I just got that exact TV shipped to me from Sony but I got it for something like $400. I had a 2005 rear projection Sony LCD that had blue color seeping around the edges of one of the corners. Researching the problem I found that it was a widespread problem (although mine wasn't that bad) and you could get Sony to cut you a deal on a replacement TV. I jumped all over that plus I got to keep my old TV which is still very serviceable.
It came by freight with no problems. It's well packaged and I don't think you're likely to have shipping problems. I ordered a toilet from Amazon once and it was broke when I inspected it. The shipper took it back and they sent me a new one with no hassle.
The picture on that model of TV is good but the sound is terrible. I suspect that's the case with most TV's these days with their tiny hidden speakers. Sound was a major downgrade from the old TV. I'm probably going to have to do something about it because my hearing sucks.
A couple of years ago I ordered a
47" Westinghouse 1080p Monitor. Got it for a steal at the time of $700 with free shipping. I was concerned, especially being just a monitor (with no tuner) that the sound would be horrible, but I figured I'd use that as an excuse to buy a surround sound setup, but unfortunately the TV sound is incredible! Obviously not as good as a good 5.1 system but it's probably the best sounding TV speakers I've ever heard! I'm still using it today with no major issues, and still haven't done the surround thing either.
Anyway, newegg did a fine job getting it to me. It was drop shipped and the box it came in was.. well it's an incredible cardboard engineering feat! There is no way that TV was going to get damaged! I would imaging just about all of the big screen tv's would be the same.
My only problems with it are a lack of HDMI ports (only one), and the use of one of the DVI ports has small red dots scattered across dark images. A firmware update is supposed to fix that, but since there is no USB port to update the firmware with (instead it uses a proprietary connector that you have to take the TV apart to access) then I just use the other DVI input instead.
While its hi-def picture is beautiful, its low-def image has a bit to be desired, but I've seen that to be typical with about all of the large HDTVs. Since 99.9% of what I watch is HD anyway, it's not a problem.
I haven't hooked the PC up to it at all. While it would be cool to play AH on it, it just seems like too much hassle as it's in a different room altogether!
