Hey, I used to like this thread...

My RCA HD-ready set provides a much better picture from basic cable than my previous RCA ColorTrak, which is still going strong after what, 13 years?

DVDs look way good, too, especially since I keep my set tweaked with AVIA. So there are definitely benefits to getting these higher quality sets now, even though the broadcasting is limited. You'll be ready when they are, because I don't think, regardless of what the salesguy above might have said, that this puppy will die in another four years.

It's 4:3, and a widescreen DVD gives me a pretty tiny picture on this 36" set, but it's liveable. The next purchase will be "The One", but I don't see that happening for ten years or so, when the mix of broadcast HD and wide-screen pricing is more to our advantage. The good news is we can watch almost anything in surround any time we want! ... Mike

Brett,
Pioneer's Elite series is MUCH better than any analog TV I've seen. But that would've been twice what you paid for the standard series. They are still overpriced for what you get in my opinion, but you do get what you pay for. Oh, and TVs ought to last longer than 13 years, IMO. :)

Robert,
The govt mandate of 2006 hinges on the improbable point of 80% of households in major markets actually owning a HD-capable TV by 2006. Otherwise the switch to all digital broadcasting WILL be postponed.

Jumping in on a thread with crap like this is inflammatory. Don't do it, and don't turn around and accuse someone else of starting the mess.

QUOTE: "your tv may have 900 lines horizontal...but can your tv even display 480p...no?...oh...ok...robert"

Spiky,

Great response (unlike someone else)

This particular set was a hair shy of 4K but I am
not sure if it is an Elite Series (I don't think so)

Since it's not my set I don't know all the details nor
did I care. I just wanted to post and get peoples
thoughts on this subject and I think I did so in an
unobtrusive manner. I didn't come in here and say "ahh
HDTV sucks and it's destined for failure" because that
would be an opinion. The "Fact" is that HDTV is not a
viable option for a lot of us right now and a lot of
us feel that we can get as good a quality image on a
"Digital" analog set.

I know one thing, whenever I say
I have an RCA set it's like people react "big deal" but
what I don't understand is why? All the revies on this
set are great and with Component Inputs,User Adjustable
color temperatures (and a true NTSC 6500k) User
Adjustable convergence, 3 Line Digital Comb, 900 Lines
and more.. It's one hell of a sudo digital set :)


Is HDTV better? well thats a tough call.. Remember when
tube amps faded from the light in leiu of electronics?
And now all the rage is to pay thousands for good tube
amps... Some times things can get "too perfect" and
then loose thier earthly warmth. :)

10+ years from now when I am watching my HDTV set I
will reflect back upon my current thoughts and probably
get a good chuckle at my own ego's expense. But hey we
live and learn right?

Ohh and hey Mike Riley, Great reply too! Ohh hey Mike
I have a Canadian joke for ya... (Don't get mad)

Did you hear the U.S Government is Abolishing the One
Cent Penney Coil? Aparently Canada bought them all to
use as Canadian Dollars... LOL (I made that up!)

Sorry I am just razzin ya! :)

hey spiky...that was inflammatory huh?...don't be bitter..."The govt mandate of 2006 hinges on the improbable point of 80% of households in major markets actually owning a HD-capable TV by 2006. Otherwise the switch to all digital broadcasting WILL be postponed"-spike tooth..."although the government might be bumping the deadline till 2010"-me...don't just copy what i've already have posted...alright...lol...robert

Brett: I guess no one's told you that you can't make a Canuck angry with Canadian jokes... we're all from Newfoundland, which is one huge joke anyway... Anyway, LOL, I get the intent of your punchline, but I have no idea what a Penney Coil is.... ;-)

Hey. Have you seen the "I Am Canadian" commercial from Molson? Now THAT's funny... ... Mike

PS: All three large-screen sets that I've owned (well, when I bought the first at 27" it was large-screen, in those days...) have been RCA. No particular reason for sticking with RCA, except that they have always managed to offer the best set of its time at the best price. There are those that would argue that the Sony XBR400 series is better than the RCA MM36100, but it's also $1500 more; I've watched it a lot and I don't see a worthwhile difference for the price. Both the other sets are still going strong; the 27" is 18 years old, and has only cost $150 in repairs so far. The 32" ColorTrak is looking a little soft compared to the 36100, but it is 13 years old and chugging away. So, I say, Be Proud, Be One of the Many, Be RCA!

Hey, could someone look up "might" and "will" as adverbs? Apparently I don't know what they mean. Ooh, and "bitter", too. I seem to be losing something in the translation, here.

Mike,

Yeah I have seen that commercial and I was LMAO!
I am glad you Canadian Folk have such a great and
understanding sense of humor because let's face it
some of us American Folk can be butt heads :)

Ohh and I meant Penney COIN :) Darn that finger
slip! :)

I agree with you Mike, When I read through the list
of features my RCA P61926 set offers even the smallest
of features mean something. Guide+ for example is a
god send for those of us who don't care to subscribe to
a listing service, And being able to read the monring
paper on the TV (Via Guide+) is also neat.

When I went big screen hunting I did look at Sony and
I did look at Toshiba,Pioneer,Phillips,Samsung,Hitatchi
and anyone else you can think of. I looked at picture
clarity and could I set the color temperature myself
and was the convergence user adjustable rather than
service adjustable. Did it have the inputs I needed.

It met that criteria and it also met my budget. When
the time comes to buy another, If RCA still offers a
set that is this well built then I will be a repeat
customer.

Spiky,

Ignore him and he will go away..

Brett: As far as I'm concerned, generally speaking, as a race We're ALL Bozos on This Bus. I think if we all just beat the crap out of each other in a schoolyard fight, we could put everything behind us and get on.

Meantime, RCA: Yes, whoa, talk about inputs. I almost got serious about a Song Wega until I checked the inputs... two. What's that all about?! On the RCA I can barely count all the ins, outs, and types of connectors. I can hook up pretty much anything I want in any fashion. So for my VCR and DVD and AV Receiver, I have analog listening capabilities either through the set or the receiver, digital when I want it through the receiver, video at full-processing mode through the receiver, cable inputs directly to both VCR and TV and out again to receiver... the list she goes on.

You know that RCA has already come out with a 38" wide-screen direct-view HDTV set, with the converter and satellite capability built in. I saw it at Best Buy in Syracuse and Orlando for $2999.00. Of course it wasn't turned on... this is a good example why the warehouse-type stores are keeping HDTV squashed. Who can blame the broadcasters or the cable companies when the stores don't even bother to push it? The excuses we keep reading about in the trades are ridiculous: "not enough installed base". Well, of course there are not enough installed HDTVs... only us geeks even know what they look like when they are turned on!

Someone mentioned that all the sports bars should be equipped with HDTV... then thousands and thousands of people every night would pop their eyeballs out and run to the store to get a fix. And the pendulum would swing around in our favour in a matter of months.

Meantime, the price of RCA 38" jobby is incredible for what it offers, and it is still close to the same price as the Sony 400 series (I think... in Canada that would be $4500 and the Sony 36" is $4000).

So you and me both will be buying another RCA, I'm willing to bet, when the time comes...

Sorry for the rant.... .... Mike

Right on Mike :)

Brett,
I understand your position on HD programming, or lack thereof. The true reason behind purchasing an HD upgradeable, or HD monitor is because of it's capabilities of reproducing NTSC at a much higher resolution.
Standard video is processed with an analog interlaced picture, thus producing visible scan lines through the picture. Digital televisions have "scalers" or "upconverters" that can scale an NTSC image to reduce and even eliminate those visible scan lines.
Those scan lines become more and more visible the larger the viewing area, or the closer you sit to the screen. A front view projection system without a scaler would have a picture that looks like viewing through a screen door. With the scaler, the picture is much smoother and film-like. Remember, this is with standard broadcast NTSC video.
Of course progressive dvd can only be displayed on the more recent HD monitors. A progressive dvd image is considered to be an ATSC standard picture, a format recognized as digital. Analog sets will still have visible scan lines.
Brett, as you said previously, you may have a television for up to and even more than 13+ years. Most people would have gone through at least TWO new car purchases!! Wouldn't it be wise to choose an HD monitor if you are in the market for a television right now??

John

I agree, I get much more enjoyment out of my HDTV than my car, and I drive this..... [Link: junebug.8m.com]

This is not a car post but if it means anything I do
get much more enjoyment out of my weekend cars than I
do anything else in life (short of breathing) :)

[Link: westol.com]
[Link: westol.com]

Nice wheels Rmassey :)



John,

I am not in the market for a new set nor do "I" see the
benefits. When I went RPTV shoping last year I looked
at what was on the market and I bought what offered the
best set of features in my price range. Next time I go
shopping it will be HDTV because by then it will be the
standard.

Mike, you do know there are different types of wega's of the same size that have different options including number of and types of inputs...robert

Robert,

Does that make it "better" ?

Like Mike said and I repeated, the TV sets we chose
had a set of features that met our demands. I looked
at many Sony Projection sets (no tubes for me) and I
was not pleased with what they had to offer versus the
price.

Some times Sony has great products (Like the entire
line of Mavica Cameras) and some times they do not.
That is life.

:)

Robert///M3: Yes... I can't remember the particular set number, but it ran about $1800 Cdn. This would be about 1.5 years ago, just before Sony introduced the XBR400 series. I didn't have to give it much thought, fortunately, because the RCA MM36100 became available at just the right moment. In fact, RCA only had one in the country in Canada at that time, and I waited an extra three weeks for it to be processed and delivered. Man, that was a long three weeks....

As John said, in reference to lines of resolution, the XBR400 series on regular cable shows a very pronounced set of horizontal lines, especially at "normal" watching distance. That's a primary reason for me not to buy it (apart from the Sony price: my set listed about $2700, the Sony is still at $3999). The RCA does have visible lines, but only from a closer-than-normal distance. And again as John said, the picture is far superior, even with a regular NTSC signal, to non-HD-ready sets... ... Mike