Wassup with RCA Scenium D40(or 52)W135D? (1 Viewer)

[Alayn]

Hi There!

Hope you're all happy in Big Ass TV heaven.

I'm looking for that place and on my way to it I'm seeking feedback and/or opinions about the RCA Scenium lign of RPTV with buit-in DVD player. I've heard strong positive reports about the older brother model, DxxW140D, but little about the former.

Well, I'll just sit by the shore and see if I get any bites.


Thanks:b

 

[Don Hammons]

I second that question. I have been scouring the net looking for reviews for the Scentium series with no luck. I though for sure I could find something here at this forum. But Nada. Good, bad, or indifferent....I'd like to know.

 

[Bill Balcziak]

I started looking at the Scenium RPTVs but stopped in my tracks when I learned the built-in DVD player was not a progessive scan model. I had a salesman pop in a disc and listened with great amusement as he tried to convince me that a standard DVD player actually outperforms "one of those progressive ones."

What on Earth were the RCA folks thinking putting a standard DVD player in an HD-ready set?! Insanity.

 

[Jack Briggs]

There's always the issue of reliability where Thomson Multimedia's products are concenred, so bear that in mind.

 

[Josh_SR]

sup peeps....

i happen to have bought the rca d52w135d wich is a 52" with the internal dvd player... well i did look on this site for a review befor i got it and couldnt find anything.. the sales guy that sold it to me told me that the dvd player is a progessive scan dvd player.... but maybe he lied? i dont know as this tv is my first hdtv and even the dvd player is a first for me.... i guess the only way to find out is to hook an other dvd player to this tv and see how it looks..... as for the tv it self... it looks great so fare... according to what peeps talk about on this forum.... this tv dont seem to have as many tweaking options like the toshibas, samsungs ect do..... other then that...the tv looks great.... ask me something about it and ill try to answer your question.

 

[ross ish]

You do not need a progressive scan dvd player since the Scenium has a decent line doubler built in. Read the professional reviews. Personally I would not get the one with the built in DVD player...if that goes out the whole tv will be disabled during the service call. DVD players are cheap. Get the 140 series instead. Rather have the integrated tuner...this way you can have both pictures in high def when using PIP with an outboard receiver.

The Scenium is the biggest bang for the buck. You get a top notch picture, great audio with dvi, fire wire, ethernet inputs. It has good analog and stretch mode.

The short comings are its reflective screen shield. There is no AR coatings. The shield is not removable. Also, RCA has had quality control issues (not really any engineering booboo) that is easily rectified with extended warranty.

For the price the RCA is hard to beat. Thompson Electronics is a leader in high tech innovations. Unfortunately they build in third world countries and are French owned. Their quality nose dived when they moved operations from Lafayet Indiana and went to Mexico.

 

[JackS]

When shopping for a big screen, I was told that the DVD player in the Sceniums were the type found in computers and their main purpose was to display digital stills (as digital photo albums). I would guess this is maybe a another way to compete with Sony's memory stick? The owners manual may answer some of these questions if any of the owners would please post.

 

[Josh_SR]

no where in the rca manual dose it say that the dvd player is used for digital pics... the manual says that it can not read cd-i, cd-rom, cd-rw and dvd-roms... but it can read dvd discs, video cd's, audio cd's, cd-r and mp3 discs (wich i really like) can someone explan to me what a line doubler is and if it is what i think it is then what is the diff between progesive scan and line doubler?........... ill also be hooking up an other dvd player to see if it get a better picture then the built in dvd player... ill let you all know how it turns out.

 

[TimTurtino]

Alayn-- to answer your original question:

Features-wise, the 140 is great (firewire, DVI, ethernet connectivity, built-in web browser, can even have a keyboard). The picture is quite decent. Tweaking is less easy, and there's not as much of a community out there.

Biggest problem is the fact that it says RCA on the name plate-- look at the March issue of Consumer Reports, and you'll see that TVs w/ that name on the face place get twice as many repair calls as any other brand. (That's my memory, anyway).

A lot of us would snap that TV up in a second if it had those features and came from a reliable brand at a similar price.

The 135 (even w/ the built-in DVD) is a much more pedestrian unit. Its main advantage is aesthetics (no wires running to a DVD player), but that's not a huge advantage. In the same league (price and features) as that TV, there are several good models from more reliable manufacturers, so I personally would take a pass until they have a better history...

Me

 

[Nick Graham]

I know Sound and Vision gave a fairly solid review for the top of the line Scenium (I believe it was the aforementioned 140) a few months back.

So did RCA previously manufacture their wares in Indiana and then move their operations to Mexico so they could hire 80 cent an hour wage slaves?

 

[JamesSchu]

Is the 136 the replacement for the 135? I looked at a Scenium just this afternoon and the model # on the sticker was 136, but maybe it was a dealer typo?

I have to say I was impressed with the picture, the built-in speakers were decent too (although mostly irrelevant since I have a reciever and speakers).

Tim T, I checked the march issue of Consumer Reports, and it was Toshiba that had nearly twice as many service calls (10%) compared to Hitachi and Mits (6%). RCA wasn't mentioned. The 36" direct-view Secnium was rated good by CR, but the RCA RPs weren't mentioned.

As for the dvd player, my salesman said it was prog. as well, but I don't trust salesmen, so I looked on the RCA webpage and it lists features like so:

Features
*52" Diagonal 16x9 HDTV Monitor with Integrated DVD
*Integrated DVD Player
*Progressive Scan
*3:2 Pulldown
*etc...

so, does that mean the dvd player is prog scan, or does the tv accept prog scan signals or something???

Any more info would be greatly appreciated as I am serriously considering this TV.

Thanks,

James.