RCA D52W20 52" Theaterwide HDTV-Ready TV

[Archived in $1000 - $2000, 41-Inches and Over, HDTV CRT Projection TVs, HDTVs, Products, RCA]

Manufacturer: RCA
Price at amazon.com: Too Low To Display
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Used & new from $1250.00

List price $1,699.99



Product Features:

• 52-inch diagonal widescreen HDTV monitor; 48.75 x 51.75 x 22.75 inches (W x H x D)
• Dual HD progressive-scan inputs let you appreciate the full quality of DTV set-top boxes and progressive-scan DVD players
• INTELLIFOCUS auto digital convergence optimizes convergence for the sharpest picture possible
• 3D Y/C digital frame comb filter removes blurred edges between colors and reduces dot crawl
• A dedicated subwoofer output lets you hook up a powered subwoofer (no audio/video receiver required)

Product Description:

RCA's 52-inch-diagonal D52W20 widescreen HDTV monitor gives you a smooth, filmlike image when used with a progressive-scan DVD player (or 480p-output DTV set-top box). This projection set includes the latest connectivity: a DVI input with HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection), which allows transmission of uncompressed digital video signals from an HDTV set-top box (not included) to the D52W20. Progressive scanning, referred to as 480p for the number of horizontal lines that compose the video image, creates a picture using twice the scan lines of a conventional DVD picture, giving you higher resolution and sharper images while eliminating nearly all motion artifacts. Both of the set's high-definition (1080i/480p) component-video inputs benefit from the Syncroscan system, which automatically performs high-resolution pixel mapping from sources up to SXGA resolution. The resulting screen image has excellent clarity from the highest-resolution sources. Intellifocus auto digital convergence is a menu-accessible feature that automatically optimizes convergence for the sharpest picture possible. The D52W20's 3D Y/C digital frame comb filter further enhances resolution by removing blurred edges between colors and reducing dot crawl (tiny, moving dots of color along a sharp color separation in a vertical line). A dedicated subwoofer output lets you hook up a powered subwoofer (no audio/video receiver required) to beef up the low-end for home-theater thumping. Virtual Dolby simulates surround sound from the set's stereo speakers.

Description from Manufacturer:RCA's 52-inch-diagonal D52W20 widescreen HDTV monitor gives you a smooth, filmlike image when used with a progressive-scan DVD player (or 480p-output DTV set-top box). This projection set includes the latest connectivity: a DVI input with HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection), which allows transmission of uncompressed digital video signals from an HDTV set-top box (not included) to the D52W20.

Progressive scanning, referred to as 480p for the number of horizontal lines that compose the video image, creates a picture using twice the scan lines of a conventional DVD picture, giving you higher resolution and sharper images while eliminating nearly all motion artifacts. Both of the set's high-definition (1080i/480p) component-video inputs benefit from the Syncroscan system, which automatically performs high-resolution pixel mapping from sources up to SXGA resolution. The resulting screen image has excellent clarity from the highest-resolution sources.

Intellifocus auto digital convergence is a menu-accessible feature that automatically optimizes convergence for the sharpest picture possible. The D52W20's 3D Y/C digital frame comb filter further enhances resolution by removing blurred edges between colors and reducing dot crawl (tiny, moving dots of color along a sharp color separation in a vertical line). A dedicated subwoofer output lets you hook up a powered subwoofer (no audio/video receiver required) to beef up the low-end for home-theater thumping. Virtual Dolby simulates surround sound from the set's stereo speakers.Average Customer Rating:

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Comment: Stylish set , very good picture at a great price Rating:
I bought the RCA D52W15, which is essentially the D52W20 without the screen shield. The price, quality of picture and overall style were the selling points for me. Normally I would buy a Sony or other Japanese brand well known for quality, but this set just looked better than any others I had seen. The cabinet styling has a very slim look. Many sets looked big and blocky from the front as well as the backs being made with particle-board where the RCA is build like the DPL receivers using light but sturdy looking plastic. I noticed also that every set with a screen shield (just about all) was reflecting the lights of the showroom where the RCA has the mat finish (D52W15 only) and barely reflected any room lighting giving a better picture without distraction. I don't have kids or pets living in the house so I'm not worried about the screen being damaged. I am very happy so far with the performance and look in my home. As of this writing I have had it a little over a month. I bought a service contract, With a large purchase like this and being an RCA, I don't want to take chances. I have experimented with the settings and have gotten satisfaction in viewing even poor quality video. I notice even on the same stations some shows look stunning while others look poor and out of focus, so it's not the TV. I am sure the more expensive HDTV sets have more features for setting the picture parameters, but I find this set has enough to get great viewing. I find the "Cinerama" screen format is best for most 3:4 ratio broadcasts where you want the whole screen filled with least distortion on the edges. I find when watching widescreen DVDs, to eliminate black bars still seen because of being filmed in a non standard aspect ratio, I use the "16:9 up/down" mode and center the picture and loose very little picture while filling my whole screen. I hate seeing black or grey bars. I have set the contrast down to about 35%, it will save on CRT phosphor wear and then juggling color and black levels it looks better to me than the factory settings that tend to be over saturated in most cases. The audio is good, but It doesn't matter, being I am hooked up to a good A/V receiver with surround sound. Even commercials sound and look good.

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Comment: You get what you pay for... Rating:
At first I thought the RCA D52W20 was an excellent purchase, but over the next few days of ownership I started to notice the many, many flaws that ultimately led to my returning this product after 20 days and buying a Samsung instead.

In order of importance, the significant problems with this set are:

1) The screen edge regions did not produce a sharp image.
2) The convergence needed to be adjusted twice daily as there was a marked drift on both the blue and red projectors.
3) There is only 1 (center) manual convergence point. Similar sets from Sony, Toshiba, etc give you 9 points to adjust.
4) Ghost streaks appeared to the right of bright objects in high contrast situations.

This being said, the RCA generally produced a "good" picture, and who really watches the edge of the screen anyway, right? ;-)

Bottom line - this set is available at a discount price, but it also delivers discount quality.

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Comment: So far so good Rating:
I just had my TV arrive last week. So far I couldn't be happier. The picture is ok in regular mode and the HDTV picture is outstanding. The look of the TV is very sleak and modern. It has some cool features like PIP and push button recording to your VCR (I have tivo so I wouldn't use that feature). All in all I'm very happy with the TV. Also, I paid just $1050 for it on sale at Circuit City. I think it was mismarked. Can't beat that deal! I just hope it proves to be reliable in the long term.

Posted at September 11, 2003 07:32 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)