RCA Flatscreen

[trobinson97]

Re: RCA Flatscreen

Yeah that's a pretty sweet Father's Day gift. I think I may get some socks or some new boxers.

[Stroehms]

Re: RCA Flatscreen

I had my first HDTV, it was a RCA and I absolutely hated it and will never buy a RCA tv. This one I got as a Graduation gift. The picture was fuzzy and after 7 months of ownership, one of the back bulbs went out! And the repair cost so much that I decided to just buy a whole new, bigger Vizio HDTV (Which I love).


Just my experience with RCA.....

[jake44np]

Re: RCA Flatscreen

Lets get this straight, it is my Fathers Day present but she will be watching it more then me. This TV is going to be going in our new living room which is being remodeled/painted this weekend. I know what she is doing she is not fooling me. She wants to replace our old 32 inch regular TV to make the room look even better! I watch TV in our basement most of the time, I kind of have my man cave in the basement. The basement has all of my "stuff" that I had before we met. I have my old 60" Sony big screen down there, it is not a flat screen but still has a pretty good picture.

I still in lost in all of this TV hunting, do I go with a 42" 720 plasma or a 42" 1080 LCD??
I have found them for about the same price. One thing is for sure the 42" RCA 1080 LCD is going back.

[ExtremeGamer]

Re: RCA Flatscreen

It's all a matter of preference at that point. I prefer LCD over plasma, but you can't go wrong either way.

[trobinson97]

Re: RCA Flatscreen

Personally, I'd go for the 1080p LCD.

[fishepa]

Re: RCA Flatscreen

Plasmas are being phased out in favor of LCD.

[jake44np]

Re: RCA Flatscreen

Plasmas are being phased out in favor of LCD.

Thats what I thought but I have read alot of reviews on line that say Plasmas are great for watching sports.

[trobinson97]

Re: RCA Flatscreen

Well you said you are only going to use the tv to watch regular non HD tv and 360 on so I can tell you now, non HD broadcasts on an HD tv will look horrible, plasma or lcd.

[jake44np]

Re: RCA Flatscreen

Well you said you are only going to use the tv to watch regular non HD tv and 360 on so I can tell you now, non HD broadcasts on an HD tv will look horrible, plasma or lcd.

I will eventually get Direct TV to come out and hook it up to HD, I just dont know how soon it will be. But I was thinking about getting the HD Antenna so I can watch all my local channels in HD. But most of my use on this TV will be gaming and watching DVD's.

[GAMEC0CK2002]

Re: RCA Flatscreen

Like someone else said, at this point it's just preference. I have a Vizio LCD that has performed well, but I'm a plasma convert.

I can honestly say I'd put my dad's 720p Panny plasma picture up against most 1080p LCDs in the same price range. ($700-800) It's hooked up to a blu ray player, HD-DVD player and DirecTV HD satellite box. IMO, plasma look more natural and life like...especially skin tones. Plasmas also have better off center viewing angles and deeper blacks.

Again, audition any that you're considering and go with what looks best to YOU and doesn't blow your budget to smitherines.

[RockyTop1]

Re: RCA Flatscreen

Plasmas are being phased out in favor of LCD.

Not true. There are less companies making plasmas now, but they aren't going anywhere

[55]

Re: RCA Flatscreen

I do not mean to insult anybody in any way, shape or form, but any LCD HDTV that is 40" or higher that costs less than around the $1000 mark is a third rate product at best. The absolute definition of a good picture is the contrast ratio. The RCA posted in the original post has a 6,500:1 contrast ratio which is abysmal when compared to most 2009 model LCD HDTVs. My 2008 Samsung LN40A750 has a 50,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio and it is only slightly above average now even though it was the top of the line 40" TV last year. My TV retailed at $2200 when it came out and I got it for $1500. You can get a TV a step or two above mine with that same $1500 now or one comparable to it for about the $1000 range like I mentioned.

My honest advice is to wait until you can afford the best bang for the buck. This TV right here would be the absolute best bang for your buck:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9230691&type=product&id=1218063829730

That TV has a 60,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio (which is 20% better than my damn near pristine picture) and only costs $100 more than the ones you were looking at. The only difference is my TV runs at 120hz and this one runs at 60hz but if you are using it primarily for gaming then that doesn't matter. That extra $100 would be WELL worth it in this case. Samsung's LCD products also happen to have the best track record among all TVs in their class as well. My uncle has his own electronics store and absolutely swears by Samsung products and I can say with good confidence that I do as well as several of my close friends.

Another good thing about Samsung is what happened to a buddy of mine just last week. He bought his TV in January of 2008 (same model as mine, but an earlier version) and his LCD bulb burnt out on him because he leaves the damn thing turned on 24/7. Even though his warranty had expired four months prior to this happening, Samsung still sent someone to his house within 48 hours with a brand new bulb and installed it free of charge. Now that is service!

[trobinson97]

Re: RCA Flatscreen

We're perfectly happy with our "third-rate" product.

[ExtremeGamer]

Re: RCA Flatscreen

I do not mean to insult anybody in any way, shape or form, but any LCD HDTV that is 40" or higher that costs less than around the $1000 mark is a third rate product at best. The absolute definition of a good picture is the contrast ratio. The RCA posted in the original post has a 6,500:1 contrast ratio which is abysmal when compared to most 2009 model LCD HDTVs. My 2008 Samsung LN40A750 has a 50,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio and it is only slightly above average now even though it was the top of the line 40" TV last year. My TV retailed at $2200 when it came out and I got it for $1500. You can get a TV a step or two above mine with that same $1500 now or one comparable to it for about the $1000 range like I mentioned.

My honest advice is to wait until you can afford the best bang for the buck. This TV right here would be the absolute best bang for your buck:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9230691&type=product&id=1218063829730

That TV has a 60,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio (which is 20% better than my damn near pristine picture) and only costs $100 more than the ones you were looking at. The only difference is my TV runs at 120hz and this one runs at 60hz but if you are using it primarily for gaming then that doesn't matter. That extra $100 would be WELL worth it in this case. Samsung's LCD products also happen to have the best track record among all TVs in their class as well. My uncle has his own electronics store and absolutely swears by Samsung products and I can say with good confidence that I do as well as several of my close friends.

Another good thing about Samsung is what happened to a buddy of mine just last week. He bought his TV in January of 2008 (same model as mine, but an earlier version) and his LCD bulb burnt out on him because he leaves the damn thing turned on 24/7. Even though his warranty had expired four months prior to this happening, Samsung still sent someone to his house within 48 hours with a brand new bulb and installed it free of charge. Now that is service!

Wrong, wrong, wrong. Most LCD screens are made in the same factory, The companies just change the guts here and there. Sure, maybe a Vizio may look worse in person next to the Samsung, but you get it home and you'll never know that, and most will be still wowed by your "third rate" product.

I have a Philips 47" LCD which I love because of the ambilight. I have many videophiles that come to my house and rave over how good my picture looks. Are they all lying to me? I guess that's possible.

Anyway, contrast ratio's are not universal. So while one TV may have a 65,000:1 ratio while the other is 5,000:1, it means nothing. Samsung is notorious for rating their TV's in the high 30 to 40 thousand range, while most companies keep it much lower.

[jake44np]

Re: RCA Flatscreen

One of my co workers bought the TV below from Sam's Club and loves it.
What do you guys think? It has a 50,000 to 1 contrast ratio.

http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?dest=5&item=427456&pCatg=5883