| Author |
Thread: Archive through November 23, 2005 |
    
FresnoCA Unregistered guest |
| Posted on Tuesday, July 19, 2005 - 09:19 pm: |
|
Thank you JOHN S for the article reference, I will check it out. Perhaps the Hitachi black is inherently bluish/purplish, and no amount of adustment will do anything about it. It is an unfortunate truth I am frustrated with and will most likely never accept given my tinkering nature. I hope I do not ruin my set trying to fix it. |
|
Relevant Product Info
|
|
Silver Member Username: John_s
Columbus,
Ohio
US
Post Number: 364
Registered: Feb-04
|
| Posted on Wednesday, July 20, 2005 - 07:52 am: |
|
FresnoCA,
I have done as much tweaking as I care to, short of going into the service menu which I will do only if forced to....like a wild animal cornered. Back in early '04, the first thing I ever bought from eBay was a CD-ROM of the service manual for this set (thanks to this thread). I've only looked at it once. But it's there if I need it. Tinker away however, and if you have a breakthrough please get back to us.
Personnally though, I think this 'black' (or lack thereof) is the nature of this beast.  |
SPIKEDOG Unregistered guest |
| Posted on Saturday, July 23, 2005 - 02:43 pm: |
|
I HAVE HAD MY 50v500 FOR ABOUT 2 YEARS. ABOUT A MONTH AGO I NOTICED A LARGE AREA OF THE SCREEN HAS A BLUE TINT, AND DISCOLORATION. THE BLACKS CREEN HAS A LARGE PINKISH CLOUD. ANY IDEAS? |
Unregistered guest |
| Posted on Saturday, July 23, 2005 - 11:40 pm: |
|
Hi Guys,
A question that if you know the answer would help me out. I bought a Hitachi LCD rear projection TV 42V710 around 40 days back. I had a weird problem to start with , Sometimes when the power was turned on I would not be able to get any picture , neither the menu option worked . After turning the TV off and restarting the picture came up. After 40 days of using it for 2-3 hours a day yesterday the TV suddenly switched of in middle of a movie and the only thing I see is a very very light blue screen with two blue dots blinking one on the top left corner and the other one at the bottom of the screen. Now I can not get a picture at all even after turning it on and off multiple times. I have requested a service appointment from hitachi but can any one tell me anything about the blue screen of death and the two blue dots. Answers appreciated. |
Bronze Member Username: Jedimaster
Los Angeles
Post Number: 41
Registered: Jun-04
|
| Posted on Monday, July 25, 2005 - 03:34 am: |
|
The user: Watchdaride sent me an email through ecoustics, I replyed and bounced back with problems delivering the email.
I will post it here for Watchdaride to read it:
His email:
Hello , i saw your post on ecoustic messageboard.. I just got tht problem ad sent it in fot repair. They said i need a light engine at a cost
of $1900. It is out of warranty.Is it a pinkish tone you had to your picture and color adjustments wouldnt adjust it. I downloaded the service
manual. I feel like i am getting ripped off.Do you think the adjustment
you did would fix the problem?
thanks.
My response:
It fixed my problem on my TV, and a few others, yes, it works. Read that manual, even if this will not fix your problem ( although I am 99 % sure it will) you can still order the part and change it yourself for probably half the price.
Everything it's in that manual, including part #. Most of those $ 1900 it's labor charges.
If you are not confortable with going into the
settings, have a friend that is technicaly inclined to do it.
I understand the frustration of changing anything in there, but trust me, everything can be undone if the wrong settings are set.
Either way, save yourself $ 1900  . For that price, you can pay me to fly over and do it and still have some cash left
Good luck.
|
Silver Member Username: John_s
Columbus,
Ohio
US
Post Number: 378
Registered: Feb-04
|
| Posted on Monday, July 25, 2005 - 09:26 am: |
|
Why these TVs go whacko for no apparent reason is very troubling to me. Please keep us abreast of developments here. Thanks. |
New member Username: Tdvbaja
Post Number: 4
Registered: Jul-05
|
| Posted on Monday, July 25, 2005 - 10:04 am: |
|
I called my service guy last week and he just called me today (he was on Vac) but he told me the cost for a Engine is $450.00 plus $200.00 for install. The engine is a refurb part number UX22201R but the are sold out of them -- and they are sold out of the new ones also. Hmmmm wonder why they are all sold out?? I am having him come by and pick it up and confirm it is the Light Engine then I am going to call Hitachi to complain. My Tech says he has replaced several of these already! |
New member Username: Watchdaride
Post Number: 3
Registered: Jun-05
|
| Posted on Tuesday, July 26, 2005 - 10:01 pm: |
|
thanks EA,
I am picking up the tv tomorrow and when i said i wouldnt fix it they offered to buy it for $200 . It sounds like a scam to me. i have had hitachi my whole life and after this experience i will stick with sony or just buy a cheaper brand and use the difference to buy a extended warranty.
I would warn people to stay away from hitachi they do not stand behing thier product and thier authorized service dealers are just as crooked.
x hitachi customer
watchdaride |
Bronze Member Username: Jedimaster
Los Angeles
Post Number: 42
Registered: Jun-04
|
| Posted on Wednesday, July 27, 2005 - 04:27 pm: |
|
Steven, it's not Hitachi's fault. It's the techs which are independent contractors that are crooks.
Read one of my previous posts, where the tech intentionally put some wrong stuff in the settings so I can call him back again.
They get paid a certain rate from Hitachi when the TV's are under warranty, but they can charge whatever they want if it's out of warranty.
You can report them to Hitachi but I don't think it'll do any good.
Let me know if you did the change and if it fixed the problem. |
|
|
New member Username: Watchdaride
Post Number: 4
Registered: Jun-05
|
| Posted on Wednesday, July 27, 2005 - 05:33 pm: |
|
EA,
i picked up the tv this morning and i got home and reset the memory and it works now. the color is back to normal . I called back the service tech and gave him a peice of my mind. They are saying that will not fix the problem. They wanted to charge me $1900 for a light engine that was good. I also called hitachi and they didnt really care .
I want to thank you for your help . I downloaded the service manual you posted and it gave me detailed instructions on how to do it.
If your ever in Orlando i'll buy you a couple tickets to Disney.
thanks again,
|
Nomadandsuzie Unregistered guest |
| Posted on Tuesday, August 02, 2005 - 10:25 pm: |
|
I just bought the Hitachi 50V500 set and overall I love it. But, I do have a few questions that I am hoping someone here can answer for me.
(1) No matter what TV station I set my set-top-box for, it tells me I am in 1080i mode. Even for an SD station. Is this right?
(2) I am currently using component video cables. On most HD movie broadcasts I find the dark images to be poor resolution. It will either look grainy of blotchy. Do I need new cables?
(3) I seem to get a "temporary burn in effect" very quickly. At least that is what I think the cause might be for a bright, HD broadcast to look grainy or "striped" sometimes. It seems to go away eventually...
I am totally new to this HD stuff, so any help would be very much appreciated. |
Silver Member Username: John_s
Columbus,
Ohio
US
Post Number: 387
Registered: Feb-04
|
| Posted on Wednesday, August 03, 2005 - 08:06 am: |
|
Nomad.....
(1) The same thing happens with my HD cable box. "1080i" on everything. I e-mailed my cable company about this over a year ago. The blockhead that answered had no idea what I was talking about. My guess is that my Scientific Atlanta box upconverts everything to 1080i. Anyway, I stopped thinking about it since I watch very little SD on this TV.
(2) Your experience on dark scenes is pretty much the nature of the beast. You can minimize it somewhat by 1. setting the brightness level to about 50%, 2. black enhancement to no higher than 'Low', 3. contrast mode to 'normal'. Actually, a 'high' black enhancement setting will probably clear it up, but the downside is a significant loss of picture detail even in bright scenes. I ran this TV on BE 'off' for some time, but have settled on 'low' as a compromise. So my answer is no on new component cables.
(3) I have to think about this one as I don't quite understand the question.
Incidentally, I'll bet many people who own this TV use the 'dynamic' setting on contrast mode. Yes, when you change it to that setting the pecture seems to have more "snap" but to me the cost is a loss of too much picture detail.
|
Nomadandsuzie Unregistered guest |
| Posted on Wednesday, August 03, 2005 - 11:00 pm: |
|
John S
Thank you so much for your reply!
You were absolutely correct about the Scientific Atlanta box. The default is to output everything in 1080i. I went into the setup and changed it to Upconvert 2 option. This will take 480i/480p and display 480p, and it will take 720p/1080i and display 720p. I chose this because I have read that:
(1) the native resolution of the 50V500 is 720p and
(2) 720p is suppose to be a sharper picture than 1080i (progressive being better than interlaced).
So far in the little bit I have watched, the pictures do seem better. Especially since I changed the BE to be OFF. I tried LOW also, but found the loss of detail to be unacceptable in most cases. As for the "temporary burn in effect", I have found that a static image can leave a ghost image in as little as 10 minutes!! It does fade slowly away, but I found an option to WIPE the screen and it works very well!
I have yet to play with the dynamic mode on the contrast (maybe this weekend) and I think that I might try some DVI cables. I have read that these cables keep the signal in the digital format whereas the component cables convert it to analog and can produce "artifacts". I will not know for sure about this until I give it a try. |
Bronze Member Username: Jedimaster
Los Angeles
Post Number: 43
Registered: Jun-04
|
| Posted on Saturday, August 06, 2005 - 05:15 am: |
|
It seems that everyone has a problem with the box, not the TV.
Mine goes wako and resets itself whenever it wants to, a friend of mine ... the DVI port it's there but it just doesn't work ( and the manufacturer knows about it and does nothing to correct the problem ), and the frustration of calling tech support is unbearable.
In the approx. 100 houses that I am visiting a month, it looks like 5 % of them have an HDTV.
That is very low.
And out of 100, 95 % have either the Dish Network or DirecTV.
Very few have cable for TV, at least here in Los Angeles.
I know why, the tech support is the worst of all with either Comcast, Adelphia or Charter Communication.
I don't blame them for not getting into the HDTV market. The Dish Network has only 4 channels of HDTV, DirecTV makes you go on the roof and remove the antena yourself if you want to end the contract, Voom is out of business, so choices are limited.
It seems that the TV unit is way too advanced and the providers are too cheap ( I wanted to say skeptical ) in investing in changing the box.
That is bad for us, the consumer.
To Nomad: this TV set upconverts everything to 1080i when watching an HDTV program. It is indeed maxed at 720p. But noone transmits at 720p. Not here in Los Angeles.
It is still one of the best HDTV's I've seen ( I have my eye on that Samsung DLP whatever the name is ) and the image is on par with the latest DLP's.
This TV will last me 10 years, no doubt about it.
And having the service manual in hand ... oh boy
John S... if I have some time these days ( second kid is 3 weeks old...hard to find the time ), I will open the TV and get that fan changed, the noise started to bother me.
I will post the results.
|
Nomadandsuzie Unregistered guest |
| Posted on Saturday, August 06, 2005 - 09:02 am: |
|
Hello EA
I am in Canada and have been using Rogers Digital Cable for my HDTV source. We have about 25 HDTV channels offered, although not every program on these channels is in HD. Sometimes I notice issues with the image and I can not decide if the problem is with the TV or with the signal. I am tending to lean towards the signal as it is rare and only in short bursts of about 1-2 seconds. I am using the component cables that came with my cable box. Do you have any opinion on whether it is worthwhile to invest in a DVI cable? I use the term invest because I recently priced the cable at about $165 dollars!!! Of course the salesman is telling me the difference will be AMAZING, but...
Overall, I am amazed with the picture on this set. Far better than any of the other sets I had been looking at.
Now that you mention the fan noise, it would be nice if it could be a bit lower. Is there anything that can be done about that? |
Silver Member Username: John_s
Columbus,
Ohio
US
Post Number: 394
Registered: Feb-04
|
| Posted on Saturday, August 06, 2005 - 09:12 am: |
|
EA:
I agree, the HD market penetration rate is very discouraging. I'm guessing a significant number of Americans have't even seen HD, not to mention have it in their homes. Here's a quote from Sports Illustrated:
There are 12-13 million American homes currently equipped with HD television sets but only one-third of those are getting HD programming, says Bruce Leichtman of The Leichtman Research Group, Inc., a television consulting company. That means only about four million of approximately 105 million American homes are equipped for enjoying our real national pastime -- watching TV -- in its full glory. That's not even 4 percent! If you are a part of this ultra-exclusive club, I offer a hearty congratulations as we bestride the narrow world like a Colossus.
As for that other 96 percent, you have my condolences.
The whole column here:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/writers/jacob_luft/07/19/hdtv.confessions/
Got lots more to say but I gotta run....
Nomad hang in there. You've got me wanting to try an experiment...I'll be back tomorrow when I have more time. |
Unregistered guest |
| Posted on Sunday, August 07, 2005 - 01:46 pm: |
|
I have had my t.v. for about a month now, love it. Only thing is that in the bottom right corner and along the bottom of the screen, I get a yellow bar, and maybe a 4"x4" area in the corner. It is not there all the time, comes and goes. it is really noticable when there is a white scene, I am just using a regular satelliete feed, with an S-video cable.
Any ideas as to what this might be, the t.v. was manufacutered in Dec. 2004. So I am hoping it has had all the bugs worked out from the previous year.
Thanks for your help. |
Nomadandsuzie Unregistered guest |
| Posted on Sunday, August 07, 2005 - 02:34 pm: |
|
Okay, so I put out the $150 to buy Monster Cable DVI input and ran that from my Scientific Atlanta box to my 50V500 and watched several HD programs. I still get issues with the picture quality. In many scenes, even if only for 1-2 seconds, the picture is very grainy, almost pixelated. I can not seem to determine why it does this, as it comes and goes so fast and under different situtations on screen. It seems to happen when:
(1) there is a bright flash on the screen such as lightning or gun fire.
(2) the camera is focused on a person, and something moves by in front of the camera blocking out the person for a second.
Right now the cable company is saying it is a problem with the TV and the store where I bought the TV is saying it is a problem with the cable signal. At this point I am ready to return the DVI cables as they do not seem to be improving the picture over the component cables that I was using before. Has anyone else experienced this grainy effect? I notice it the most on HD broadcasts. Any help would be appreciated.
|
Bronze Member Username: Jedimaster
Los Angeles
Post Number: 44
Registered: Jun-04
|
| Posted on Monday, August 08, 2005 - 12:27 am: |
|
Nomad, yes, I had that too. And it was very easy to fix, luckily the tech from the cable company was knowlegeable.
All he had to do was to change the wire from the pole to the house. The old wire was just not up to par for HD.
$ 150 for a DVI cable ? Does it cook and wash dishes too ?
I paid $ 50 for mine, generic brand, and it made a huge diference compared to the component cables.
To Big Nate: I have no clue what can be wrong.
You may want to try the component or the DVI cables instead of the SVHS. I mean....you paid a good buck for this TV, might as well enjoy full HDTV. |
Silver Member Username: John_s
Columbus,
Ohio
US
Post Number: 395
Registered: Feb-04
|
| Posted on Monday, August 08, 2005 - 12:38 am: |
|
Nomadandsuzie,
Don't ask me why DVI cables are so expensive, but I'm not surprised you still have picture issues. I had pretty much the same problem a year ago: a 'pixelating' picture that came and went. And it never happened when I watched a movie on DVD, either. So the cable co. sent their best guy out. He checked my box and put a 15dB line amp in and I haven't had any problems since. So I think your problem is with the cable signal.
It was then he confirmed what the cable people told me earlier--that their Scientific Atlanta had non-useable DVI ports, due to a lack of electronics inside the box. Consequently, I have not tried a DVI cable on the box. Here's an interesting article on this subject:
http://www.bluejeanscable.com/articles/dvihdmicomponent.htm
I went in to the menu on my cable box and tried all settings, Upconvert 1, Upconvert 2, Fixed, and Pass-Through all with the same results....the TV's seeing "1080i" all the time. So apparently my cable box works differently then yours. But you are right, since the TV's native resolution is 720, then 720p should be chosen over 1080i. One of the early contributors to this thread (he must've gone and got a life!) discovered the superiority of 740 over 1080 on his satellite box, but none of us were smart enough to know why then. |
Nomadandsuzie Unregistered guest |
| Posted on Monday, August 08, 2005 - 06:25 am: |
|
Thanks John and EA!
I do not watch many DVD's but I watch some today and you are right. No issues with the picture. I will be calling my cable company today.
After hooking up the DVI cable, I changed my cable box settings to Auto DVI. The manual says that incoming programming is automatically formatted to the scan rate supported by your HDTV. In this mode my 50V500 tells me that all SD channels are 480i and all HD channels are 720p. The DVI cables appear to work MOST OF THE TIME, but I am seeing an issue every now and then. I will loose the picture and the DVI ALERT comes up telling me my TV does not support HDCP and I should use YPbPr connections. Then, the picture comes back fine. Again, I am sure it is the signal or the cable box.
Slightly off topic, I need to buy a new DVD player. Mine is old and is not even progressive scan. Does anyone have any recommendations? Does anyone know if the new "upconverting" players are worth the extra money?
Thanks again to everyone. There is so much to know about to get the full potential out of this awesome HDTV.
|
Silver Member Username: John_s
Columbus,
Ohio
US
Post Number: 399
Registered: Feb-04
|
| Posted on Monday, August 08, 2005 - 09:10 am: |
|
Some folks on this forum swear by their upconverting DVD players, but even though I haven't tried one, I've always wondered what the value was in upconverting an SD signal. This reminds me of Hitachi's VirtualHD 1080p processing...something that's never mentioned in the owner's manual. Here's a link to an old post of mine on this thread about it:
http://forum.ecoustics.com/cgi-bin/bbs/show.pl?tpc=2&post=79460#POST79460 |
Silver Member Username: John_s
Columbus,
Ohio
US
Post Number: 400
Registered: Feb-04
|
| Posted on Monday, August 08, 2005 - 09:25 am: |
|
big nate98:
This thread, now almost 2 years old, is full of complaints on screen "crop circles", "splotches", and similar anomalies with the picture. As these Hitachis get older, they seem to go away, as was the case with me. If you are still under warranty, I would schedule a service call. They may not do much about it, but at least you'll be on record with the complaint. Good luck. |
|
| Posted on Tuesday, August 09, 2005 - 02:55 am: |
|
Hi, I am new to this thread. I have owned the 50v500 for 18 months. Had the fun of resetting in the service menu for color problems (one day looked like a old DOS game on an RGB monitor) once. PROBLEM: I have a Pink/red cloud in the top/center of the screen (especially pronounced when the screen is black). It shows thru during cable or DVD playback. During HD shows, it is less pronounced. I have 4000 hrs on the original lamp. Any suggestions? Is there something else I need to try in the service menu? I have redone the flicker and the TA1383->CONTM1 and TA1383->CONTS1 settings. Still pink/red. |
New member Username: Dvitous
Post Number: 1
Registered: Aug-05
|
| Posted on Thursday, August 11, 2005 - 04:33 pm: |
|
It's looking like this thread has kinda morphed into an "all things Hitachi", so I'll throw this out here...
I have a 6 mo. old 50v715, and I recently encountered the following problems:
- What sounds like static "pops" in the sound. It seems to be more noticable some days than others. This has been going on since it was a few weeks old. Either it goes away for long periods, or I just stopped noticing on a regular basis.
I'm not 100% sure it's not signal/cable related. I have HD cable, component video from the box, and a direct cable line into AntA - split after the surge protector.
- I just now developed 2 horizontal bands - pink and green across the entire bottom of the screen, and green across the top. No other noticable ghosting or pink hue change.
With both problems, I'm thinking just bite the bullet and call for service and make use of the warranty while I can.
Anyone else have experiences like this? I may not fix it myself this time (if it can be corrected in setup)... but would be nice to know for the future.
Other than that... GREAT SET!
Thanks -
Dan |
Nomadandsuzie Unregistered guest |
| Posted on Saturday, August 13, 2005 - 08:57 pm: |
|
Well, I have finally decided to return my Monster DVI cables. They do not seem to make any improvement in the PQ and they are way too expensive.
I also read in a forum somewhere that LCD projection screens do not display digital signals, so the idea of keeping the signal pure does not apply. Is this so? Is pure digital only for LCD and Plasma displays, but not for RPTVs?
Thanks,
AJM
|
Unregistered guest |
| Posted on Saturday, August 13, 2005 - 10:01 pm: |
|
"thepet" ,it sounds like i may have the same problem . i also HAD the pinkish/red hue problem, but was able to fix it thru the service menu. any thoughts on the cloud issue? fyi...6250+hrs purc. date 10/03 |
|
| Posted on Sunday, August 14, 2005 - 08:24 am: |
|
plbveb, thanks for the reply. Sry, I don't have anything on the cloud issue.
What steps did you take in the service menu to clear up the pink/red problem? |
Silver Member Username: John_s
Columbus,
Ohio
US
Post Number: 406
Registered: Feb-04
|
| Posted on Sunday, August 14, 2005 - 10:35 am: |
|
Nomad...
With an open forum like this one there's good news and bad news. The good news is that there's plenty of entertaining posts to read that would have been censored on more tightly moderated forums.
The bad news is the same as the good news. People are free to promulgate their whack-o agendas, or worse, mistaken perceptions.
Of course your Hit LCDRP is digital, as is the case with all fixed-pixel displays. So your DVI cable experiment was worth trying, but I must say I wasn't surprised at the outcome. |
|
| Posted on Sunday, August 14, 2005 - 11:53 am: |
|
For "plbveb" and anyone else with the DOS RGB problem I described above, this is what I did in the service menu to clear up the problem. I was helped via a free service call (over the phone from a tech - very helpful. I described the problem and he walked me thru it. Best I can figure is that I left the set on overnight with no incoming signal, and when I checked the next morning, I had a lamp light on. There might have been a power surge over night. When I restarted, the DOS RGB type display was what I had).
Attempt this at your own risk.
>Get into the Service Menu
>Write down the HPOS (026) and VPOS (07) settings (you will need them later). Also, write down the TA1383 setings for CONTM1 and CONTS1 (mine are 0B and 09 respectively).
>Go to Mem INIT and hold the joystick to the right for a few seconds. The check box should be selected.
>Reset the HPOS and VPOS values. Reset the TA1383->CONTM1 and CONTS1 values.
>Go to LCD ADJUST and check the Ghost settings
>Go to the V.COM entry and use your joystick to adjust the flicker settings for red, green and blue. Your target is the least amount of flicker possible. With the green and blue, there will always be some flicker.
After this, my picture came back to life.
My only lingering problem is this red/pink hue (circle/spot) in the top/middle if the screen. I am going to attempt the same sequence again and see if this helps.
Any other suggestions, would be appreciated.
PS>I bought the tech manual on ebay, and it helps with the service menu values. |
Nomadandsuzie Unregistered guest |
| Posted on Sunday, August 14, 2005 - 03:13 pm: |
|
John S..
Thanks for clearing that up for me. I was confused as to why LCDRPTV's would not use a digital signal...
Maybe you could help me with another problem. I believe that I needed a new DVD player because my old one is not Progressive Scan. It does have component outputs though, which is good. In another forum I read that it would be a waste for me to buy a new Progressive Scan DVD player because my Hit 50V500 performs the upconversion for me. I was told that the only benifit would come if the DVD player had a better upconverter than my 50V500 did. I was told that a $2500 HDTV would have a better upconverter than a $100 DVD player. Is it true that the 50V500 upconverts the DVD signal to progressive scan anyways? By the way I was told not to buy the upconverting DVD players for the same reason. My set already does it for me.
Thank you in advance for any help you can offer.
AJM
|
Silver Member Username: John_s
Columbus,
Ohio
US
Post Number: 407
Registered: Feb-04
|
| Posted on Sunday, August 14, 2005 - 06:38 pm: |
|
Nomad...
A long time ago on this thread I lamented not being a videophile enough to compare my old non-progressive scan player (a good Sony in its day) with a prog scan unit I picked up cheap ($80 a year and a half ago). Never got around to it, mainly because I found the cheap player's picture to be just fine. I can tell you that, from what I've read, there's not a huge difference between them...progressive scan just gives a more film-like and smoother picture.
Your Hitachi does have a proprietary up-scaling circuitry the goes all the way to 1080p. Yeah that's right 1080progressive. And that's on every single video that gets fed to the screen. The owner's manual doesn't mention it, nor is there any indicator light or on/off switch for this processing.
I've read also that many digital models from other manufacturers also do the same sort of thing, yet the conventional wisdom is that a prog scan player is still preferable. I wonder....
Anyway, please read my post on this link. It is a quote from the sales brochure for the 50/60V500 Hitachis.
http://forum.ecoustics.com/cgi-bin/bbs/show.pl?tpc=2&post=79460#POST79460 |
|
| Posted on Sunday, August 14, 2005 - 08:28 pm: |
|
I am a newbie to RPTV and in the process of buying one. I have narrowed down my choices to Hitachi 50V710 (50 inch LCD with built-in tuner) and samsung hlp5663 (56 inch DLP older model w/o tuner).
Looks like both are closeout models and are priced around $1999 (w/o stand) in the local stores (these are not floor-models) this weekend. Do you think this is a good price for this Hitachi ? I think picture quality was better with Hitachi, but with samsung, I am getting a bigger screen (and DLP which was rated as somewhat better in some of the reviews when comparing with LCD). But Hitchi seems to have better reliability.
Also is it worth getting the extended warranty ? The store where I am finding a good deal is asking for $499 for 4 years
BTW, I didn't notice anything about black color not being rendered properly with this LCD model, it looked very similar to the DLP model on a side-by-side comparison at the store.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions/tips/help. |
Bronze Member Username: Jedimaster
Los Angeles
Post Number: 45
Registered: Jun-04
|
| Posted on Monday, August 15, 2005 - 02:09 am: |
|
tleo,
why not get this one:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=12918 15&CatId=1830
The price is fantastic, and it's one of the best looking TV's that I've seen. Circuit City sells it too probably for much higher price.
TigerDirect are well known, I buy stuff from them a lot, never had a problem.
This Samsung was $5000 a year ago when I got my Hitachi 50V500.
I don't know if the Samsung has less problems, search for a thread like this.
Good luck. |
Bronze Member Username: Jedimaster
Los Angeles
Post Number: 46
Registered: Jun-04
|
| Posted on Monday, August 15, 2005 - 02:57 am: |
|
For tleo and everybody else:
Take it from an ex-electornics-sales guy
$ 500 for extended warranty is way too high for a TV that costs $ 2000. That's 25 % ( 1/4th )of the cost.
Bargain the price of the warranty ( trust me, it works ). Pay no more than $ 250 for 4 years ( that's 12.5 %, which makes more sense.
When you buy a $ 22,000 car, they ask you if you want to buy extended warranty for $ 900. That's 4% of the price of the car. Nobody buys it
To give you another example: my receiver/amp, a JVC888BK cost $ 500 a while back. I got the 5 years warranty for $ 50. I only got the warranty because with an amplifier, a lot more things can go wrong then with a TV.
Warranty is insurance, insurance is good for a house, car and life insurance, not a piece of plastic and silicon and surely not at that price.
I understand the fact that you want protection for your investment, but not when the protection costs you 25 % of the investment.
That's where they make their money, because it costs them absolutely nothing.
They ask $500 for extended warranty because they look at the price of the TV, and being a hot item, they know that deep down you want that assurance.
If you buy lets say a 32" CRT TV for $ 500, the warranty for that is only $ 75 tops. Why ? LCD's are ... what... more prone to problems than CRT's ?
Just because CRT is proven technology and LCD is new-ish you must pay the price for warranty ?
You do the math and be the judge.
I've been on the sales floor and sold warranties, and if it looked to crooked, I slashed down the price.
I got fired for that, but I slept better at night
|
Bronze Member Username: Jedimaster
Los Angeles
Post Number: 47
Registered: Jun-04
|
| Posted on Monday, August 15, 2005 - 03:58 am: |
|
To Nomad:
John S is right, as I tested the DVD player ( a Philips DVP 642).
I don't know if the progressive scan it's a must, but for the price of the DVD's lately... get one that includes it. Actualy, is there one that does not include it nowadays ?
They are too cheap to even worry about that.
The problem is this: a DVD player has a max resolution of 520 lines, and a DVD player is not digital. Do not expect that a DVD movie to look as good as a high-definition broadcast.
It's not there yet.
However, take a look at this and read the specs. It may be something better than what the rest offer:
http://www.liteonit.com/index.htm
They have some hi-def recorders/players.
It seems that the "digital" part changes as new units come out.
A computer monitor used to be digital 3 years ago, now, if you don't own an LCD monitor with DVI, it's not digital.
|
Unregistered guest |
| Posted on Thursday, August 18, 2005 - 11:40 am: |
|
Hi all, New here. My wife and I took advantage of the tax free weekend in Mass (last weekend). We ended buying a the last floor model 50v500A from Sears for $1399. It has a dead/stuck bright green pixel in lower left corner of screen and another dim blue one lower mid to mid right of screen. It also doesn't have the remote, but Sears oredered one from Hitachi for us. We went back yesterday to buy the 5yr EW from Sears for $599. because all the Sears associates said the bulbs were covered "everything is covered". On the way home the wife ordered take out. As I was waiting out in the car, I read through the Sears Master Protection Agreement (MPA) and paragragh 9 sec f clearly states they do NOT cover bulbs or any other extendable items. I called the service company and verified this. They also wanted to know the store location and associates names who claimed this. I am going back to Sears today and cancelling my EW with them. I might get the Repair Master contracts. I Just wanted to warn some of you about Sears promising to cover the bulbs when the clearly do not.
Also, what do you think my chances are of getting Hitachi to fixed these dead pixels? Was the TV still worth for what I paid?
and does a Photo card come with these or are they optional?
Thanks in adavnce! This place rocks with info ;-)
Mike in Rhode Island |
Unregistered guest |
| Posted on Thursday, August 18, 2005 - 07:38 pm: |
|
Well after further investigation, Sears and their warranty people both confirm that replacement bulbs ARE indeed covered under the Sears 5 yr warranty at no cost. So I guess it's kind of worth the $599. seeing I'll be getting free lamp replacements AND the TV is covered. :-)
Did I mention I watched my first HD programs last night? Monster Garage, Sports Center and Late night with Conan all looked incredible. Can't wait for some HD football games. |
New member Username: Watchdaride
Post Number: 5
Registered: Jun-05
|
| Posted on Monday, August 22, 2005 - 01:15 pm: |
|
did sears give you in writing it is covered? Verbal agreements are not any good 12 months from now. i would stay away from Hitachi . As you can see from many post they have alot of problems with there tv and average repairs are over $500 . It is better to invest in a sony or a cheaper brand and use the diference with a service agreement. |
Nomadandsuzie Unregistered guest |
| Posted on Tuesday, August 23, 2005 - 08:07 am: |
|
I am still greatly confused about the 50V500's ability to upconvert signals. Specifically, when it comes to DVD players. I contacted Hitachi via their email tech service department and was told that I do NOT need a progressive scan DVD player because the TV will upconvert the signal to 480p. Next, I PHONED Hitachi's service department and the rep on the phone told the exact opposite, that I DO need a progessive scan DVD player to enjoy the improved image quality. He admitted that the improvement would not be a huge difference, but said it would be noticeable.
Does anyone know how these TV's work and how to hook them up to a DVD properly???? This is starting to get silly.... |
New member Username: Hired_gun
North Bend,
Oregon
USA
Post Number: 10
Registered: Apr-05
|
| Posted on Tuesday, August 23, 2005 - 09:58 am: |
|
I hooked up my Kenwood progressive scan DVD player to my 50V500 with an S-Video cord and then ran the audio through my 600 watt surround sound Kenwood receiver. I looks and sounds awsome. It's only a very little bit nicer than any of the upper cable signals but way better than regular cable. Don't make it harder than it is. It's just a big TV. You will drive yourself crazy if you keep messing with it. I only bought a new dvd player because my other one gave it up. The new one was only 80 bucks or so. Not a big deal. Do your self a big favor and just stay out of the service menu. One wrong move and down the road a bit the tv starts looking funny. Mine is much better now that it is set back to it's factory settings. Just keep you adjustments to the regular menu and you will be fine.
For an extended warranty I'm going with warrantybynet.com 4 more years for $241.80 It covers:
Pays for parts and labor
No deductible or Hidden Charges
Over 12,000 Service Centers Nationwide
Covers all parts and labor
Repair or replacement is guaranteed
Fully insured program
24 Hour, 365-Day Operation Center
Wait a couple weeks aftre you submimit your quote request and they will send a discounted offer. That's when to buy. And Yes, the bulb is covered. My current bulb is going on 5000 hrs. I doubt the warranty department will be buying many of them as I have talked to several people with over 10,000 hours on their bulbs.
I'm still waiting for Charter cable to bring in HDTV.
|
Bronze Member Username: Mccambley
BREEZY POINT,
NY
USA
Post Number: 25
Registered: Jun-05
|
| Posted on Tuesday, August 23, 2005 - 01:30 pm: |
|
Hired Gun If you want to take advantage of progressive scan DVD player you must hook it up with component video cables {red,green, and blue}.S-video can only deliver 480i picture. Factory setting are not always the best way to go they are set to sell the TV on a well lit sales floor. |
|
| Posted on Wednesday, August 24, 2005 - 12:20 am: |
|
I have owned the 50v500 for 18 months. Had the fun of resetting in the service menu for color problems (one day it looked like an old DOS game on an RGB monitor). PROBLEM: I have a Pink/red cloud in the top/center of the screen (especially pronounced when the screen is black or program/DVD is showing a dark scene). It shows thru during cable or DVD playback. I have 4500 hrs on the original lamp. Any suggestions? Anyone cured this via the service menu? |
Unregistered guest |
| Posted on Friday, August 26, 2005 - 06:00 pm: |
|
thepet,
I am having the same problem with my 60V500 - nice big red/pink circle in the middle of the screen. I've had it for about 18 months with the same hours on the original lamp. I had a service tech out today to look at it. He called Hitachi and they said the light engine is toast and I need a new one. Luckily I bought the extended warranty so he ordered up a new for me. However, I would like to know if there is anyway to try and fix this problem in the service menu as well? |
|
| |
