50-53" widescreen rptv (1 Viewer)

[Robert_P_C]

I have about 3k to spend on a new TV. Must be 50 to 53", widescreen. Can be Sony, Hitachi, Panasonic or Philips. DVD/cable ratio approx 40/60. Digital cable will be available very soon in my neighborhood. I was leaning toward the Hitachi based on its specs. Its so difficult to judge in the store, they all look like junk. I would appreciate any information based on personal experience. Thanks. Robert

 

[Steve Schaffer]

Robert,
I bought an Hitachi 53UWX10B widescreen rptv in mid-September, based on my previous great experience with an analog Hitachi Ultravision set I bought in 99.
Picture quality for dvd and HD was very nice indeed-very smooth and detailed.
Cable looked pretty nasty, though, and had looked quite good on the old analog set. The line doubling made the cable and DirecTV picture sort of shimmery and blurry. The set also could not maintain a consistent black level when changing cable channels, which was not a problem with the analog tv.
It also had a distinct green tint to darker areas of the screen. I spent hours trying to tweak the green out over the first 2 weeks, but without success.
I was at the point of returning the set and going back to the old analog, which I still had not sold, figuring widescreen HD-ready wasn't the way to go for me.
Decided to try one more time and narrowed my choice to Sony or Toshiba.
My impression from research over at Home Theater Spot was that Tosh had a common problem with ghost lines and rings around images, and seemed to need considerable tweaking of convergence and such, while Sonys seemed to have minimal problems.
I arranged to exchange the Hitachi for a Sony KP57HW40, and am now quite satisfied. Sony's DRC is much better than Hitachi's doubler for ntsc sources, and sharper than in previous Sonys, it holds consistent black levels when changing channels, and the green swamp effect is gone. All I've done is a half-hour session with the AVIA calibration disc, and I'm good to go.
There's a 51" version that retails for 2799, but can probably be had for less.

 

[Henry Carmona]

Hi, I would suggest reading up on the TV's you are considering over at The Home Theater Spot
Very good info.
BTW, I purchased a Toshiba 50H81.

 

[Dan Driscoll]

Robert,

I highly recommend that you add the 53" Pioneer SD-533HD5 (non-Elite) to your list. IMO it is better than any of the sets on your list, particularly with NTSC sources. (digital cable is still NTSC). The 533 can be found for under $3K.