Pick one and Tell me WHY? (1 Viewer)

[Luke_Lemmings]

I'm in a debate to get either the
Toshiba 51HX83 or the
Hitachi S500.

I believe that the Toshiba costs less then the Hitachi.
I've heard of problems with the Toshiba about a vertical line and a brush aluminum look on the left hand side. Can someone elaborate on this as too where the verticle line is located and what it looks like. Also what does the brushed aluminum look like?
I've seen the Toshiba many times but have never noticed it.

I believe that the Hitachi is about $300-$400 CND more then the Toshiba. Is it worth the extra CHA-CHING?

 

[Michael TLV]

Greetings

The Toshiba cannot have its plexiglass removed without leaving an ugly mark. The image is better with out the glass ...

Toshiba has fewer service menu options than the Hitachi, but the 540P portion is slightly cleaner than the hitachi.

regards

 

[Craig Woodhall]

Luke,

i am in the same boat. apparently the S500 has better stretch modes than the F500 so that might be a solution for me. I talked to the same guy at FutureShop in Canada and he told me $2899 for the 51HX83 (list is $3299) and $3299 for the S500 ($3699 list)..

Craig

 

[Luke_Lemmings]

Buying at Futureshop is a good idea because of their liberal return policies but I find that you need to shop around first.

Go to a number of independent stores and haggle the price. Try and get the best price you can (which is usually around $400-$600 less then the Futureshop list price).

Then go back to Futureshop tell them that another place is offering this price, can you match it???

The majority of the time they will match it unless it's almost cost and they're not making anything. The Toshiba 51HX83 lists at Futureshop for $3199. A local independent store got the price down for me to $3028 (Inc. taxes 15%, Inc. shipping, Inc. initial Calibration). That would mean that the selling price the independent store is giving me is $2633.
Shipping is $50 at futureshop so if you subtract that the price is $2583. I wanted futureshop to price match but they said they would only do so if I bought the extended warrenty which costs $400. So it would seem that they aren't making very much off this TV selling at around $2600. But this goes to show that you can definitely get futureshop down to around $2700 easily on this price.

I'm going out right now to demo the Hitachi side by side with the Toshiba, I'll let everyone know how it turns out later tonight.

 

[Craig Woodhall]

Luke,

yes, let me know i would be very interested. could you try some 4:3 stuff and check out the stretch modes on the Hitachi.

Craig

 

[Jason F.]

I'm on the verge of a new T.V. and I think it is going to be the Hitachi. The Tosh just seems to have too many quality issues. I like the stretch modes on the Tosh but I guess that the S500 has improved in that area. And if you call Keith @Circuit City in Boca Raton he can hook you up with a Hitachi for 2300-2500 57S500 shipped!

 

[Craig Woodhall]

hey, i just got off the phone with Hitachi technical support and they told me that the stretch modes are the exact same in the S500 and the F500, i guess they should know. now that puts a wrinkle in my plan.

Craig

 

[LorenM]

Can anyone confirm that the stretch modes in the S500 and the F500 are the same?? Many other posts on this forum indicate that they are not.

Loren

 

[Craig Woodhall]

that is why i called Hitachi tech support and they said they are the exact same which makes sense. why would they put a bad stretch mode on a tv if they have a better one? they can still have better guns and internals in the better tv to justify a more expensive tv.

Craig

 

[LorenM]

I know it makes sense its just that everything I have heard/read until this post has said that the F500 has the old stretch modes which a lot of people didn't like.

Loren

 

[Luke_Lemmings]

Just got back from demoing the S500 and the HX83.

I've made up my mind....

I'm gonna go with the Toshiba 51HX83.

For a number of reasons:

1. I cannot detect the vertical line issue which was talked about. I asked about it and I was told that this issue was only a problem in a batch made earlier. I cannot confirm this as I have not contacted Toshiba about this. But like I said I could not detect the vertical line issue on the HX83.

2. Picture quality was extremely similar. I could not justify paying an extra $400-$500 more for this Hitachi. Yes the Hitachi did display a slightly better picture but from 10 feet away watching a 51" you could not tell the difference. Only up close minimal differences be seen.

3. The price I'm getting the Toshiba for cannot be beat. I'm paying about $40 above COST (I found out that cost for the 51HX83 is $2560 CND, at least according to the inventory computer at a particular store). This is just the most bang for the buck in my situation. 51HX83 for $3000 CND all inclusive with initial calibration.

These are the reasons I'm going with the Toshiba over the Hitachi. I just can't justify the extra money for the Hitachi. I've been to about 5 or 6 different retailers and not one of them could come close to the price I'm paying. I keep on getting asked "why is Home Theatre Center selling it so cheap to you for? They aren't making any money at that price."

I think that for the price I'm paying it just can't be beat.

 

[Craig Woodhall]

that is a great price, Luke. i think I will buy the Toshiba as well.. thanks for the info.

Craig