Man oh man. Does anyone want to buy two or three of these sweet CRT sets to store for me for if/when I come back to the states? I am massively jealous.
In Japan, it's just crazy. For one thing, 4:3 aspect ratio sets were never made larger than 29 inches except in rare circumstances, like models aimed at businesses rather than consumers. 32 and 36 inch sets sound freaking fabulous.
For another thing, though, the whole Japanese mindset about consumer electronics - that having the latest and greatest is important to support the economy, not just to be trendy - and the extra pressure people here feel to save space in their small living rooms mean that CRTs are vanishing rapidly. Three years ago, when I searched for a nice 29 inch Sony Wega, I could take my pick. There were multiple auctions of each model on Yahoo Japan. Now, though, the really good models only come along every few weeks or months. Even the not-so-good sets are in short supply. In two more years, I think it's going to be damned difficult to get any CRT with component inputs.
Stock up, you guys. This day will come to America soon enough. After looking at the current situation, I'm going to buy one or two sets in the next few months. I might even buy like three or four, then keep the best two and sell the rest.
Or maybe I should just suck it up and get an upscaler. That's probably what would make my girlfriend happier.
