Toshiba 36A42 36" TV
This is a wonderful set!
Our twelve year-old Toshiba set still had a great picture, but I was itching to get a replacement that had component video inputs to get the greatest quality from our new DVD player. Consumer Reports showed that Sony and Toshiba were the two top-rated brands over many years of evaluations. My budget would have allowed a 32\\" Sony WEGA or a 36\\" Toshiba conventional set. I settled on the 36\\" Toshiba and have been very happy with the decision. Our couch is eight feet from the TV and at first I was worried that it would be too close for comfortable viewing, but it has not been a problem at all. As nice as the old set still was, the sharp, clear, excellent color of this set is remarkable! We have digital cable; I can only wonder how much better still it would look with a digital satellite feed! The image looks even bigger in our home than it did in the store; it is like having our own movie theatre. We listen to regular programming through the set's speakers, but have the DVD player's audio going to the stereo system. The video quality of DVDs on this set (using the component video inputs) rivals HDTV (to my eyes). Some reviewers of older 36\\" Toshiba sets on the Internet reported a moire' pattern problem, but they must have fixed that as I have never seen any indication of that problem at all. I have watched a number of original Star Trek episodes on the new set and it is amazing how much more detail is visible in scenes on the 36\\" set than on the 32\\". If you want a wonderful set with a large screen and excellent image, but still under a thousand dollars, then this is the one for you - the Toshiba 36A42.