INFO ON BUYING A 32-36 INCH TV

[TimL]

My wife and I are looking into a 32-36 inch TV to get with our income tax. I have two questions.would a 2-tuner PIP work with Dish Network 501 Receiver..(allowing one program to PVR record while watching another live?.)Also..I would like to get the Guide Plus Gold On an RCA set. Will the guide download a digital Cable guide if only hooked to a VCR? I figure Time Warner's Digital cable is somewhat close to Dish Networks channel lineup..and might have more Program plot info. I know you have to give Guide plus your zipcode, "Cable" Lineup. and I know it won't work directly with dish.
I know these seem like naive questions..but I want to get more features on this next TV..Not just a larger picture tube. Thanks for any feedback.

Tim Lones

[HarryD]

IMHO, get a TV for it's excellent PQ, not for guide plus. Don't buy RCA TVs. They're sub-standard and are not rated well (Consumer Reports mag).
Check out Toshiba, Panasonic and Sony.

[Crazy 1]

FWIW, Sanyo makes a good TV, IMHO. And not real expinsive either.

[Martyva]

Think digital. The 2 tuner on your TV and the guide pluse are only for OTA and cable signals. Buy digital. or buy cheap and be prepared to be disappointed in a very short period of time.

[Mike123abc]

Best Buy has an HDTV Monitor for about $999. I think it is 30", looked pretty sharp.

[firephoto]

Toshiba, Pansonic are good. Sony can go both ways.
You can only recieve one channel on the 501/508 at a time so PIP only will work for dish+OTA channel (or dvd, vcr, etc.).

If you have a Costco close by they have really good deals on larger sets.

[Jacob S]

Not a bad price for an HDTV moniter. The 50" plasma tv's has the best picture quality according to the tech forum Dish had. This link: http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=12298 shows the information you need to know about HDTV tv's. Never buy a tv because of features like Guide Plus when it will not do any good except for cable or off air.

RCA/GE in which is the same thing, both have a very bad rating, and I had an RCA 25 or 26 inch tv and that thing started going to the same channel repeatedly and so it remained black. I took it back. Some other lady said she had one just like that and it blew up on her. DO NOT BUY RCA or GE. Philips has the best rating.

[navy8ball]

i agree about not buying an rca. a year or so ago rca had a class action lawsuit against them because of a bad problem in the manufacturing of one of their tv's.if you were a member of the lawsuit you go like 49.00 toward a new rca tv only.in the past 2 years i bought a 31" sanyo and a 27" sanyo flat screen from walmart and i have been very happy with them.their remotes also work on my dish 508 pvr.did not get pip and i dont seem to miss it since i have never had it.if you get one with two or three rca inputs it helps with connecting vcrs.also s video is a big help too.

[Karl Foster]

I recently bought a Toshiba flat-screen and I like it very much. It has S-video, component video (for DVD), and two sets of composite video jacks. I got mine at Best Buy. I don't have PIP, but my Ultimatetv receiver has it, so I at least have PIP when watching satellite. Recently at Costco, I noticed they had a good selection of flat-screen tv's. They had both Samsung and Philips tv's on the shelves.

I don't have any RCA tv's, but I like their satellite equipment. The only RCA tv I've had crapped out after a couple of years, so I've never bought another one.

[Jacob S]

And RCA just happens to be who is making the Dish Network equipment now, or at least is stamped on it.

Only $49.00? The tv's cost a LOT more than that, that is so rediculous, everyone should have gotten a new television out of it or pay the repair bill in which I am sure would have been more than $49.00 whether one had to pay to have it fixed or bought one to replace it. And having to be a member of the lawsuit to get the money and then it having to go towards another RCA? That is also rediculous. I know I will never buy another RCA product ever again.

[Bill R]

Originally posted by Jacob S
And RCA just happens to be who is making the Dish Network equipment now, or at least is stamped on it.
Just to set the record stright, RCA does NOT make ANY DISH Network receivers. The DISH receivers that have the RCA logo on them are EXACTLY the same as the Echostar receivers (they are built in the same plant).

I do agree that RCA TVs are very trouble prone. A few years ago my neighbor's 27" RCA TV caught fire. I also know several other people that had repair nightmares with RCA TVs.

There are a lot of good brands of TVs out there and you pretty much get what you pay for. One thing to keep in mind when shopping for a TV is that you can never have too many inputs. The brands that I recommend are JVC, Panasonic, and Sony (although Sonys are usually overpriced but they are good deals if you can get them on closeout or an "open box special").

[Jacob S]

Philips is supposed to be the best. So those that had their tv catch fire would only get a lousy $49 and that is not even cash but towards another junky RCA that will probably go bad on them too?

I have heard that Echostar does not even make their receivers, so they must just stamp the receivers too.

[dlsnyder]

Originally posted by Mike123abc
Best Buy has an HDTV Monitor for about $999. I think it is 30", looked pretty sharp.

That's the Samsung TXM3096WHF 30" widescreen model. Good looking set, but a little on the small side. Phillips makes a nice 34" widescreen direct view CRT set which has a screen height about the same as that of a 27" 4:3 model.

We currently have an RCA 27" set that is almost 11 years old and haven't had any trouble with it, other than the front panel buttons wearing out with age. The focus around the edges isn't as sharp as it used to be either, although I could say that about myself as I get older too! My in-laws have an RCA 25" console TV dating to about 1983. They haven't had any trouble with it and the picture still looks good after 20 years. Perhaps "they just don't make them like they used to".

Maybe I should keep that fire extinguisher handy just in case...

[Punkitup]

 We have a Toshiba 36AF42 (http://www.toshiba.com/tacp/tv/current/36AF42.html) in the living room and a Toshiba 27AF42 (http://www.toshiba.com/tacp/tv/current/27AF42.html) in the bedroom. I swear by these televisions and their perfectly flat glass tubes or "FTS Pure" flat tube as Toshiba calls them. One warning though after a while you will never be able to look at a conventional convex tube television again, without thinking "man that picture sucks". I have very exacting tastes when it comes to electronic components, within a budget of course, and I have no hesitation in saying the performance of these televisions is very, very impressive. As for value I think they are a great deal for the dough you lay out. Toshiba also has HD Compatible Models (http://www.toshiba.com/tacp/tv/current/36HF72.html) of this line. But I will tell you; I have seen the 36AF42 setup next to a Sony Wega, both displaying the same conventional ratio DBS programming, and there is no comparison the Toshiba has a much more vivid picture.

After you decided on a TV if you start looking at a new audio receiver as well, then you might want to look into a Harman/Kardon receiver, my vote for best quality in the mid-high price range. We love our AVR-320. For some good deals you can actually buy refurbished models directly from Harman/Kardon (http://www.harmanaudio.com/search_browse/default.asp?sp=S&brand=HK) not a third party, this also includes the JBL and Infinity speaker lines which they manufacture.

And as long as I am at it; my vote for speakers goes to Mirage (http://www.miragespeakers.com/), still quality made in Canada. We are saving up for a second rooms worth, maybe this time next year [yes they are that expensive].

Peace - James/N8SBU

[Jacob S]

I have seen a lot of older RCA tv's in which people have had not nearly the concerns with them as they do with these newer RCA's so they just dont make them like they used to. Just because they used to be good does not mean they are good now. You would think that a product would get more and more reliable and better through time, but they are just made cheaper and cheaper.

[DishDude1]

Main problem with the newer RCA's is the tuner is built directly onto the main board, and usually the solder connections are not made properly and need redone.

[David WK]

Rca's products aren't that bad for the money. They had alot of problems with there tuners a few years ago, which hurt them a little bit. I wouldn't buy HD in Rca, but there direct view televisions are a good deal for the money. We repair rca's and all others at our repair shop, and Rca has always been good about getting you parts, and have fixes for there problems. That is one thing i like about Rca, they stand behind there product.

As far as philips, i wouldn't have one if it was given to me. Philips's tv's have become junk here lately, we have started calling them chinaboxes around the shop. lol. Philips use to be a good product, but there t.v.'s have really gone down hill.

I would highly recommend toshiba as some of the others have suggested, try to find a dealer that sells the cinema series of toshiba. It has a few more bells and whistles on it, and to me a better picture. Most of your chain stores will not sell the cinema series, but they sell the theatre view series.

Good Luck!

David

[STXJim]

Sony has a 40" flat screen direct view 4x3 TV. (HDTV Ready)
Buy the LARGEST screen that will fit your room and budget. :)

[TimL]

We finally settled on a 35" Panasonic.(CT-35G25) Bought it at Sears last Friday for $499 and picked it up last night with the help of a friend's van. It is apparently a discontinued model as I got $200 off the regular price. Has 1 tuner PIP which as was stated earlier will not work with Dish Network. Picture quality seems really good and sound is more than adequate. I especially like the two sets of inputs/outputs at the back of the set. I can actually connect a video game system (Playstation) and a DVD player which I bought at WalMart Friday Night at the same time which I couldnt do on my 27" JVC (which is now in the bedroom). Thanks everybody for your input. I have learned to stay away from RCA sets thats for sure! (Had a 20" RCA a few years back..it worked fine for a few years but just suddenly quit working)

Tim Lones

[Rusty]

In days of yore, RCA was considered the "Tiffany" of TV sets. All the manufacturers of brands that were popular at that time, (Zenith, Motorola, etc.) used RCA chassis and paid a royalty to RCA.

But, when GE "merged" with RCA, (actually it was a takeover) it was decided that the company would divest itself of some divisions. This included the NBC Radio Network (my employer at the time), and the TV manufacturing unit. The TV related products that now carry the RCA or GE name are manufactured by Thomsen Electronics, whose corporate headquarters are in Indianapolis. (God only knows in which country the actual manufacturing is done).

The quality of these, once respected, brand names has gone right down the porcelain parkway. Very sad commentary..........