Customer Rating: 
Summary: Great Price, Excellent TV
Comment: I bought this TV because it had the biggest HDTV picture that I could fit into my wall unit for the lowest price. When I read some of the other Amazon reviews, I got worried, but fortunately there was nothing to be concerned about in my case. I am thrilled with this TV. The picture is spectacular from both my DVD player and my cable box (I get HDTV programming from Cablevision in NYC). I also hooked it up with top of the line component video cables (from Monster) which is supposed to increase picture quality, but I haven't done any comparison tests. All in all, I can highly recommend this product.
Customer Rating:
Summary: DON'T BUY IT AT AMAZON.COM
Comment: DON'T BUY THIS TV. ESPECIALLY FROM AMAZON.COM. THE PICTURE SUCKS. THE IMAGE IS SO SMALL ON STANDARD BROADCAST TV THAT YOU MIGHT AS WELL BUY A 13" CHEAPIE. WHEN YOU STRETCH THE FRAME EVERYONE LOOKS LIKE THE NUTTY PROFESSOR. I GOT RIPPED OFF BY AMAZON WITH A DAMAGED SET, THAT I DIDN'T NOTICE UNTIL THE GOONS HAD LEFT IN THEIR TRUCK. IF YOU DON'T KNOW ALREADY, AMAZON DOESN'T TAKE TV'S BACK, DAMAGED OR NOT. BUYER BEWARE, GO TO A STORE THAT HAS A RETURN POLICY AND PAY THE REAL PRICE.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Be very careful...
Comment: Well, my neightbour just bought this TV today and brought it home. I helped him setup the system and thought it was a nice little TV. So I go search for more info on this TV and run across the info here, on Amazon. First of all, I'd like to mention that I spent over an hour trying to fix the fuzzy picture that they had and it still was not fixed. Even when playing a DVD via the HD signals it was VERY grainy. The best picture I got was in movie mode, but even then I could see it. Movie mode is far too dark for standard TV viewing, and in standard mode everything is really fuzzy (you'll see this a lot when looking at monotone colors) and it looks like people have cast shadows all around them; looks like a silhouette. It's very weird looking.
Anyway, I'm not a A/V buff, but I've seen this problem with my own two eyes and I would seriously suggest that if you're interested in this TV, PLEASE buy it locally so you can return it as my neightbours are planning on doing. They know close to nothing about TV's and were dissapointed with how bad everything was showing especially compared to the [very old] 34" Sony that this TV was replacing.
Otherwise, it's a beautiful looking TV... if you're lucky enough to get a "good one" then it's probably a worthwhile buy.
Finally, if you put on a DVD in Movie mode and sit far enough away the TV looks Ok, but not great. Just be weary and buy locally, that's all. Or look for another TV. :-/
Customer Rating:
Summary: Am I Missing the Boat?
Comment: I bought this TV on September 12th, 2004 and I am not quite sure if I am a moron for not seeing the faults on this TV that others have found. I couldn't be happier with the 30HF84. I currently have HDTV through Comcast and while the channels currently are limited by quantity, the quality is exceptional! I am a HUGE sports fan and have enjoyed watching my Sox win the World Series in HD. I would agree that watching non-HD channels in "Widescreen" may be just ok, the HD is great and DVD's are even better. I find that I only end up watching the major networks and ESPN anyways on HDTV. I didn't have a progessive scan DVD player, so I ended up buying a $39 Cyberhome DVD player from Best Buy and movies look great! I have a Cambridge Soundworks System, so I do not use the speakers at all.
It was toss up between this TV and the Sony 30", but this TV was smaller and less expensive by $100. I was told that Toshiba made the better TV from stores that didn't even carry the Toshiba. My only wish was that I could have convinced my wife to get the 34" model. Oh, well! I agree with one of the prior reviews that this TV is to bridge the gap that plasmas will become more reasonably priced. After having this TV for more than a month, I have become a snob and can not stomach watching a Patriots game on any TV other than mine. Good luck!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great HDTV Monitor
Comment: Using a comcast motorola 6200 HD box , the HDTV is exceptional( like looking out your window to see something in the backyard ) and the Non HDTV is acceptable (it is no better nor no worse than the picture I got with a Toshiba 27" I have had for 16 years.) As with anything new there is a learning curve ,as far as the geometry problems some have mentioned , I have not encountered the problem . I have used my DVD player and after some adjustmets the pictures were fantastic . With the HD box I am using component video cables for the connections
Summary: Great Price, Excellent TV
Comment: I bought this TV because it had the biggest HDTV picture that I could fit into my wall unit for the lowest price. When I read some of the other Amazon reviews, I got worried, but fortunately there was nothing to be concerned about in my case. I am thrilled with this TV. The picture is spectacular from both my DVD player and my cable box (I get HDTV programming from Cablevision in NYC). I also hooked it up with top of the line component video cables (from Monster) which is supposed to increase picture quality, but I haven't done any comparison tests. All in all, I can highly recommend this product.
Customer Rating:
Summary: DON'T BUY IT AT AMAZON.COM
Comment: DON'T BUY THIS TV. ESPECIALLY FROM AMAZON.COM. THE PICTURE SUCKS. THE IMAGE IS SO SMALL ON STANDARD BROADCAST TV THAT YOU MIGHT AS WELL BUY A 13" CHEAPIE. WHEN YOU STRETCH THE FRAME EVERYONE LOOKS LIKE THE NUTTY PROFESSOR. I GOT RIPPED OFF BY AMAZON WITH A DAMAGED SET, THAT I DIDN'T NOTICE UNTIL THE GOONS HAD LEFT IN THEIR TRUCK. IF YOU DON'T KNOW ALREADY, AMAZON DOESN'T TAKE TV'S BACK, DAMAGED OR NOT. BUYER BEWARE, GO TO A STORE THAT HAS A RETURN POLICY AND PAY THE REAL PRICE.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Be very careful...
Comment: Well, my neightbour just bought this TV today and brought it home. I helped him setup the system and thought it was a nice little TV. So I go search for more info on this TV and run across the info here, on Amazon. First of all, I'd like to mention that I spent over an hour trying to fix the fuzzy picture that they had and it still was not fixed. Even when playing a DVD via the HD signals it was VERY grainy. The best picture I got was in movie mode, but even then I could see it. Movie mode is far too dark for standard TV viewing, and in standard mode everything is really fuzzy (you'll see this a lot when looking at monotone colors) and it looks like people have cast shadows all around them; looks like a silhouette. It's very weird looking.
Anyway, I'm not a A/V buff, but I've seen this problem with my own two eyes and I would seriously suggest that if you're interested in this TV, PLEASE buy it locally so you can return it as my neightbours are planning on doing. They know close to nothing about TV's and were dissapointed with how bad everything was showing especially compared to the [very old] 34" Sony that this TV was replacing.
Otherwise, it's a beautiful looking TV... if you're lucky enough to get a "good one" then it's probably a worthwhile buy.
Finally, if you put on a DVD in Movie mode and sit far enough away the TV looks Ok, but not great. Just be weary and buy locally, that's all. Or look for another TV. :-/
Customer Rating:
Summary: Am I Missing the Boat?
Comment: I bought this TV on September 12th, 2004 and I am not quite sure if I am a moron for not seeing the faults on this TV that others have found. I couldn't be happier with the 30HF84. I currently have HDTV through Comcast and while the channels currently are limited by quantity, the quality is exceptional! I am a HUGE sports fan and have enjoyed watching my Sox win the World Series in HD. I would agree that watching non-HD channels in "Widescreen" may be just ok, the HD is great and DVD's are even better. I find that I only end up watching the major networks and ESPN anyways on HDTV. I didn't have a progessive scan DVD player, so I ended up buying a $39 Cyberhome DVD player from Best Buy and movies look great! I have a Cambridge Soundworks System, so I do not use the speakers at all.
It was toss up between this TV and the Sony 30", but this TV was smaller and less expensive by $100. I was told that Toshiba made the better TV from stores that didn't even carry the Toshiba. My only wish was that I could have convinced my wife to get the 34" model. Oh, well! I agree with one of the prior reviews that this TV is to bridge the gap that plasmas will become more reasonably priced. After having this TV for more than a month, I have become a snob and can not stomach watching a Patriots game on any TV other than mine. Good luck!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great HDTV Monitor
Comment: Using a comcast motorola 6200 HD box , the HDTV is exceptional( like looking out your window to see something in the backyard ) and the Non HDTV is acceptable (it is no better nor no worse than the picture I got with a Toshiba 27" I have had for 16 years.) As with anything new there is a learning curve ,as far as the geometry problems some have mentioned , I have not encountered the problem . I have used my DVD player and after some adjustmets the pictures were fantastic . With the HD box I am using component video cables for the connections