I researched thoroughly before purchasing this tv. I decided on 34" because it was the perfect medium. I wanted picture clarity even when I'm standing inches away, but also a sense of home theater when I'm sitting on the couch 12 ft away. This fits the bill. The first thing friends comment on is how CLEAR the picture is. Most of them have 50" rear projection screens. I believe few can utilize those tv's for what they're designed for - 10 ft away or so, head-on.

Another factor that led me to buy this tv is that the speakers are 30 watts - other similar tv's only had 20 watt speakers. I don't have a home theater setup, right now, but I am VERY pleased with the mimicked surround sound. I didn't think a standard tv could sound so good w/out help! Of course, nothing beats speakers all around - one day I will get that, and the optical audio out will be great for that.

I discovered another 34" tv for $500 less than this one. However, I chose this one because it is fully loaded. The other one had the bare essentials. The split screen option is wonderful. The remote is very user friendly (unlike panasonic's dvd players). It has preset color settings which you can adjust and it will keep (standard, vivid and cinema). That is awesome, because vivid is wonderful during the day, but when you turn all the lights out, cinema is easy on your eyes. It's a couple clicks to change the presets.

I have zoom as my aspect setting - standard 4:3 comes in very well - nothing gets stretched or distorted. Losing the top and bottom makes you lose very little, so even non high definition stuff is thoroughly enjoyable to watch. My children love "movie night" now. I feel very little need to see movies in the theater, anymore.