Toshiba 57hdx82 vs. sony 57wv600 vs. hitachi 57swx20B (1 Viewer)

[Mike Bollman]

Ok, I need help one more time with a comparison on the tv's mentioned above. I was looking seriously at the 57h82 and the hitachi, but I am now leaning towards sony. I stopped by circuit city tonight to check out the hitachi and found it looked horrible. The colors were way off (could just be floor model), but most importantly it was grainy. I switched back and forth between hd signal and standard broadcast signal, but no luck. On HD it did look acceptable, but no where near as good as the others around it. Also, the swx looked kind of dark especially at off angles when compared to the uwx hitachi. I bounced back and forth between the uwx and swx and actually think the uwx looks better. Then I spotted the Sony 57wv600 and was very impressed. Everything I read says to stay away from Sony, but the picture was very clean and crisp. So can anyone provide some input on any of these tv's? I have extended my budget to about 3K +/- 200, but no more. Also, is 2699 a good price for the sony? CC has it on sale and it comes with a free dvd player ( a very cheap apex). Although they will give me 50 dollars credit towards any dvd player (I'm think Panasonic progressive scan).

Anyone have any thoughts?

Thanks again,

Mike B.

 

[Antonio_B]

i would say go with the Toshiba,much less grainy picture compared to the Sony and the Mits.
Later

 

[Mike Bollman]

Ok I went out today and checked out several B&M places to see the quality and get a feel for prices. First, let me say times must be tough as everyone was quick to start offering good deals (free dvd player, free delivery, 10% off, pricematching). I have scratched hitachi off my list after seeing 3 different swx's and uwx's I am not impressed at all. I actually think the uwx looks much better, even though the specs say otherwise. I have not seen the Toshiba 57Hdx yet, but did find 2 different 57H82's and was not overally impressed either. The Sony as much as I hate to say it looks very good and I can get an amazing deal on one (2199 for the 57wv600, 2499 for the 57wv700). The other local shops want anywhere from 500-700 more for this set, but are willing to pricematch + 10-15% of the difference. The dvd players are all junk that are being offered, but they are willing to allow me to use it as credit towards another player. However, the problem with the Sony is that I want to put my dvd player, vcr, cable box, and hd decoder on top and I cannot with this set. Which means buying an a/v rack and putting it next to the tv, which I don't really have room for, plus it is an added expense. So that brings me to were I am leaning now. I found the Mitsubishi 55411 for 2599 - 10% for a price of 2340 and free delivery and a free dvd player. So is this a good deal? I think so, but what does everyone else think? Also, is the 55411 a good set to go with? I am not a big tweaker and the picture in the store looks great to me. My only concern with this set is the overall heighth as it looks very short and I am worried about that.

Looking for any and all opinions here guys, good or bad.

Thanks again,

Mike B.

 

[Steve Schaffer]

Mike,

Having had a Sony for over a year, I'd say get the rack. They are one of the best "out of the box" and can produce a nice picture with just user menu adjustments using the AVIA disc for calibration-an easy job as the disc has very clear voice-over instructions on how to set the various picture controls.

That being said, Mitsubishis are very good sets with high reliability and you won't go wrong with one, as long as you stay away from the models sold exclusively at Best Buy. It's my understanding that the red push exhibitted by previous models can be adjusted out in the user menu on the new ones. As for height, you want your eyes to be close to the same height as the center of the screen when seated in your normal viewing position, or within a foot or so of that. RPTVs are getting better at having good brightness when viewed from off-center side-to-side, but still lose a lot of brightness if you're too high or to low in relation to the screen.