Hi guys, long time lurker here. I originally bought the 51f59a at the recommendation of people on this forum a few years ago and I'm glad I did as it's been the best TV I've owned to date. However lately the 51f59a has developed a S-curve defect in the picture that is very noticeable to me. I called Hitachi Support who said I would have to take it to a service center to get it fixed and then proceeded to tell me they didn't have a service center within 50 miles of my house and to check the yellow pages for one :rolleyes:

So I guess I need to fix this myself. After looking at the 110+ page f59 thread for a while it sounds like I need to do a DCAM convergence. I found the DIY guide which has instructions on how to do this but it says I need to "take off front TV cover" and press a small blue button. After inspecting the front of the TV I don't see an obvious way to remove the cover without damaging it. What am I missing? Is there anything else I should do while I have the cover off? I've had the TV for going on 3 years so I'm sure there's all kinds of dust in there.

Thanks in advance.

Look for screws on the back side of the front panel. If there are no screws it may pop off. Grab from the bottom edge and pull to un-snap. But if you're CAREFUL you can reach the button from the back on some chassis :)

Hi guys, long time lurker here. I originally bought the 51f59a at the recommendation of people on this forum a few years ago and I'm glad I did as it's been the best TV I've owned to date. However lately the 51f59a has developed a S-curve defect in the picture that is very noticeable to me. I called Hitachi Support who said I would have to take it to a service center to get it fixed and then proceeded to tell me they didn't have a service center within 50 miles of my house and to check the yellow pages for one :rolleyes:

So I guess I need to fix this myself. After looking at the 110+ page f59 thread for a while it sounds like I need to do a DCAM convergence. I found the DIY guide which has instructions on how to do this but it says I need to "take off front TV cover" and press a small blue button. After inspecting the front of the TV I don't see an obvious way to remove the cover without damaging it. What am I missing? Is there anything else I should do while I have the cover off? I've had the TV for going on 3 years so I'm sure there's all kinds of dust in there.

Thanks in advance.

You do not have to remove the front to enter DCAM. It can be done through the remote. I would recommend for you to get a service manual first.

Also, if the S curve is not very severe, this can actually be cured from the user menu, through magic focus and 117 point adjustment. This adjustment on Hitachis stick as if it was done from DCAM. If the curve is very severe, then you might try resolving it through DCAM.

Go into DCAM adjustment at your own risk:

On the remote:
Hold the [TV] key
Press [Aspect] key and release
Press [9] key and release
release [TV] key
press [Stop] key

The remote needs to be in DCU mode

Hold the [TV] key
Press [MENU] key and release
Press [INFO] key and release
release [TV] key

Now you can move using the numger 2,5 4 6 and adjust using the arrow keys.

The [MENU] key is used to remove/isolate the colors or toggle the screen through either grid view or actual video.

The three main colors to adjust can be access by pressing:
[INPUT] = Blue
[0] = Red
[INFO]= Green

By pressing [INPUT] 5 times you get 13x9 adjustment
[0] 5 times you get 7x5 adjustment

To save your changes you press [ASPECT] and then press it again to confirm that you want to save.

to bring the remote to normal mode:
Hold the [TV] key
Press [0] key and release
Press [1] key and release
the TV should turn off, it doesn't you can press the pwser button to turn it off.

If you go to the Hitachi F59 tweak thread you can find this information and more.

Thanks for the advice guys, the in-laws came to town so I haven't had tinker time with the F59 yet but I'll definitely follow your advice.

I use the magic focus every few weeks usually and I tried the 117 point adjustment but I dont see how it can fix the problem. The grid that comes up is tight and I can clearly see the curve. If I attempt to adjust it the picture gets messed up, I can adjust the red and blue but not green from that screen so even if I adjust the red and blue to compensate for the S-curve the green tube/gun is still off. Am I missing something?

Thanks for the advice guys, the in-laws came to town so I haven't had tinker time with the F59 yet but I'll definitely follow your advice.

I use the magic focus every few weeks usually and I tried the 117 point adjustment but I dont see how it can fix the problem. The grid that comes up is tight and I can clearly see the curve. If I attempt to adjust it the picture gets messed up, I can adjust the red and blue but not green from that screen so even if I adjust the red and blue to compensate for the S-curve the green tube/gun is still off. Am I missing something?

Has it been like this since new? or just gotten like this recently. The only way to adjust green is through DCAM and then blue and red get adjusted to green. Can you post a picture of the 117 point adjustment grid?