Picture quality, 2 year warrenty, price and service.

Can't think of any.

Bought the 36HFX71 two years ago because of picture quality, price and Toshiba's 2 year warrenty. All other manufacturers offered only 1 year warrenties, cost atleast 300-700CAD more and their picture quality were not noticably superior to Toshiba's. One brand that I personally didn't like was Panasonic. I found that the colours were too vibrant. Apparently, people that watch a lot of sports prefer this. I found that ice was too white when watching hockey. Back to the 36HFX71, I have no idea about the horizontal line that so many people are complaining about. I watch a lot of hockey and have never noticed it. About one month before the warranty expired, I started hearing an occasional high pitch sound emmiting from the rear of the tube. Called Toshiba, they sent a technician over and it turned out that the CRT needed to get changed. Don't ask me what it was. The technician started yapping and I think I blanked out. Instead of changing the CRT, I got a new 36HFX73!! Not bad, eh? Toshiba's service was great! The guys in Montreal were real helpful. They even took back my old stand and gave me the new one that fits the 36HFX73. So far (one month), I'm just as pleased with the 73 as I was with the 71. Don't notice any differences in picture quality. The 73 is a bit wider (1 to 1-1/2") than the 71. This minor difference actually make the TV look much bigger.

great picture, sound and cost benefit

took 3 sets to lose vertical line.

They dont have a spot for this model so I figured I'd post it here. This is the 36hfx73. I am currently on my 3rd set. I to had the same great white line down the middle of the screen. Let this be known as well, Sony is not the best television on the market. The only reason you people and others give Sony so much acclaim is because they lead in technology back in the mid 80's and early 90's. Just as Bose did and just as Sony does now they produce crap and charge an arm and a leg for their crap because you people dish out the money for their crap and think you have top of the line electronics. If you have a Sony stereo don't fool yourself, it's crap. If you have Bose speakers connected to your Sony stereo you have an over paid pile of crap. Toshiba and Zeneith have warmer and brighter pictures then Sony. It's a shame Toshiba has their heads up their rear and can't get this problem fixed. Now as I was saying I am on my 3rd set and I got a good one, no line down the middle. It's true, the third times a charm. Watch a NFL game on CBS HD between Sony and Toshiba and theirs no comparrison. My father has the Sony downstairs and I have the Toshiba upstairs and when Sunday rolls around that where you'll find everyone watching the game, upstairs. All you Sony worshipers need to wake up, Sony no longer owns the market because there is pairity in the market.

Sounds great. Great picture, remote.

Vertical line

Sounds great. Great picture, remote. However, started noticing the vertical line right away. Called service. They replaced the analog board. Line didn't go away. Sent the set to corporate service center. Toshiba said they didn't know about the problem or how to fix it. Magnolia gave me a new set (same model). Line still there. Magnolia now wants me to pick a totally different TV! Great service on their part.

Similar Products Used:

Sony KV-40XBR

easy to use just plug and play

the vertical line

this tv sucks big white line down the center i cant believe japanese would put out crap other than the line easy remote and good picture besides the line

crisp picture, awesome sound, great price

none

i've had this TV for 2 weeks and it's absolutely amazing.Not a single flaw. Before i bought it, i went to BestBuy and they had this set on display right next to its Sony competition model, the salesguy and i kept looking the two sets alternately and he couldn't tell me anything about the Sony that outperforms the Toshiba. And he showed me both HD and analog signal on each set. We couldnt tell the difference between the two sets visually...however the major difference is that my toshiba cost me $2400 CAN as opposed to $3300 CAN i'd dish out for the Sony.

Small dimensions (for a 36" tube TV), great picture overall, good value.

Design flaw (horizontal banding) as noted in review

Bought this set as a demo model (hence the price). Looked great in the store, while comparing to the 36" XBR800. However, upon bringing it home and trying it out with more input sources, I too discovered the horizontal banding on bright backgrounds. In fact, I found it to be very obvious on even medium-intensity backgrounds, so long as the backgrounds were fairly smooth/even in color. This is most obvious with DVD or digital cable signals. Regular analog cable is too "soft" to really show the problem. I returned the unit because of this issue.

Similar Products Used:

Sony 36XBR800

Picture quality and build, price

That mysterious white line. Fact or perception?

After 7 months of searching and researching directview HDTV's, I finally settled on the Toshiba 36HFX71 HDTV and so far have no regrets. I compared this set to the Sony XBR450 (too expensive), the RCA 36DTF20 (reliability concerns), the Panasonic CT-36HX41 (poor reviews), and the Toshiba widescreen 34HF81 (didn't like how the set handles 4:3 material). The picture quality of this set (without ISF calibration) is astounding no matter the source. I will qualify that by saying you cannot use the S-Video connector with a digital cable box. At least with mine (Motorola DCT2000HT). The digitial filter that cable boxes use cannot compete with this TV's. When the line doubler comes in to play the picture degrades considerably. Using composite connections, however, allows the set's superb ditigal filter and line doubler to work its magic. Clarity with digital channels is great. Analogue channels look a bit 'soft', but are great nonetheless. Watching DVD's using the vertical compression with my interlaced player is awesome. If this approaches what an HDTV broadcast lookes like, then I can hardly wait. If you don't use an A/V receiver, the set's sound is an able substitute (ok its not home theatre, but it is good). I found that white line that another reviewer mentioned. Or I think I did when watching the Detroit-Carolina game last night. It was a barely noticeable vertical line (1/4") in the middle of the screen that looked very much like ghosting. Try as I might I could not find this on other stations. In the end, my buying decision came down to picture quality, price, and the manufacturer's reliability for other models (consumber reports). The lack of an DVI/HDCP or Firwire connectors was not a concern (well it was until I decided to ignore it). I figure by the time they decide on a standard, I'll need a new set!

Similar Products Used:

None.

Picture quality, price, build quality

Weight. Possibly that mysterious white line.

After many months of searching and researching direct view HDTV's, I chose the 36HFX71 set. The picture quality and color is amazing no matter the source (do not have HDTV stations yet). Watching DVD's using the vertical compression and my interlaced player is awesome. The set performs well with digital cable, although I cannot use the S-Video connection as the picture degrades significantly. I suspect that the cable box (Motorola DCT 2000) filter does a poor job compared to the set's digital filter and line doubler. The line doubler does make some the picture quality soft (lack of detail) on some of the analogue stations, but is still very good none the less. The TV's sound is full and rich and the remote control is very good also. I compared this set to SONY's XBR450 (too expensive), RCA's D36TF20 (reliability concerns), Pansonic's CT-36HX41 (poor reviews) and Toshiba's directview widescreen 34HF81 (great set, just didn't like how it handled 4:3 content). In the end, price, picture quality and manufacturer reliability were the deciding factors. The lack of DVI/HDCP or Firewire was not a consideration. I figure that by the time they agree on standards, I'll need a new set! I should also say that I have found that white line that another poster has mentioned. I noticed it watching the hockey game last night. It is a vertical line in the middle of the screen that is shaded differently (very slight) from the rest of the screen. It almost looked like ghosting (which is a real possbility). Try as I might I could not find it on other channels.

Similar Products Used:

None.

Picture quality, easy to use, decent sound

None

In a word... stunning. Broadcast stations are surprizingly vivid, with the most amazing color I''ve seen from a TV. I also purchased a Philips progressive-scan DVD and the combo provides unbelievable clarity, richness and depth. You can''t go wrong with either of these units, and the combo is heavenly!

If you don''t watch hockey, golf, or play PS 2, it''s a great TV.

THIN WHITE LINE that they can''t do anything about.

Shortly after purchasing the product I was very impressed, but once I saw the major flaw of this TV, my enthusiasm vanished. This TV has a major flaw which Toshiba is aware of - or at least their technical people are aware of. When watching programs which have a light background such as hockey, sky or grass, a thin white line is visible that follows the screen. Toshiba tells me that this line has something to do with the line doubler and that there is nothing they can do to fix it at this point. Their technicians in Japan are aware of this major flaw and are working on finding a solution, or so I''ve been told. I am therefore returning the product and will look to another manufacturer.