Toshiba 30HF83 30" TheaterWide HD-Ready TV with PURE Flat Screen
Awesome picture ... Great Remote ... Simple Setup
I focused my search on a TV that would fit into the furniture where my 24\\" TV sat.  I did not want to pay for a thin Plasma.  Most of the TVs today have the speakers on the side which limited the picture I could get.  Because Toshiba places the speakers on the bottom (Great speaker system by the way -- double baffle speaker system w/ sub-bass) it allows the TV to fit into the same wall space as my 24\\".  TV is only ~30\\" wide  x ~22\\" high  x ~ 22\\" deep<br />I was looking for HDTV compatible and this fit the bill.  I always heard that HDTV are a better/brighter TV no matter what the incoming signal but I guess I just never realized how much so until I got this one home and turned it on.  Even the kids (who have never seen an HDTV) asked how I got the TV so colorful and bright. <br />There are 4 options for the picture - normal (i.e. like my old set) and 3 different stretch options ... all 3 do very little distortion around the edges ... great/bright picture.  As a matter of fact the distortion is so little I can never envision me using the \\"normal\\" mode.<br />The remote comes with batteries and is easy to use in fact it has a little button that lights it up for ~ 5 sec along with the standard soak in the light and dims after awhile in the dark.  Once I plugged in the set/cable/DVD/VCR/Stereo I had the TV in full-up mode by following the on-screen menu in less than 5 min.<br />The TV also has a neat POP (pict-out-pict) feature which allows you to watch two video feeds side-by-side.  You have the option of making one smaller while the other goes larger ... they never overlap.  There is also a neat favorite channel scan where while you are looking at one station and hit the CH SCAN button the TV automatically enters a POP mode and the station you are watching is edged to one side while your selected fav channels pop up in mini screens along the top and down one side ... so you are looking at 8 channels at once!  The main large screen keeps moving while the mini screens are like tiny snapshots rotating between all of your selected favorite channels ... when you see one you want you just slew over to one of the mini pictures, ENTER and presto you are looking at your selected station ... pretty cool.<br />Because this is the most expensive purchase I made over the net I decided to stick with a reputable company that was a Toshiba authorized internet dealer.  Glad I did ... they even brought the TV ~ 120 pounds in the house ... normally most companies will only do curbside service.  That was the best price I could find just before the holidays.<br />Have a great holiday season