When the TV arrived I was pleasantly surprised over the quality of the platinum finish. Let's face facts, the interface is as important as anything, as I want my TV to look as good off, as on. Believe it or not, even after doing off/on research for 3 months, I bought this TV sight unseen. Last year's model - the CT-36HX42 was the kicker. This TV has a fantastic picture. It even seems a touch better than last year's model, but I'm not sure anything has really changed 'under the hood'.

Tonight I watched my first hockey game, on Cable TV, on my new Tele. The picture was quite nice, a marked improvement over a standard TV, even just viewing good ol' NTSC.

The sound is ok, but I can't imagine someone going out and dropping $2999 CDN (Approx. $1500 USD) on a TV and then not buying a proper surround sound system, especially when you can buy a very good Panasonic home theatre in a box for another $750. 600W in a box and 4 satelites on stands, with the matching DVD pro scan DVD player, makes all the difference in the world. Plus, the entire system matches perfectly, and is quite aesthetically pleasing too.

The remote's ok, but if I had my dibs, I'd make it a little bigger even, the buttons especially. For basic controls, like volume, channel change, DVD Play, Stop, and Pause, it controls everything just fine, but truth be told, I just can't seem to get away from using multiple remotes, as I can't do the things I need to, to control my new digital cable box. I can only dream of the day when someone invents a TRUE PROPER all-in-one remote. Ah well, until then I'll have to get creative. Maybe I'll invent the remote pouch, like a tool pouch, only for remotes.

Finally, there's the issue of the line through the center of my screen. A service rep from The Brick came out to look at it today, and couldn't see it in the day light. It's pretty much unnoticeable, unless looking at a dark picture at night. If there's any sort of picture, the line cannot be seen, but my only concern is that it could get worse. I work in the service industry, I did things right, I had the service rep come out and make his report, which stated "Could not see the flaw", but that also included a written section from me, that stated "The line can only be seen at night". The point here, is that as a consumer, we have rights. I now have a document, that states quite clearly, that I am concerned about a faint line on the screen. I would imagine that document would hold up in a court of law 5 years from now, if that line suddenly becomes bright white.

All-in-all, I'm very happy with the purchase of my new TV. I would give it a 9/10, with a perfect ten maybe coming five years from now, if the line does not get any worse.

I would recommend this TV to anyone looking for high quality, affordable, flat screen, high def TV.