Rca Tv Repair

* Television receivers keep growing and growing, especially with the advent of the home theater concept. Once you reach a certain size, however, you start wandering into the realm of projection TV, and that's where we say, "Whoa!" It may simply be prejudice on our part--after all, many proud owners swear by such sets--but we've always found them to lack a certain amount of sharpness and color fidelity. So, in our search for innovation as the era of high-definition television approaches, we decided to follow the adage that size doesn't always matter and choose a set that just gives the best picture.

From past experience, we've had nothing but joy from RCA sets. (We have actually had three since the advent of the color age; never had to repair any one of them; only got rid of them when we decided to trade up to technological advances; and found that they continued to perform in an exemplary fashion for the people we passed them on to. In fact, the last two are still functioning well, thank you.) With that in mind, we started exploring the new RCA Scenium line, and fell in love with a model fetchingly named D34W135D. We're not totally clear on the "Star Wars"-sounding nomenclature, though we were able to decipher that 34 referred to the 34" diagonal screen. More importantly, the features, combined with the crystal clarity of the picture and sound, sold us almost immediately.

The big factor, of course, is HDTV (high-definition television), which delivers a far-greater amount of lines per square inch, thus providing, yes, higher-definition picture and sound, even though most programs are not yet transmitted in this mode. (When they are, however, we'll be ready for them.) All the technical terms do not necessarily have any meaning to us, although they roll effortlessly off the tongues of our offspring. We were solely interested in the bottom line, performance-wise, and that's what the integrated tuner with its built-in digital receiver/decoder and 5.1 channel Dolby digital surround sound delivered. The 16:9 aspect ratio follows the same proportions as big-screen motion pictures do in the theaters, so there is no loss of side action when they appear on our set.

Having mastered HDTV, we were next confronted with a refinement of the acronym as it progressed to DVI-HDTV. This actually translated rather simply, as the DVI designation meant digital visual interface, coordinating the signals from a digital cable box or satellite receiver. Hey, we were getting good at this.

The next tongue twister we had to contend with was InfiniFocus HD CRTs, which turned out to refer to the much-evolved cathode ray tube that, with its longer neck, higher-performance scan velocity modulation, and improved electronic gun, runs rings around standard tubes. Again, this translates to sharper images and details, as well as better transition between images--no more color tail when action moves quickly. The next jawbreaker that RCA threw at us was Linear Motion Upconverter (Progressive Scan), which smoothed out the image by removing scan lines and curbing the flickers ordinary video signals transmit. Feeling more confident by the moment, we then tackled Motion Adaptive Reverse 3:2 Pulldown, which sounded like an ultra-tricky call in a football huddle, likely resulting in a triple reverse fleaflicker to a tackle-eligible receiver. Disappointingly, the explanation was far simpler. It seems that theater movies are recorded at 24 frames per second, while digital TVs operate at 30. This handy feature justifies the two speeds so that the picture you see is neither scurrying around like the Keystone Kops nor dragging like a slow-motion mime. The initials and technical jargon kept coming, but, frankly, we opted to take the manufacturer at his word-after all, RCA has never lied to us--and accept that they simply meant "better."

Finally, there were two special features that even we could understand without a translator. First, good old D34W135D comes with an integrated DVD player built in. As movie buffs, we have been absolutely thrilled with our RCA DVD player for the past three years, regarding it as the greatest invention since the wheel (or, at least, the VCR). The little word "integrated" we found out, meant that the DVD not only plays movies, but is compatible with audio CDs, mp3-encoded ones, and CD-Rs. Moreover, Auto Letterbox Detection allows the set to adjust the picture format so that the image fills the screen best. Second was a purely cosmetic factor. For those who get tired of looking at sets that have either a high-tech black or wood-brown finish, there is a choice of clip-on frames to change the look of the set's front. Instead of the onyx frame our set came with, we were able to substitute one of three gray tones--silver diamond, graphite, or storm, progressing from lighter to darker-or even a startling plum. Pleased with all the options, we considered carefully and finally chose onyx. Nevertheless, it was nice of them to ask.

Having worked our way through all the technobabble, we decided that this was the set for us, leaving the fuzzy 61" rear projection receiver to our can-you-top-this neighbor. We couldn't be happier with our decision.

The RCA D34W135D Scenium color TV/DVD lists for a suggested $2,500 at high-end electronics stores, though the competitiveness of the market should allow you to bring one home for hundreds less.

This symbol * indicates USA Today has tested a product for operating in full compliance with the manufacturer's specifications and to determine its performance as applicable to our readers' needs. Disadvantages, if any, also are reported. Although we cannot guarantee a product, we offer the starred designation as a guide to readers

COPYRIGHT 2002 Society for the Advancement of Education
COPYRIGHT 2002 Gale Group

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