Philips 29PT8836/94 CRT HDTV

I love the pace at which India is getting HD savvy, but at the same time I hate the price we have to pay for technology that's a lot cheaper everywhere else. Really, what's with that?

Now that Xbox 360 has already made its mark in the Indian market and even the PS3 is expected to make its entry soon, gamers are looking for cheaper and more resourceful means of getting the best out of their systems than by forsaking their education funds to get a flat-panel HDTV. We at Tech2 completely identify with these gamers, and look for innovative ways to have a cheap HD setup at home as well. The Philips 29" CRT HDTV may just be the most pocket-friendly option out there.

Being a CRT TV the back is obviously a little extended. The reason I say "a little" is because the extension's not as huge as you normally see on 29" CRTs. I guess it's probably the new slim series of picture tubes. Still it does take up a good amount of space at the back, so don't throw out your TV trolly just yet.

Overall the TV does look a lot better than the cheaper and lesser functional 29-inchers you get in the market these days. It's black body with the curved edges makes it look elite and suitable for any living room.

Though the TV has support for resolutions up to 1080p (more on that in a bit), the output it gives is still pretty much analog, because of which it doesn't have any digital inputs like HDMI or DVI. In fact it only supports component, composite and RF inputs, which can get a bit limiting. Still, considering it has two sets of component inputs and another two sets on composite inputs, it shouldn't be much of a problem keeping a game console, DVD player and your cable set-top box connected at the same time.