What Is A CRT Monitor? The Common Ancestor Of All Monitors!

Monitors share a long history of evolution comprising a few decades. At first, Monitors appeared to be like bulky television sets with extra weight. They could hardly be transported from one place to another. Taking decades, Monitors transformed into a lightweight and slim display device. They are now in much better shape than ever before.

The league of Monitors is filled up with a number of types of Monitors with CRT Monitors holding a not-so-bad reputation.

Table Of Contents

What Is A CRT Monitor?
Features Of CRT Monitors
How Does A CRT Monitor Work?
Average Price Of A CRT Monitor
Frequently Asked Questions
Wrap Up

A question here, have you ever come across the name CRT Monitors? I am sure, your answer would be negative. Since I guess most people are simply unaware of CRT Monitors, I decided to come up with a dedicated post for them.

This post is aimed at delivering information to beginners about CRT Monitors. Starting with a simple yet understandable definition, the post covers the features, average price, and working mechanism of CRT Monitors. Time to get to the point, let’s unlock the CRT Monitors below.

What Is A CRT Monitor?

A CRT Monitor is a bulky display device for computers that relies on a cathode ray tube to display the image or video on the screen. In a bit more depth, a CRT Monitor uses the cathode ray tube to direct multiple electrons over a beam for the image or video display.

Widely used throughout the 90s, CRT Monitors have gone through a great transformation with major updates in terms of resolution. They consume more energy than LED and LCD Monitors.

Although CRT Monitors have been outdated by the latter, they are still in use in a number of industries. CRT Monitors are known for advanced color rendering which makes them a better option than their successors.

Features Of CRT Monitors

Below are some of the features of the CRT Monitors that are worth taking a look at.

High Contrast Ratio

Let’s admit it, a Monitor with a high contrast ratio can better satisfy the user than a Monitor with none. The CRT Monitors enjoy the feature of high contrast ratio like the discontinued Plasma Monitors. Their above-average contrast ratio allows them to feature better black levels. What this means is that the quality of dark images and videos on a CRT Monitor is far superior to the LCD and LED Monitors.

Bulky Body

CRT Monitors are probably the largest or heaviest type of Monitors. Their form factor revolves around a large body comprised of a number of components. Because of the external structure, CRT Monitors look like the ancient Television sets used in the 70s. For the most part, the form factor of CRT Monitors separates them from almost every other type of modern Monitor.

Anti-Reflective Coating

CRT Monitors have long used anti-reflecting coating to combat glare. The anti-reflecting coating of a CRT Monitor allows it to reduce glare and improve the image or video quality. The anti-reflecting coating of a CRT Monitor makes a huge difference to the overall quality of the display.

Advanced Resolution

You can expect CRT Monitors to offer an advanced resolution for an impressive display. The advanced resolution of CRT Monitors makes them the premium choice for graphics designers. In the domain of resolution, CRT Monitors compete well with LCD and LED Monitors.

How Does A CRT Monitor Work?

The working mechanism of a CRT Monitor is quite simple to understand. A CRT Monitor uses an electron gun to display the images and videos. You must be wondering how is that even possible. Let me make it super simple for you. The CRT Monitor triggers the electron gun to release super-speed electrons that hit millions of phosphors dots.

These phosphor dots are of different colors namely blue, red and green. When the electrons hit the phosphors dots, it creates the intended image or video and the result appears on the Monitor screen.

Average Price Of A CRT Monitor

On average, you can get a second-hand CRT Monitor with pretty basic features by paying $50. Regardless of the brand, a CRT Monitor with a price tag of $50 is likely to run for quite some good time. That’s because most CRT Monitors are refurbished. However, if you want to go for a high-end option, there are CRT Monitors in the secondary market that can cost you $200.

There are even some CRT Monitors that can cost you as much as $300. But in general, most CRT Monitors come with a price of $50-$150. That’s the minimum you will have to pay for a CRT Monitor.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are CRT Monitors better than LCD Monitors?

There is an endless debate about this question with some siding with CRT Monitors and the rest voting for LCD Monitors. In my personal opinion, despite being aged, CRT Monitors beat the latter for a few reasons. The CRT Monitors are believed to have a better contrast ratio than LCD and LED Monitors. Not only that, but they also offer high refresh rates than the latter. CRT Monitors offer deep colors and draw images faster than LCD Monitors.

What’s the lifespan of CRT Monitors?

I bet, CRT Monitors do live a long life. Since I had a CRT Monitor for years, I can tell you this with confidence. In terms of hours, CRT Monitors can run for 25000-30000 hours during the entire lifetime. If we do the maths, this equates to 8 hours of running a day for almost a decade. A CRT Monitor could be so good that during its entire lifetime, there are fewer chances that you would have to take it to the nearby repair store.

Wrap Up

If you are a gamer who has an unsatisfactory experience with using an LCD or LED Monitor, I would recommend you to use a CRT Monitor instead. Keep in mind, that this doesn’t apply to every other CRT Monitor that you find in the secondary market.

What you have to do is look for a CRT Monitor with a high configuration for gaming. Due to the high colour rendering, you are likely to experience advanced graphics on a CRT Monitor. The only setback of using a CRT Monitor is the high power consumption. If you can’t compromise on energy efficiency, you better stick with the LCD or LED options.