Newb question...RCA LED46A55R120Q

So, I picked up an 46" RCA LED the other day and the picture looks great (after tweaking the settings) when I sit in front of the TV, but as soon as I get about a foot or two to the side, it gets much lighter and has some weird shadows. From what I've been reading, this sounds like it is related to the type of panel, as my 32" LG LED does not have this issue, nor does the old 50" Hitachi Rear Projection LCD we have. Does anyone here happen to know much about this RCA LED? All the reviews I find online seem to be very positive, which has me wondering if RCA uses various panels for the same TV and I just got one with a bad panel. I thought I had scored a great deal, but the off angle viewing is really irritating me. Granted, it is 1080p, 120Hz, etc, which is all stuff I wanted, but not sure if the viewing angle issue is just with the set I received or with all sets with this model number. Any tips, insights, or links are very much appreciated. If anything, the RCA might have the best picture straight on, but definitely not at a 45 degree angle.

Thanks...I really appreciate the help. I knew a little about the panels, but didn't realize there were pro's and con's to each, as most of what I had read so far was all leaning towards the IPS. So, I just assumed IPS was always better.

I do see some "clouding" when the TV is on and the screen is black. It's not just in the corners...more spread amongst a few "hot spots" sorta speak, but I noticed that right away, as it's the first TV I've seen like that, but most of my friends have Plasmas. With that said, I only notice the "white clouds" when the screen is fully black. Once the picture comes on, I really don't notice it, unless maybe during a really dark scene, but I haven't watched much that is really dark, as I've mainly been using the TV for watching sports and playing XBOX. Once the rest of my HDMI cables arrive, I plan to watch more movies, but sports and XBOX will be the main focus, as this TV is in the "man cave".

Thanks for the link too....that site looks like it has some good info.

I think I might go look at a few other TV's the weekend to help me decide, but all of the other LED's I've seen are several $100's more, so if I return this one, I'll definitely want to make sure I really really like whatever else I choose, as this TV is out of stock now.

Thanks, that's definitely helpful insight. The reason I liked the LED's was because they were thin like the plasmas, and thinking less glare/bright room concerns vs the plasma (not really sure if that would be an issue or not). I plan to wall mount the TV and like the thinner profile when on the wall. I had also heard to be careful with plasma if I'm using the XBOX a lot and they are also heavy for a wall mount, plus heard you had to be careful moving them, so figured an LED/LCD would be "safer".

I guess those are just the trade-offs. Your insights are definitely helpful though, so appreciate the help.

Sounds like quite a setup. I'm just stoked to have a 46-47".

I did some more surfing and think I'll try to find an LG or Samsung for around $800 or so. I'm hoping I can find one I like and then from there, try to negotiate the price down.

If everything else I look at is equally underwhelming, then I may just have to wait or stick with the RCA.

Thanks Bobby_D. I'm going to try to go look at a few more sets this weekend and see if I find anything that I feel is worth some extra money. I definitely plan to check out a few LG's, as we really like the LG 32LV2400 that we bought for the bedroom.

OK, probably should have done this from the get go, but I finally hooked up HD to my RCA TV and to our older LCD Rear Projection. I still notice the "brightening" of the RCA when I move away from center, but it's not nearly as noticeable as when viewing SD content. It still gets lighter, but the picture is so much better, that the effect is far less noticeable and doesn't negatively impact the viewing experience nearly as much as it did when watching SD content. I'm still going to go look at a few LG and Samsung sets this weekend, because I do really like the 32" LG LED that we picked up, so if I look at the LG or Samsung and it has next to no degrade in contrast when viewing from an angle, I'll probably make the switch, but we'll see....as the RCA is definitely better with HD content. Thanks for the help guys.

All, just thought I'd touch base again. I ended up keeping the RCA, as I was able to tweak it enough that I liked the picture.

Arezoo,

I can see the white clouds on mine as well, when the screen is all black, but you might want to look at some of the other TV threads as well, as it appears to be a somewhat common issue with LED TV's. For me, I rarely notice it, as it is very rare that I am watching something for more than a couple seconds where the entire screen is black....and then it is usually a black screen with some text in the middle of the screen, so I'm fine with it.

5280,

I have mine set at the following:

Brightness 45
Contrast 55
Color 60
Sharpness 50
Color Temp - Normal
...and all Advanced settings - Off

I couldn't find anything more advanced for settings, so not sure how helpful this is, but thought I'd share just in case.

Cool. I'm sure you'll be happy with the LG (I love the one we have in the bedroom). As much as prices have dropped over the last year, you can probably get an LG for almost the same costs as the RCA now anyways. Although, I'm still happy with my RCA for the price...good overall value set.