RCA 50&#34; Select DLP HDTV &#45; HD50LPW165
Great Value
My old projection TV died (the cost of repair exceeded what I originally paid for it), and I went in search of a new one.  One of the big electronics stores was having a floor model sale, and given the huge discounts off the regular price, I was drooling. I had a choice between all the top brands (they were clearing everything out to put new models on the floor) and the opportunity to compare them side by side.  While RCA is a name steeped in history, I wasn't aware they were still in the game until I came upon this unit.  When I saw the picture this unit produces, I was hooked; it exceeded anything in the price range.  Yes, there were TV's from the leading projection, LCD and plasma players that had remarkable pictures, but I wasn't interested in them for (literally) thousands more.  I agonized about buying this \\"low-end\\" RCA, but finally decided to give it a new home. In the ensuing 5 months, I have not regretted it. <br /> <br />Before going further, there are a few essential caveats I must state. First and foremost, I do not have cable or satellite. The TV lives in a somewhat rural, mountainous area, and over-the-air reception is impossible. The house is a second/ weekend home, and I cannot justify the expenditure of $45+ per month for what might amount to 5 hours of cable viewing per week. My experience with the TV is therefore only via DVD. I have a run-of-the-mill Sony progressive scan DVD player, and with that, the resultant picture quality is excellent. I get \\"Wow's\\" from the neighbors.  I originally had the video output running through an older DVD player, and bumping up to a progressive scan made a positive difference in picture quality. The DVD audio runs through the surround system, so I cannot speak to the quality of the audio from the TV itself (and with movie soundtracks, who is NOT listening to their surround system?).  Given the picture quality that 480i DVD provides, I can only imagine what HDTV looks like. <br /> <br />With that said, I again state the value of the TV is great. The on-screen menu is terrific. The manual did not come with the TV, and until I downloaded it from the web, I had to make do and set the TV up without it.  No problem. The menus are logical and have quite a level of descriptive depth to them, which is a godsend. The remote control is fine. I wish the button names lit up and were a tad bigger, but it is reasonably operable as is.  The manual, by the way, is written clearly, and in English, by someone writing in their native language.  Another kudo!  I have read reviews that speak to black levels in the set not being as good as they should be, colors being a tad off, and a noisy fan. In my showroom side by side comparison, this picture excelled, and I have not been in any way disappointed with it at home. Less-than-black blacks, and colors that are off according to sophisticated test DVDs do not detract from my own low-tech sensors: my eyes.  I also have not witnessed any blurring, rainbow or motion-related problems that some DLP sets have. <br /> <br />While I chose to live dangerously and not take the \\"insurance policy\\" the store tried to sell me, I did some research on the web and bought a replacement lamp for the set. The salesperson made a strong point that the lamp in any DLP set WILL burn out. The likelihood of it burning out sooner in this floor model is even greater, so I hedged my bet by getting two, just in case.  I would rather have the spares (around $200), and piece of mind when the lamp inevitably fails.  If something larger craps out, e.g. the light engine (> $900), then I guess I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place. <br /> <br />Even as I contemplate bringing a widescreen TV into my \\"main\\" home, I find the combination of picture quality and lower price that the RCA DLP offers is tough to beat.  I have looked at the competition, and the price difference to bump up to other manufacturers becomes difficult to reconcile.