Great Looking Picture, especially in HDTV. Easy to use menu and set-up. Less Expensive than most of it's competitors.

Apparently, parts are hard to come by?

I'm so glad to see this website...saves me the time of having to build one myself. Bought an RCA D52W15 Big Screen TV at Best Buy # 323 in Chicago on Feb 23rd, WAS happy with the TV until about a month ago when it just quit. Called Best Buy's repair number, was hopeful when someone answered and they were able to schedule the technician for just a couple of days later...Stupid of me. He came out, said he needed to order parts and they would be delived directly to me and to call and reschedule him to come out. This was over 3 weeks ago. Called after 10 days, asked to put a trace on the parts and inquired what happens if the parts are on back-order or whatever. Aside from the fact that I've called 2 times and been promised a call back which never happened, I still don't know what Best Buy's policies are if there is no part forthcoming, and have been told 2 different things by 2 different people there. I'm really seriously considering loading this thing up on my pickup truck with a big sign stating that I bought this less than 6 months ago and not only has it been broken for a month but Best Buy isn't any closer to getting it fixed than they were a month ago. Best Buy's Customer Service is...at best uninformed and unclear on their Service Policys and I'm extremely frustrated at the fact that I haven't a clue when I'll get this fixed. Maybe this isn't germane karma-wise but all I know is I've never had an issue at Circuit City and even had their technicians call me minutes after leaving their store and I deeply regret not buying this TV there...Best Buy will never see me or any member of my family cross their doorway again. Joe Barrera Chicago, IL

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Had Sony and Hitachi Big Screen TV's, no problems

Price, clean lines, easy to roll to get to back connectors, DVI-D, component, S Video connectors, very good picture

possible reliability problems, RCA site scetchy on details of specifications and differences between the D52W20 and D52W15

I bought the RCA D52W15, which is essentially the D52W20 without the screen shield. The price, quality of picture and overall style were the selling points for me. Normally I would buy a Sony or other Japanese brand well known for quality, but this set just looked better than any others I had seen. The cabinet styling has a very slim look. Many sets looked big and blocky from the front as well as the backs being made with particle-board where the RCA is build like the DPL receivers using light but sturdy looking plastic. I noticed also that every set with a screen shield (just about all) was reflecting the lights of the showroom where the RCA has the mat finish and barely reflected any room lighting giving a better picture without distraction. I don’t have kids or pets living in the house so I’m not worried about the screen being damaged. I am very happy so far with the performance and look in my home. As of this writing I have had it a little over a month. I bought the Best Buy service contract, 4 yrs parts and labor for $249.00. With a large purchase like this and being an RCA, I don’t want to take chances. I have experimented with the settings and have gotten satisfaction in viewing even poor quality video. I notice even on the same stations some shows look stunning while others look poor and out of focus, so it’s not the TV. I am sure the more expensive HDTV sets have more features for setting the picture parameters, but I find this set has enough to get great viewing. Like another reviewer said the “Cinerama” screen format is best for most 3:4 ratio broadcasts where you want the whole screen filled with least distortion on the edges. I find on widescreen DVDs, to eliminate black bars still seen because of being filmed in a non standard aspect ratio, I use the “16:9 up/down” mode and center the picture and loose very little picture while filling my whole screen. I hate seeing black or grey bars. I have set the contrast down to about 35%, it will save on CRT phosphor wear and then juggling color and black levels it looks better to me than the factory settings that tend to be over saturated in most cases. The audio I didn’t care about, being I am hooked up to a good A/V receiver with surround sound. Even commercials sound and look good.

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none

high def mode is 1080i - very sharp picture with excellent color

color and shapness in analog is average, but acceptable.

Excellent Widescreen HDTV with many features only available on more expensive sets. Price vs. performance is excellent. Also paid an additional $199 for a full 5 year waranty that includes annual cleaning and tuning.

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Panasonic 34 inch tube HDTV

DVI Connector 2 Component Inputs Many types of picture formats (Cinerama is the best) Better than expected from RCA on the picture

No built in "TV Guide" Difficult customer service A little slow on input changes

This TV is great. Most TVs at this price that I looked at didn't come with a DVI connector (HD connected here, Xbox, DVD, GameCube use the two component inputs with help of A/V receiver). Picture wasn't too good at first, but I played with the THX Optimizer from Star Wars II DVD to help me with the settings and now the picture is great on DVD/games and HD. The sound was better than I expected, but I'm using the receiver for sound now. There are several different picture formats and Cinerama is the best. It zooms a little and stretches the edges so the image doesnt look stretched. This is great compared to my friend's HDTV that doesnt do this and Cox digital cable which just stretches the image. Customer service was troubling at first, there looked like a scratch on the screen and the service center said it should be covered. Almost 2 weeks of daily calling and they (RCA Warranty) finally said it was not covered. I found a number on the internet and got to an operator who transfered me to someone the in their Corporate office who said it will be taken care of. Two days later the screen was replaced through the warranty.

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Mitsubishi HDTV Samsung HDTV

-Competively priced -aesthetically pleasing appearance -Average picture quality; some better, some worse -A budgeter's dream TV -Phenominal HD picture quality

-"Rumored" poor customer service -Poor Ratings on reliability (COnsumer reports) -Could be better picture quality

I thoroughly enjoy my RCA. I will say though, that I have seen this TV side-by-side to other similar size TV's, and the picture quality was better on some. But the RCA being on the average of $300-500 less, it was definitely worth it. The picture qulitiy is fair, somewhat fuzzy, on DSS reciever (no HD yet!), but saw High def feed at a local store in the RCA and the picture was awesome. Also, DVD with digital coaxial cable is much better. I have heard from many people that RCA has poor reliability and poooor customer service. Knock on wood, I have not had to experience first hand. Has excellent picture settings that enable to see whole viewing area unlike some other brands. Overall, I love the RCA for the money that I paid for it and cant wait to get a HD set-up when the prices decrease.

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32 in tv

-Great value: Low price for a product that is just as good. -Nice looking silver exterior -Great picture -Pretty good sound from the built in speakers.

-Customer service is crap. I had some questions, and was transfered 3 times. -Ugly remote

Purchased it in Jan. 2003 came with a Pro-scan DVD player, and NFL DVD and sweater. Got a 6 year full service warranty for free from Future Shop. Originally I had no intention of buying an RCA. I was thinking Toshiba, Sony, and maybe a Samsung. But when I looked at the RCA's picture side by side with Toshiba, and Sony I found very little differance. In fact I think the RCA had a better picture than the Sony. I was a little worry about the durability with RCA but I got the 6 year bumper to bumper warranty from Futureshop so I don't have to worry. I was a fantastic value for the money, considering it came with a Pro-Scan DVD, and RCA is Priced $500 less than Sony, and is 2" bigger then the Toshiba. So far I am very happy with the performance. I have HD cable service and some of the programming on cable is just stunning. Show's such as CSI and NCAA basketball was broadcased in widescreen and it is so clear, and you get 5.1 sound.