[vinnyv07]

I know that alot has been written about this tv....but I just came home from Best Buy and I had a look at the RCA F 38310.

1) Is it me or do you lose some of the picture on this tv........It might have been the feed but, a basketball game was on and I couldnt see the score ...which was on the bottom right of the4:3 screens. This was cut off on the rca.

2) The picture didnt seem all that sharp. But that might have been the feed that was running into the tv from best buy.

3) Does the built in directv receiver acts like the RCA DTC 100??? Just wondering if their are any advantages of having the receiver as a seperate component rather than built in. Does it have a card slot???? Didnt really see it.

All in all I was rather impressed with the value of a 38 inch wide for the price... Just want to know other details about the tv before I shell out the 2 grand. Pretty cool tv with a built in HD tuner!!!!

 

[ragedogg69]

1- I don't quite understand this but it sounds like it was on zoom mode. But the feed was already cropping the image, so the score was cut off. This was not a HD feed!


2- This was not a HD Feed. Best Buy typically only feeds HD to certain TV. Most likely on a single wall. Most are just a coax connection.


3- Yes the decoder is just like the DTC-100, with minor differeces. The card slot is in the back. The only advantage of an external STB is an APG.

 

[vinnyv07]

Thanks for the reply....also, I have heard complaints about slow ch switching and also the fan for the tv being on alot. How loud is the fan? And does it get in the way of viewing a broadcast???

 

[ragedogg69]

Yes there is a slow channel switching problem with these sets. I think a software upgrade would help though. The fan is on 24/7. I don't think that it is terribly loud, but some people have taken back their set because of it.

 

[Matt_Stevens]

The set was absolutely in Zoom mode. Stores are just clueless with these sets. It disgusts me.


This TV has the second best picture I have ever seen from a Tube TV. Only the 38" Loewe beats it (same tube, but different everything else for 5 grand).

 

[HD-plasma123]

Never trust the display put on any TV, especially a HDTV, by the clowns at Best Buy, Circuit City, Sears, etc. Most likely the displays are not even HD. At my local Best Buy every TV on the floor was showing the same loop, that's right, analog and HD's at the same time.

Unfortunately, very few stores know enough to show any HD on any display. Your best chance of seeing any true display is if a friend of yours owns one and is properly antenna'd or satellited to show it.

 

[vinnyv07]

Thank You for the replies. I am sold on this tv, but I do have a couple more questions. I read a ton on the full, fill modes....1).I will be connecting Directv to this tv...will I be able to use these modes with my directv....or will I have to get use to the bars?

2) On DVD's that are not in widescreen...they are in full screen...from what I undestand is that I will be stuck with the bars with these types of DVD's?

I am going to try this tv out ..but I wil buy it from best buy which gives me the option of bringing it back if I dont like it.

 

[Matt_Stevens]

Real quick, simply don't bother with full screen DVD's, since they are CROPPED. Unless they are older films (pre-1954) of course. Widescreen DVD for Widescreen TV. If you own some cropped DVD's (the term "Full Screen" is such a lie), then that's your bad.


4:3 material on the RCA will need to bew viewed with Gray bars on the sides, or with the set's stretch mode.



For the money, this set simply cannot be beat. It's unbelievably inexpensive right now.

 

[vinnyv07]

Tuesday I take my money and go for it...one more question before I leave you all alone. My DVD player is not progressive scan...it has component out. If I hook the DVD player up through the component input in the back of this beast...will it upconvert the picture of the DVD as it will any input? WOnt the set make the DVD picture better?? Wont the tv make the dvd look like a progressive scan dvd?? Or not quite. Maybe half way???

 

[Matt_Stevens]

The RCA's line doubler is actually pretty good, so while it won't look as good as 480p, DVD will look great via a 480i player. Try the S-Video and Component and see which you prefer. Trust your own eyes.


Buy AVIA, if you haven't. You will need that disc to get the settings as close to excellent as possible.

 

[hob]

Forget about watching anything in 4:3 I have had a good friend who got a burn in using the not always active grey bars. I on the other had left it in full for all sources, after 1 year no burn in and I don't even see the stretch anymore.

 

[LarsYouPutz]

New to this forum. but have been using this set for about 1 year, and LOVE it. Yes, the fan runs 24/7, but not noisy enough to bother me. As far as the scores being cut off, it was in full mode, which also tends to blur the pic a bit, I never use this setting. I use the fill mode which stretches the pic a bit to fill the screen and avoids the grey bars for 4:3 signals, and you get used to the stretching quickly. The grey bars will not only burn in, the are just annoying. You should know that the fill and full modes only work with standard ntsc signals. 16:9, and progressively scanned images cannot be altered. A progressively scanned dvd image with a 2.35:1 aspect ratio will still leave you with black bars on the top and bottom, while a 1.78:1 will not. Full screen dvds, 1.33:1, just get stretched, and I avoid them at all costs. The HD image with a standard $30 set of rabbit ears will amaze you, leaving both satellite and dvd in the dust.

 

[vinnyv07]

I havent bought a tv yet.. I am still going back in forth on whether or not to get a sony 51 in projection or the rca f38310. I have been spending alot of time pointing my oval dish...trying to get a signal fo the sats. I already have a HDTV receiver so I dont have to get the rca...but stil I am leaning in that direction. When I go to the store on monday I will make my mind up once and for all.

 

[HD-plasma123]

Where are you, Vinnyv07?

Just saw at Fry's Electronics in Sunnyvale, Calif, RCA F38310, $1995.


Note: this store was simply stupid. Of the 40 or so TV's on the floor, half were HD. Not one single TV was showing HD. The RCA was not even turned on. They could have hooked on a cheap double bowtie and could have been showing the gorgeous PBS HD demo loop!