign languages and I'm not a native English speaker.

capitalizing "GUN" as though it mattered looked rather like hoplophobia.

> There is still the fact that the CRT display is very eye straining. Due to both the flicker and the way it works. My eyes would constantly be red after using them for a long time.

then say that, don't spew some garbage about electrons, when they're not making it past the glass.

nobody can (reasonably) question how you experience the CRT, but we can prove that the electrons have nothing to do with it.

Please don't let CRTs come back in style. After a while they tend to develop thi... (28)


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Please don't let CRTs come back in style. After a while they tend to develop thi... (2024)

FAQs

Will CRTs ever be made again? ›

CRTs are great for many things, but we're never going back to them. As already mentioned, the environmental costs of them alone are huge, and you can't really get away from the fact they need phosphors in order to function.

Why don't we use CRTs anymore? ›

Complete and utter lack of demand; LCDs killed them off. Once LCD technology became cost and performance competitive, and started to push into places the CRT couldn't go (high definition, sizes larger than 40” diagonal, etc.) there was just no reason for the vast majority of customers to buy anything else.

When did CRT become obsolete? ›

LCD monitor sales began exceeding those of CRTs in 2003–2004 and LCD TV sales started exceeding those of CRTs in some markets in 2005. Samsung SDI stopped CRT production in 2012. Despite being a mainstay of display technology for decades, CRT-based computer monitors and TVs are now obsolete.

Are CRT TVs bad for your eyes? ›

CRTs emit x-rays due to the electron beams bombarding the shadow mask or aperture grille and phosphors. Because of this, CRT monitors are bad for your eyes if you are exposed over a long period of time. The best way to avoid these dangers is to replace your CRT with a LCD screen.

What is the lifespan of a CRT TV? ›

CRT TVs average (and median) lifespan is recorded as 15 years, compared to 6 years for the LCD and LED TVs (Fig.

Do CRTs degrade over time? ›

CRT TVs are like the grandpas of the TV world. They can last a surprisingly long time if they've been taken care of, but they're not immortal. Even if you don't turn them on, components can degrade over time. Capacitors can dry out, and other parts can suffer from oxidation or just general material fatigue.

Do CRTs emit radiation? ›

CRTs emit X-rays as a result of electron braking (bremsstrahlung) by the screen and walls of the tube and the amount of radiation increases proportionally to the accelerating voltage [15]. The bremsstrahlung energy spectrum is a continuum with photon energies that extend as high as the electron energy itself [4].

What was the largest CRT TV ever made? ›

Farquhar shares the details of the largest CRT TV ever produced. The Sony PVM-4300 “weighed about 450 pounds, stood about 27 inches tall,” and was too large to squeeze through a standard door frame. Built by hand, only 20 were exported from Japan to the United States where they were sold with “a significant markup.”

When did LCD overtake CRT? ›

LCD TVs rose in popularity in the early years of the 21st century, and exceeded sales of cathode ray tube televisions worldwide from late 2007 on. Sales of CRT TVs dropped rapidly after that, as did sales of competing technologies such as plasma display panels and rear-projection television.

Does CRT TV have mercury? ›

Due to the large amount of lead found in CRT glass, and the arsenic, cadmium, mercury and other heavy metals used in TV and computer circuit boards, it is important to ensure that CRTs and other electronic devices are disposed of properly.

Do CRTs emit blue light? ›

CRTs Are Lit Using Electron Beams

The CRT in a TV is a glass vacuum tube. The inner surface of the screen is coated with tiny phosphor dots that emit light in the three primary colors (red, green, and blue).

Do CRT TVs cause headaches? ›

After a while they tend to develop this headache inducing high pitched tone almost akin to tinnitus that is emitted constantly while they're powered on. It seems to be so high pitched most people cannot hear it at all but if you're one of the lucky few who can it can actually be really disruptive.

Are CRT TVs still being manufactured? ›

The last CRT TV was made around 2015 from recycled/refurbished parts by a company called Videocon. This is when the final somewhat mass-produced CRT TV was made. This is long after plasma and LCD TV's had gained the majority of the market share, but there was still some demand for CRT TV's.

Are old CRTs safe? ›

Heavy Metals: CRT monitors and TVs can contain anywhere from 2 to 5 pounds of lead per unit! Color CRT may contain mercury – commonly found in many electronics – hazardous if the screen cracks.

Why are CRTs bad for the environment? ›

Why are CRTs of concern? Harmful radiation is generated when an image is created on a CRT screen. In order to shield viewers from this radiation, a substantial amount of lead is incorporated into the glass used to manufacture the various glass components of a CRT (approximately 4 pounds of lead per CRT).

Why did LCDs replace CRTs? ›

Listed below are some of the top reasons why the LCD may be a better choice. Size and Weight: The color LCD is thinner and much lighter. It is much easier to install into tight areas. The CRT can weigh up to 50 pounds and needs additional bracing and heavier supports.

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