make or break time : RCA F38310 or TOSH 42H81 (1 Viewer)

[Sean Patrick]

ok guys, need some help. I have finally narrowed down my two 16:9 choices to two very different sets, the Toshiba 42H81 and the RCA F38310. Both can be had for roughly the same price (considering i'd have to get an HDTV receiver for the Tosh and not the RCA). Here are my pros and cons, which have them deadlocked in my decision making :

Toshiba 42H81 pros :

-better word of mouth, especially compared to older toshibas

-larger screen than the 38" RCA

-RPTV should make dvd's look more film-like

-SVM disabling probably easier on this set

-i know what i'm getting model-wise (the rca has older versions floating around, even at high volume chain stores)

cons:

-bad luck with previous 40" Toshiba Theatrewides

-i've always prefered tube picture quality

-don't like the viewing angle of RPTV and the the strict room lighting conditions necessary for viewing

-the 42H81's "upconversion" of progressive scan 480 signals to full HD line resolution, which supposedly degrades detail

on to the RCA F38310...pros:

-picture looks beautiful in the showroom, and i'm picky!

-built in OTA HDTV decoder (althoguh i'm not going to use the built in DirecTV)

-It's a 16:9 large tube, and if i can go tube i'd prefer it

-doesn't waste a lot of space with speakers i'm not going to use

-will show native 480

cons:

-rca has even worse customer support than Tosh (supposedly)

-this is a set that in the past has been plagued by problems

-slightly smaller set than the Toshiba

-i might not be able to disable SVM

ok guys, if any of these statements/assumptions are fale, or you have any additional info, i'd REALLY appreciate it, I CANNOT MAKE UP MY MIND!!

thans!

 

[SteveA]

More RCA cons:

The RCA also weighs nearly twice as much as the Tosh (230 lbs. vs. 130ish) and requires a stand. The Tosh sits directly on the floor.

The RCA only has one component input, while the Toshiba has 2.

The picture on the RCA does look fantastic, though. I don't think I've seen anything look better.

 

[Sean Patrick]

yes the weight is a con. hopefully i won't move it around after it's delivered

and as far as the inputs.....i am going to use the component inputs for progressive dvd, but the rest i will be using s-video (dish receiver and video game switcher). so right now i don't need any more than 1 component input, although the two together might equal one "con".

 

[Sean Patrick]

and you are right about the picture, it sure is nice, i just wish it didn't have such a bad track record.

 

[Jason Sweet]

I've been comparing the RCA with the 34" 16:9 Panasonic. A con I've found with the RCA is the inconvience of switching the aspect ratio. You have to go through several menus to change it, there is no button on the remote for it. You can preset the ratio for each input, but for something like videogames, where some are 16:9 and some are 4:3, you'll be doing alot of menu flipping.