View Full Version : HELP, 53UWX10B settings questions...
OK, I have found this site, (lucky me), and hope for some help. I have the set listed above for a little less than 1 year. I have direct TV and the sony HD-100 HDTV receiver.
Now, to be honest, I think the standard picture is not that good, but that could be because of me. The HDTV and DVD's look great. I checked my Direct TV signal strength and its over 90.
What can I do to make the picture on regular TV more crisp?
What does the virtual HD do, and is it on by default, or do I have to turn it on?
Should I adjust any other settings that I may not have?
Thank you VERY much for any help.
Richard Hufnagel
DAMN! I had another question, sorry..
Does it have a receiver built in? Maybe not for HDTV but for regular satellite signales for PIP or POP? Or do I need a second receiver to go along with my HDTV receiver for PIP POP?
Thanks.
Originally posted by neo6
1. What can I do to make the picture on regular TV more crisp?
2. What does the virtual HD do, and is it on by default, or do I have to turn it on?
3. Should I adjust any other settings that I may not have?
4. Build in Tuner? 1. Check out the FAQ section, 6th one down on the home page, especially the post "what you need to do to your new HDTV".
2. It's on by default. I believe you can select whether to upconvert to 540P or 1080i - one of the menu items, as long as you are receiving an NTSC signal (other signals may "defeat" the option).
3. See point 1. Make sure you turn off all of the "automatic settings", like black level, picture perfect, auto colour, etc. These items are under "advanced settings" in the video menu (on my set - yours may be slightly different)
4. The tuner in the TV is only good for analogue TV, be it from Cable, or OTA. It does not accept any digital signals.
You say to turn off those settings?
How come, and Thanks!
cherokee21
11-30-2002, 05:04 PM
57U: Don't quite understand when you say the U doesn't accept digital signals. My 51G 20 does but is that because of the COX cable digital box that presents it in the higher channels? Wondering how this all connects to what-Thanks:o
So does it have a converter box in it or no, and how do you get it to work? Thanks.
57U pointed out everything. The tuner only accepts analong signals therefor if you are using a DBS Dish you need two boxes connected to seperate sattleite lines each going to a different input on the TV to do PIP/POP. The 540p/1080i upconvert is in the setup menu as is all the automatic settings you need to disable in order to get the best picture from your Set.
Originally posted by cherokee21 57U: Don't quite understand when you say the U doesn't accept digital signals. My 51G 20 does but is that because of the COX cable digital box that presents it in the higher channels? Wondering how this all connects to what-Thanks:o The cable signal comes into the STB supplied by Cox, it then tunes in analogue, or digital channels (the higher ones) and converts them to analogue signals that get sent to the inputs of the TV via composte, S-Video, or in the case of HD, component video cables. The TV's internal tuner can only "decode" analogue signals - no different than any "normal" TV. In a few years (2007) this internal tuner will be useless because the analogue channels will be gone and everything will be digital.
neo6 To answer your question regarding why to turn off the automatic settings, the answer is quite simple, because it makes the picture more accurate. The FAQ post I referenced in point 1 earlier explains it too. (What you need to do to your new HDTV)
Leth, thank you for answering the other points.
Leth,
where is the 540/1080i upconvert in the settings? I looked all over.
It's under Menu, Setup, Picture Formats, Video Display - let's you choose 540P, 1080i as long as you are sending a non-HD signal at the time, otherwise 540P will be "greyed out". See page 46 of the operating guide.
cherokee21
12-01-2002, 06:01 PM
Thanks 57U:
Guess I can assume, from my simplistic understanding, that the digital provides a stronger signal that even broken down to analogue, is why the picture looks better? Or I assume that's how it works. I guess 4 years from now, I might be looking for another set or I'm sure some new technology will come on the scene.:D
gshomedesign
12-18-2002, 10:11 AM
I followed some advice on manually setting the convergence and now when I press Magic Focus, all I get are 9 crosshairs. I then followed advice as how to recover from the crosshairs, but it only allows me to gain temporary control of the convergence grid. I really need some help ASAP!
Go to -->This Keohi website. (http://www.keohi.com/keohihdtv/brandspecific/hitachi/hitachi_tips.html)
gshomedesign
12-19-2002, 06:47 AM
That is exactly where I followed the advice and cannot recover from this issue.
I believe there is a "reset button" on the Hitachis (just inside the front panel, upper left). I believe this takes you back to factory settings and you'll then need to start over.
You may, however, wish to call a Hitachi technician if you're still under waranty and say "my magic focus is not working properly, please send someone out to fix it and to converge the set".
After all, the set should be "correct for viewing" after spending all this money on it. Don't expect an ISF calibration, but a check of the guns' focus and a convergence is probably in order.
Remember, whenever you go inside the service menu or inside the TV, you're the one taking the risk that something will go wrong. You cannot blame Keohi, or anyone else.
gshomedesign
12-20-2002, 07:37 AM
When I press the blue button, I get the convergece grid back. However, Magic Focus is gone...maybe for good.
I do have a technician coming out in a week or so to look at my other problem. If I don't fix the Magic Focus by then, I will ask him to fix it. Good thing about extended warranty thru Sears is that it is much more flexible than the Manufacturers Warranty.
Thru Sears, I can play my Xbox, which I also use as dvd player, and it does not void my warranty with them. I really pissed off Hitachi when I told them that I could hook it up and still get warranty coverage. Besides that, Hitachi has shown me that they are like most other companies when it comes to admitting faults with their own products. When they finally admitted that their 2001-2002 widescreens all had the same 2:3 pulldown units, they recognized that it will fail after 30 days of continuous use, however, they didn't exactly use the word "fail" but rather they tried to blame my good eyesight for noticing what was really going on.
If anyone is uncertain to what I am seeing, try this: choose Movie mode and leave it there for 30 days if you haven't already. Then you will more than likey start to notice that the images start greying out horizontally for a slpit second. It's kinda like a Miniblind effect and it only lasts just long enough to see it and get under My skin! Plus, it is very frequent but sometimes it starts after the tv is warmed up.
If you dont want to wait 30 days and are familiar with the guts of the tv, you can try tapping the Flex converter which is mounted on the right side of the case...I believe. By tapping it while the unit is playing, it will cause the screen to mimick what I am talking about.
The Sears technician figured that by replacing the Flex converter, my problem would be solved....but it didnt happen. I just no longer watch in Movie mode unless I am playing a video game.
My curiosity was sparked, so I went down to Ultimate Electronics the other day and look at the 53swx10b (on sale for $2174) And asked the salesman to see the remote. After he tracked it down, I switched the tv to Movie mode and Voila! It had the same problem. So I know I am not going crazy.
As I walked looking at other televisions, there was a Sony set that really stood out because of the horrible picture. It was not a projection tv but rather a 36" or so crt. It was emulating a constant miniblind effect whereas the Hitachi only flashes from scene to scene. I asked the salesman why it looked so horrid and he told me because of interference in the lines.... now what kinda B.S. is that!!! Every other set did not have this problem which they were all on the same lines. Anyway, it just goes to show that some people will act like they know something when in fact they really don't. It ranks up there with "Oh, it's supposed to do that." or "it's normal to see that in that kind of equipment"
What they really mean if you translate is " I hope you are a moron and fall for this but, I don't want to end up with that back in my store"
Originally posted by gshomedesign
When they finally admitted that their 2001-2002 widescreens all had the same 2:3 pulldown units, they recognized that it will fail after 30 days of continuous use, however, they didn't exactly use the word "fail" but rather they tried to blame my good eyesight for noticing what was really going on.
If anyone is uncertain to what I am seeing, try this: choose Movie mode and leave it there for 30 days if you haven't already. Then you will more than likey start to notice that the images start greying out horizontally for a slpit second. It's kinda like a Miniblind effect and it only lasts just long enough to see it and get under My skin! Plus, it is very frequent but sometimes it starts after the tv is warmed up. I have several comments about this issue.
1. You may be right about the 2:3 pulldown failing, but I have not heard about it anywhere else and I visit lots of sites. If it did fail, you would not see "occasional hiccups" you would see the same effect all the time when watching 30 fps material - further explanation below.
2. Having the set in "movie" mode "automatically" activates 2:3 pulldown when necessary (when receiving a movie which is 30 fps instead of TV signals which are 24). So, the only time you will see any effect from 2:3 pulldown is when it is "correcting" for the different frame rates. Watching normal TV does not activate it, so you may be seing a "different effect" since you didn't mention specifically you were watching a movie input. You seemed to intimate that it happened frequently on any material..
3. Whenever you are watching a movie, 2:3 pulldown will cause the movie to look "smoother", however 2:3 pulldown is not perfect and does "hiccup" whenever there are major scene changes, but it comes back to make the image smooth again, usually within a couple of movie frames. Perhaps this "normal 2:3 pulldown artifact" is what you are seeing.
gshomedesign
12-20-2002, 08:06 PM
Yes, the artifacts that I am seeing is not just when watching movies, although it is more noticable since the picture quality is more defined.
As far as the 2:3 pulldown being the issue, I don't know. All I can say is that the artifact only happens in Movie Mode.
And to respond to the normality, I would have to disagree with this being normal. Remember, it only starts doing it after about 30 days of constant use (movie mode that is). I would accept it as normal if it was producing the problem from the day I turned the set on.
I will try to post some still images of the artifacts that I am seeing. It is approximately 3-4 frames in a broadcast which means it is very quick, yet noticable. Imagine watching your favorite show and seeing a quick burp of a commercial every 3 seconds throughout the show. Would that not bother you?
I would love to get some feedback from other owners that notice this same issue.
I've had my 61UWX10B for a little over a year and have not noticed anything like this. I've had the TV on Movie mode the entire time because it activates the 2:3 pulldown automatically.
I would not say that I am a "super critical" viewer who looks for every flaw, but I do notice most things before other people do on TVs or anything else for that matter. Maybe I've just been lucky. I'd certainly notice something that happened frequently. I'm very good at picking up patterns like that.
It'll be interesting to hear from others.
cherokee21
12-20-2002, 10:07 PM
Sounds like a bum TV to me-Replace if you can-been happy with mine:) Hitachi all the wya-so far. 51gwx20b
gshomedesign
12-21-2002, 06:46 AM
Hey Cherokee, I noticed you are from tulsa...OKC here. I would think that I have a bum tv but it might just be that the 53u/swx sets are the ones with the flaw. Afterall, this is my 2nd unit and I saw the same crap on a display unit at Ultimate. If it weren't for this one problem, I love everything else about the tv. I'd hate to trade in for a different brand to find different problems with those sets. I guess I could always live with the issue.
Besides, if my foot were to fall asleep everyday to a point of permanence, would I be so quick to cut it off? Just something I'd have to live with I guess.
