I got this RCA HDTV @ Walmart for $287.99, what do you CAGs think???

the3rdkey

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http://tv.rca.com/en-US/ModelDetail.html?MN=D32F750T&nav=ByRoom&PC=Family Room
 
[quote name='mietha']Sucks that's it's not widescreen, and it's probably not 720p, but for the price, not bad at all.[/QUOTE]

I can set the screen to 16:9. No 720p tho.
 
Damn! I thought finding a HD Ready 26' Widescreen tv on clearence at Target for $320 was a good deal I might have to go check out Wal-Mart.
 
4:3 is teh suck!!! shift+1!!

The point of buying an HDTV, at least for me, is to enjoy Widescreen images and also get the anamorphic enhancement from DVDs.

Damn! I thought finding a HD Ready 26' Widescreen tv on clearence at Target for $320 was a good deal I might have to go check out Wal-Mart.

That's a great deal..don't futz around with these 4:3 tvs.
 
I'm pretty sure thats the standard price for that TV at Wal-Mart, I was checking it out the other day. Almost pulled the trigger but I'm holding out for a widescreen. There really isn't anything wrong with having a 4:3 TV, sure you'll have a slightly compressed image, but to the average person they won't be able to tell. Plus, considering the fact that most programming is still broadcast in 4:3 and not 16:9, you'll have a larger surface area to watch the bulk of TV shows.

EDIT: Saw that the link says this is a 32" TV, even better deal! The one I was looking at was a 27" 4:3 RCA. Nice score.
 
[quote name='mietha']Sucks that's it's not widescreen, and it's probably not 720p, but for the price, not bad at all.[/QUOTE]

AFAIK no tube tv's are 720P native. Some, such as the one I have, will accept a 720P signal but automatically upconverts it to 1080I. Pretty good deal OP, I paid almost $600 for my 26" Samsung (but it does have the tuner built in). Unfortunately it isn't in 16:9 format but for the size/price you got a great deal :)
 
It seems like as long as the TV does a decent job upconverting the 720p to 1080i, its hard to really tell the difference between the two, especially to a person like me who thinks that DVD's in 480p look amazing.
 
How are these TVs for gaming?

I called around to various walmarts in my area. Known had this TV in for this price.

gsr i am pretty sure you're saying that these tv's aren't the greatest. I am honestly having a difficult time understanding your dialect.
 
[quote name='Lucasp']How are these TVs for gaming?

I called around to various walmarts in my area. Known had this TV in for this price.

gsr i am pretty sure you're saying that these tv's aren't the greatest. I am honestly having a difficult time understanding your dialect.[/QUOTE]

the HDTV standard is set as 16:9...ALL HDTV sourced material will be in 16:9 format.

Why on earth would you want a 4:3 tv?? Makes no sense to me. There's a reason that you don't find these tv's everywhere. They're pretty much only at WalMart, because the people that shop there are the same ones that buy Fullscreen DVDs.

Do some research before you buy. Don't buy just because it looks like a great deal.

edit - okay, i'm assuming you're referring to the term 4:3, when you say you can't understand my dialect.

4:3 = 1.33:1, 1.33 = aspect ratio of a standard tv.

16:9 = 1.78:1, 1.78 = aspect ratio of a widescreen tv.
 
[quote name='gsr']the HDTV standard is set as 16:9...ALL HDTV sourced material will be in 16:9 format.

Why on earth would you want a 4:3 tv?? Makes no sense to me. There's a reason that you don't find these tv's everywhere. They're pretty much only at WalMart, because the people that shop there are the same ones that buy Fullscreen DVDs.

Do some research before you buy. Don't buy just because it looks like a great deal.

edit - okay, i'm assuming you're referring to the term 4:3, when you say you can't understand my dialect.

4:3 = 1.33:1, 1.33 = aspect ratio of a standard tv.

16:9 = 1.78:1, 1.78 = aspect ratio of a widescreen tv.[/QUOTE]

I think you did well and I bet you will be happy with your cheap set until you want to take the plunge and buy something bigger and better.

I did a lot of research when I bought a 32" Toshiba 4:3 HDTV (3 years ago) and haven't had a single regret.

I don't have enough space to really get back far enough to want a really big screen. The picture is bright and letterboxed DVDs look very good.

The set has been perfect for games (all three systems) because they are not utilizing widescreen yet. But 480P looks great!

The reason why I returned a widescreen rear projection set and got this one is because the bulk of my TV watching is still standard 4:3 stuff.

I'm holding out for plasma to get affordable and the industry to really move to widescreen.
 
[quote name='schultzed']I think you did well and I bet you will be happy with your cheap set until you want to take the plunge and buy something bigger and better.

I did a lot of research when I bought a 32" Toshiba 4:3 HDTV (3 years ago) and haven't had a single regret.

I don't have enough space to really get back far enough to want a really big screen. The picture is bright and letterboxed DVDs look very good.

The set has been perfect for games (all three systems) because they are not utilizing widescreen yet. But 480P looks great!

The reason why I returned a widescreen rear projection set and got this one is because the bulk of my TV watching is still standard 4:3 stuff.

I'm holding out for plasma to get affordable and the industry to really move to widescreen.[/QUOTE]


I would of had bit of regret with a 32"..... I got the 42 Grand Wega LCD.. it looks INSANE with an upconvert DVD player or a true high def signal (built in DCR, no extra box! LOL) anywas... long story short, there are 2 of them in my house now :) one down, and one up!
 
[quote name='schultzed']I think you did well and I bet you will be happy with your cheap set until you want to take the plunge and buy something bigger and better.

I did a lot of research when I bought a 32" Toshiba 4:3 HDTV (3 years ago) and haven't had a single regret.

I don't have enough space to really get back far enough to want a really big screen. The picture is bright and letterboxed DVDs look very good.

The set has been perfect for games (all three systems) because they are not utilizing widescreen yet. But 480P looks great!

The reason why I returned a widescreen rear projection set and got this one is because the bulk of my TV watching is still standard 4:3 stuff.

I'm holding out for plasma to get affordable and the industry to really move to widescreen.[/QUOTE]

If you watch a lot of 4:3 programming that's your prerogative.

All the shows I watch during primetime on network tv are Widescreen and HD. Just about every DVD I watch is widescreen, and has anamorphic enhancement(which 4:3 sets do not take advantage of).

If you're buying a tv just to play current gen games, then feel free to buy this set...

If you're buying a tv to watch DVDs and be ready for next gen, I'd have to recommend a WS tv.
 
How can you guys say under $300 isnt a good deal for this set? Sure its 4:3 but WHO CARES! He got it for less than $300. You can barely even buy a regular analog 32" TV for that price (maybe a Sylvania or something would run around the same price). The OP got a flat screen HDTV monitor (decent brand too) for under $300, thats a deal.
 
[quote name='Staind204']How can you guys say under $300 isnt a good deal for this set? Sure its 4:3 but WHO CARES! He got it for less than $300. You can barely even buy a regular analog 32" TV for that price (maybe a Sylvania or something would run around the same price). The OP got a flat screen HDTV monitor (decent brand too) for under $300, thats a deal.[/QUOTE]


Good post.


Some people just seem to take it personally if someone else buys something for a great price but it doesnt meet their "standards".I will get an HDTV soon and it will be WS but I would not ridicule anyone for getting a non WS HDTV because they can be had pretty cheap and basically ANYONE can enjoy HD programming.

Elitist pricks suck.
 
[quote name='uzumaki_star']Damn! I thought finding a HD Ready 26' Widescreen tv on clearence at Target for $320 was a good deal I might have to go check out Wal-Mart.[/QUOTE]
Im in the market for any type of hdtv, the cheaper the better, what type was it?
 
[quote name='DX']Good post.


Some people just seem to take it personally if someone else buys something for a great price but it doesnt meet their "standards".I will get an HDTV soon and it will be WS but I would not ridicule anyone for getting a non WS HDTV because they can be had pretty cheap and basically ANYONE can enjoy HD programming.

Elitist pricks suck.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, seems like more people want to say how much worse it is than a $3000 TV, when in reality, finding a 32" flat screen non-HDTV for this price is a pretty decent deal. Also having a 4:3 TV does have a few advantages, like when watching 95% of the channels on cable, which do not broadcast in HD. I know in the future a widescreen TV may be better, but this is a heck of a deal for under $300, I would have pulled the trigger on this if I saw it; no question.
 
Hmm? I've seen this TV: truthfully? I feel sorry for you, even the SD 27 inch Panasonic 4:3 screen at $257 would have been a better choice: at least for now while the Panasonics are still made by Matsushita and not Orion/Funai.

I will admit to being tempted by the TV: the idea of affordable [on the price range of conventional TV] HDTV for even a small bedroom or computer room is something most people only fream of but here's the sad reality of it. That specific model [and its series counterparts] of RCA accepts 480p and 1080i sources [through component or DVI] and downgrade them to 480i. Granted, the picture quality will be better than any of their own standard sets but I dare you to demo your console on a solid SD television and the "ED" RCA you just bought, the picture quality will be better on the SD [especially something good: Panasonic, Sony, even Philips]

Even then though, you're cheaping yourself out with this television. The standard for high definition programming calls for an aspect ratio of 16x9, even if it didn't downgrade to 480i [as I am certain it does, there was a long article about this new line of affordable HD sets ]you're not getting every possible bit of data: you haven't lived until you see true 1080i in its native format.

And since you do have near $300 to spend on a TV, I seriously urge you to consider buying one of the many affordable 16x9 sets, the best ones that come to mind are the Panasonic CT30WX15 [I have the 34 inch version of this with 2 component inputs] or the Sanyo HT28745 [which has an intergrated dual ATSC/NTSC tuner, in case you need it, also comes in a 30 inch] I have seen the Sanyo as low as $400 and the Panasonic at around $600, the standard MSRP on both are $600 to $800. For a little more, Sony's support 720P, though I seriously don't think it's needed, 480P/1080i is more than enough and will be complient for a long time to come.

I just hope you don't try to play legacy systems or watch anime on that RCA, I've seen it on a similar set, and trust me, it doesn't look pretty. I think even the picture on one of those RGB/VGA boxes that you can get on ebay for $50 looks better than it could ever look.

And for the sake of the thread, I'm not being "elitist", I'm simply stating the facts, it downgrades 480p and 1080i, turns it into standard 480i, applies a cheap filter to it and torches it out. It's not a $1000 TV on clearance for $258, that's the price they set it to because that's what it's worth, eventually, you'll see more TV's like this when cable companies and console makers [DVD, video games, etc] start phasing out analog connections and switch to full digital, but there's a world of difference between being truly HD ready and simply being able to downconvert.
 
[quote name='sarausagi']Hmm? I've seen this TV: truthfully? I feel sorry for you, even the SD 27 inch Panasonic 4:3 screen at $257 would have been a better choice: at least for now while the Panasonics are still made by Matsushita and not Orion/Funai.

I will admit to being tempted by the TV: the idea of affordable [on the price range of conventional TV] HDTV for even a small bedroom or computer room is something most people only fream of but here's the sad reality of it. That specific model [and its series counterparts] of RCA accepts 480p and 1080i sources [through component or DVI] and downgrade them to 480i. Granted, the picture quality will be better than any of their own standard sets but I dare you to demo your console on a solid SD television and the "ED" RCA you just bought, the picture quality will be better on the SD [especially something good: Panasonic, Sony, even Philips]

Even then though, you're cheaping yourself out with this television. The standard for high definition programming calls for an aspect ratio of 16x9, even if it didn't downgrade to 480i [as I am certain it does, there was a long article about this new line of affordable HD sets ]you're not getting every possible bit of data: you haven't lived until you see true 1080i in its native format.

And since you do have near $300 to spend on a TV, I seriously urge you to consider buying one of the many affordable 16x9 sets, the best ones that come to mind are the Panasonic CT30WX15 [I have the 34 inch version of this with 2 component inputs] or the Sanyo HT28745 [which has an intergrated dual ATSC/NTSC tuner, in case you need it, also comes in a 30 inch] I have seen the Sanyo as low as $400 and the Panasonic at around $600, the standard MSRP on both are $600 to $800. For a little more, Sony's support 720P, though I seriously don't think it's needed, 480P/1080i is more than enough and will be complient for a long time to come.

I just hope you don't try to play legacy systems or watch anime on that RCA, I've seen it on a similar set, and trust me, it doesn't look pretty. I think even the picture on one of those RGB/VGA boxes that you can get on ebay for $50 looks better than it could ever look.

And for the sake of the thread, I'm not being "elitist", I'm simply stating the facts, it downgrades 480p and 1080i, turns it into standard 480i, applies a cheap filter to it and torches it out. It's not a $1000 TV on clearance for $258, that's the price they set it to because that's what it's worth, eventually, you'll see more TV's like this when cable companies and console makers [DVD, video games, etc] start phasing out analog connections and switch to full digital, but there's a world of difference between being truly HD ready and simply being able to downconvert.[/QUOTE]

Where did you get the information that is down converts the 1080i??? And, for the record between $3000 dollars for college and $550 for books(put into consideration I have had a 20'' inch Wega for 5 years) I thought this tv is pretty sweet. I play my SOCOM 3 beta on 480p and it looks great. My cousin just bought a wide screen tv and watches all the cable channels on 4:3 because they do not support wide screen.

P.S. you can kiss me ass.
 
[quote name='the3rdkey']

P.S. you can kiss me ass.[/QUOTE]

No need to get personal . . . people are just stating their opinions . . . this is almost as bad as the MAC vs. PC arguments back in the day.
 
[quote name='schultzed']No need to get personal . . . people are just stating their opinions . . . this is almost as bad as the MAC vs. PC arguments back in the day.[/QUOTE]

DOOD. . .STFU MAC'S ROOLL!!!!!
 
[quote name='the3rdkey']Where did you get the information that is down converts the 1080i??? And, for the record between $3000 dollars for college and $550 for books(put into consideration I have had a 20'' inch Wega for 5 years) I thought this tv is pretty sweet. I play my SOCOM 3 beta on 480p and it looks great. My cousin just bought a wide screen tv and watches all the cable channels on 4:3 because they do not support wide screen.

P.S. you can kiss me ass.[/QUOTE]

What? On a 34 inch wide screeen, full frame is about 29 inches. What you lose in terms of image when displaying even 16x9 [it's even more when you display wider aspect ratios] on 4:3 is a lot more than what you lose 4:3 on 16:9. And honestly, that Wega is ten times the set any of the SDTV's you can buy today, sure, it's no Pana SuperFlat [back in the day, woo] but it's pretty good.

I'm not saying it's not a good buy, but I wouldn't like for 20 something people to rush to Walmart and buy one and then feel letdown when they get blotchy screens on 2D games, HD XBox games look like crap, and true HDTV looks pixelated.

But I wasn't pointing you out exactly. If the TV fits your needs then by all means congratulations on your purchase, you'll probably end up buying a new display when you graduate/move out anyways. However, it's more about the kids excited to get a new set, that disturb me. Every TV that sells like this delays the true deployment of HD and broadband technologies and keeps that cursed 4:3 aspect ratio around. I went to Walmart today and the 30 inch Philips 16X9 is on rollback sale for $485. Best Buy has a regular price knock off brand set for $380, it's only 26 inches wide but it does true 480p and 1080i and is compliant with HDMI [which is an absolute must, DVI is okay if it's HDCP certified but eventually you're going to see HDMI has the dominant HD connector standard, especially when HD-DVD and PS3 come around]
 
I just wanted to thanks to everyone for their input on this topic. I have recently been in the market for an affordable HDTV set. I can afford more than 287.99, this appeared to be a great set to "pull the trigger" on and I almost did. Even though this thread turned into debate it was also consisted of a nice amount of information. I know have a better idea of what I can afford and expect from an HDTV for under a grand.

~P
 
[quote name='sarausagi']What? On a 34 inch wide screeen, full frame is about 29 inches. What you lose in terms of image when displaying even 16x9 [it's even more when you display wider aspect ratios] on 4:3 is a lot more than what you lose 4:3 on 16:9. And honestly, that Wega is ten times the set any of the SDTV's you can buy today, sure, it's no Pana SuperFlat [back in the day, woo] but it's pretty good.

I'm not saying it's not a good buy, but I wouldn't like for 20 something people to rush to Walmart and buy one and then feel letdown when they get blotchy screens on 2D games, HD XBox games look like crap, and true HDTV looks pixelated.

But I wasn't pointing you out exactly. If the TV fits your needs then by all means congratulations on your purchase, you'll probably end up buying a new display when you graduate/move out anyways. However, it's more about the kids excited to get a new set, that disturb me. Every TV that sells like this delays the true deployment of HD and broadband technologies and keeps that cursed 4:3 aspect ratio around. I went to Walmart today and the 30 inch Philips 16X9 is on rollback sale for $485. Best Buy has a regular price knock off brand set for $380, it's only 26 inches wide but it does true 480p and 1080i and is compliant with HDMI [which is an absolute must, DVI is okay if it's HDCP certified but eventually you're going to see HDMI has the dominant HD connector standard, especially when HD-DVD and PS3 come around][/QUOTE]

It has a 16:9 mode.
 
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