Hitachi Plasma-Director's Series (1 Viewer)

[Yong Chan]

Just started looking for a Plasma- 42-43". So, I went to the local boutiques here in Dallas. One that caught my eye was the Hitachi 42" Plasma-42HDX61. Unfortunately, I don't know much about the Hitachi's. I have about $4000 to spend on a TV. Anybody have any thoughts or rec's in that price range?

Thanks

yc

 

[Arthur S]

Yong

With that kind of budget, I would go for the Sony 50 inch XS955. If you really can't manage a 50 inch, I would suggest the Sony KDE42-XS955.

 

[Yong Chan]

Thanks for the advice, I have to stay in the 42" range due to space. Now, I saw the Hitachi at the Home Theater Store in Dallas. The sales person thought the hitachi had better PQ than the Sony, price being about the same.

Anyone with experience with the Hitachi's?

 

[Arthur S]

Yong

Consumer Reports tested 42 inch plasma in March 05. They tested 10 HD panels. Hitachi 42HDX61 was the lowest rated of all 10 TVs. Was the worst with standard definition material.

Sony KDE-42XS955 was the best. Nothing had a higher rating in any category. HD, DVD, standard definition. Nothing equaled the performance of 42XS955.

 

[Yong Chan]

Thanks, I will read that article

 

[Randy B A]

I just bought the 55" directors series, and it is one great TV. I would highly recomend it over the sony. Not to be negitive, but what are the credentials of the consumer reports writer? I don't put much faith in CR.

 

[Arthur S]

Randy

Gregg Loewen, ISF tech and HTF Moderator did an ISF for Consumer Reports. He was very impressed with their labs.

You asked about credentials. They are video engineers with extensive video labs. They use profesional studio monitors as their reference. They use a panel of trained viewers to evaluate picture quality. The same panel of viewers picked the Sony 34XBR960 as their top rated DV-CRT. Very few people would argue with that.

Please contact Gregg Loewen if you have any other questions about CRs video labs, testing procedures and his impressions about the professionalism of their operation and his opinion of the validity of their ratings.

They tested 22 HD and ED panels under controlled conditions using trained viewers. Testing is blind so no owner bias in involved. This is as good as it gets in objective ratings of TVs.

It is understandable that you would defend your choice. But that is exactly what owner bias is all about. Almost as valid as the salesman telling the OP that Hitachi is better than Sony.

 

[Yong Chan]

Well, I paid $4.95 for a subscription to Consumer Reports after being called a cheapskate by someone. Very nice article, but the Hitachi reviewed was a Hitachi 42HDT51. The top plasma they reviewed was a Sony. Well, how does the KDE42-XS955 compare to the KDE42-XBR950. The XBR cost $3000 more. What do you guys think?

yc

 

[Arthur S]

Yong

I don't know what you saw on-line but my hard copy of the mag clearly identifies the Hitachi as 42HDX61.

The XS955 is a newer design than the XBR. If you need an OTA HD tuner built in, the XBR is worth considering. In stores, there could be a difference of $2,500 between them. On-line, the difference is more like $900.

Is the XBR worth $2,500 more than the XS955? No.