You're talking about the old CRTs. Don't assume that the new CRTs are made the same, because they don't make CRTs the way they used to.
The new CRTs won't last long either. I bought a Sharp 14" CRT in 2008. It developed a buzzing sound in 2009, then it rested in peace in 2011. They're not even attempting to make a good CRT anymore, since there's just no money to be made.
I bought my first flat panel in 2006, a 42 Panny plasma model 2005 (SRP was P160K; I got it for P130K). I sold it in 2009 to a realtive, and it still works fine today. I still see it once in a while when we visit for family occasions. Still looks the way it did in 2006, no burn, no IR, no problems whatsoever.
Firstly, I don't call it an "investment." It's an expense, not an investment. Secondly, I don't buy high-end stuff, so I never feel I'm spending too much.
Buy a low-end flat panel and you're going to get your money's worth. Note that those low-end flat panel TVs are not really expensive. They are in fact so cheap that Sony, Toshiba, Panasonic and Sharp have long been losing money on them.
TV makers see shakeout approaching
Kyodo
Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012
The halcyon days of Japan's TV makers are long over. Now the business has become a drag on the earnings of the nation's electronics giants.
... "The prices of flat-screen TVs are falling rapidly," an official with a major home electronics store in Tokyo said. "Customers have become choosy because they are comparison shopping."http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nb20120131a2.html