Stunning picture, especially when connected to the RCA HD Digital Receiver (DTC100). By far the best picture on a 36" set. No lines. Dark blacks and vibrant color. Can be used as a PC monitor.

A little pricy at $2200, and you have to fork over another $500 for the HD Receiver; however, now through April 23 of 2000, you can get both (and a satellite dish) for about $2400 at www.rca.com.

If the best picture quality in a 36" set is what you desire, this High Resolution TV is what you want. Compare it to Sony's WEGA tvs and you know this set is the hands down winner. RCA just released a 52" and 61" projection version of this model (both feature 1200 horizontal lines and can be used as PC monitors), but I have heard nothing about them except that they are selling faster than they can make them. Can anyone tell me more about them?

Similar Products Used:

Sony WEGA and Toshiba

stunning picture,stunning amount of inputs

None I can think of.

I am stunned by the quality picture I am getting from this set.I am using my pc DVD player through the VGA input with a picture that rivals progressive scan players and HD HBO.I have a Creative Labs Annihilator Pro with Intervideo WinDVD and the picture is so clear you think you are looking through a window.I am also stunned with picture quality with Dreamcast and VGA adapter.I tried Toshiba TN55X81 High Definition projection tv and was totally turned off by blurry picture with DVD hooked up with colorstream inputs.I exchanged Toshiba for RCA with the deal that includes set and tuner and dish.Words cannot describe how happy I am with the RCA set.Cant wait for Discovery Channel in high definition!!

Similar Products Used:

TN55X81

Excellent picture, doubles as a computer monitor

not true HDTV

First some background on why I bought this product: I have never owned a TV, and when I decided to pick one up I had my mind set on a 36" set. I wanted to spend around $700 and ended up deciding that I would be better off going with a high quality 32". During this research I came across the MM36100 and the Sony WEGA. I was of course just window shopping as the MSRP is 1999 for the RCA and even more for the WEGA. I also noticed that the MM36100 doubled as a computer monitor at up to 800x600. Using a video card with TV out you can run your computer into most TVs but you are limited to 640x480 and the image quality is so bad that reading text is unberable, but most games still look nice. This product IS a computer monitor. Anyway, I finally decided to check out the local outlets and low and behold, there sits the MM36100 priced at $1248! It was the demo model and they needed to move it so they could bring out the 2001 model. Way more than I wanted to spend but not quite out of my price range. After some deliberation and comparison I ended up getting it.

First off, digital signals look great, you have to get very very close to notice the lines. I compared the image quality to several true 16:9 HDTVs and guess what? the MM36100 had a better looking image. There is a drawback to this product if you're set on a 16:9 screen. First, this TV DOES have just as many pixesl per inch as true HDTV, but two things become apparent when you do some math. When you watch anything in 16:9 format the screen is reduced to 32 inches diagonally. That's fairly small compared to most HDTVs. Additionally when the screen is compressed to fit the smaller space you end up loosing the HD resolution. With that said, the image quality of it's letter box format is still great so this shouldn't be a big deal. It's also worth noteing that although the FCC has decided that all TV sets should be digital in a few years, they haven't said anything about everything being letterbox. I imagine that many programs will simply be 3:4 digital with letterbox being used for sporting events and things of that nature (and movies of course).

To sum it up, I would say that the product's overall rateing is definantly a 5. As for it's value rateing, it really depends on what you're goals are. A good price for this set seems to be $1600-1700 (the 2001 model will be a bit more). If you are specifically looking for a letterbox HDTV, at 32 inches this monitor is a little pricey. If you are looking for a buisness presentation monitor it's one heck of a bargan. If you want digital TV and are not concerned with the letterbox problem or are a computer junky like me this product is neither an excellent deal nor a bad buy. Withing a few years when all TVs are digital you will probably see much nicer prices.

Finally, I wouldn't have bought this TV if it weren't for the fact that it had been marked down so much and also that I'm a computer junky, but after spending $550 more than I was planning I don't feel buyers remorse ;)

Kevin

Similar Products Used:

none

Everything

Nothing, except some losers who detract from this tv
without owning the thing.

Ignore the one stars, two stars in this review.
This television should be a 4.75 or better.

The rating here does not do it justice.

Similar Products Used:

Sony. Sony is overpriced crap.

All around great TV.
I second the nomination for computer monitor!

It's very heavy. Hard to steal. I see that as a good thing.

All in all I can only say good things about the tv.
The remote is very nice as well.

Similar Products Used:

Toshiba, Sony, Panasonic, JVC

Picture quality, # of inputs, sound.

Are you kidding, for $638 I feel almost guilty.

Ok I have been in the market for a HD ready set for a while as my old Sanyo was getting tired and using the RF modulator
to watch DVDs was getting old (too much snow and interference coming off the coax cable). Anyway I was doing all the normal research at this site. I would also go over to the home theater forum and ask for any recommendations. My criteria was that the set had to be a tube set not projection and 36". I also asked what others thought about this set and no one had anything good to say about it. Some of the comments were that it doesn't accept progressive scan signals and that it doesn't have an internal line doubler.
Plus one guy shot down RCA big time saying it's poor quality. Anyway after reading all the positive reviews here about this set I figured it couldn't be all that bad so when
I was at Best Buy a few weeks ago they had one left. It had been returned by someone and it was only back on the shelf for about 10 days or so and it was priced at $838 plus I took advantage of the $200 MSN rebate which is why I got it for $638. To make a long story short this TV has an incredible picture. Watching DVDs is a real treat. The detail is so much sharper than before. You can see fine lines on peoples faces and other little subtle details that were not evident before. I have not gone out yet to pick up the HD receiver so when I finally do I'm sure I'll be even more amazed. I think one of the reasons why some people were not giving this set glowing reviews at the H.T. forum is because this model is about 2 1/2 years old give or take a few months and probably doesn't have all the latest technological advances that lets say one of the Pansonic Tau
sets have. But for the price I paid I have zero buyers remorse. I'll post a follow up review in about a year from now to let you all know if I'm still happy.

P.S. Go to pricescan.com and you'll get a good deal.

Similar Products Used:

Sanyo 27" that I purchased back in '94.

Excellent picture, tons of inputs, easy to use

Would be almost perfect with a flat screen 16:9 ratio. Remote should control DVD player

The only TV that I looked at that had a better picture was the Panasonic 34" HDTV that is $2000 more expensive. I have been amazed at the picture with all types of inputs (DVD, VCR, HD and Regular Sattelite). The earlier review that said that you could not adjust the color was incorrect, you can either use a preset such as warm or cool or set up a different personalized color setting for each input type using the normal adjustments such as color, tint and brightness. I feel that this was the best value on the market because I got the TV and a HD sattelite receiver installed for $2400. In respose to the picture quality at Best Buy, don't worry about it, they have no clue about any of their products or how to set them up. The reason I wont give the TV a 5 star rating is because it only has a single tuner PIP, instead of the twin tuner PIP in the Proscan
version of the same TV.

My setup includes a Toshiba SD2100 DVD player, RCA VCR, RCA HD Sattelite Receiver, and Pioneer Elite VSX14 Dolby Digital receiver.

Sharpness in picture, High Resolution, Inputs / Outputs.
Price

Glare

At first I was unsure of this monitor / television,
but after reading reviews in here, I just had to give it
a try, and now I can honestly say, it was a great choice.

This television is a performer and I am most pleased.
I highly recommend this to anyone thinking of paying too
much for a Sony.

Similar Products Used:

Sony, Panasonic, JVC

Just saw it this weekend at Best Buy. They were still setting up the display but they had it hooked up to a DVD with Lost in Space and the picture was great! With a set top decoder it will be hdtv compatibe at 1080? Does it do the amorphic thing for DVD's? It has a lot of features, but what about glitches? Too early to tell? Can't wait to find out more.....

Large size, decent styling, component input

Can only use SVGA input for high definition reception, component input is useless given the previous statement.

Your MM36100 will be great untill you want to expand. Have any of you people who gave it such high ratings heard of Progressive Scan DVD? Well why don't you try hooking it up to your "digital TV"? It won't work because the only way you can recieve digital quality is through the SVGA inputs. So the only items to hook up to it is the RCA high def reciever, or your computer. There will be no other way to hook up any thing else until they come out with something opposite the VHDC300 which can convert component cords into SVGA cords. So call your RCA company and ask when they will be doing that. Have fun at that, because those idiots at RCA will have to transfer you five times before you reach someone who knows what they are talking about. Then they will say that they can't help you. I have never had this type of problem with any other company.

Similar Products Used:

Bose, Sony, Zenith, ect.