Cracked Flat Panel TV question

[PiNPOiNT]

Does anyone know if the screen of a flat panel tv, such as this one

http://www.sanyo.com/entertainment/televisions/flatscreen/index.cfm?productID=745

has a piece of glass in front of the tube? or if the glass on the screen is part of the tv tube just like a normal CRT

if there is a crack on a screen like the one in the link, is this something that is easily fixable?

[Tailgunner]

It's over 19" deep, which leads me to believe it's a CRT television set. If that's the case, the face of the tube is what's likely cracked. Repair would mean replacing the tube, which would nearly cost as much as replacing the whole TV.

[rdagger]

Flat screen and flat panel are not the same.  Flat screen is just a CRT with a surface that is more flat than convex.  Flat panel usually refers to LCD or Plasma displays

[whammoed]

pinpoint,
are you wondering if this tv is like some computer crts where they say flat but are only flat because there is a piece of glass in front of the tube?? as opposed to say a trinitron where the tube is actually flat?
I don't know the answer, but it seems people aren't understanding your question.  Correct me if I am wrong.

[PiNPOiNT]

That particular tv is available for purchase however it has a crack in the screen, and i was wondering if it was just a matter of replacing the front glass. or if that would be impossible.

thought i could save some money

[MonitorGuru]

Ummm...  TV tubes like arcade tubes have a VERY VERY thick front part of the tube. The glass is over 1" thick solid, and why the tube weighs so much and the center of gravity is only about 1.5" back from the front of the tube.  The rest of the tube has glass as thin as 1/8" around the neck.

Anyway, if you break the glass on the tube at the neck the usual thing that happens is you will let air in and ruin the tube (let the vacuum out as it were). However if a crack/hit occurs on the side or especially front of the tube, you can expect a serious implosion followed by expulsion of glass, phosphorus, lead and other nefarious materials outward in all directions up to 20 feet.

That said... the most a CRT can have is a SCRATCH on the face of the tube. A crack would lead to immediate implosion due to the high amount of vacuum in the tube as well as the very tight metal band compressing the tube around the front edge.


Most of the "flat screen" TV's simply have an extra piece of glass immediately in front of the tube.  Tubes can be made much flatter now days but even some cheap tvs (e.g. apex) use round tubes and a flat front to make them appear "true flat".