While waiting for a reply to my earlier post i came upon this htib system from rca. looks nice and also has hdmi for just 199.00... the only thing is i cannot find any reviews nor opinions on it. also, cannot find a picture of the back of the unit to see connections... any one know of this system??? RCA RTD260

my friend has that rca rtd260, its actually a good system, quailty sound, dvd picture is pretty good, cant tell a diff, its a good $200 system

I would also like to here any reviews of this system. I am planning on spending more for a new lcd tv than I wanted to, so I don't have much of a budget for a htib. This seems to have some nice features for the price... but does it sound good? Halfway decent bass? This will be my first surround system so I don't have huge expectations for a unit that costs less than $300

They have it listed on CC's website but can only be shipped. I'm assuming they don't stock this at the store. Anyone know any other merchants that carry this in their store?

While waiting for a reply to my earlier post i came upon this htib system from rca. looks nice and also has hdmi for just 199.00... the only thing is i cannot find any reviews nor opinions on it. also, cannot find a picture of the back of the unit to see connections... any one know of this system??? RCA RTD260

Tony,
I've been searching high and low myself looking for more info as well. Hopefully some more people out there will respond to this post with any feedback on this system.
Good Luck and keep me posted here if you come across some more info.

I'm also interested, but can't find one to test anywhere around here in AZ. Found this Manual though, I'd have linked it, but since I haven't made 5 posts before writing this message the forum won't let me. It's located on the RCA website.

RCA RTD260 Manual (http://www.rcaaudiovideo.com/rcaav06/AudioVideo/ProductDownloads/RTD260_IB.pdf)

No wonder nobody is buying this unit...by the looks of it from the manual, it has a mere 2 analog inputs for audio. Unless I'm missing something

There was a post from someone above saying they having come across any pictures show the rear of this system. TigerDirect,com has multiple pictures of this system on its website and is currently seeling it for $199 plus shipping. The home audio equipment is listed under "electronics" --> "home theater". Amazon,com is also selling the system for a good price w/ free shipping.

I have not heard this system in person and I am also having trouble finding any reviews on it.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to order this today and try it out, anyone have any updates on it?

I put my order in through Amazon, I'll give you guys a review when I receive it!

I ordered one from Circuit City a couple of weeks ago. I just got it in yesterday. I'm in the process of moving, and will probably have it set up within a week or so. Along with gijoe, I'll gladly answer any questions after I set it up.

I just hope you guys don't have to deal with their customer service. I bought one of their Lyra mp3 players a while back and was having problems with transferring data between it and my computer. There was no phone # for customer service in any of the literature that came with the unit and it took some digging on the net to find a long distance #. When I called all the guy wanted to do was get me off the phone as quickly as possible, didn't help me at all. I took it back the next day and will never buy RCA again. There are probably problems like this with any manufacturer I suppose but this was my experience with RCA. I guess I should have known when I couldn't even find a phone #. Hopefully that has changed and you guys won't have any problems, I'd be interested in hearing anything about the customer service though if you need them.

Got to mess around with it last night and so far very nice for the price. I only hooked up the front speakers because I didn't have much time and because of what time it was in my apt complex, I wasn't able to turn it up loud. One feature I really wanted to check out and I was impressed by was the upscaling DVD player. The picture is great, as good if not better than the player below that I have tried before.

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-DVPNS75H-Single-Upscaling-Player/dp/B000EDK8V4

I'll have more time to play around with it tonight so I'll give a better review later this week!

I finally had a chance to play around with this unit a little more. So far I really like the upconverting DVD player. The sound is crystal clear and it can get pretty loud, loud enough for the room I have it in. Sound is on par with pretty much any other HTIB system I have listened too, good not great….but for $200 it has good sound and a very nice DVD changer.

On to the things I do not like because that is what comes to mind at the moment. First off the speaker cord for the rear speakers is not very long, I wasn’t able to wire around my 12X15 apartment living room so I can have the wires going along the edge of the room. Second, the display is bright, verrry bright. It is too bright to read from more than 3 feet away and is very distracting when the lights are off and you are trying to watch the TV. I am going to see if I can find a tinted cover that will cut back on the brightness of the display. Another question someone might be able to answer (I do not have a lot of experience with home theatre audio), why does Dolby Digital sound like crap compared to Dolby PLII 5.1? The rear speakers are terribly quiet and this is the third unit I have noticed this on. I would much rather listen to something in Dolby PLII 5.1 than use Dolby Digital. BTW, you cannot use Dolby PLII 5.1 when you are using the DVD player, you can only use DD or Stereo with the front speakers. Last thing I can think of right now is that one of my speaker stands came with the threads stripped on the nut. This just makes me mad, not a huge deal but I shouldn’t have to go out and buy a nut for something I haven’t touched.

On the bright side of not being able to wire the speakers to the back of the room, the FSsE (front surround sound effect) feature mounting the rear speakers on top of the front speakers sounds excellent. It is much better than I expected and I will probably leave it this way instead of buying more speaker wire (for now at least).

Again I have not had a lot of time to mess around with it yet but these are my experiences as of right now. I haven’t had a chance to play around with a lot of options but I will have time this weekend. I am open to any questions so feel free to ask!

The RTD260 is a nice sounding player for DVD and music playback. However it has the following limitations that you should be aware of. #1 the speakers, including the
subwoofer, are rated at 3 ohms. This means that the amplifier may not be capable of its advertised 167 watt per output using 8 ohm speakers. This information is not published. No problem unless you are planning to use the amp to drive your 8 ohm speakers. When I decided to take a chance on this unit, one thing that didn't enter my mind was 3 ohm output. My dream of using my Cerwin Vega speakers in front is probably shot. #2 There are no proper detailed specifications published about this unit. The advertised output is 167 watts per channel, but there is no mention anywhere of whether this means RMS power, PMPO power, or what. The input rating on the back of the unit says 90 watts so I don't see how it's possible for the machine to produce 1000 watts out. But maybe that is just idling watts input, if so the maximum watt draw should be listed also as it is on many other units. I don't want to diss this budget unit too bad because it does put out plenty of clean sound with fine 5.1 surround. #3 when you switch the unit to stereo mode, the rear speakers are turned off. This is foolish. You only have the front
speakers in stereo mode. A unit like this should be switchable to output whatever you want to whatever speaker, savable in a user preset. I must mention though that it seems the unit steers more power to the front in stereo mode, but if so, it is also unpublished, someone may want to confirm/contradict this with test equipment. #4 when you plug in headphones the speakers are turned off, period. No way to use the headphone output to power your old amp and speakers while using this units speakers during dvd playback. There is only a subwoofer preamp out. #5 the equalizer is only available in stereo mode, or I just haven't figured it out yet. I've included the RTD260_SPEC.pdf from RCA/Tompson support so you can check out some limited specs on the unit.

hey thanks for the info guys... i almost forgot i made this thread.... well, i have the unit and set it up last night... I mounted my two front l/r speakers on the wall with wall mounts.. i then connected everything and turned it on...

Well, now i am confused as heck cause my tv has hdmi but i do not have a cable yet...i will get one soon.. but for me to get audio out of this i have my video from the sat box connected directly to the tv but i have the audio from the sat box go directly to the RCA RTD260 but there analog cables but my sat does coax audio as well.... if i buy a coax cable for sound will this make better quality??? #2. should i connect my audio from my sat box to the back of the tv then go from the tv to my RCA RTD260 ??? or should i leave the audio from the sat box to the RCA RTD260 like i have it now????

Jerkin, I actually should be able to report about customer service within a few days. I don't feel like messing with them now.

Mine freezes atleast once a day. The only way to shut the system down is to unplug the power cord. I also cannot adjust anything. It completely freezes.

Does anyone else have this problem with this system? If so, how was customer service? Did they send a replacement, or atleast fix the problem?