Black Boxes: RCA TV w/ Electronic Program Guide Reviewed
RCA’s Guide Plus Gemstar Television set has shown that a TVs don’t have to be complicated to be smart. RCA’s 32" Guide Plus Gemstar TV set provides the viewer with an interactive EPG (electronic programming guide) and a screen large enough to satisfy most viewers. The Gemstar EPG allows endless hours of channel surfing by giving you an on-screen program guide to look at seven days of programming right on the TV screen with no additional cost.
No Tech Problems Here
Set up of the unit didn’t present any problems. We simply ran the RF cable for our cable TV into our VCR and out to the TV, and were up and running easily inside five minutes.
The Gemstar supports composite video and audio in/out and S-video as well. You can connect your cable box, DVD player or satellite receiver. The first time you turn the TV on you are walked through the setup procedure. Simply answer a series of basic questions like "What country do you live in?" "Do you have cable?" and "What kind of VCR do you have?"
Program Guide Here We Come
At the end of the setup we were told that it might take 24 hours for the programming information to arrive. But we set up the TV at night and the next morning the Guide plus system was up and running.
When you turn the TV on it goes immediately to the user-friendly Guide Plus system. We were well into using it before we even had to glance at the manual. Taking up the majority of the screen is the default menu setting Grid. This allows you to scroll down through the TV programs playing at that hour and through the next few days. Guide Plus also displays information such as the availability of closed-captions, Internet access and a brief synopsis about the show. The next menu item, Sort, displays the shows in one of three general categories: Movies, Sports and Children. We went straight to Sports, selected Ice Skating, and whammo: two skating shows on Sunday. The downside of this feature is the categories are narrow. Game shows, sitcoms, dramas and documentaries that aren’t movies are missing from the sortable categories offered.
Both the grid and the sort menu have Watch and Record options found in the action buttons across the top of the screen. The Watch option allows you to select an upcoming program you’d like to watch. You can then turn off the TV, and later, at the appropriate time, the TV will turn itself on, already tuned to the program you chose. If the TV is already on, it will automatically tune to the program you’d like to see at the selected time.
Similarly, the Record allows you to select a show to record to VHS tape for later viewing. For this function to work, it is crucial that the IR cable be connected and that you have correctly followed the setup procedure. At the designated time, the TV will tune to the selected channel and send a record signal to your VCR. As long as you’ve remembered to pop a blank tape in the machine, your show will be waiting for you. The RCA Guide Plus Gemstar Television turns your VCR into a "video mailbox."
Because we were drawn to spend quite a lot of time in the EPG menu, we greatly appreciated the included PIP (picture in picture) window in the upper left corner. The PIP window allows you to watch a program while you surf the channel guide. A nice feature that will help to keep the peace in your living room. As one person checks the listings another can continue to watch a program. You can lock it on one particular channel as you look through the programming information, or let the window display the highlighted channels as you scroll through them.
About the Remote
Naturally all this scrolling and selecting requires a remote control, and you get it in the form of a programmable RCA universal remote. It performs well and has several easy access buttons. You can use the Guide button to get in and out of Guide Plus. When in Guide Plus, the Info button gives you more information about programs in the schedule.
The RCA Guide Plus Gemstar is a practical way to make TV watching a little smarter. Hooking up is a snap, and the EPG is easy to use and intuitive. Newcomers to smart television technology will adapt easily and fall in love with the functionality of this TV. While the search function is somewhat limited, the RCA Guide Plus Gemstar is a great way to get into smarter television at a relatively modest price.
Manufacturer RCA
Dimensions 32" screen (diagonal), 29" high, 30 1/8" wide, 22" deep.
(317) 587-4450
www.rca.com
Price ($799)
Video audio in/outputs: S-video, Cable/antenna, IR VCR control
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