Rating: 
Summary: Very Happy after 1 Day
Review: I just bought this set and have had it for a day and so far I am very happy. One concern that others had expressed was the noise of the fan. I can barely hear the fan if I put my ear next to teh TV, so on my unit anyway this is not an issue (unless it gets worse with time). I have not yet hooked up direct TV so I have not yet gotten the HDTV part going, but just looking at a DVD on the set (component input) the quality is really great.
Now "regular" TV channels don't always look so fabulous, but I suspect that may be just because the clarity and size of the tv shows teh imperfections in those signals (like sometimes I notice artifacts that I think are from my tivo--I never noticed them before but I wasn;t using such a good set before). Anyway, for the price, considerng it has a built in HDTV tuner (very few sets do)...its a great deal.
Rating: 
Summary: Dont buy this TV
Review: ...It's now been at the service center for two months -twice as long as I actually got to use it. DON'T BUT IT - NOT WORTH THE HASSLE.
I bought this TV a month ago and it seems to be the worst consumer electronics decision I've ever made.
Initially it worked fine (over the air). When I had a Direct TV dish installed,it became apparent that the inbuilt direct tv tuner didn't work. The RCA recommendend repairer came and collected it and determined there was also a problem with the picture tube...
My advice - choose a TV with better warranty support
Rating: 
Summary: Great HD picture, marginal analogue picture
Review: I've had this RCA set for about a year. The HDTV picture is superb; with the over the air local stations' HDTV selections sharper than the HDTV channels from DirecTV. If all channels were broadcast in HD this would be a superb set. However, most programming in non-HD (99%). The TV comes with a DirecTV HD tuner....the high def channels as mentioned are superb, but everything else is less than average. All the other non-HD stations (which is all the channels except 199 and the HBO HD station (509) are somewhat blurry and come in in much less detail/resolution than any of my other TV sets connected to DirecTV. Since most of the programming is now non-HD, most of the TV watching will be non-HD programs, hence, resulting in watching a poor picture. Had the RCA tech come out and check out the set, could find nothing wrong, and hinted that RCA knows they have this problem with this set and it seems to be related to the built in DirecTV HD tuner. The way I found around this problem was to purchase another non-HD DirecTV tuner (got a TiVo unit) and connect it to the RCA TV. I watch the HD stations on the built in RCA tuner and remainder of the DirecTV stations via my accessory DirecTV tuner. The picture via the accessory tuner is much better but still not quite as good as the picture on get on DirecTV via my old Mitsubishi 35" TV. The other built in tuner (the one obtaining local stations) is much better, and the over the air HD station reception in HD is superb. The only other drawback is that there are no outputs from the back of the TV; this means one cannot hook up a VCR to tape any shows. TiVo solved part of this problem, record shows on its disk and can connect VCR to the TiVo unit.
Rating:
Summary: A Superb TV
Review: I have had my F38310 for 6 months now. It came out of the box working and looking just about perfect. A few minor adjustemnts, and I can not overstate how wonderful the picture is. Really. I don't think the average person is aware just how good digital TV, and HDTV in particular is or they would never consider a TV without a built-in DTV decoder. You will find yourself watching shows brodcast in HDTV that you previously had no interest in simply because they look and sound so good. With a simple indoor antenna (I have tried a bunch and found the $14 Radio Shack double bow-tie UHF antenna to be far and away the best), I still am amazed at just how good everthing looks. If you enjoy DVDs, they look fantastic as well. In fact, the picture on this TV is so good, you'll begin to notice the limitations of the DVD format. The picture quality is not quite as good as the HDTV content you'll get with an antenna. Like anything, the TV has a couple of "less than perfect" attributes, all of which have been mentioned here. By no means should you let any of them prevent you from strongly considering this TV.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent value, performance, and viewing
Review: Update: Its been 3 years since I bought the set and its been a gem every day!! Bought a Phillips 34" wide HD Ready TV last year and although its got a pretty darn good picture it still can't beat the RCA for picture quality and value. Bottom line here the RCA is a winner plan and simple! As for those whiners about picture GET THE AVIA GUIDE DVD AND SET THE TV UP CORRECTLY!! For everyone else doing this to this or ANY TV will greatly enhance the picture quality.
I've had this set for a little less than a year. I purchased a floor demo from a major electronics retailer at a nice discount after looking at Sony, Toshiba, Panasonic, and Pioneer. I looked at everything from very large big screens to large direct views. Nothing could touch the RCA's value or performance. All in all it has a exceptional picture, extremely wide viewing area, loads of inputs and a built in HD receiver all the while priced like HD-ready TVs from everyone else. It does have a few drawbacks, weight and lack of outputs. I strongly suggest you know exactly where you want it because it takes at least two strong folks to move it. Yes the cooling fan does run all the time but its barely audible, even less so if the TV is in an entertainment center. Lastly, I strongly recommend that no matter what TV you purchase you either rent or buy the Avia Guide to Home Theater. This will help you get the picture and home theater set up properly because NO TV comes from the factory setup correctly, even Sonys.
Rating:
Summary: the best TV picture - - - period!
Review: I had the poor saleslady drag this TV alongside a Sony and Philips; my three HDTV finalists all using the same signal source. The RCA won by a narrow margin over the Philips and a wide margin over the Sony. All had great pictures, so the RCA was the best of the best. This monster is heavy, so get some help to move around 216 pounds. It is hard to believe that there are no video outputs on this unit. More than stupid.
Rating: 
Summary: Buyer Beware
Review: I bought this set and it has warts. First of all, the unit has some kind of cooling fan(s) inside that constantly whir and make loud noise, even when the set off! This is very distracting at night, so I have to unplug the set and thus lose the date and time settings to keep from hearing the fan noise all night long. Sometimes the fan noise is audible above the actual sound level of the TV program being watched! Second, the remote is a real cumbersome thing to operate, very 'klugey' and irritating to set preferences and channels, and although "touted" as a remote able to Learn the codes for VCR's and DVD players connected to the set, it has NOT been able to learn my VCR and DVD players. Also, the PIP function is too primitive. The PIP image can be moved around the screen, BUT the size of the PIP image is FIXED and cannot be altered. Also, whenever channels are changed, a large INFO banner is always displayed for ten seconds or so, this is a real "BUSTER" and cannot be suppressed, a real NUISANCE! Worst of all, don't get snookered by your cable company like I did! Yes, the major NETWORKS are all broadcasting HDTV in my locale, BUT not all cable companies are "re-broadcasting" in Digital. CABLEVISION isn't in my area, so, I can't get any HDTV programming to watch! Not the set's fault, but, make sure your cable company can "deliver" HDTV programming. I also suggest getting the extended warrantee with In-Home service otherwise you will have to carry this 219 pound behemoth to a service center if it ever needs repair and judging by the scanty RCA/PROSCAN warrantee, this item might not "have the longest life expectancy in the world".
Rating:
Summary: RCA F38310 38" Widescreen
Review: The reason I bought the RCA over the other Brands that pushed flatscreens and projection plus other tech options was the picture. Natural warmth as close as you can get to film quality.It has a slight curve to screen but very close to flat. It was the only way they could produce this type of tube design. It does not effect screen displacement. Set up is very straight foward, just read the book. It's a real plus having the satelite receiver built in, also 2 antenna inputs for cable and HD local stations. One thing to be aware of is the weight, It takes 2 plus to lift because it's still CRT technology and get the stand made for the this model(optional base). It has pegs that go in to bottom of
TV so it won't shift forward in a Earthquake. Always get an
extended warranty with so much technology inside the set.
The TV has been going 6 hours a day seven days a week since September with no problems. It was purchased new at a much higher price then currently priced at now!
Rating:
Summary: Very Short Life for the RCA F38310 HDTV
Review: I bought this television a week ago. It worked only 4 days and then went off completely. It will not turn on at all. I checked the instruction manual and learned that the TV has a protective circuit, which turns it off in case of a power surge. I tried all the methods prescribed by RCA to get the TV back on but nothing worked. Finally a RCA appointed local technician checked it and found that a component in the power supply board has burned itself. Four days is an awfully short life for a failure of the circuit board. I am going to get rid of this TV now and buy something else. Please note I also use a real good surge protector for this TV and all my stereo components. I do not believe that the TV ever was surged. Another shortcoming is that RCA provided only a single set of component video inputs. This becomes a real problem, if you have two high performance devices to connect to this TV (like a progressive scan DVD player, and a HD Decoder box for the cable TV). You can get around this by getting a component video switch. However, there are not many such switches are around at this time. The least expensive one I found is made by JVC and is available for about $ 100 ffrom some online retailers. I hope RCA takes notice of these issues and resolve them as soon as possible.
Rating:
Summary: Nothing but problems
Review: I had been very happy with TV for the first month but a reoccurring technical problem as made me regret purchasing it. The TV now loses picture and sound after being on for about 20 minutes. Despite still being under warranty this problem has yet to be corrected after several visits by an RCA technician over the past month. I would absolutely not buy this TV again and I strongly suggest that anyone who purchases it consider checking to make sure there is a competent repair center that can make housecalls in your area (TV is way to big to haul back and forth to the many service calls you may need).
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