I recently bought the 51 inch version of the Toshiba you are thinking about. Other than one section of the manual regarding which viewing mode to use on DVDs that had me all confused, it is a great tv. I went with a crt rptv because of price and value, black levels, and reliability (no tv is perfectly reliable, but with a crt there are fewer problems to worrry about, although if the crt starts to go, you're pretty much screwed).

The big reasons why I went with this particular tv were pretty simple. As kexodusc said, toshiba and hitachi seem to be the most reliable and recommended brands for crt RPTVs out there. While price was a major consideration for me, as it is for pretty much everyone, I would rather pay the few hundred extra for a better picture, and more reliable product, over say one of the super cheap rptvs from no name brands or rca or something. I guess if the tv goes in 2 years, I'm pretty much stuck, but toshiba does at least have something to lose by making a bad product, unlike ultra cheap and no name brands, who can just pop up under different names and no one will know the difference.

I also agree that most problems, especially with bigscreen hdtvs are user caused. For one thing, DVDs are not going to look as good as HDTV, and I think some people are shocked when they don't (just a guess there, but I think people sometimes have incorrect assumptions about dvd). Probably an even bigger reason people end up disappointed is that most people do not set up their tv properly. Why on earth people are willing to spend $1000-$6000 or more on a tv, and not spend the small amount of time and money to get a disk and set up the tv right is beyond me. I would go as far as to say that if you buy this tv, set it up properly, sit the correct distance form it, and are still unhappy with the picture after a week or two, either your tv is on the fritz, or you are just in the wrong price range.