Staying 4x3 for as long as I can

I have no interest in following the rest of the world into 16x9 high def. For one pretty simple reason. 99% of what I watch is DVDs and DVDRs of TV shows from the 50s-80s. What would be the point? And if anything, shows that come from VHS off-air recordings, or 16mm film chain, look far worse in hi def than on a tube set. And forget about anything that's not a master but a 2nd or 3rd generation dub. On a hi-def, 3rd generation looks like 10th generation.
Right now, my main TV is a 35 inch JVC that's about 23 years old and I have a 32 inch backup that someone gave me for free last year. Maybe someday, I'll get a modern TV as a second set but I would never want to make it my primary. Anyone else feel this way?

 

I'm right there with you, fellow Long Islander (born and raised, 'till I left in '88)
Both the wife and I have a problem when we watch something on a new TV, and it's got that weird, almost 'soap-opera' video-look to it!
From "Death Becomes Her" to "Night On Earth", both she and I didn't like the 'look' of many things...
Of course, there will come a day when my 'big boy' Hitachi will no longer work....
Now, I'm told there's a switch that could satisfy my 'problem'....
but, who knows what the next generation will bring?.......

 

No.

 

That's a very very niche limited set of needs.

 

That's easily fixed by disabling a couple of settings, believe it or not.

 

Yeah, I have been thinking about all the 4:3 content I own. Particularly, Music DVDs and VHS tapes that I made from the beginning of the MTV days! I have a high def. projector now but I am seriously thinking about picking up a dedicated 4:3 projector (480p) so I can do 1:1 pixel mapping through one of the older DVDO scalers I have sitting around. Like an idiot though, I sold my glorious 80 inch 4:3 screen that I had made out of Gator Board and nice high contrast Screen Goo. Guess I would have to make a new one.

 

Film-based 4:3 TV shows look pretty darn good on a high-def screen.

Assuming a clean transfer of course.

 

Man, I wish I could do that. I have a fairly decent amount of LaserDiscs that I like watching but only have the option of running straight into my 4K TV through composite. I can get it looking watchable on there but I would love to have a nice 50"-60" CRT TV to watch that stuff, VHS and DVDs on. Too bad I don't have my own house to do that. :-(

 

That TV would probably weigh a few hundred pounds at least.

 

Yes, they did.

 

I would still be primarily 4x3 if my ‘95 Mitsubishi 35 incher hadn’t conked out for good last year.

Now I’m wide and HD, baby!

 

From what you state regarding your media and viewing habits, keeping your CRT isn't unreasonable. And, as you say, not all flat panels do a good job upconverting.
What ultimately drove my decision to switch was being able to enjoy widescreen movies. I purchased a television and A/V receiver that had excellent upconversion for all of my 4:3 television material, and I made sure it was big enough to match the height of my old 32" CRT. Watching Lawrence of Arabia or 2001 or Apollo 13 or whatever is fantastic (especially in HD) but all of my 4:3 looks fantastic as well. And of course I do watch some newer 16:9 series/movies. Plus, any Blu-ray/HD release of older television that's transferred from 35mm will look absolutely fantastic. Watching an old familiar series properly transferred to HD can be like seeing the show for the first time. Star Trek was like that for me...

 

Look on the bright side, at least the video-tapey look you see on filmed shows on flat screens can also fix some older videotaped shows that are presented with a fake film look.

 

Oh I know. Those suckers were huuuuuuuuuge. One day I'll find one for free on Craigslist I'm sure and I'll have to go rent a damn U-Haul just to transport it. None of my friends have trucks, so that's out.

 

You... know there's no prize for this, right?

 

You could always buy a new, normal TV and stick a filter over the screen which blurs the image down to what you're used to!

Nope. Wall sized microLED based panels can't come soon enough, as far as I'm concerned.

 

Yup. I could be wrong, but I'm betting any TV that offers the "soap opera" look does so because of the motion blur settings, not because of the TV's design/execution itself.

Some people love that look!

 

If any of you "4X3 Forever!!!" people want a 36" Sony WEGA and can come and get it, let me know!

FREE!!!

I'd kill to finally get that behemoth out of the house!

 

I have a laser disc player and a VHS tape deck that look awful on my HDTV. I think the ideal solution is to view those older formats on a CRT, and enjoy widescreen content on a more modern device. Modern day hi-res content is pretty damn cool, no reason to miss out just for the sake of the older stuff.

 

I switch the color off on TVs in my house as I am nostalgic for monochrome ....

 

And no penalty either. I have both modern monitors (they are no longer televisions) and old school CRTs. They both have their uses.

 

America!!

Thank God I don't live there, it's full of weirdos.

 

My friend and I always laugh at the idiocy of calling gorgeous 2-inch videotape shows, "soap opera" look. And there's nothing I hate worse than when some company re-encodes the picture to give videotape a fake film look to keep the hi-def crowd happy.

 

EDTVs existed to give a better look to SD material. If you can find one, they're probably quite cheap, now.

 

My Sony Wega boxed was 70 Kilo, happy when it was taken away, still working as well( miffed onthat part ).
Replaced it with a 55" plasma.