Who are the best and worst manufacturers? (1 Viewer)

[Wesley S]

Just curious as to who you guys think the best television manufacturer is. I'm assuming this varies from CRT to RPTV.

I really have not idea. I hear Tosh is the best bang for the buck and people tell me that RCA is horrible. My father and I both have RCA tv's and had really good experiences with them. I have a 20" and he has a 27".

 

[Scott Kimball]

(trying deserately to gather the worms and stuff them back in the can...)

I think if 100 people answered this, you'd have 97 different answers... especially on the "worst" sets.

All of the "best" sets have their own quirks by brand and set type. One brand may hold blacks very well, but have "cold" gray, while another may push reds and have a really nice feature set, but can't hold black at black.

Much of a person's view of what constitutes a good set will depend on which defect he has the most tolerance for.

There is no "perfect" set. Not that I've ever seen. And this goes for pro studio monitors, as well. Some are damn fine, but none are perfect.

As for the "worst" sets, there are so many cheap sets out there that can qualify in sooo many ways... that's a tough one.

In my experience, the sets I prefer for the best overall picture quality are direct-view tube sets from Sony, Toshiba and Panasonic.

Your mileage may vary.

-Scott

 

[Greg Kolinski]

I sweated a lot of time away after the purchace of my JVC WP56,worrying over various "internet"opinions .I
set it up with V.E.,and still worried.I evantually figureed out that I like the set,it has agreat picture that seemed
to really improve after a couple of hundred hours of viewing.I finally poped out of HT obsession mode
,and realized that if I like it and am happy with it,thats all that really matters.If you look around various
HT message boards,you will find someone that says certain
manufactures are complete P.O.S.,while others love them.
All RPTV's have their own little quirks,if you like the picture ,the price,and there are no extreme quality issues,just enjoy your TV.I frequant many car boards,its kinda like the old Chevy vs Ford battle .Ask a hundred people,and you will get a hunred answers.

please excuse any grammer/typing errors,thers a dog in my lap

 

[Wesley S]

Greg I totally agree with you. It's "your" tv right? I mean these boards are good for serious issues that others can vouch for but as far as who is best. There are good and there are bad but once you get into that category you have to decide for yourself.

 

[Steve Schaffer]

Aside from the junk put out under various offbrands (Broksonic, Apex) or recent Korean or Chinese resurrections of brands that were well respected 30 years ago (Admiral,Sylvania), and those with widely reported high failure rates it's more a matter of personal preference than anything else.

RCA has been spotty since being bought out by Thomson, and consistently rates quite low for reliability in Consumer Reports. Their recent 38" widescreen tube set had a near 100% failure rate, was pulled off the market for a few months and still has yet to prove itself. They're a fairly recent and unproven entry into widescreen rptvs, their early models were rebadged Hitachis but the current ones aren't.

 

[Jack Briggs]

The manufacturers who are legitimate players in the home-theater arena all produce nice sets that have their various strengths and weaknesses. And they can all be calibrated to within an earshot of good accuracy.

Occasionally, one set comes along that is the darling of the season. For example, the 38-inch Loewe Aconda is touted by many as the "best" direct-view set available (and its 38-inch tube is the same as that used in Thomson's oft- and justifiably maligned widescreen model).

But there is no "best" manufacturer out there. Toshiba excels in colorimetry, while Sony has superior black levels (this season, at least). Some people swear by Pioneer's Elite PRO line of RPTVs, and others would think of nothing but a Hitachi.

It's easier to identify which brands to avoid, and one of them has already been mentioned here. Yet in the latest issue of The Perfect Vision, a reviewer is calling an RCA RPTV the "best" he has ever tested. (Question is, how long after the magazine test can that RCA be expected to perform trouble-free?)

 

[Kyle J]

I don't really have an opinion, but I can tell you my 51" Hitachi is a very nice set. Great color. Had it for a month today. Still tweaking it as I'm breakig it in. I do knw that RCA's break quite a bit, since we have a Sears resale outlet for refurbs here in KC, and last time i visited, all I saw was RCA. I'm still "new" in the world of HDTV's, so, I have a lot to learn.

 

[Adil M]

The RCA Scenium line doesn't look that bad, but has the cheapest processing and it's apparent in the picture. The DVD is just horrible and it really irritates me how much better a good dvd player looks on this set. What a waste!

 

[Qui-Gon John]

I'm not crazy at all about RPTV's that have a DVD player built into them. My Pioneer SD-582-HD is pretty good and I've been pretty happy with it.

 

[JackS]

I talked to a salesman a couple of months ago at the Good Guys and he stated they were very happy with the new Sceniums. He also stated they would sell many more if RCA had left their logo off. I have one of the most basic 31" RCA made and have had this set 5yrs this summer. The picture is still beautiful and the set runs almost continously. Since the Sceniums are still a very new line, my final choice was a Sony RP, but I will admit ,the Sceniums were very tempting.