Toshiba 57H84 57-Inch HD-Ready Rear-Projection TV with HDMI Input
Delivery and Defect Problems Resolved
I ordered this product on Febr. 24th and it was delivered to my home on March 2nd.  The TV was unpackaged in the truck and carried just into the door of my home.  It was not turned on and inspected as promised in the Amazon shipping information.  My son signed for the delivery as I was out of town.  Upon my return, I noticed there had been delivery damage.  The fabric on the bottom of the speaker grill was scaped and torn when the TV had been dragged over the sliding-door jam.  Also, the TV had a manufacturer defect with a fixed black spot on the screen.      When I contacted Amazon (via email), they initially said too bad--the TV had been signed for.  I contacted the delivery company and they said they would be responsible for the damage even if Amazon does not cooperate with the claim.  Through either my followup email with Amazon or the persistency of the delivery company, I was shipped a new TV so the problem was resolved with a little persistency. By the way, if you want to talk to Amazon, the phone number is 800-201-7575.       I also asked Amazon to not penalize my early purchase by honoring the $100 gift certificate promotion that started Febr 28th.  Afterall, most companies have a 30 day low price guarantee.  Again, I was told \\"too bad\\" by Amazon. Amazon does have a 30 day low price guarantee, but promotions are considered outside of the guarantee.    I contacted Toshiba about the defect and I was given the name of a local authorized service center.  The TV was promptly repaired by removing a small speck of plastic from the lens, problably dislodged when a cabinet screw was installed.  The service person said that he rarely works on Toshiba TV's as they are very reliable.      Apart from the delivery damage, the product is excellent, despite the old technology. Adequate space and a wide viewing angle are not issues with my location of this TV, so I went with the proven technology, longer expected product life and much lower price tag. I still have an analogcable signal, so a high definition TV accentuates flaws in the signal.  Like all rear projection TV's, the blacks are not as intense and the picture suffers when viewed at wide angles.  I will not be able to fully appreciate this product until I have a HD signal. But, cartoons, video games, and DVD's are really cool.       Prior to purchasing this TV, I tried to read a lot about the various technologies and I found the Crutchfield website to be one of the most informative about HDTV.  Crutchfield does not sell this old technology. I also looked at other various on-line dealers.  Beware of both delivery AND shipping charges.  Frequently, prices are quoted without including both charges so the ultimate price is not disclosed until very late in the purchasing process.            I was hesitant about making such a large purchase through a mail order vendor because Amazon does not have the best reputation when it comes to problem resolution.  However, I did have a good outcome with a little persistency.