RCA 76cm at Big W - Opinions?

[MajikShoe]

Hi all,

I notice in this weeks Big W catalogue they have a 76cm RCA model
32WR23EA for $876
(http://www.bigw.com.au/catalogue%2005-12-03/site/pages/08/a.html).
This is the cheapest 76cm I've ever seen, has anyone got one to offer
any opinions? I cant see much info on this particular bramd or model
on the net, but I know RCA = Thompson and the Thompsons are usually OK
for the price AFAIK, however I dont want to rush out and get one in
case its crap :-)

Cheers,
Jason

[Paul Walker]

"MajikShoe" <jroyals@SPAM_REMOVE.highfrequency.com.au> wrote in message
news:1ef5tvs04ub6kte30amra5jf7ci26d5270@4ax.com...
> I notice in this weeks Big W catalogue they have a 76cm RCA model
> 32WR23EA for $876
> (http://www.bigw.com.au/catalogue%2005-12-03/site/pages/08/a.html).
> This is the cheapest 76cm I've ever seen, has anyone got one to offer
> any opinions? I cant see much info on this particular bramd or model
> on the net, but I know RCA = Thompson and the Thompsons are usually OK
> for the price AFAIK, however I dont want to rush out and get one in
> case its crap :-)

I've had the Thomson 76cm for about a year now. Very happy with it.

Its not faultless but is very good for a very reasonable price.

Paul

[David Z]

I must admit I am a little confused. I always thought RCA was an American
brand?

"MajikShoe" <jroyals@SPAM_REMOVE.highfrequency.com.au> wrote in message
news:1ef5tvs04ub6kte30amra5jf7ci26d5270@4ax.com...
> Hi all,
>
> I notice in this weeks Big W catalogue they have a 76cm RCA model
> 32WR23EA for $876
> (http://www.bigw.com.au/catalogue%2005-12-03/site/pages/08/a.html).
> This is the cheapest 76cm I've ever seen, has anyone got one to offer
> any opinions? I cant see much info on this particular bramd or model
> on the net, but I know RCA = Thompson and the Thompsons are usually OK
> for the price AFAIK, however I dont want to rush out and get one in
> case its crap :-)
>
> Cheers,
> Jason

[linton]

I must admit I am a little confused. I always thought RCA was an American
brand?

[/color]

you've just confused me more than I already was, I thought RCA were Teac, as I've seen a Teac's and RCA's with identical menu systems.

[Kevin Hendrikssen]

"David Z" <dave@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:EvBAb.42771$aT.25913@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
> I must admit I am a little confused. I always thought RCA was an American
> brand?

RCA = Thomson.

[David Z]

RCA stands for Radio Corporation of America

"linton" <linton.y24g0@no-mx.forums.eyo.com.au> wrote in message
news:linton.y24g0@no-mx.forums.eyo.com.au...
>
> > Z> I must admit I am a little confused. I always thought RCA was an
> > American
> > brand?
> >
> >
>
> you've just confused me more than I already was, I thought RCA were
> Teac, as I've seen a Teac's and RCA's with identical menu systems.
>
>
> --
> linton
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> linton's Profile:[/color]
http://forums.eyo.com.au/member.php?action=getinfo&userid=1977
> View this thread: http://forums.eyo.com.au/showthread.php?threadid=32173
>

[John]

"Kevin Hendrikssen" <spam@spam.com> wrote in message
news:3fd2ec0d$0$1724$5a62ac22@freenews.iinet.net.a u...
> "David Z" <dave@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:EvBAb.42771$aT.25913@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
> > I must admit I am a little confused. I always thought RCA was an
American
> > brand?
>
> RCA = Thomson.

RCA = Thomson = GE = NEC... :-)

[MonkeeBoy]

"David Z" <dave@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:t8CAb.42809$aT.4949@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
> RCA stands for Radio Corporation of America
>

Brand names are bought and sold all the time. Rank Arena used to be a good
brand.

[NEWGEN]

RCA stands for Radio Corporation of America

And the units are made in Europe :dD They're all over the place.

[Ted Harper]

"MajikShoe" <jroyals@SPAM_REMOVE.highfrequency.com.au> wrote in message
news:1ef5tvs04ub6kte30amra5jf7ci26d5270@4ax.com...
> I notice in this weeks Big W catalogue they have a 76cm RCA model
> 32WR23EA for $876
> (http://www.bigw.com.au/catalogue%2005-12-03/site/pages/08/a.html).
> This is the cheapest 76cm I've ever seen, has anyone got one to offer
> any opinions?

If it's the same or similar to the one being offered in Powerhouse shops
about 12 months ago, IMHO it's *really* good value-for-money. We bought one
for a friend for Christmas last year and she's extremely happy with it. Has
one RGB-capable SCART input, another SVideo-capable SCART input and another
SVideo input on the front panel (ie total of three external inputs).
Auto-detects 16:9 mode via SCART pin 8 and the "line 23" way too (eg for
SVideo-connected DVD players, XBoxes, etc), and also has various trick
zooming modes for those people who like to see 4:3 content "fill the screen"
of a widescreen TV.

The only downsides for it seemed to be that it has a fair bit of overscan
and that the sensitivity of the analog tuner was a bit less than some other
TVs. If you marry one of these TVs with a cheap RGB-SCART-outputting digital
TV set-top box (my friend has my original Thomson STB connected to it now,
and also Foxtel satellite chained through that box so they share the same
RGB input), you have a terrific system for digital TV and DVDs for about
$1000.

ted.h.

[Sam Owens]

I've had mine for about two months now. Paid $996 but got the $120
difference back (which was nice of Big W). It's good to see that the
cheapest 76cmwidescreen is not a Beko but rather a quality product
made by Thomson in France (the RCA name is licensed by Thomson from GE
I think :)...

Pros:

- Good contrast
- Good geometry
- Good value for money
- Vivid picture with good depth
- Excellent NTSC reproduction
- Stylish

Cons

- Crap remote (compared to the other Thomson TV being offered earlier
this year)
- Only two Scarts - hard to run VCR, non-Scart DVD and STB
- Slightly noisy picture
- Curved screen
- Ordinary sound (but I usually run TV sound through an AV amp)
- 16:9/4:3 switching unpredictable
- Not black (unlike the old RCA widescreens)

Two other small glitches - there is a streak about 0.5cm wide running
down the left side of the screen that is slightly brighter than the
neighbouring part of the tube and on rapid dark to light transitions,
the picture breaks up for c. 0.3sec (this has only affected me twice
in c. 150 hours of viewing - on Finding Nemo's minefield scene and on
the Galaxy Song in Meaning of Life). However, these are minor problems
and I'd still recommend it for the $$$.

Some reviews

http://www.whatvideotv.com/testbench/frame.html?http://www.whatvideotv.com/testbench/Televisions/Thomson/Thomson32WR25UG.php

http://www.homecinemachoice.com/testbench/frame.html?http://www.homecinemachoice.com/testbench/Televisions/Thomson/Thomson32WR25UG.php

MajikShoe <jroyals@SPAM_REMOVE.highfrequency.com.au> wrote in message news:<1ef5tvs04ub6kte30amra5jf7ci26d5270@4ax.com>...
> Hi all,
>
> I notice in this weeks Big W catalogue they have a 76cm RCA model
> 32WR23EA for $876
> (http://www.bigw.com.au/catalogue%2005-12-03/site/pages/08/a.html).
> This is the cheapest 76cm I've ever seen, has anyone got one to offer
> any opinions? I cant see much info on this particular bramd or model
> on the net, but I know RCA = Thompson and the Thompsons are usually OK
> for the price AFAIK, however I dont want to rush out and get one in
> case its crap :-)
>
> Cheers,
> Jason

[Tony Rae]

On Sun, 7 Dec 2003 16:03:19 +0800, "Paul Walker"
<c_o_m_p_h_e_l_p@i-i-n-e-t.net.au> wrote:


>I've had the Thomson 76cm for about a year now. Very happy with it.
>
>Its not faultless but is very good for a very reasonable price.

It's a shame about the RCA's cabinet colour.
Is the Thomson a black set?

[Tony Rae]

On Sun, 07 Dec 2003 15:50:37 +1000, MajikShoe
<jroyals@SPAM_REMOVE.highfrequency.com.au> wrote:

>Hi all,
>
>I notice in this weeks Big W catalogue they have a 76cm RCA model
>32WR23EA for $876
>(http://www.bigw.com.au/catalogue%2005-12-03/site/pages/08/a.html).
>This is the cheapest 76cm I've ever seen, has anyone got one to offer
>any opinions? I cant see much info on this particular bramd or model
>on the net, but I know RCA = Thompson and the Thompsons are usually OK
>for the price AFAIK, however I dont want to rush out and get one in
>case its crap :-)

Around that price range, there's also the Wintel to consider, though
I'm not sure how good it is. They do at least have the option of a
silver or black cabinet.
http://www.radioparts.com.au/ProdView.aspx?popup=1&Product=43098730
http://www.radioparts.com.au/ProdView.aspx?popup=1&Product=43098732

[Paul Walker]

"Tony Rae" <tonyrae@getlost.com> wrote in message
news:0rb8tvklv40jbcincqucp82tbr9b1p7rjt@4ax.com...
> On Sun, 7 Dec 2003 16:03:19 +0800, "Paul Walker"
> <c_o_m_p_h_e_l_p@i-i-n-e-t.net.au> wrote:
>
>
> >I've had the Thomson 76cm for about a year now. Very happy with it.
> >
> >Its not faultless but is very good for a very reasonable price.
>
> It's a shame about the RCA's cabinet colour.
> Is the Thomson a black set?

Mine's silver.

Paul

[Shaun]

samuelowens@hotmail.com (Sam Owens) wrote:
> Two other small glitches - there is a streak about 0.5cm wide running
> down the left side of the screen that is slightly brighter than the
> neighbouring part of the tube and on rapid dark to light transitions,
> the picture breaks up for c. 0.3sec (this has only affected me twice
> in c. 150 hours of viewing - on Finding Nemo's minefield scene and on
> the Galaxy Song in Meaning of Life). However, these are minor problems
> and I'd still recommend it for the $$$.

The problem with the picture "glitch" happens to me too - the repairer
(ATS) swears they've never heard of it. My closest repairer is an hour
away, and it's not an easy set to lug around, so I haven't taken it in
yet.

The problem is worse (more frequent) when the SVideo signal is
switched through my Yamaha receiver. It's been suggested that
attenuating the signal might help, but apparently it's a capacitor
that needs replacing.

BTW, I actually got the Thomson for $876 at Big W - it looked slightly
nicer than the RCA.

- Shaun

[Kevin Hendrikssen]

"Shaun" <shaunoliver@telstra.com> wrote in message
news:3ecb603a.0312081825.3286be7b@posting.google.c om...
> samuelowens@hotmail.com (Sam Owens) wrote:
> > Two other small glitches - there is a streak about 0.5cm wide running
> > down the left side of the screen that is slightly brighter than the
> > neighbouring part of the tube

Can you get into the service menu and either shift the picture to the left
or increase picture width so it disappears off the edge of the viewable
screen?

[Chris Warr]

> American
> > > brand?
> >
> > RCA = Thomson.
>
> RCA = Thomson = GE = NEC... :-)
>
>

Not sure about that, NEC tvs are made by LG

[John]

"Chris Warr" <cwarr@--no-spam--.labyrinth.net.au> wrote in message
news:1070941003.651238@proxy.nec.com.au...
> > American
> > > > brand?
> > >
> > > RCA = Thomson.
> >
> > RCA = Thomson = GE = NEC... :-)
> >
> >
>
> Not sure about that, NEC tvs are made by LG

NEC owns (or at least part owns) Thomson, plus a few other companies (such
as Packard Bell). NEC and Goldstar though? NEC is a very old TV/Video
manufacturer that also does a lot of commercial stuff (in fact more than
domestic product). Are you sure that LG is making stuff for NEC?

Regards
John

[Adam Cranney]

LG make NEC's DVD players, vcrs, combo units
not sure about their tv's but im pretty sure they are NEC made
their plasma is 100% NEC also


"John" <nospam@afp.gov.au> wrote in message
news:3fd570d3$1@mail.netspeed.com.au...
> "Chris Warr" <cwarr@--no-spam--.labyrinth.net.au> wrote in message
> news:1070941003.651238@proxy.nec.com.au...
> > > American
> > > > > brand?
> > > >
> > > > RCA = Thomson.
> > >
> > > RCA = Thomson = GE = NEC... :-)
> > >
> > >
> >
> > Not sure about that, NEC tvs are made by LG
>
> NEC owns (or at least part owns) Thomson, plus a few other companies (such
> as Packard Bell). NEC and Goldstar though? NEC is a very old TV/Video
> manufacturer that also does a lot of commercial stuff (in fact more than
> domestic product). Are you sure that LG is making stuff for NEC?
>
> Regards
> John
>
>

[MajikShoe]

Thanks for the info guys. How bad is the on-screen noise (esp with
DVD's or a digital signal)? I dont really care about the inbuilt
tuner so much because I'll eventually get a STB. If its bad enough
I'll spend a little extra and get something better after Christmas.

Big W had one running in store (with no aerial) but it was so snowy I
almost broke out the ski's, so it was a bit hard to judge the picture
quality. They didnt have any DVD connected to it so I couldnt see
what it looked like with a digital source.

Thanks,
Jason

ps - whats with the advertising saying its Flat when it is quite
clearly curved. I guess those marketing people think the Earth is
flat too :)

On 7 Dec 2003 18:18:50 -0800, samuelowens@hotmail.com (Sam Owens)
wrote:

>I've had mine for about two months now. Paid $996 but got the $120
>difference back (which was nice of Big W). It's good to see that the
>cheapest 76cmwidescreen is not a Beko but rather a quality product
>made by Thomson in France (the RCA name is licensed by Thomson from GE
>I think :)...
>
>Pros:
>
>- Good contrast
>- Good geometry
>- Good value for money
>- Vivid picture with good depth
>- Excellent NTSC reproduction
>- Stylish
>
>Cons
>
>- Crap remote (compared to the other Thomson TV being offered earlier
>this year)
>- Only two Scarts - hard to run VCR, non-Scart DVD and STB
>- Slightly noisy picture
>- Curved screen
>- Ordinary sound (but I usually run TV sound through an AV amp)
>- 16:9/4:3 switching unpredictable
>- Not black (unlike the old RCA widescreens)
>
>Two other small glitches - there is a streak about 0.5cm wide running
>down the left side of the screen that is slightly brighter than the
>neighbouring part of the tube and on rapid dark to light transitions,
>the picture breaks up for c. 0.3sec (this has only affected me twice
>in c. 150 hours of viewing - on Finding Nemo's minefield scene and on
>the Galaxy Song in Meaning of Life). However, these are minor problems
>and I'd still recommend it for the $$$.
>
>Some reviews
>
>http://www.whatvideotv.com/testbench/frame.html?http://www.whatvideotv.com/testbench/Televisions/Thomson/Thomson32WR25UG.php
>
>http://www.homecinemachoice.com/testbench/frame.html?http://www.homecinemachoice.com/testbench/Televisions/Thomson/Thomson32WR25UG.php