Scenium series

[gje]

All apologies if this is the wrong place to post this, but...
I was in a Circuit City the other day and the Sceniums there were blowing everyone away. They seemed clearly superior in combined picture quality (DVD and sat.) and value, but I am new to this and after reading through the various forums here I wondered if maybe these were the only properly tweaked sets. Any Scenium owners out there who can guide me one way or another?

[cmoss]

Am planning on getting a new widescreen and have been impressed with what I saw in the new Scenium series - anyone have any experience with these newer models? Looking for 60-65 inch set with decoder built in - I read good things about the Sony - anyone know anything about the Zeniht models?

[Dinger]

I have owned my Tv for aprox. 7 months and would reccomend the RCA to everyone. Several of my friends own HI Def TV's(Pioneer and Phillips) and they are all Jealous of mine. Hardly needed any tweeking out of the box according to my AVIA disc. Very stylish but you do need a rather sizable room for this TV. Only real drawback is the fact it has only one component input in the rear and you cannot put anything on top of the TV. Right know I believe you can find them online for under 3 grand.

Chris

[gje]

Dinger, thanks for the reply. I was thinking about the 57" model--we will be sitting 10 to 12 feet from the set. Does that seem a good size to you? Also, does your model have the web browser?

[57U]

gje, welcome to the forum.

The 57" would be good at that distance. In the FAQ section, 6th one down on the home page, there is a post "how large a TV to buy". There are also many other posts in the FAQ section that you may find of use.

[Vettejeff]

I have been looking at the 52" Scenium with the built in dvd player, Looks really good in the store. Right now I have an RCA 36" colortrak plus and it has been a great tv. Just wondering if you have any opinion on the Scenium.
JEFF

[stkeh]

I purchased a 65" rca scenium hdtv in november '02. the set has the built in over the air tuner, and direct tv tuner. due to the holidays etc, just now got the antenna all put up and operational and the picture i get in digital and the 16:9 feeds when they broadcast are outstanding. with the progressive scan dvd (also rca) the pics and sound are awesome. i also got the mitsubishi 900 a/v receiver, and just got a new paradigm pdr-10 subwoofer for Christmas. Needless to say, the house will literally shake, rock and roll now! I think the wife regrets buying the pdr-10 for that reason!!!!
i had looked at sets for a long time, was fully prepared to buy the mitsubishi 65" hdtv for about $3800. When I went to actually purchase it, the Scenium 65" was there side by side, and I got the Scenium for $2700------I also thought the Scenium had the better pic of the two sets side by side on hdnet as well as dvd hooked to both.
Dont know if i will go with the directv, maybe later, but for now i have antenna a connected to standard cox cable, and antenna b to my channel master antenna, and just use the remote to switch back and forth from those, as well as vcr1, vcr2, dvd, and msntv for the web.
Hope this helps someone.
And by the way, whatever you do, remember this: the salesman told me these things GROW when they get home! When it got here, i thought oh no this thing is HUGE. It def made my 46" look small, but have since gotten very very comfy with it and love it.

[Woodycbs]

I just recently purchased the 61 Widescreen (HDTV Ready) Scenium and even though I haven't set everything up - I am VERY satisfied so far. I really did my research and I ended up debating between the Hitachi 57 UWX and this one. CC had them right next to each other and WOW!!! - the picture on the Scenium was unreal, even with just the antenna set-up. Like mentioned in another post, the salespeople and customers were very impressed. Also, watching 4:3 TV on the Cinematica mode - you can't even tell it is stretched. With the UWX (all modes), I noticed alot of "pulled" heads. The RCA's have 5 lenses just like the Hitachi's (Sony only has 4 and its noticable.) The screen didn't seem as reflective as the UWX model and the sound was much better.

A few other things that didn't really make the buying decision but did help some:
It isn't a big black boring box. It slims in the back making it easier to go into a corner and the cabinet is much nicer and stands out well in the showroom and now my living room.
An S video and a/v cable outputs right on the front in a slick little door. PS2 is an easy hook-up and a GREAT picture!
The menu is very user friendly and so is the remote. The commercial skip feature is nice and so is the parental lock-outs for the TV's front panel . Great for anyone with young kids who LOVE to push the TV off and no etc.. like my 16mo does.

I feel that the sound is nice for now with many options. I will be hooking up some speakers/theater soon. The remote is illuminated but only partially.

Overall, after comparing the two, with the RCA being 4'' bigger, better pic, sound, and stretch modes AND the same price as the UWX on sale, the RCA was the clear winner. Once it was in my house, I agree with above - it is a VERY big screen, however the CC deliverer said it is one of the easiest models to move - it has castors and even I can do it on my rug with no help. It is also one of the slimmest models depth wise for this size screen- only 22 inches and like I mentioned above, slims in the back to fit very nice.

Also, this picture looks great even with just a basic analog cable hook-up. I tried it out before doing all the hook-ups.

I was considering the RCA 52" with DVD but opted for the bigger screen. The 52" had just as good as a picture and actually even a couple more perks than mine. I know there is another 61" Scenium model with the tuner, web browser etc.. but CC doesn't sell it yet and looking online it was too far out of my price range. I am quite happy with what I have and encourage everyone to give them a look.

[nchdtv]

WoodyCBS,

I was looking at the 57" UWX Hitachi vs. th 61" Scenium in CC this past weekend.

I like the look of the Scenium, but it did not appear from the placard in front of the TV that the set features the 3:2 pulldown feature.

Everything I've read on these boards and others say this feature is invaluable for getting rid of artifacts.

Does the 61" have this feature? I know I saw it listed on the 52" w/ DVD player.

[deserthorizons]

I purchased the Scenium 52" in November, and am very happy with it..
I actually went up there to buy either the Sony or the Mitsubishi,
but looking at the pic on the RCA made up my mind..
(the word I used to describe the Sony when I saw it in person was " cheesy"..)
The RCA looks much better at home than on the showroom floor..
I have been looking at HDTV's for quite a while, and I was never impressed with the way words looked onscreen.. kinda blurry and out of focus..
Not this one.. They all look crystal clear..
I do not have a STB yet, just the standard DirecTV..
It is amazingly clear.. The wife says it is too big.. so I know I got the right size..:)
DVD's look awesome.. Just watched "Lord of the Rings"..

The only problem with it..
Everything looks so good, I am watching it ALL the time..

[tvo1]

Am new here and very happy with my Scenium 52" (d52w135d). Pictures are outstanding and increadible sounds. The nice feature about this TV is the one-touch convergence with adjustable Red & Blue crosses.
However, the first two weeks everything look just fine but time after time I noticed that Red and Green are off aligment (noticable on letters and closed captions) and the geometry is also went off around the screen's edges. Doesn't matter what I've tried the problem still there. Of cource pictures stil look good with that but it's very uncomfortable to read letters in two colors.

Is any one see this same problem and is there any better way than the auto convergence to fix it?

One other thing, the remote Volume Control can only operate in TV mode. For example, if you're watching directv, you have to switch back and forth between TV and SAT button on the remote control to change the volume and satellite chanels.

Thanks alot and appreciate for your input,:cool:

[57U]

tvo1, welcome to the forum. Several comments that may help.

1. Only do convergence on a warm set. Convergence is temperature sensitive.

2. Convergence may therefore be "off" a bit while the set warms up (30 minutes or so) but should be "good" from 30 minutes to many hours.

3. Don't "overuse" automatic convergence". You may wish to do a manual convergence.

4. Check out the FAQ section on the home page, especially the post "what you need to do to your new HDTV".

[tvo1]

Thanks for the Tips 57U
I'll check the FAQ section out some times tonight.

Thanks,