Exceptional Hight Def. Picture. I bought it mainly because I did not like the way High def. projection tv's looked. I wanted a tube HDTV and I am glad i purchased the MM36100. I also use it for computer PC-DVD playback with creative labs DVD encore. The picture and ac3 sound is incredible so this makes up for the lack of non-progressive scan support on the component inputs.

component video does not support progressive scan dvd players (but i have a workaround for this)

I have my computer hooked up to the MM36100 via 1 svga input. The other svga input is used by the HDTV receiver and High def. HBO is the best picture I have ever seen...even better than most theatres. I have seen alot of critisizm about the lack of progressive scan capability on the component video input. I have worked around this problem by using my $60 creative labs encore dvd decoder inside my computer. The picture is better than any progressive scan DVD I have seen. I do not understand why people buy expensive progressive scan dvd players. The encore dvd decoder has AC-3 dolby 5.1 surround and amazing picture quality. My remote control for the entire system is a infared keyboard that works great. So I have all the functions of expensive progressive scan dvd players for $60.

Picture is fabulous, many video inputs, PC monitor mode is very nice

screen glare, weight, picture is soo nice it is hard to get away from the TV!

All in all, I would highly recommend this TV to anyone. In my area there is no over the air HDTV signals so it will be used for standard programming aside for that little HDTV is on satellite. So a regular HDTV with wide screen (16:9) would not be good for me. Screen burn might result since the picture would have side bars all the time. DVDs are letterbox on this set, but unless you watch DVDS all the time, that should not produce screen burn. On the PC side, the TV has pass through USB ports so using it as a PC monitor is great. Two usb ports on the front plus video/audio in ports for easy conection of a video camera for playback and headphone jack. On the back, 2 VGA in ports, external speaker connections, plenty of inputs (component in, S-video, and standard video input). All video inputs are selectable from the remote. Picture in picture is standard on most sets these days, and this has it also. But in HDTV mode and PC mode it is not available, only in standard video modes. Plus in standard mode, HDTV and PC can't be PIP. Oh, and the picture quality is TOPS. Very crisp and clear, color is vivid. As others have said, the screen is not flat, it is convexed. Glare is sometimes a problem from my skylights, but I can live with that. At night, the picture is flawless. I find myself renting DVDs all the time now. I would recommend this TV to ANYONE! Oh, and one more thing: Gamers would LOVE this TV. PC games can be played on it. Imagine the top games in the PC world with a Voodoo 3d card on a 36" monitor! And with USB ports on the front, joysticks, keyboards, pointing devices and any other input devices are easy to connect and use. Plus a Dreamcast with VGA adapter hooked to the VGA input on this TV would be simply stunning!

Awesome crisp picture! Inputs / Outputs / Otherputs / Many puts.....

Glare. Do they make an anti glare for these things?
otherwise I can not be much happier!

I love this tv.
It's been 15 years since I bought a television and I researched the hell out of this.
The remote is very nice as well.

My system as stands:

RCA 36"
Toshiba SD6200 DVD player - wow! (Replacement for free player)
Klipsch Quintet Surround system
Harman Kardon AVR110

I build web pages and presentations. While previewing them with my laptop and direct SVGA hookup at 800x600 this thing is CRISP! I've also browsed the web with it, and I cannot say enough good things about it. I can sit back on the couch and read.

The earth
it shakes.

: It is heavy and awkward but I managed to clean & Jerk it by myself into the entertainment center. Now I have two hernias.

Do yourself a favor and give this one a try.

Similar Products Used:

None... viewed Sony Wega... I thought this was far better for the money. And I got a free dvd player and another price rebate so it only cost me $1200 total. Beat that SONY!

Digital, crisp output.

Overpriced if you're just using it as a conventional TV.
Heavy and unwieldy- you'll need help to move it even a few feet once it's out of the box.

I received mine three days ago, so obviously I haven't had much chance to use it yet. I bought probably for different reasons than most people. I have a computer in my entertainment center that I use as an MP3 jukebox, surfing the web, games, movies, etc. Output on my old analog TV was nearly illegible. The RCA MM36100 acts as a big 800x600 monitor, and everything is crisp and legible (I sit about 8' away from the screen). It has two VGA inputs, so you can use it with both a PC and a digital signal converter (i.e., the one that RCA sells) without a KVM switch box.

Picture quality, number of inputs, VGA in for a PC

Weight, screen glare.

Overall a VERY nice TV. I love the picture, and all inputs are selectable from the remote. I have a home automation PC and this TV works great as a PC monitor, so I can access the PC at any time right from the remote. The picture is stunning, and DVDs look awsome on this set. I found myself renting 2 DVDs a day for the first couple weeks I had it! They say this TV does not accept progressive scan signals from a DVD player, but how could it look any better if it did? I have tried playing DVDs throught the PC hooked up to the TV with the VGA in port and it looked no better then my standard DVD player hooked up with S-video. The built in sound is very good, but hooked up to my home theater system it really makes movies a treat. I would recomment this TV to ANYONE!

Picture Quality, Connections, Price

Speakers?, No Pregressive scan on components

Excellent overall TV. I am currently using this TV in my computer setup. I have a AIW Radeon video card that makes this setup make Tivo and Replay TV pretty bad. The 800x600 resolution is very crisp. The sound is mediocre at best, but who uses the internal speakers on a $2000 TV? Cannot beat the price. I could not find the Hitachi when I was buying this TV, so there really no comparison with these options at this price. The only other brand Princeton, make a 36" that runs about $3500 and has no TV tuner.

Good picture when it works, lots of inputs.

RCA.... ,I should have known better.

I have owned this,almost wonderful, TV for over 9 mo. It has an ittermitant problem where It will go black for a few seconds. It does this enough to make me crazy and so seldom the repairman thinks I am crazy. RCA is no help , I have phoned , written letters, and talked to many service centers. Currently a service center has it. has had for 6 weeks. RCA said if they couldn't fix it in 2 weeks they would replace it. Two weeks I call , talk to the same person who now says that is not so It has to be 30 days then they will replace it . Guess what, i'ts been over 30 days, I call again.... Now they say it has to be refered to another dept. they promise to get back to me in 3 to 5 bs. days.... Guess what, 3-5 days is now over 10 and counting. I't is at the point that I don't I'd be happy if they returned it gold plated. I like this review site, I know often you take with a grian of salt someones subjective, and often biased review of the performance qualitys of a particular product. When I see something about repair or service I look hard at that.

Similar Products Used:

None... Hope I never find a similar product to the one I
None...Mabe EMERSON, does YUGO make TV sets.

Setup and filtering (contrast, colour, blackness) capabilities; picture

None

I would have purchased the Panasonic 32" high-def-capable model, because of its built-in scan doubler. This renders the picture from a DVD near perfect. But, already owning a 32" TV, I also wanted to go up a size, especially considering the amount of money potentially involved.

Lucky for me the MM36100 has just been released in Canada, in April... in fact, I may be the first purchaser. This set is identical to a ProScan model that comes in a different, and much bigger, box. The RCA version has been getting fabulous reviews in all the Home Theatre-type magazines. And, I had to fit a 36" set in the same armoire that my 32" (also RCA, ColorTrak 2000) sat in. So, the MM36100 won out.

And am I glad it did. This is by far the best picture I've seen, including the Panasonic. Only on DVD, you understand... while cable signal is also better than most I've seen, well, you know cable. Especially Rogers (another story).

This is a beatiful, crystal-clear direct-view set. RCA/Thompson are very good about not calling this an HDTV; however, they do point out that pixel-for-pixel, it matches the resolution of the HDTV standard, except for the fact that it is a 4:3 ratio, and for a true HDTV label you must have a 16:9 screen. So, if you cut off the side of a 16:9, you'd have the same picture resolution.

Using both the DiscWasher setup DVD, and the Swelltone Audio Essentials DVD from Joe Kane, I discovered that most manual settings were already perfectly tuned. The filtering and other compenentry in the system almost makes it unnecessary to step through the tests. For example, the Pluge test already shows spot-on black and contrast levels; it is impossible to cause blooming by jacking up the blackness (brightness) too high; and the spike-line bending test... well, I cannot make the line bend.

Almost as important to me is the number of audio/video inputs and outputs on the back of the set (not to mention those hidden on the front, including twin USB ports). I finally can do component in from my DVD, AND S-VHS in from my VCR. Plus, there's room for a lot more, including RCA's own set-top HD decoder. And if you like, SVGA ports for your computer.

DVD quality is so good, I don't mind that I cannot even receive HD signals in this area. I can wait. Watching a movie on DVD in Dolby 5.1 on this sytem, is kinda like the ultimate experience. Yes, bigger screens, like gas plasma flat giant systems would be cool... but at least five times as expensive. And honestly, the samples I've seen have far inferior displays, even if they do look pretty cool hanging on the wall.

If you're one of those who likes to wait until the price/performance point is ripe, then this is the deal for you. RCA has outdone themselves, as usual in the TV area, by providng this kind of picture quality for such a low price compared to the competition. And, I might add for the purists, one of the three available colour warmth presets is set to 6500 Kelvin, which few consumer sets can even come close to (and although I'd have to hire a specialist to come in and tell me if the setting is accurate out-of-the-box, I could care less: it still looks like a million.).

Similar Products Used:

Panasonic 32" line-doubled DTV; Sony WEGA

This is a response to, "Christianson" who felt that this product had a value of "1" and an overall rating of "1".

"5" doesn't mean that a product is flawless, it means that it is in the top 20% of all products like it. Do you really think that the RCA MM36100 is in the bottom 20% of all Digital televisions you've seen? I think it looks and performs better than most true HDTVs. Furthermore, you can't get a computer monitor this size at this price anywhere, regardless of quality. It is highly suitable for use as a presentation quality computer monitor. It's great for most games, but given the 800x600 resolution, I wouldn't recommend it for word processing or other data entry work.

I'd also point out that most people did find it's weakness: it's price. Other than that I would stand by the statement that it is the best quality 36" non-HDTV set available. You find a better one, let us know.

Can be used with your PC VGA card at 800 by 600.

Can't find any.

I just received mine along with the DTC100 receiver and the eliptical dish. Haven't set up the dish yet but I have tried off air broadcasts of digital channels in my area. My first impression was 'Oh My God!' The Hi Def picture knocked my socks off. I was stunned. I've never seen anything better.

Similar Products Used:

None.