Audio Video News

Sony began phasing out its classic Trinitron television brand in 2004, but March 2008 marks the final stopping point for the CRT displays - tech's original "series of tubes." Sony said Monday it would cease all production by the end of the month.

But as LCDs and plasmas crowd store shelves, many videophiles cling to the memories of their favorite Cathode-ray tube sets. Sony began production of CRTs in 1965, and has since sold 280 million monitors and TV sets bearing the technology. The Trinitron set was so popular that in 1973 Sony was awarded an Emmy for its technology.

CRT sets seem enormous and overweight by today's standards, but it's difficult to deny their picture quality and longevity. In 1996 Sony released the Trinitron Wega, a cutting-edge flat screen CRT, and that, too, received high marks from consumers.

Sony is now free to focus entirely on LCD and OLED display technologies, but can either of those designs  have as long a tenure in living rooms as the Trinitron's four decades? -Rachel Rosmarin

MarketWatch