I purchased a 54" Maganvox rear projection TV (model #6P5435 W101) in
June of '97. It was a floor model and I've never had a lick of trouble
with it. However, lately the picture appears to be getting dimmer, with
people in dark scenes appearing as silouettes.

I removed the screen and cleaned the dust off of the R, G and B lamps
(crt's?) and that did not help much.

Is it possible to replace these lamps? Is that what the problem most
likely is? Is this cost effective to do myself or to have someone do
for me (I'm a computer tech, so I'm comfortable with electronics, but
not much experience working on monitors/tvs). Am I better off replacing
it? I know I can get a 55" wide screen Philips at WalMart for around
$1500.

I'd like to get another 4:3 TV but it seems no one sells them anymore.
Without any HD or having to purchase an HD tuner, it seems premature to
purchase such a beast unless someone likes to watch letterbox movies
all the time. Also, the inability to record HDTV broadcasts (at least
affordably) has me completely turned off to HDTV for now.

Advice?

Also, are there better 55" (or larger) TVs available with a better
picture than Philips/Magnavox that sell for less than $1800? (I've
owned Magnavox and Sanyo TVs my whole life and never once had a problem
with any of them, but I also realize they don't provide the best
picture in the world...but then, I've always been happy with the
picture quality with them...)

Thanks!
Carey