Hitachi 43UWX10B and Tosh 42H81 and Don't hear about Hitachi.. (1 Viewer)

[davepr]

From this forum, I was pretty set on the Tosh 42H81. However, I saw the Hitachi 43uwx10b and was reasonably impressed and I can not find the Tosh 42H81 in my area, North Carolina Triangle (Chapel Hill, Durham and Raleigh). I also looked at the Mits 46" but I am confined by space and the Tosh and Hitachi are better fits.
It seems everyone talks about the big three, Pioneer, Tosh and Mits (sometimes Sony also) but no one seems to look at Hitachi sets. Is there a reason I should not be considering this set?
The Hitachi seems to compare on paper taking 1080i/480p/480i and 720p inputs. Its SVM can be switched off and on at will, 1200 lines of horizontal resolution, 3:2 film correction etc.. In the show room after some tweeking it looked pretty impressive. (side note: saw the Panasonic DLP RPT, superb).
Can anyone tell me if an why Hitachi is not up to snuff and I should not buy? Thanks

 

[Mark Bendiksen]

I just purchased the 42H81 and haven't regretted it for a second. I briefly considered the Hitachi but then I heard someone mention that the stretch modes were not as good. Also, I've heard rumblings that the 3:2 correction may be inferior as well. Again, this is all obviously heresay so you'll probably want to listen to someone with firsthand experience.
Link Removed

 

[davepr]

Mark, thanks for prompt reply. I am hoping to get some concrete information on the quality of the Hitachi. As a table top on a stand that is capable of holding multipled components, the Hitachi better fits my space requirements. However, quality and real world capability is still the priority. I would also like to see the Tosh first hand.
Dave

 

[Michael TLV]

Greetings
In general, Hitachi's have a rep for being one of the more difficult TV sets to fully calibrate out there.
Historically, access into the various regions of the TV is more difficult on Hitachi.
Regards
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Michael @ The Laser Video Experience

 

[davepr]

Mike, do you have any direct familiarity on this particular model,43UWX10B? Hard to service is certianly a negative factor.
Dave

 

[Steve Schaffer]

Dave,
Hitachis aren't tweaker-friendly in that you can't fool around in the service menu to adjust grayscale--they still have little knobs inside the set. Manual convergence also requires one to take off the front panel and press a tiny blue button, though the Home Theater Spot Hitachi forum has a few threads on ways to access convergence without opening the set.
I just upgraded from an Hitachi SBX series analog Ultravision to a 53UWX10B 16/9, which is the 43's bigger brother. Overall I am quite happy with my choice. I recently got a Tosh DTC-3000 stb, and have had a chance to watch several hours of hdtv from a local ota station. The picture was excellent.
I also have a JVC progressive scan player, and Hannibal looks damn close to hdtv.
The set lets you choose between 540p or 1080i upconversion of 480i and 480p sources, and the dvd picture via S-video is very nearly as good as the same movie from a progressive scan player via component inputs. As with every other line-doubled set out there, a mediocre cable signal looks terrible compared to an analog set.
I have read posts saying the stretch modes aren't as good as Toshibas, and not having played with a Tosh for very long I can't really compare. I use the "smoothwide" variable horizontal stretch for most regular tv viewing and only rarely find it distracting.
I shopped around endlessly for a 16/9 tv, and thought the Hitachi UWX was noticeable superior in picture quality to all but the Toshiba and Pioneer. It ended up a tossup between the Tosh and the Hitachi.
I chose the Hitachi partly on the basis of my excellent experience with the analog model I had, and partly on the operational flexibility of the set. It will store 4 sets of picture settings, but will not assign them to specific inputs like the Tosh or Mits. It will toggle throught the different saved settings with a single press of a button on the remote, so you don't have to wade through the menu. This is helpful when different channels on your cable or dish require different adjustments to look their best.
Aspect ratio is similarly easy to change, less tedious than on the Toshibas.
There are separate remote buttons for each input selection, so you do not have to cycle through unwanted inputs to get to the one you want.
Toshiba and Mitsubishi get most of the glory around here, but Hitachi is actually a very good choice.
It's sorta like the way people will choose between a Honda or a Toyota, and not even consider excellent models from Nissan or Subaru.
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Steve S.
I prefer not to push the subwoofers until they're properly run in.
[Edited last by Steve Schaffer on October 03, 2001 at 09:54 PM]

 

[davepr]

Steve, I really appreciate the detailed reply. The 43"Hitachi with its stand that has significant component room makes things a bit easier for me.. You certainly make it a bit more comfortable to go outside the mainstream of this forum.. I still want to get a look at the Toshiba before I make up my mind. Again thanks...
Dave

 

[Jeff Leeds]

Hitachi is actually one of the best kept secrets in TVs. I had a Tosh in my house and booted it for a Hitachi SDX series two years ago. It was calibrated (no big deal) by a pro and it is awesome. Hitachi in fact makes a great deal of the components for other manus as well. They are also built better, I can tell you that from pushing around the Tosh and pushing around the Hitachi. If you view them side by side, you'll see that Hitachi has brigher picture and more vibrant colors.
Take a look at an SDX series, it is an upgrade a Toshiba. Don't get me wrong, Tosh is nice, but a Hitachi is the next best thing to a Pioneer Elite. My good friend has an Elite, and when he watchs movies at my house, he comments that it is DAMN close to the Pioneer.
Don't discount what you cannot readily see at BB and other lower stores....again, not bashing Tosh, I'm watching a Tosh right now in my bedroom, a 35" that I bought 8 years ago and is still kicking along just fine, but when I comparo'ed, the Hitachi won.
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Jeff Leeds
[email protected]

 

[Geordy]

I LOVE MY HITACHI
i can do all the adjustments i want (convergence and SVM) w/o removing any covers.
i auditioned the toshiba and the mitsubishi, and this tv blew them away in my opinion.
the picture is unreal
if i had one complaint, it would be that it takes a while to flip b/w channels
geordy

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[davepr]

Geordy, which Hitachi set do you have?
Dave

 

[Geordy]

i have the 43uwx10b
it is fantastic....although i can't get my friends to leave
having this set will DEFINITELY increase the 'pop-in' factor

peace
geordy
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[Dan Driscoll]

[This is all just my opinion, YMMV.]
I was also interested in Hitachi because I had heard that they made the CRTs for Toshiba (not true for the 2002 models), so I looked at them quite extensively. First, the Hitachis look pretty good with HD and widescreen progressive inputs. The picture is a little soft for my taste, but mechanical and electronic focus would probably sharpen it up. Also, it may be deliberate, because I saw the same thing on all the Hitachis I looked at. Many people do prefer the softer look, feeling that it makes the picture look more film-like. Color accuracy and rendition were pretty good. They do seem to have a touch of red push, but it is very minor compared to the Mitsubishi sets. In short, depending on your preferences, the Hitachi seems to do as well as any other name brand set with HD and widescreen progessive inputs.
NTSC and other 4:3 interlaced inputs are a different story. The Hitachi very clearly demonstrates why the non-linear stretch mode use to be called the "hourglass mode". I watched a football game in stretch mode and almost got nauseous from seeing how the lines on the field stretched and curved as the camera panned across the field. IMO the picture was severly distorted and was unwatchable. The expand mode was better, but still not good. The Hitachis are the only sets that IMO have worse stretch and expand modes than Mitsubishi. The PQ in zoom mode was OK, but you lose so much of the picture that IMO it is also useless. The PQ in 4:3 mode is also OK, but in my case we will still be watching a lot of NTSC over then next couple of years, so burn-in is a concern. Plus, the grey bars seem very bright, although I'm sure that can be adjusted. FWIW, the line doubler in the Hit does seem to be better than the Mits, but is not as good as the Tosh or Pioneer.
So if you are going to watch mostly DVDs, HD and limited NTSC in 4:3 mode, I think the Hitachi would be a pretty good set. But if you watch a fair amount of 4:3 stuff then I think there are a number of other sets that will work better. IMO both the Pioneer SD-533 and the Tosh 50H(HX)81 sets do FAR, FAR better with 4:3 sources. The Tosh also costs quite a bit less than the Hitachi and the Pioneer is comparable.
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Dan

 

[davepr]

Dan, thanks for the review.. I will have to carefully look at the stretch wide mode and see if it bothers me. For the next few years I am sure 4:3 programming will be significant.
Dave

 

[Geordy]

i have to disagree with dave
i love the hitachi and its stretch modes
Normal: side bars
Fill: makes things look a little wide, it stretches the image. this is what i use for sports, i fills the screen beautifully and you lose nothing. players look fat at first, but you don't notice it after a few seconds
Full: normal proportions, but you lose top and bottom. good for sports if you don't mind losing the tickers and stats in the corners (this is actually great b/c you don't need to worry about burn in.
Smooth wide: dave is right about this for sports. if you watch anything with a lot of horizontal camera movemnet (football or hockey) prepeare to get sick. it keeps normal aspects in the center and stretches the edges. you losea tiny bit off the top and bottom. for sitcoms and the like, this is perfect because the camera is usually stationary and nothing happens in the periphery
if you want your tv in 4:3 get a tube or wait until fox and nbc finally get their act together and put things in hdtv
otherwise, go with the hitachi...i got mine for 1799 from sears
peace
geordy

 

[davepr]

Geordy, thanks.. think you mixed up Dan and Dave.. I plan to have a close look at the different modes. Somethings are personal choice. Anyway, how did you get the set for 1799. Last I looked Sears was 2199 + 199 for the stand. Was it a price match?
Dave

 

[NickSo]

I just went to the hitatchi website, and alot of their tvs say 1000 lines of resolution, but HDTV is 1080i... What gives? Will it display all 1080 lines?

 

[Steve Schaffer]

Nick,
Lines of resolution refers to the number of distinct vertical lines the set is capable of displaying across the width of it's screen without them blurring into each other. So you have vertical lines across the screen, from one side to the other, so the resulting spec is referred to as horizontal resolution because it refers to it's capability to display detail in the horizontal dimension-across the screen from side to side. This spec is not standardized, so 1000 lines of horizontal resolution claimed by one mfg. may not be any better than the 800 claimed by another because they aren't measured under the same conditions.
This is analogous to the power ratings of cheap recievers vs higher end ones. 100 wpc from a Yamaha or Denon is usually more real power than 100wpc from a low end Kenwood or Pioneer.
1080i refers to the number of side to side scan lines used to "draw" the picture, and really is a completely different thing. This is a constant, and except in the case of some 4/3 sets that don't do a true raster compression for presenting HD or anamorphic dvd, any set that is capable of displaying the 1080i HD format will actually use 1080 interlaced lines to produce the picture.
Strictly speaking, if HD is defined by pixel count rather than scan lines, only the very few rptvs with 9" crts (a few ultra expensive 65+" models) are capable of producing enough pixels to truly present HDTV, but the commonly available sets at reasonable prices are quite capable of stunningly good pictures.
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Steve S.
I prefer not to push the subwoofers until they're properly run in.

 

[davepr]

For what it is worth both Hitachi and Toshiba specifiy 1200 lines of resolution.
Dave