Excellent picture.

Too many design defects

This TV was absolutely stunning when viewed in comparison with just about any other TV (incl. the Sony XBRs, the Mitsubishi Diamonds and the Toshibas). The picture is bright, DBS/NTSC signals are displayed adequately, and DVD (even interlaced) is excellent.

So why am I returning this TV? After 2 sets being delivered home, I'm tired of trying to figure out what will go wrong next.

First, this TV does not work with progressive scan DVD players like the Pioneer DV-37. There is a design flaw that can be fixed by an authorized service tech visit - but do you really want a "workaround" applied to a $3000 TV? Hitachi service says that it won't work only with the DV-434, but their authorized tech here claims "they don't know anything".

Worse, other design problems abound. The sound on my TV would cut off, and then would come on again only if I switched the power off and on at the source.

On the exchanged set that I got, I have an intermittent but very audible static signal that comes through its speakers - even if there is no input source. I.e., the DVD is on screen saver mode.

The sales person I spoke to yesterday said there 2 more of his customers who reported the same problems with their Hitachis.

My advice? Stay away from these until the current batch runs out and Hitachi redesigns the TV.

Good luck.

Bright accurate picture with excellent contrast. An excellent TV.

Could use more component video inputs. User adjustable convergence would be an improvement over Majic Focus

I purchased this TV after extensive comparison shopping, looking at the Sony XBR RTPVs, Mitsubishi 55' 16x9, Toshiba, Proscan & others. I found the best RPTV to be the Pioneer Elite, but it is twice expensive at $6,700. For the $3,700 difference, you can buy a fantastic DVD player & much more.

I finally selected the Hitachi 53" because it simply had a consistently better overall picture than the Sony, Mits, Toshiba & others from one store to the next.

Picture brightness, sharpness and contrast are outstanding. I had a Hitachi authorized service center come out & perform an ISF (Imaging Science Foundation) calibration on the TV to make sure it was performing at its best & to have the screen geometry, color temperature, contrast & brightness set properly. You should consider doing this if you buy any Rear Projection TV. The manufacturers set the CRT levels too high at the factory to make the TVs look brighter in the average home & stores. These hot levels shorten the life of the CRTs & can facilitate screen burn-in.

The calibration improved the picture subsatntially, better flesh tones, reduced brightness (still plenty bright)& better screen geometry (square grids are really square). The technician said the geometry was off quite a bit after delivery. They display a grid of squares on the screen & set the TV so all grid lines are straight & square. All in all, a worthwhile expenditure ($250). The picture is now superb.

When the set was delivered, the convergence was off quite a bit in the corners of the screen. Majic Focus would not correct the problem. Majic Focus apparently reads convergence settings stored in memory in the TV. Moving the TV(truck delivery) & carying it up stairs screws up the convergence, probably by causing the TV cabinet to flex just enough to mess up the convergence. Pushing the majic focus button restores the settings in memory, but if the TV cabinet, CRTs, and mirror have been jiggled around, those original settings are no longer valid. Having the convergence reset as part of the ISF calibration & then saving the new convergence settings in memory should keep the convergence set properly until the TV is moved again. Hitachi recommends resetting the convergence whenever the TV is moved. My experience thus far has shown that Majic Fucus does not do a good job of converging the TV if the TV is moved around. You would be better of converging the TV via the service menu or having an auth. Hitachi service person do that for you if the TV is still under warranty.

I do not see much if any difference between the interlaced picture & the progressive scan picture when using the Sony 9000ES DVD player (a decent player). Either the TV is not displaying the progressive image or the line doubler in the TV does an excellent job of deinterlacing the interlaced DVD player output. The picture is excellent in either mode.

I just got HDTV service via Time Warner cable & the true 1080i HDTV picture is stunning. Very accurate color, & excellent detail & sharpness. A pleasure to watch & enjoy & a very good value at $3,000.

Similar Products Used:

Sony 32" TV
Sony 9000ES DVD player