Several important aspects of the vapor deposition of diamond thin films by hot filament associated chemical vapor deposition (CVD) are described. This deposition technique is economical and scalable to large areas. However, practical difficulties such as deformation of the filament and its relatively short lifetime often obscure these advantages. Techniques to overcome these difficulties have been developed. Straight rhenium wires, mounted under tension are used for the activation of the precursor gas mixture. The effects of wire diameter, temperature, length, and spacing on the thickness distribution and deposition rate of the diamond films have been determined. For high quality and large area diamond films, deposition rates are generally very low and it is often necessary to overcome a nucleation barrier. The use of submicron diamond powder to provide the necessary nucleation sites is discussed.