57U
09-07-2002, 11:45 AM
This post appears to have been lost in the transition. I am reposting it...
When I was doing my research last year, I went to a lot of stores, with knowledgeable sales people and technicians and asked which set they would buy for around $3.5k (I was flexible within a range of $3-5k for a set of 50"+). The overwhelming majority said Hitachi. I got a few comments back saying to spend more on a Sony Grand Wega (about $7k at the time), the Hitachi DLP (about $7k) or an Elite (also about $7k). The latter, I saw side by side with what would become my Hitachi and I could detect little/no difference after extended viewing and fiddling.
What do I like about the Hitachi 61UWX10B?
1. I have been very pleased with the functionality of the set. It's very intuitive and does not require a lot of thought to set up or operate.
2. I'm pleased with the HD picture quality.
3. I'm especially pleased with the quality of upconverted 480i (user selectable 540P or 1080i) They must have a good computer in there.
4. I like the way it remembers the aspect ratio settings for each of the video inputs. I usually leave Component Video as "Full" which is the "correct" setting for Anamophic DVDs and HDTV, so I only need to change this when watching a DVD that is not Enhanced for Widescreen. When I switch to Composite or S-Video, I use the "smooth-wide" setting and the TV remembers this when I switch to either input.
5. It has direct buttons for the various inputs. You don't need to toggle through 7 different inputs to get to the one you want - that would drive me crazy.
6. The remote has a backlight feature, even though I personnaly use my receiver's remote for my various A/V components, which is also backlit.
7. The set looks good. It's a slate/grey instead of all black. I do admit that the Sonys look quite good as furniture, but the highlights from the brightwork are actually distracting when watching the TV.
Lastly - competitive pricing.
Here's a "wish-list" of minor items that I would change, some of which have been addressed in the new sets.
1. Better auto-convergence - more points (addressed to some extent in newer sets - 8 or 9 points instead of 4, etc).
2. Better manual convergence (service menu too hard for most people). Addressed in the new sets with 117 point manual convergence
3. Fully scalable POP. This has not been addressed in the new sets. I saw this feature in some other brands, but I find now that I don't use POP that much and would prefer that the POP feature be in the STB.
4. Separable chassis. My set is huge and would not fit into a lot of homes. I had exactly 1" to spare in two different places. This would allow more people to purchase these large sets. As it is, they may settle for 43, 47, 53".
5. Auto sensing of video signal. The Hitachi does turn on automatically when it senses a component video signal, but what I want is for it to sense whatever signal is "active". When I turn my receiver to a composite source, the TV should "switch" the same way my receiver switches from digital audio to analogue audio automatically. The set would have to ignore the antenna input, since it would always be active, however, it could sense Video 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
The new sets have some different features and, I believe also a different remote, but the majority of my comments still hold. Hope this helps with your shopping for a new set.
I've also heard good things about the new Toshiba sets, but that is for another to report.
When I was doing my research last year, I went to a lot of stores, with knowledgeable sales people and technicians and asked which set they would buy for around $3.5k (I was flexible within a range of $3-5k for a set of 50"+). The overwhelming majority said Hitachi. I got a few comments back saying to spend more on a Sony Grand Wega (about $7k at the time), the Hitachi DLP (about $7k) or an Elite (also about $7k). The latter, I saw side by side with what would become my Hitachi and I could detect little/no difference after extended viewing and fiddling.
What do I like about the Hitachi 61UWX10B?
1. I have been very pleased with the functionality of the set. It's very intuitive and does not require a lot of thought to set up or operate.
2. I'm pleased with the HD picture quality.
3. I'm especially pleased with the quality of upconverted 480i (user selectable 540P or 1080i) They must have a good computer in there.
4. I like the way it remembers the aspect ratio settings for each of the video inputs. I usually leave Component Video as "Full" which is the "correct" setting for Anamophic DVDs and HDTV, so I only need to change this when watching a DVD that is not Enhanced for Widescreen. When I switch to Composite or S-Video, I use the "smooth-wide" setting and the TV remembers this when I switch to either input.
5. It has direct buttons for the various inputs. You don't need to toggle through 7 different inputs to get to the one you want - that would drive me crazy.
6. The remote has a backlight feature, even though I personnaly use my receiver's remote for my various A/V components, which is also backlit.
7. The set looks good. It's a slate/grey instead of all black. I do admit that the Sonys look quite good as furniture, but the highlights from the brightwork are actually distracting when watching the TV.
Lastly - competitive pricing.
Here's a "wish-list" of minor items that I would change, some of which have been addressed in the new sets.
1. Better auto-convergence - more points (addressed to some extent in newer sets - 8 or 9 points instead of 4, etc).
2. Better manual convergence (service menu too hard for most people). Addressed in the new sets with 117 point manual convergence
3. Fully scalable POP. This has not been addressed in the new sets. I saw this feature in some other brands, but I find now that I don't use POP that much and would prefer that the POP feature be in the STB.
4. Separable chassis. My set is huge and would not fit into a lot of homes. I had exactly 1" to spare in two different places. This would allow more people to purchase these large sets. As it is, they may settle for 43, 47, 53".
5. Auto sensing of video signal. The Hitachi does turn on automatically when it senses a component video signal, but what I want is for it to sense whatever signal is "active". When I turn my receiver to a composite source, the TV should "switch" the same way my receiver switches from digital audio to analogue audio automatically. The set would have to ignore the antenna input, since it would always be active, however, it could sense Video 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
The new sets have some different features and, I believe also a different remote, but the majority of my comments still hold. Hope this helps with your shopping for a new set.
I've also heard good things about the new Toshiba sets, but that is for another to report.
