nleaf
11-15-2002, 10:49 AM
Have had my new Hitachi 51" for nearly 4 weeks now. I absolutely love it and haven't even watched a single minute of true HD programming yet! I am a complete HDTV/home theater newbie, so bear with me...
I wanted to get into entry level home theater with a budget of $3000-$3500. Here's what I got:
51UWX20B $1960 + $128 tax
Onkyo HT-S650 $460 + $30 tax
Speaker wire, banana plugs, etc $100
Gold ends video/audio cables, toslink, etc $200
Bello/Furniture Works Speaker stands $140
Component rack $180
I already had a JVC S60Bk Progressive Scan DVD, so my total came to just above $3200.
I have digital cable service from Mediacom, they are not offering HD Programming until later next year. I do not want to put an antenna up on my house, cannot invest in an HD STB, and am not willing to invest in satellite for very limited HD offerings until my cable service offers HD.
Even though I do not have HD available to me right now, I am extremely happy with my purchase. I ran through my first Avia basic calibration this week -- wow, what an improvement versus what I was viewing during the 'burn in' period. Most of my viewing is in relative dark, and the following settings produced the best results:
Contrast 28%
Brightness 43%
Sharpness 6%
Color 26%
Tint/Hue 33%
Ideal color for green and blue was 30-33%, but there's a little red push)
I should mention that after a few days I detected 3 areas of smudge marks on the screen which appeared to be fingerprints ... tried warm soapy water but the marks were on the inside. Called Sears and a technician came out, removed the screen, and he breathed a sigh of relief when it turned out to be fingerprints on the inner most screen (there are 3...), which mostly likely occured when factory workers mounted the screen on the set.
DVD playback is simply awesome. Watched Saving Private Ryan, Pearl Harbor, and When Harry Met Sally (wife's choice), and the picture was extremely impressive. Surprisingly, I was more blown away by the sound system, which as a purely entry-level Onkyo HTIB was amazing at 68 dB ... I didn't expect this quality of sound from a lower-end system. The subwoofer was booming the fronts were crystal clear, and the surrounds were perfectly 'enveloping'. Needless to say I'm thrilled with the sound system for just $500.
As for cable, the digital channels are excellent, particularly HBO, Showtime, etc. CBS and NBC quite good, FOX okay, ABC is quite poor (Monday Night Football loses another viewer...).
As a newbie and nothing to compare it to, hard for me to comment on the upconversion but it seems excellent. I watch everything in 16:9 mode, and my brain/eyes have adapted as a poster on this board said they would ... 16:9 now seems 'normal' to me, while my 4:3 computer monitors at home and work and my TV in the master bedroom seem too narrow. I was skeptical that I could get used to 4:3 programming in 16:9, so tried the stretch modes and although I think the Hitachi stretches well, decided to stick with 16:9 for awhile and I'm glad I did.
I want to thank 57U and all the posters to this board for their advice, comments and guidance during what has been a very rewarding first month of Home Theater experience! This is an invaluable resource to consumers...
I wanted to get into entry level home theater with a budget of $3000-$3500. Here's what I got:
51UWX20B $1960 + $128 tax
Onkyo HT-S650 $460 + $30 tax
Speaker wire, banana plugs, etc $100
Gold ends video/audio cables, toslink, etc $200
Bello/Furniture Works Speaker stands $140
Component rack $180
I already had a JVC S60Bk Progressive Scan DVD, so my total came to just above $3200.
I have digital cable service from Mediacom, they are not offering HD Programming until later next year. I do not want to put an antenna up on my house, cannot invest in an HD STB, and am not willing to invest in satellite for very limited HD offerings until my cable service offers HD.
Even though I do not have HD available to me right now, I am extremely happy with my purchase. I ran through my first Avia basic calibration this week -- wow, what an improvement versus what I was viewing during the 'burn in' period. Most of my viewing is in relative dark, and the following settings produced the best results:
Contrast 28%
Brightness 43%
Sharpness 6%
Color 26%
Tint/Hue 33%
Ideal color for green and blue was 30-33%, but there's a little red push)
I should mention that after a few days I detected 3 areas of smudge marks on the screen which appeared to be fingerprints ... tried warm soapy water but the marks were on the inside. Called Sears and a technician came out, removed the screen, and he breathed a sigh of relief when it turned out to be fingerprints on the inner most screen (there are 3...), which mostly likely occured when factory workers mounted the screen on the set.
DVD playback is simply awesome. Watched Saving Private Ryan, Pearl Harbor, and When Harry Met Sally (wife's choice), and the picture was extremely impressive. Surprisingly, I was more blown away by the sound system, which as a purely entry-level Onkyo HTIB was amazing at 68 dB ... I didn't expect this quality of sound from a lower-end system. The subwoofer was booming the fronts were crystal clear, and the surrounds were perfectly 'enveloping'. Needless to say I'm thrilled with the sound system for just $500.
As for cable, the digital channels are excellent, particularly HBO, Showtime, etc. CBS and NBC quite good, FOX okay, ABC is quite poor (Monday Night Football loses another viewer...).
As a newbie and nothing to compare it to, hard for me to comment on the upconversion but it seems excellent. I watch everything in 16:9 mode, and my brain/eyes have adapted as a poster on this board said they would ... 16:9 now seems 'normal' to me, while my 4:3 computer monitors at home and work and my TV in the master bedroom seem too narrow. I was skeptical that I could get used to 4:3 programming in 16:9, so tried the stretch modes and although I think the Hitachi stretches well, decided to stick with 16:9 for awhile and I'm glad I did.
I want to thank 57U and all the posters to this board for their advice, comments and guidance during what has been a very rewarding first month of Home Theater experience! This is an invaluable resource to consumers...
