Capacitively coupled radio frequency plasmas offer some advantages over other techniques such as microwave induced plasmas with regard to the large area homogeneous deposition of thin films. Diamond films were synthesized from methane and hydrogen gas mixtures in a capacitively coupled radio frequency plasma using a standard 13.56 MHz source in a popular parallel plate electrode geometry with the addition of de power. The rf+dc plasma is stable and homogeneous and suitable for prolonged operation. The diamond films deposited by this method were characterized by x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and Raman spectra measurements. Preliminary experiments with electrodes having a diameter of 60 mm were done to investigate the possibility of scaling up of this technology for large-area diamond deposition.