Here it is zoomed in on it...

Here's a poor picture that is affected by the flash of the camera a bit, but does show the "pattern" overlay while watching regular TV (no white wash)...

WOW. that is the king of all smudges. I would call someone right away. I got my set in Sept. I only have 2 small crop circles, been meaning to call. Let me know what happens. thats horrible and totally unacceptable

Ten 99,

That has to be one of THE most bizarre and obvious image defects yet! I agree that it looks part of a circuit board or something mechanical inside the set as if something has fallen in the path of the light engine.

Could it be any type of (temporary) image retention from anything static you've been viewing - for example part of a video game image that doesn't move while you're playing? I'm sure you've thought of that and ruled it out but I had to ask. Have you tried leaving the screen wipe up for a while to see if it has any positive effect? The manual says to leave it up for at least 10 minutes - I would try something closer to at least an hour to make sure. I don't think you're gonna get any arguments that you've got a problem unlike some other issues that some of us have where the service guy could decide that to him it doesn't look that bad. There should be no such controversy with this one. Good luck and let us know what the resolution is!

Hi Ten 99,

My guess is a decoder has failed for one of your LCD panels.

Call service !

bert

I have a friend who is looking for a 50-60" display. He doesn't want to pay more than about CA$6000 (about US$4500). My dealer recommended the Hitachi 50" LCD Monitor.

How would you rate the Hitachi against similar sets? What are the pluses and minuses? Are the problems described here typical of this unit, or are these isolated cases?

Thanks.

Originally posted by wired711
Ten 99,

Could it be any type of (temporary) image retention from anything static you've been viewing - for example part of a video game image that doesn't move while you're playing? I'm sure you've thought of that and ruled it out but I had to ask. Have you tried leaving the screen wipe up for a while to see if it has any positive effect? The manual says to leave it up for at least 10 minutes - I would try something closer to at least an hour to make sure. I don't think you're gonna get any arguments that you've got a problem unlike some other issues that some of us have where the service guy could decide that to him it doesn't look that bad. There should be no such controversy with this one. Good luck and let us know what the resolution is!

Well, I did get an XBox for Christmas, but I only have 3 games for it, and I haven't played any of them in almost two months. I just haven't had the extra time for it. I'm gonna try to get ahold of Hitachi today or tomorrow, and see what happens. I hope it doesn't take long to get resolved. It's rather annoying to look at.

Also, in case it matters at all (and it shouldn't), but some of you guys might want to know - it's a 50v500 (not an A model). It gets fed mostly Dishnetwork, from an 811 receiver via DVI, and from a Panasonic RP-82 DVD player via component. The XBox is also hooked up via component. I have a VCR that my wife uses for an occasional workout tape that is hooked up via composite - that's all.

I'll be sure to update when I know what the cause is, and actions taken to correct it.

Chris.

I had the beautiful Ho 50" delivered 9 days ago.

On day 2 I noticed a white circular presence in the middle of the screen (I don't think it's the same thing as the earlier inquiry during hockey games) which I notice when the screen goes to black (no, it's not the light in the room :)). I could live with it though, as it wasn't noticeable during programming.

However...

On day 8 my wife calls me at work and says the colors on the screen look "wacked". I ask her for details and she says everything looks pink or red. Uh oh I said, I read about this on the boards.

After not getting much work done the rest of the day, I get home to inspect. Yup, on all inputs.

After reading this thread, I've heard about someone saying the light engine needs to be replaced, but then later someone indicated that this was fixed through the service menu on another tech call.

Here's the thing. I'm not sure I care which is the real fix. Even if a tech comes out and fixes it, I don't see how I can have any peace of mind about it staying that way after reading about all the other "red push" problems on here.

I'm currently deciding whether to return it and just go regular CRT RP for now and look again in a couple years. I originally was going to purchase the Hit 57S500, but my wife talked me into the LCD after seeing it (and I had to agree after seeing the beautiful picture).

I'm seriously leaning more towards returning it though it is a beautiful box. Anyone care to talk me off the ledge with good reason? Will I have more peace of mind with a CRT RP for now? The only thing holding back the return is I'm very concerned about the glare/soft picture that seems to accompany the CRT's. And I'm not keen on removing the protective screen that I've seen laid out in other threads.

Anyone else grapple with the v500 vs. s500 issue?

Originally posted by HiDef Bob
I have a friend who is looking for a 50-60" display. He doesn't want to pay more than about CA$6000 (about US$4500). My dealer recommended the Hitachi 50" LCD Monitor.

How would you rate the Hitachi against similar sets? What are the pluses and minuses? Are the problems described here typical of this unit, or are these isolated cases?

Thanks.

Bob, it depends on some factors. I'm not sure of what these different types of sets are going for in Canada. I do know that some things you guys buy are a great bit more expensive, and some things are equal. There again, some of the nicer quality Canadian made electronics you guys get for a lot less than we pay (no duh, right?).

Personally, if my family and I weren't succeptable to seeing rainbows, or any of the other possible negatives associated with DLP sets, I'd have likely bought a Samsung DLP unit. It has (once calibrated) a really great picture, and an undeniably better contrast ratio. For me, I see some rainbows, but I'm mostly affected in that it makes me motion sick when watching DLP for a while. I haven't gotten this from watching some FP DLP units, only RP DLP units. I believe this is a color-wheel induced timing issue. Newer color wheels are on their way. Eventually, you'll even see some three chip solutions, just not for a few years (likely).

If DLP is not a solution, then LCD is your next batter up. Some would argue LCoS, but we're still not seeing great examples in this arena yet. The LCD sets from Hitachi and Sony are really very good. There are some glitches being reported, but these things will happen, and eventually these things will be worked out.

I wish I could stomache DLP, but I can't. The picture is VERY good though. LCD doesn't do me any harm, and it's picture isn't all too far behind.

Just my honest observations,

Chris

Oh, BTW, the LCD units are a bit cheaper. I think I've seen Samsung reducing some prices on their units though, and this will probably be met with price reductions from LCD makers to keep some sort of edge.

Exconn,

I would give in just yet. In fact, if you take a look at some of the Sony GW issue threads, its a wonder the sets even turn on! Like all new Techs there are going to be some new model issues. Don't forget, there are thousands of v500 owners who are NOT on this issue thread. LCD projection is new and untested, but I am convinced that HiT is the way to go. If all else fails, get a 43 or 50 in CRT RP and in a year or two get another LCD RP.

Originally posted by Uwish
Don't forget, there are thousands of v500 owners who are NOT on this issue thread. LCD projection is new and untested, but I am convinced that HiT is the way to go.

Thousands of owners without issues? I'm just not sure I believe that.

I figured like you that there were probably many happy owners without issues and that this was happening to a select few owners that I read about in this thread. But, when I have the same issues within days of ownership I start to wonder...

I have no doubt that Hit is a good company and will eventually remedy the issues, I just can't decide if I'm cut out to be one of the Guinea Pigs...

Because LCD RP is fairly new and the kinks are still being worked out, I may return it and go with the Hit CRT RP. I will decide this weekend (am really hoping to get more input from the gurus on this board first)...

Hi exConn,

If you take a look at my info on the left, you will see that I am listed as a "new member" but I registered in Nov 02. Seem strange?

I am one of the folks who "lurk" but seldom post AND I am a very satisfied Hit Ho V500 owner. My unit is nearly perfect (one stuck pixel) and the only think that I am concerned about is the screen door effect which is MUCH more pronounced on poor quality SD but hard for me to notice much with HD. I have not been doing any posting on the Hit threads because I have been reading them for a long time and have followed the advice of the experts like Manpig, Adhart and others. I plugged in some of the settings and have been so happy with the results that I have not tried DVE yet. Directv SD from shows that are broadcasting in HD (like CSI) are pretty decent. HD is stunning. SD from other sources e.g. ESPN News is ok to poor. I will be getting the HD Tivo soon so most of our viewing will be HD after that.

The reasons I went with the v500 are

-Buzzing problems of the Sony scared the sh** out of me
- Hit has a good reputation for reliability
- Works well in a room with lots of light
- Basically burn in free
- Wider viewing angle than CRT
- Much lighter and easier to handle packaging than CRT
- LOTS OF GOOD SUPPORT IN THIS FORUM. Don't have to solve all of the problems myself
- AND very importantly, don't have to readjust picture settings every 2-3 months like CRT.

Since I got my V500 a month or so I have been in "HD HELL" over getting the HD receiver (S360) working right and getting OTA to work properly.

My suggestion is that if you are not happy with your V500 get another one and enjoy. If you are looking for absolutely the best PQ, I think most (don't flame me please...) would agree in these forums that CRT is the best way to go. Some of us do think the advantages that I listed above are the right set for us.

I have not publicly thanked the Hit Hos for all of their help yet.

Thank you all. You have been very helpful and made my HDTV purchase and set up process much easier than if I had listened to those bozo salesmen in the stores.

Keep up the good work.

bert

Just as an update on my set and the "circuit pattern" that is on my screen, I called Hitachi Service and found out that if a set is purchased through Sears, then all service is done through sears, regardless of whether you bought the extended warranty or not. I think someone had mentioned this previously, but this is just to verify that fact.

I contacted Sears, and I have a technician scheduled to come out between 1p-5p on Monday. I hope this is remedied pretty quickly after he comes out.

Chris.

> Because LCD RP is fairly new and the kinks are still being worked out, I
> may return it and go with the Hit CRT RP.

All of the CRT rear-projectors I have seen (and I've seen a lot of
them) have fairly fuzzy pictures next to a LCD RP. For some reason,
LCD, DLP and LCOS projectors are able to display a significantly
sharper picture than a CRT set. For this reason I'd keep your
LCD set, unless there's something wrong with it....

By the way, I've owned a 50V500 for almost four months and so
far I've been very happy with it.

Mike G.

Originally posted by berth
Hi exConn,

If you take a look at my info on the left, you will see that I am listed as a "new member" but I registered in Nov 02. Seem strange?

I am one of the folks who "lurk" but seldom post AND I am a very satisfied Hit Ho V500 owner.
Keep up the good work.

bert

I would ditto that. I have been registered almost the same time and am posting due to the 50V500A. All the good posts I read lead me to buy the Hitachi vs. Sony. I am not rich to be able to buy a Sony. Not due to price but due to failure rate they HAD. I couldn't afford losing the only TV I have.

Turk

Thanks for the replies...

I went to CC today heavily leaning towards returning my v500 for a s500. I just couldn't do it. I stood there for a good half hour analyzing the sets and I just couldn't get past the glare/softness of the s500's compared to the clarity/viewing angle of the v500. The v500 really is beautiful when working properly. I'm gonna exchange my v500 for a new one and see what happens.

I don't expect much from CC, but surprisingly the sales guy knew what he was talking about and was extremely helpful. And they're going to bring over a new v500 tomorrow morning.

For now, I am enjoying the end of the Syracuse/Maryland game (although with a painfully pink/red hue). Wow, Alabama just knocked off Stanford...

haven't posted in the forum for a while, but mayb this info will help some folks.

I had the problems fourizonly, minus the rainbows. Definately had smudge & smears that went away after about 1 hour of viewing or a 30 minute screen wipe. I also had some discolored spot that could only be seen in dark scenes.

The tech the came to my house recommended to replace the lighting engine? Well the part was backordered, so 3 months later they came back and replaced the part (which he said cost $700 w/o the warranty) But that fixed all the problems I had w/ the TV. I read that fourzonly's tech recommeded a screen replacement, but I guess this also works.

I'm seeing a wierd intermittant flickering bar across the screen towards the bottom. This is on the DVI input from a computer and could be a problem with the computer, but I was wondering if anyone else has seen something similar? I've only got a few days left where I can make them replace it no questions asked...I don't know how the warranty will work for something supposedly not supported.

i have a 60v500a ordered. the delivery information from the place i ordered says "customer must plug in and power on unit."

i probably won't have the ability to connect it to my system, since this will involve a lot of moving and re-arranging of furniture, etc. but i am wondering what types of picture would you suggest to be able to see the various types of defects that plague hitachi lcd's (smudges, red push, etc.)?

i could pull the dvd player out of my current system (a panasonic s35 with progressive output) and hook it up to the new set easily enough. i was also thinking that i could pop in a compact flash card with some photographs.

basically, i'm asking for suggestions for what i should try to look at on the set as an "acceptance test" when it arrives. what type of image would be best for checking for the various failure modes that seem to affect the hitachi lcd's? (e.g., ice hockey?) also, what is the preferred dvd to use for testing/calibration these days? i have an old (> 5 yrs) video essentials disk - i assume that must have been superceded by now...

thanks.

Can anyone help me with a couple minor issues I've been having?

Issue #1 is that lately I've been getting a strange shadow when a show goes to a black screen, like a credit screen. For example, when watching Sopranos last night, the last image of the show sort of burned to the screen and a shadow like effect of that image was visible when the credits started to roll, which is a black screen. But as soon as another image comes on the screen, it wipes that shadow away. I've also noticed that it seems to only happen on HD feeds (DVI) and DVDs (component), but isn't noticeable on SD feeds (DVI), TiVo (S-video), or games (component), so I think I've ruled out the connections.

#2, the other night I noticed that a fly managed to find it's way into my set, providing for some pretty entertaining projections on the inside of the screen. But it brought up a question, how does one clean the inside of their set to remove dust and creatures that may have gotten in there? I just don't want to damage something by shoving a shopvac in there and just poking around.

Thanks for any help anyone can provide!

Update -- Well, the SEARS technician came out to my house yesterday. Really nice guy. He basically took a look at the problem, and didn't know what to make of it. He said that honestly mine was the first Hitachi LCD (or perhaps any brand LCD) rear projection he had to deal with. He'd been doing this (as I understood it) for a very long time, and was very familiar with CRT rear projection. He had to make some calls to what I assume to be HQ. In the end, they placed an order for a light engine. He said the engine was $1800, but I don't know how accurate that is. He also stated that at first the part number showed to be NLA (no longer available). I do have a 50v500 (not a 500a), and I don't know if this makes a difference since they supposedly have different parts in places.

Anyways, he said the part should come in and he'll be back out on Monday the 30th to put it in. Keeping my fingers crossed. I know better than to hold my breath.

Chris

Originally posted by Ten 99

Anyways, he said the part should come in and he'll be back out on Monday the 30th to put it in. Keeping my fingers crossed. I know better than to hold my breath.

Chris

Chris,

Sorry to bust your chops but you can wait a long time to see him show up on Monday the 30th since Monday is the 29th. :-)
Please keep us updated on it.

Originally posted by wired711
Turk,
These appear as darker purplish (reddish/magenta) colored blotches or patches close to the outsides of the screen. As per my post above, it sounds like what you are seeing could possibly be related to the same thing (can't say for sure though). If you get a chance, a really good test to see if it was just the broadcast you were watching or if it's always there is to check out a hockey game and see if the white of the ice is perfectly uniform white or if you can see the purplish blotches against the white background (easier to discern while the camera is panning which of course it does most of the time during a hockey game). The other thing you can do is from the Screen Saver Menu choose the Screen Wipe function which puts up a bright white background until you hit "exit" on the remote. If you get a chance to check this out, let me know what you find.

Wired711

I have done the screen wipe and I didn't see any pink spots. I have smudes though that I can only see on uniformely colored scenes but the screen wipe is to bright to look into for too long to see the smudges. Is that something that service needs to be called for?

Thanks,

Turk

Originally posted by exConn
I went to CC today heavily leaning towards returning my v500 for a s500. I just couldn't do it. I stood there for a good half hour analyzing the sets and I just couldn't get past the glare/softness of the s500's compared to the clarity/viewing angle of the v500. The v500 really is beautiful when working properly. I'm gonna exchange my v500 for a new one and see what happens.

So, I got the replacement v500 and of course the PQ looks beautiful again (well, Video Games, DVD and HD programming anyway) without the "pink/red push".

I noticed that this set, just like the one they replaced, both have the faint white circular presence in the middle of the screen closer to the top that I've seen others mention on here. Not enough to be a nuisance though.

What is a nuisance is that it appears my set is out of alignment. The picture goes ever so slightly "downhill" from left to right. It's noticeable on DVD's and Video Games especially. For example, when I have a Video Game up, the picture fills all the way to the top of the screen on the left side of the screen. But, when looking left to right across the top of the screen the picture goes "downhill" so that when you get to the right top of the screen the picture is about a quarter to half inch below the top of the screen leaving black, blank space. On a DVD with letterboxing you can tell that the top and bottom "lines" are not "level". On DVD's with an aspect that fills the screen or HD programming that fills the screen it is not even noticeable at all... until there is text on the screen.

Could this have happened when the set was delivered and brought up a flight of stairs? They had to put the set on a bit of an angle to get it to my 2nd floor. Is this a fairly easy fix for a tech to take care of? Just a quick alignment sort of thing? I probably won't get a tech soon or anything as it is fairly minor (and I would like to run the set for a while to be sure that it's a keeper) but I would like to eventually take care of it...

What color temperature did you do a screen wipe on? If I set my set to Standard color and do a wipe I can see pinkish coloring towards the outside of both edges of the screen (maybe 6-8 inches wide). If I set the color temp to High the pinkish tinge is hardly noticable.

Mine is a brand new set, my dealer gave me a new one after I had this and issues with greenish blacks. My thinking is that most of the Hitachi's have this reddish coloring. I am goint to check some other TVs out. My guess this is the Red Push??


Originally posted by Taucherguy

Wired711

I have done the screen wipe and I didn't see any pink spots. I have smudes though that I can only see on uniformely colored scenes but the screen wipe is to bright to look into for too long to see the smudges. Is that something that service needs to be called for?

Thanks,

Turk [/B]

Originally posted by jluksch
What color temperature did you do a screen wipe on? If I set my set to Standard color and do a wipe I can see pinkish coloring towards the outside of both edges of the screen (maybe 6-8 inches wide). If I set the color temp to High the pinkish tinge is hardly noticable.

Mine is a brand new set, my dealer gave me a new one after I had this and issues with greenish blacks. My thinking is that most of the Hitachi's have this reddish coloring. I am goint to check some other TVs out. My guess this is the Red Push?? Can you see the pinkish coloring while watching regular programs? Mine was evident when its against light color background, and the color was more like brownish.

According to Hitachi engineers, when you do a screen wipe the color should be uniform.

Hi, I have a question.

I've had my 60V500A for 2 weeks now. I do have the white hot spot in the center of my screen, but I don't really notice it anymore even during hockey so maybe I have gotten used to it.

but recently I started noticing the faint vertical lines during movement of the camera. Is this a screen door effect that I am seeing? I really notice it during sports. I really started noticing it during Basketball. Then I started seeing it on all HD broadcasts when there was camera movement. When the camera is still the picture is perfect. Does anyone else experiance this?

Thanks!

Originally posted by Jigen1975
Hi, I have a question.

I've had my 60V500A for 2 weeks now. I do have the white hot spot in the center of my screen, but I don't really notice it anymore even during hockey so maybe I have gotten used to it.

but recently I started noticing the faint vertical lines during movement of the camera. Is this a screen door effect that I am seeing? I really notice it during sports. I really started noticing it during Basketball. Then I started seeing it on all HD broadcasts when there was camera movement. When the camera is still the picture is perfect. Does anyone else experiance this?

Thanks!

It sounds to me that yes, what you are noticing is screen door effect (which as I understand it is the spacing between pixels). It's usually more noticeable on lighter backgrounds, when the camera is panning as you stated and worse the closer you are to the TV and/or how good your eye sight is ;) Something else could be going on with your particular set but from what you've described it sounds like SDE to me.

Hot Spot: Great that the hot spot doesn't bother you much during hockey games. Me either but the reddish blotchy thing out away from the very center of the screen toward the outsides does and like SDE, it's more noticeable during camera movement. Do you have this? Does it bother you? Another way to evaluate (without hockey or skiing) is to put up the screen wipe feature of the Screen Saver and look for it.

Originally posted by jluksch
What color temperature did you do a screen wipe on? If I set my set to Standard color and do a wipe I can see pinkish coloring towards the outside of both edges of the screen (maybe 6-8 inches wide). If I set the color temp to High the pinkish tinge is hardly noticable.

Mine is a brand new set, my dealer gave me a new one after I had this and issues with greenish blacks. My thinking is that most of the Hitachi's have this reddish coloring. I am goint to check some other TVs out. My guess this is the Red Push??

Not sure if you were asking me or someone else but for me, I also notice the pinkish thing on the "Normal" color temp which is what I've done all my tweaks against. I agree it's much less noticeable on High color temp but then everything is shaded to the blue side of the spectrum when set to high. I've got a technician looking into the issue with Hitachi now.

Is there anybody out there who had this issue and something specific has been done to fix it by a technician. My tech was asking and I realized that I'm not sure if anybody who acknowledged having the problem has reported back that it's fixed now and what was done to fix it. Anybody, please let us know!

Just a recap on my TV.

I have had the smuge issue both up and down the left and right side on the screen. They go away within an hour and I have never had anyone over that has said anything about them. I guess its cause I am looking for them.

So I finally decided I should call and get it looked at. I called Hitachi, they had no idea what I was talking about. Said they never heard of it... Ya well what problems ARE they aware of? I should have asked that.

Now I have been tracking this for awhile, My TV sits in front of a big window. Actually I think I have a pic...

http://www.tta89.net/TV1.JPG

The window is pretty drafty and I'm too lazy to order blinds or curtains. I love being a bachlor, it drives women nuts when they see something like a window with no curtains or blinds. :)

Ok back on topic...

So I have noticed that when its cold outside, the smudges seem to appear "stronger" than when its warmer out. We had some really cold days over the winter when it was around -10 out. The window is kinda drafty so I know the TV was cold and the smudges were VERY visable and take longer to go away.

As it warms up to the 30s and 40s they are still visable but go away alot faster.

I had a service call scheduled for last Saturday. I totally forgot about it, luckily I was outside working on my car when Sears showed up. Unlucky or me it was almost 70 degrees out and I had all the window open. The TV had been off for 24 hours and I threw in a couple DVDs with bright screens and sure enough no smudges at all. I was trying to explain what they were, I went online and showed him pictures of them that some of you had taken.

He seemed to think the "filter" needed to be cleaned.. :rolleyes:

I told him that most people have had the screen replaced and that fixes it. He told me he doesnt see how a screen could cause the smudges. I told him I'm not an engineer but it seemed to fix most peoples smudge issue.

He couldn't seem them, neither could I so he left without ordering anything.

I am 100% convinced they are temp dependant. I am curious to see if anyone has smudges on TVs that are in the middle of a room or away from a window in warm climates.

I guess I'll buy the extended warranty and call them back out next winter...

Shesh.... :rolleyes:

Originally posted by fourizonly
Can you see the pinkish coloring while watching regular programs? Mine was evident when its against light color background, and the color was more like brownish.

According to Hitachi engineers, when you do a screen wipe the color should be uniform.

I really only notice it against very light or white backgrounds. Since you say yours looks more brownish I'm wondering if you are using a High color temp. It looks more reddish, pinkish or magenta colored using the Normal color temp setting.

Originally posted by wired711
I really only notice it against very light or white backgrounds. Since you say yours looks more brownish I'm wondering if you are using a High color temp. It looks more reddish, pinkish or magenta colored using the Normal color temp setting.

What is "normal" color temp? Do you mean "standard"? I believe there is only High, Medium, Standard, and B/W.

Wired711, are you still running your contrast at 100% on your VX?

guys the best way to describe the SCREEN door effect is , You almost get the feeling your viewing the broadcast thru a thin piece of dirty, textured ice. so when there is movement on a bright scene like a basketball game or a hockey game, you see the images moving UNDERNEATH the textured screen which is standing still, so it really excentuates the feel of viewing your TV thru this thin piece of dirty and rugged plexiglass

Im sometimes annoyed by it but really dont find it an issue with HD movies , shows, ect. Seems to really be apparent with Sports....Im wondering if there is any way to get rid of the smudgie-ness or the dirty-ness of the screen?

I thought the screen door effect referred to being able to see the individual pixels, creating a grid like effect similar to that of a screen door. I've heard this term used in conjunction with projectors as well.

Originally posted by ggw2000
Wired711, are you still running your contrast at 100% on your VX?

Why do you ask? Were you wondering if I've noticed some advantage to a lower contrast or are you experiencing any issues yourself?

No, it's not 100% anymore. Currently it's at 85% purely as experimentation. Lowering the contrast as someone recently suggested hasn't yielded any improvement in lessening the magenta or reddish patches that are evident (as others have reported as well) when viewing white backgrounds or any other advantages I've been able to appreciate for that matter.

Originally posted by ggw2000
What is "normal" color temp? Do you mean "standard"? I believe there is only High, Medium, Standard, and B/W.

Couldn't remember if it was called "Normal" or "Standard" so then if it's labled "Standard" then that is what I meant.

Originally posted by EchoOfGecko
I thought the screen door effect referred to being able to see the individual pixels, creating a grid like effect similar to that of a screen door. I've heard this term used in conjunction with projectors as well.

Yep, that's pretty much how I understand it technically as well. It could be described in other ways (like the fore-mentioned "thru this thin piece of dirty and rugged plexiglass") but I think the moniker "Screen Door Effect" is fairly accurate in that it looks to me like viewing through a screen door. Everyone has their own impressions but I think we're all talking about the same effect.

T,

I agree with your empirical evidence on this issue. I have not noticed smudges until I turn my thermostat down at night, when the room is cool in the morning the smudges are definitely more pronounced and seem to take a long time to disappear. When I mean cool, I mean colder than room temp, has anyone seem anything in the guide regarding "normal operating temperatures"? I have scanned the users guide but have not focused on this hypothesis. It may be that under cooler than "normal" (ie room temp conditions) the LCD wafer may not behave uniformly and thus we see this manifested in the form of these smudges.

Sorry for the late update. The SEARS technician came out yesterday, and replaced the light engine. He said he misquoted the cost of the light engine as it was about $1080 not $1800.

At any rate, the procedure took about 3 hours to perform. Granted, some of this was due to it being his first time on this set. He was very cautious and took great care when working on it. I was very impressed with his care. I think after having done it once, he could get it done in 2 hours or possibly 2 1/4 hours next time.

Just thought some of you might like to know. At any rate, my set is back to normal now!

Chris

Recently purchased the 50VX500 from 6th Ave. Electronics. In the house for about two weeks, and just received the DVE cd but haven't run it yet.

Any thing to consider before running test cd?

SDE is a pain in the butt! I find it mostly present on SD that has been stretched to fit my 60VX but it is probably also there on 50". You can only stretch a signal made for a 19" TV so far ya know:D . For the most part I find that most to all of it can be gotten ridden of with a combination setting of contrast, brightness, and color. It is a must that brightness and color be set correctly using DVE or such. Contrast on a LCD is not very easy to set even using DVE (it is kind of subjective but can be adjusted close). Also contrast mode can effect it and I use "normal" for this setting. I also use "standard" for color temp. But every channel is different and in fact every show is even different within each channel. I adjust for the known good and put up with the lesser.;) . gerry

I have had a 60v500a for about a month now otb it was a very good looking picture so far.Although im begining to see something that im not sure i know how to explain but ill try.
In dark scenes im seeing some "greying out" i guess is the best way to describe it.i have played with BE settings and it has gotten a little better but hasnt completely solved it.Other than the dark or black problem the picture is fine.The set hasnt been profesionally calibrated,will that help?
Im not very tech savy and dont feel comfortable to go into the SM to "tweak" the set.Unless of course one of you kind ppl would let me know if you have had this similar prob. and have solved it through the SM ,and could give me a comprehensive listing on how to do so.?I`m assuming this is a BE problem?

So my set is being swapped out tomorrow. I've had some problems on the DVI port (which may be the computer's fault) and the set didn't seem to be new...after 1 week there was 180 hours on the lamp. :-( But I'm worried the replacement will have crop circles or worse. I have about 10 minutes to audition the set before they'll take off and if the replacement has problems they won't replace *that* one...they'll just send a tech. Any hints on how to audition it in 10 min?

I think we may have some confusion now as to what screen door effect is or isnt, because the last fella that posted about it, mentioned that it is most apparent in SD signals of which I completely disagree.....

I think I notice other distasteful things viewing SD signals like the similar feeling that I get when I stretch a streaming MPEG video twice its intended size on my computer just to see it larger but it looks terribly pixelated or just blotchy.......thats the kinda feeling I get with viewing SD signals on my Hitachi thru Cablevision Digital except for HBO which seems to look good even with SD signals, but trying to watch a sporting event in SD.....arggggh!!!


The Screen Door effect for me, is most noticeable when Im watching either a Hi Def Hockey game or Basketball game, I can almost see this slight textured grainyness thru the crisp hi res signal......the grainyness really has nothing to do with the actual picture quality but rather my eye focusing on the stationary textured screen as the actual broadcast underneath pans left to right. Hard to describe, but its definitely noticeable. On facial closeups with little camera panning, it looks fantastic again....but when your viewing action from further out and its moving from left to right, you'll start to see the actual grainyness or textureness of the screen in front of the image..........its almost as if you want to reach out and pull the screen off to get a smoother picture!

tell me what you think fellas

bump it baby....bump it till someone fixes it

Had service out to look at my V500A. Imagine Gerry from Toy Story, but not as deft with his hands.

He pretty much had no clue what he was looking at. He fussed with the User Menu settings, then looked at the service menu. He went out to his van, and came back 20 mins later with some more paperwork and looked at the service menu again. He mentioned that none of the numbers matched, something about all of my settings matching V500 yet I have a V500A. He went out to his van again and said he would have to go check the Hit. Service Bullitens, and order parts if needed.

So, no resolution today, and unfortunatly that probably means nothing this week because I have job interviews all week (the GOOD news of the post) and am not going to have time to schedule appointments to let them in.

Just to add to the SDE sub-thread: I did not notice *any* SDE until I got the limit clipping in the colors, I wonder if they are somehow related.

Oh, and I have 950 hours on my TV. Looks like we're averaging just over 12 hours a day. I'm glad I got the extended warranty (that covers bulb), I should get at least one replacement out of that (maybe two!)

Has anyone found a way to tame black crush on these sets?
Not very watchable during dark scenes...Hazy.grey shadow, ect...
I have tried all BE settings,including no BE at all and toned down brightness and contrast. Help !

Help! here is something new for the Hit 500! I have had one for 5 months, love it but a week ago it started to do something real wierd. I will not shut off all the time and turns on during the day and at night, with no one home, no dog, no cat, no kids, no neighbors anywere near...nothing...just likes to turn on. Also, we turn it off...it blinks, turns back on...we turn it off...blinks...stays off...turns on by its self...no gremlins, just likes to turn on. we face the remote away from the unit, take the remote to another room (at night) and wake to find the TV on.


any suggestions?

Couplini
This happened to me a week after I had the set as well.
It displayed this bizaar behavior for about a week before going back to normal.
People had a couple of theories for me. One was that this is a Hitachi kink that happens to the CRT sets as well, but once it does it for a bit, it won't do it again. (After that one week of weird behavior, it has been fine)
Another option was that there is an option in the menu that can be set to automatically turn on if it detects a signal via componant.
My theory was that the cable company was sending its updates to the box and the TV was sensing that and turning on, although i did not have the auto turn on function(i don't know the actual name of it) turned on.
Anyway, if it keeps up much longer, maybe call service. But mine stopped, and all is great.

Thank YOu Crazy, so you are telling me that you sent your gremlins to me, and i have to find some other victim to forward them to...hmmm....will look around the forum.

i have disconnected the set from AC hoping to find that it 'resets' what ever is causing the effect. i will also check to see if there is an auto on function, i did not know it exists, but will give it a try.

best wishes


thanks

What menu do I access to view the number of hours on my set's bulbs?
I have the 50v500a.

Thanks

Quickie question. I have a Panny progressive scan DVD hooked up through component wires to my Hitachi 50v500a. The picture looks great, but the TV says '480i' when I turn the DVD on. Should it not be '480p' with progressive scan?

re: how to get progressive scan on pansonic dvd. i just faced the same problem.

if your panasonic dvd is like mine, you'll find that there are two different places you need to go to select progressive scan output.

first in the general setup menu, you need to "enable" progressive output. (hit setup button the remote, go to the video settings, enable progressive scan).

second, you need to actually tell the player to generate progressive scan. this is done by using the onscreen menu system. hit "display" to bring up menus. when the left most item on the on-screen menu is active, you can hit the up/down arrow buttons to move around to different on-screen menus. one of the menus has a variety of video-related settings. among them is progressive-scan. so find that menu and turn it on and you're all set.

i used the panasonic player for over six months before i ever found those settings were there. of course, i didn't have an hdtv until about two weeks ago, so it didn't matter as much.

there are other things you can select from those menus, too, like whether it does 3:2 type ("film") conversion or the other kind ("regular"?). these make a noticable difference in quality on some discs for me.

Somewhere in this thread I posted about a problem I thought I had. Basically all images looked as if there was a lot of edge enhancement going on. I'm now convinced that it is an artifact of MPEG encoding. I was watching Ocean's Eleven on DVD in my PC. I see the same artifacts there that I see on my TV. I don't know if the edge enhancement is there to fool your eye for all sets or to overcome bandwidth limitations of CRT sets. Either way I don't like it.

Cheers

guys...it really doesnt matter if you enable the progressive scan features or not on these DVD players....the Hitachi will upconvert the 480i image anyways resulting the same picture....more or less

I see some of you are posting about pink and green color bleed. I posted the same problem a few weeks back. It was very noticable during a black and white film on DVD (480p, component) The film never appeared to be true black & black. There was always a green and pink haze lurking in every shot. At first I thought it was a poorly mastered disc. I tried a few others and sure enough- now that I'm aware of the problem, I see it constantly.

The set is only 4 months old and I have the extended warrenty from CC. I had a Hitachi service tech out to the apartment. I told him the problem and how it was much worse in black and white- I tried to play a b&w DVD and he said he needed to see it in color. So I played color and he claimed the picture looked fine.
To my eyes- the problem was still there- Unfortunately, it was the middle of the day- with sun glare it was difficult to view the image and clearly point out the discoloration. Needless to say, I felt like the guy whose car makes a strange sound that magically disappears as soon as you drive it back to the dealer...."sound? what sound?"

What really bugs me is- I did ask if he would at least professionally calibrate the set. (He was there- I felt I should get something for my warrenty $) He again states- "there nothing wrong with the picture- the best thing to do is leave it alone- have a nice day"- and he left. I must admit- I felt foolish. Perhaps I was judging the picture quality to the anal extreme. And besides, the sun is out- it's a beautiful day- I should get out and enjoy.

after scrolling the last few posts- I see some of you suggest the screen wipe- (doh!)
I will try this as soon as I get home.

good to know I'm not alone.

bokes, it sounds to me like you would benefit from an ISF calibration. I bet your grey scale is off. What temperature setting are you using?

I am using the standard temp setting. How much would it cost for an ISF calibration? Even though the Hitachi service didn't see the problem- Shouldn't he have just done this for me by default? I'll make another call and specifically request a calibration.
thanks.

I picked up my 60v500a about ten days ago and have since noticed a red blob about the size of a golf ball in the uppper right hand portion of the screen. The weird thing is this blob jumps around, moving 1-2" to the left of where it normally resides. I say jump because it doesn't transition slowly from one position to the next. I had the tech out today to look at it. He didn't know what it was and called Hitachi. They suggested that there is dust inside or to replace the light engine. I haven't noticed any dead pixels or other problems with the set. Am I opening up another can of worms putting in a new light engine? The blob is only visisble during dark portions of 1.78 video or when the signal is letterboxed.

That's probably what it is. Many of us Ho's have seen the dreaded crop circles, or other funny named problems. Most of these are what you are describing. Dust that has found it's way onto the light path for that particular LCD panel (Red, Green, or Blue). Usually they don't move around. I'm betting that given enough time, this one would probably find a place and sit still. I'm not sure what the fix would be, short of replacing the light engine or the entire set (which also is replacing the light engine, :) ). These things are generally out of focus, and not hugely noticeable except when on a black or white screen, depending on the offending colored panel.

I would probably suggest that you have them just replace the set (if they are available), if not then replace the light engine. Or, if they want to replace the light engine first, I would allow them to do that too. It's really not that big of a deal for them to do. They do have to take the set apart via about a million screws, but it's not that insane. If you have the ability to watch them do it, you'll learn a lot about what's on the inside of the set when it happens.

Well, up until Monday I was gloating that my 50v500 was free of any of the problems I have seen on this forum over the last five-six months.

Not any more!

I turned the TV off, came back in five minutes and turned it back on, and the picture went from be-a-yoo-tee-ful to pinkish on all inputs.

Fiddled with menus, reset to factory defaults - no change.

I've got the extended warranty from Sears, so I am calling today. We'll see how it goes...

Check your cables too. I had a similar issue with a defective set of Monster cables, changed them and it looked perfect again!

Aressa,

Any news on your situation with your unit? Just wondering if you contacted tech about your issues.

Thanks for the info Chris. The tech came out and replaced the light engine. It was his first time doing it and took right about 2.5 hours. The spot is gone now but, now the picture doesn't seem as sharp and as clear as it was before the light engine swap. One thing I found peculiar was that the tech said they haven't had to swap out the light engine and would have to order the part. Come to find out they already had one sitting around. Could the duller picture be from an old version light engine? Should I have them order a different one and do another swap?

I don't think so. I was experiencing a problem where my higher IRE levels were crushing together. Probably everything from about 70 IRE on up just sort of blended into one bright section. I finally found the section of the Service Menu where this could be adjusted. I made the adjustment and brought the contrast and brightness settings in the service menu to give me the broadest spectrum I've head yet. I don't believe it was this good for contrast and brightness even before I had any problems and before my light engine replacement.

As for sharpness, I'm not sure what could be causing this. Do you think that there's any placebic effect here -- like you're just imagineing it? Or do you have some specific media that you've used to know that it's not as sharp? Please don't take this Q in the wrong way. I'm not insinuating that it's all in your head, just want clarification on what specifically you're seeing that leads you to this conclusion.

I was noticing with my set, that it seemed my bright scenes just were blending together, but I couldn't put a finger on it. I used my Digital Video Essentials to bring up the reverse gray ramp pattern and could clearly see where my problem was.

It's most apparent when I am watching HD. The images on DiscoveryHD and INHD are not as clear anymore. They still look good, but more like DVD quality. Maybe I just need to spend some more time with the DVE disc.

How did you get to the service menu? Do you know how to adjust for the overscan pattern on DVE? I think I have the same problem with the bright scenes blending in together.

I just had the light engine replaced in my set. It took 2 guy 2.5 hours to do. Everytime I came in the room there were more parts off the set. I was betting the the set would never work again. I was wrong. they turned it on and it looked great. Sears cave me a slip that said the repair was valued at $2289.00. Glad I did not have to pay for it.

Sears did mine also. Technician that I had was very very very competent. My faith in their work for the price of the warranty is WELL worth it.

eestudent -- I'll send you a Private Message with some information in it.

Just had the light engine replaced on my TV.

I don't even know what to say right now.


PQ is 1000x worse, clipping is more pronounced, and there's a bright blue stuck pixel in the middle of the screen, dead center.

If by clipping, you mean white / black crush, PM me and I can give you instructions on how to fix that. I can't help you with the stuck pixel. I would take that up with the service people. Of course you may need to redial in your set with DVE or Avia.

It may be white/black crush, I would not mind seeing the instructions on how to fix that, but this is more of a banding issue in the colors.

Using a screen-capture from the DVD, I did this in Photoshop, this is EXACTLY what my TV is doing, along with a great deal more noise that seems to happen in alternating bands of color.

(By the way, I did this in Photoshop by adjusting the color curves: Image -> Adjustments -> Curves... Then turning the straight-line transfer function into "steps")

Edit to add: Here are a couple more made from high-resolution DVD captures. Yes, my TV does look like this. Before AND After the Light Engine swap.

http://www.angrykitten.com/misc/nemo_banding_01.jpg
http://www.angrykitten.com/misc/nemo_banding_02.jpg

Oh my...

That's horrible. I need more information. This may take several steps to figure out.

Is this on all sources, or just DVD? What type of DVD player are you using, and what type of connection do you have between the DVD player and the TV?

Has your TV always done this? Was the TV purchased new? Where did you purchase the TV from? What did the service Tech say when he replaced the light engine and saw that the picture was that lame?

One more quick question in this phase -- If this is only happening on DVD, have you tried to change the input on the TV? For example, if you are using a component input from DVD player into Component input #2, have you tried moving the cables over to input #1?

I do most of my trouble shooting on the process of elimination.

Originally posted by Ten 99
Is this on all sources, or just DVD? What type of DVD player are you using, and what type of connection do you have between the DVD player and the TV?
* All sources.
* Toshiba SD-K730 OR XBox
* Component Video AND S-Video AND Composite. All Inputs.

Has your TV always done this? Was the TV purchased new? Where did you purchase the TV from? What did the service Tech say when he replaced the light engine and saw that the picture was that lame?
* No, it worked fine when I bought it. The problem started happening when I first posted about it in this thread (back a page or two).
* Purchased new from Video Only in Bellevue WA. January 25th, 2004.
* The Tech honestly can not see the problem. When he replaced the light engine the picture was perfect, my wife signed the paperwork, I got home 10 minutes later (after the TV had warmed back up) and the picture was worse than before the engine was changed.

One more quick question in this phase -- If this is only happening on DVD, have you tried to change the input on the TV? For example, if you are using a component input from DVD player into Component input #2, have you tried moving the cables over to input #1?

* As above: I've tried two different DVD players on all of the inputs.
* HDTV via Comcast Digital cable exhibits the problem. SDTV via Comcast Digital cable exhibits the problem. The Sopranos on HBODT is nearly unwatchable due to the banding which makes much of the low-lit fleshtones go "flat", but some shows such as tropical rainforest shows are not as bad (because of the ranges of light and color used). I use Finding Nemo to demonstrate the problem due to the dramatic nature of the picture. One other dramatic demonstration is when there are low-lit flesh-tones especially in a "club" atmosphere with red lighting, the skintone shadows clip to pure magenta (I'll try to photoshop up a demonstration of that).


I'm playing with a few images right now for examples. Here's my process: Save Image to TiVo HMO server, view Image with TiVo on 50V500. Using photoshop, adjust color curves to approximate what is on the screen. The only reason I am not taking photos of my screen is that I do not have a camera that will image the screen properly. Source images are from DVDs I own and are reproducable.

http://www.angrykitten.com/misc/alienres_banding_00.jpg

Wow.

Was this a Hitachi Service Tech, or one from the store you bought it from? I wanted to say that it wasn't a light engine problem, but it is strange that the problem went away after being replaced, then reappeared.

It still might not be due to the light engine. It might be a processor before the light engine. I would definitely get that tech back out there, and tell that son of a gun that it needed to be fixed correctly. I think that if they don't get it fixed on the second try, that they just need to replace it with a brand new set. They can take that one back and work on it on their time. In the interim, you're w/o a decent TV.

Sorry that you're having to go through this.

Yeah... this was an Authorized Hitachi Service tech (from Teletron in North Seattle), and yeah, I had a feeling from the beginning that this was not a light-engine problem. I'm an EE and I work with mixed digital-analog systems all day, the Light Engine would be the last thing I would try to blame this problem on (it's clearly a problem in a Analog->Digital step of the process, not a Digital->LCD step). They did not even tell us (or my wife) that they were replacing it, they just left after looking at it the first time and I ended up calling them a week and a half later to see what the hell was going on, that's when they told me that they had a light-engine on order.

I have never tested the problem on cold start (to see if the picture is clear when the TV is cold). Reason being is that the TV is always on, I've averaged 12 hours a day (by the lamp timer) since I've had the TV; my wife is the one that turns on the TV in the morning when she and my son get up, and we only turn it off if we're going to be gone longer than two hours (I know it's harder on the lamp to re-arc it than to just leave it on for an hour or so).

I described the Service Tech in a previous post as "Gerry from Toy Story 2, but lacking the deft hands". He's probably been working on tubes since the 50's; he also seems to treat my wife with the 50's attitude that she does not know what she is talking about when she is describing the problem. He has only wanted to look at Live TV (news or sports, etc) to try to see the problem and ignores the DVD and/or shows recorded on the TiVo that show the problem. My wife showed him a recorded show that had magenta banding around people (we could see their aura!) and he said it was just "shadows from the recording".... um... which recording are you talking about? The Digital MPEG recording on TiVo from the Comcast Digital Cable Channel? (I know what broadcast-interference shadows look like on analog cable channels, thank you.)

He's coming out next Tuesday, I'm going to try to be there if I can sneak away from work.

The thing I find really strange is that it would work great until the set warms up or sort of "burns in" the new LE. You would think that if it wasn't the LE, then simply replacing it would not yield any improvement, but it did even if it was only for 10 min or some other short time period. So what effect does installing the new LE have on the processing? and why would the image be good and then return to crap after?

In afew other post I have read similar issues. Set is great for x time THEN image starts to degrade, replace LE and cycle continues..this is definitely strange and an issue that needs to be addressed.

I think there's every bit the possibility (as hinted to above by aressa) that this might be a heat issue. I don't think it is a LE issue. I'm wondering if once the set warms up, there is a loose contact or solder point somewhere on a circuit that causes this?

I know that a lot of the different issues that have come up have been attributed to the LE, and Hitachi reps may automatically try this as a shotgun effect to see if they can cure the problem here. I think this is a problem in other circuitry though, just like aressa pointed out. I really think you'll be doing yourself a big favor by trying to be there when the Tech comes out. Not that your wife isn't capable, but this dude might not interface well with ladies, and it might be better for you to be there and "talk tech" with him, or perhaps even above him. ;)

I hope that you get this squared away soon.

Just woke up (yawn) and fired up the TV and checked the issues at cold-start. They are all there. Also there is an *insane* amount of noise in the image, I mentioned that in my first post after the repair, but it is just ridiculous when I really look at it (and of course I noticed another stuck pixel, both of them are on green).

I'm going to try to be here Tuesday, I want to deal with this guy face-to-face.

I've had my 50V500 since about September. It just know went crapola on me. Its the lamp. I was wondering if any of you wished you had purchased a different set? I considering getting a DLP set.

Any opinions would be greatly appreciated.

I have the 50V500 Hitachi set. My lamp just recently burned out. Could this have happened because my set is set on the ground? I didn't buy the TV stand since its about $500! Since the set was lying on the carpet, could there have been a build up of heat the eventually burned out my bulb? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance

Hey, is there anybody out there?

It's getting harder to breathe.

Well, the Sears guy came out and looked at my V500. He looked at the lamp and said it looked just fine. All of the lights on the front of the set started blinking. The Lamp light stayed on.

This was his first call on a Hitachi 50V500. All of a sudden I am not inspired.

Should I take all of this silence as a no confidence in 50V500?

I have the upmost confidence in my 50v500. So far I have had no real issues with it except for some smudges that go away after the unit has warmed up. Fan noise and lamp's are in all RP tv's and I have seen another post about the lamp burning out after only a month or so. Well, you get it replaced and it should last about 8 to 10 thousand hours of viewing pleasure!!

All right a reply! Yes, thank you. Just got my 50V500 set up with my surround sound, xbox, ps2, and dvd player along with my tv stand. I think its a work of art. now if it can only get fixed.

Well I had my 60V500 ISF'd this past weekend and discovered it has a fairly serious convergence issue.I hope this can be adjusted,because other than this,the Tv is flawless and calibrated.When I first got it,I used Avia to get it setup,but I didn't consider going into the grid test patterns to check convergence-didn't think it was an issue.Folks,if you haven't checked your convergence you might want to.

Can't get to the Hitachi site for some reason. Any of you 50v500 owners know the correct dimensions of the set? What about set plus stand?

I just happen to have the PDF owners manual on my desktop here at work. :)

*Edit* it doen't say anything about the stand though.

Height - 35 1/2" (901mm)
Width - 54 5/8" (1387mm)
Depth - 16 3/8" (415mm)
Weight - 119lbs (54.2kg)

50v500

Height 901mm (35.5 ")

Width 1387mm (54 5/8 ")

Depth 415 mm (16 3/8")

These are for the unit itself. Not including the stand. I can not find the dimensions of the stand right now.

E,

U must have just beaten my post :)

:cool:

Had a different tech come out and look at my TV. He seemed to know what he was looking at, and proved that it could not be fixed with menu adjustments.

My wife said he acted like he had seen it before, and is ordering a "new Block", 7-9 working days. I'm going to try and call and bitch, probably tomorrow to give him a chance to get his report back to the home base.

Also, he looked and saw 12 stuck pixels, I have not even tried to count DEAD pixels yet. Does anyone know the warranty policy for the limit of these stuck/deads for replacement of the light engine? I am almost sure my old light engine was pristine, I never noticed a single pixel out of place.

I have heard from other posts in this forum that a minimum of 6 pixels is the magic number before they will do any work on it.

O.k. I have had three service techs out to look at this problem. None of them would perform an ISF calibration. They claimed it would not make the picture any better. They claimed my television was perfect and could not see the problem. One tech told me Black and white DVD compression is not that good and when you look at it on a large LCD- that's what you get.

My question- does this screen shot look right?

To me: The right side of the screen tends to cast a red/pink haze while the left leans toward a green haze. The problem is sometimes there on a color image as well but you need to really look for it. I have tried the same DVD's on a CRT monitor and they look solid- no color bleed. Is it a large screen, LCD issue? I just can't seem to get a solid black and white image with this television. Thanks.

Originally posted by bokes
O.k. I have had three service techs out to look at this problem. None of them would perform an ISF calibration. They claimed it would not make the picture any better. They claimed my television was perfect and could not see the problem. One tech told me Black and white DVD compression is not that good and when you look at it on a large LCD- that's what you get.

My question- does this screen shot look right?

To me: The right side of the screen tends to cast a red/pink haze while the left leans toward a green haze. The problem is sometimes there on a color image as well but you need to really look for it. I have tried the same DVD's on a CRT monitor and they look solid- no color bleed. Is it a large screen, LCD issue? I just can't seem to get a solid black and white image with this television. Thanks.

bokes,

Goto screen saver and do a screen wipe. If the red and green haze are visible on the white background, the light engine needs to be replaced. My last set had the reddish/brown haze on both sides of the screen.

I just called Teletron (service) and asked what they were going to do with my TV. They told me that they placed an order for another Light Engine. :confused: They said that's all they can do, just follow what Hitachi Tech Support suggests, anything else and I have to call Hitachi.

So, I called Hitachi and asked what the hell I can do about this, and they said that the best they can do is get the part expidited to Teletron. Teletron is working the Hitachi Tech Support, so they are following standard procedure.

I asked what it would take to get a new TV and they said that is out of the question. The warranty covers parts and labor for repair, not for replacement. :rolleyes:


So, there I am. Update in 7-9 businesss days, I guess.

Wow, that was quick. I called late Sunday night. The tech guy from Sears came down on Monday afternoon and had to consult some website of techies. He called on Tuesday morning and said that he had to replace the lamp (even though the set indicated a lamp replacement was needed) and that it would be a couple of days. Its Wednesday and my HITACHI 50V500 is up and running. He came by at 2:30 and installed the lamp. YEE-HAH! The wife is watching Big Fish right now.

The 50V500 gods must be similing down on me.
:D

yes- the pink/green haze is present when I screen wipe. It's faint- but it's there. CC is still claiming it's a DVD issue and there is nothing that can be done.

I have adjusted the color temp- the "black and white" temp is a joke- it turns everything brown. Medium seems to get the picture close to true Black and white- but there is still a color bleed. I have also tried turning color all the way down in user menu- does nothing. I have played DVD's through on DVI/Component and VHS Composite.

I guess my question is- has anyone tried to view a Black & White film with this unit? And do you get a faint pink/green cast against light backgrounds?

(I returned to my local CC- where I bought the set- tried to get them to play a black and white film on the demo and they refused.)

I watched Schindler's List on my 50v500 on the black / white setting and it looked amazing. I can't say that I saw and colour pushes.

Not really an "issue" in terms of something wrong with the set, but I was just wondering.... When watching HD movies, I get pixellation sometimes, flickering white light (often lightning) does it the worst.. sometimes explosions, sometimes just really fast moving action.

I was just wondering if this is an issue with the tv processor not being fast enough to handle it, or if it's a bandwidth issue.

is there any way to make it better?

Whew, hard to get through the entire thread. One question however, anyone see these problems with the vx500?

Originally posted by bloodzombie
Not really an "issue" in terms of something wrong with the set, but I was just wondering.... When watching HD movies, I get pixellation sometimes, flickering white light (often lightning) does it the worst.. sometimes explosions, sometimes just really fast moving action.

I was just wondering if this is an issue with the tv processor not being fast enough to handle it, or if it's a bandwidth issue.

is there any way to make it better?

Pixellation is a compressor/bandwidth issue not a receiver/decoder issue. Tends to be worse with interlaced sources. Also when less than the full 19.2 Mbits are used as in the case of many public television stations.

Originally posted by china
Whew, hard to get through the entire thread. One question however, anyone see these problems with the vx500?

Some of the problems discussed here have been experienced by owners of both "v" and "vx' sets. The only real difference between the "v' and the "vx" (Director's series) is that the Director's series sets have a darker screen, slightly different cabinet color and a second simplified remote control.

Thanks wired 711. Do you think the vx is worth the extra money?

It's really hard to know if the darker tinted screen on the "vx" does much for the blacks or general contrast without doing a side-by-side comparison. When we were looking we checked out a "v" and "vx" on different days. Both looked good to us. We found the "vx" at a home theater custom shop where they spent a lot of time with us. They were very knowledgeable and we liked the extra time they spent with us on several visits. They also carried the "v" but we decided that for the few hundred dollar difference (if I remember right) we'd take a chance on "vx" in case PQ is better with the darker tinted screen. Also we liked the slightly darker cabinet. The extra remote is not much of a selling point for me. It's handy if you have folks staying over and don't want them to be intimidated with the full remote.

In the end, if I'm pressed to say if the "vx" is worth it I would have to say probably not - unless you find that the differences above are important to you. Note that very few dealers carry the "vx" - they seem to be mostly specialty AV shops. I think you can find out which ones have it in your state on the Hitachi web site.

All,

I have just had the Tech out to look at the smudge issue and yes he did see it. He also indicated he spoke with the Hitachi Canada rep who told him there are still NO known issues with this set. But, I did make a believer out of my tech as he saw the smudges first hand and assured me Hitachi moves swiftly when a known issue has been identified. Though, all of us have known about this issue since we first powered up our units. He initially assumed it was a LE problem but as the set warmed up and the smudges began to fade his opinion changed to something wrong with the screen. I guess now only time will tell.

EDIT: Tech just contacted me and told me they are ordering a new screen.

Please keep us posted on the smudge repair.

Originally posted by Uwish
All,

I have just had the Tech out to look at the smudge issue and yes he did see it. He also indicated he spoke with the Hitachi Canada rep who told him there are still NO known issues with this set. But, I did make a believer out of my tech as he saw the smudges first hand and assured me Hitachi moves swiftly when a known issue has been identified. Though, all of us have known about this issue since we first powered up our units. He initially assumed it was a LE problem but as the set warmed up and the smudges began to fade his opinion changed to something wrong with the screen. I guess now only time will tell.

EDIT: Tech just contacted me and told me they are ordering a new screen. Yes, the new screen will solve the smudge issue because I saw it on Hitachi's service bulletin. Apparently, they made some modification to the new screen.

Tech is coming out with a new (3rd) light engine for me this afternoon...

<crossing fingers>

Is there a link you can post on the Hitachi tech BBS? I have tried different web searches and haven't been able to find anything

Originally posted by Uwish
Is there a link you can post on the Hitachi tech BBS? I have tried different web searches and haven't been able to find anything Sorry I don't have the link. The website can only be accessed by Sears tech. The tech had the service bulletin in hand when he made the service call. It showed two smudge pictures and part number for the new screen. Hitachi is well aware of the problem.

Well, my 3rd light engine is in, and I think I am done getting it replaced.

It looked fine when I came home last night, kind of, still a bit of occasional banding. I then brought up a couple test-patterns and adjusted the brightness and contrast a bit and tweaked the color balance and sure enough, bad black clipping.

So, I'm thinking now that I could just be experiencing the "black crush" that so many people have talked about with these TVs. I went through and played with all of the enhancement settings (Black level enhancement, contrast mode, etc) and got it to a point that the clipping is much less dramatic and colors are still vibrant, etc.

I think my original problem was that I may have just noticed what was already there, but I would not be able to really make that decision without sitting down with someone else's Hit. I'm going to let this go for a while and see how it goes. I need to catch The Sopranos in HDTV to make the real decision, that was almost unwatchable before.

I'll update the thread if I decide to have it looked at again.

Aressa,

What test patterns are you using? Do you have DVE (Digital Video Essentials)? If so, use the reverse gray ramps pattern. Using this test pattern, you'll see the highest (100) IRE level to the lowest (0) IRE level. There will be gradient from highest to lowest and lowest to highest, and there will also be stepped ramps. By looking at the stepped ramps, and counting from the middle ramp towards to darkest IRE levels, how many distinctly different ramps are you seeing? Also, which DVD player are you using and via what type of connection? The reason I'm asking is because some DVD players don't support blacker than black, and obviously you can't do blacker than black via S-Video either. Also, some DVI equipped players exhibit clipping when using the DVI connection.

Please let me know how many ramps, and then I will have a suggestion for you (possibly) on a service menu adjustment you might wan to make.

Chris.

I have had the 60v500 for 5 months and love it. My first problem ......the bulb went last night. This seems pretty premature, anyway, I need a source for replacement (LC37 Lamp assembly) .
Does anybody have a source for the bulb? Not sears, a internet purchase source.
I need it quickly and I am definitely in HDTV withdrawal.
Thanks
Dave In Orlando

Anyone have or hear of any problems with ghosting? And possible fixes? I just noticed the appearance of pretty bad ghosting last week (I've owned the set for about 4 mos now and it's never been a problem before). I called the techs and they came and looked at it today.

They want to bring it in for a light engine replacement, but I thought I read somewhere (and now I can't find it) that there's a possible service menu fix available for ghosting on the Hitachi.

Anyone heard of it and can point me in the right direction? TiA.

Originally posted by proteus999
I have had the 60v500 for 5 months and love it. My first problem ......the bulb went last night. This seems pretty premature, anyway, I need a source for replacement (LC37 Lamp assembly) .
Does anybody have a source for the bulb? Not sears, a internet purchase source.
I need it quickly and I am definitely in HDTV withdrawal.
Thanks
Dave In Orlando

I would hope this would be covered under warranty even though it's a replaceable part, 5 months is no time. They (service techs) can tell how many hours are on your tv from the service menu.

-Spike

Short Update:

I mentioned that I was going to hold off on calling service for a while because I was sick of having my Light Engine replaced. Well, Hitachi just called me, not Teletron.

"Was your issue resolved to your satisfaction?"
"Nope. And since this is my 3rd light engine, I doubt replacing that is going to help any more."
"I agree. I'll escalate this to Hitachi Service and call you back."

Oh, and Ten99 - I'm looking at getting a better test-suite disk (DVE), I have a crappy old one that does not have as many good tests, especially contrast/pluge tests. (I have DVD Spectacular... got it when I got my first DVD player.)

aressa,

here you go:

DVE (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00005PJ70/qid=1085702610/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-2697019-2632769?v=glance&s=dvd)

quick, easy, to your door ...

If you get the new DVE, let me know. Once you do, I can recommend a series of a few tweaks in the SM that you might try to improve your blacks / whites levels.

I'll save my pennies... even $20 going towards the entertainment system is out of the "critical" budget right now. It's the first thing on my list when I have a new job (getting laid off 8/13).

I *do* have a friend with a NetFlix account.........

Until then... we wait for Hitachi.

All,

Just been contacted by our local Cactus service rep who indicated my new screen was in. I have scheduled an install date of Tue, June 15th. Hopefully this will be the last of the smudges.

All,

My screen was replaced today. The new LCD is quite a bit thinner than the original which confirms there is a manufacture modification change on the screens. Installation was relatively painless however, since the new screens are about half the thickness, there is a small gap around the set face and the screen (estimate about 5 mm). It isn't noticeable unless you are looking for it but my concern is dust etc getting inside so the fix I was happy with but I am still not totally satisfied. The technicians are going to contact Hitachi and find out if there is a "new" mod for the screen mounts. So even though it appears to be fixed, there is still work needed.

Originally posted by Uwish
All,

My screen was replaced today. The new LCD is quite a bit thinner than the original which confirms there is a manufacture modification change on the screens.

Hi Uwish,

I have a new screen on order for my 60vx500. The set was delivered with a 5 inch scratch on the bottom left side of the screen. Fortunately we don't notice it most of the time but replacing it seemed like the right thing to do. We've had the set since February but the replacement order was mishandled which is why we don't have it yet.

I'm concerned and confused about your above comment. I didn't know there was a redesign on the LCD. If in fact the new LCD is thinner than the original I can't understand why this at all necessitate a redisign of the front screen by making it thinner also? I mean the two parts (LCD/Light Engine and Front Screen) are two completely different areas of the set and so I can't see the connection between the LCD being thinner and the front screen having to be thinner. Maybe I don't understand what you are really saying. Anyway, we won't be happy if the replacement screen doesn't fit exactly as the old one.

Wired,

There are known issues with the LCD screen, in my case (and many others) when the set was first powered up I could see smudging on the left and right sides. As the set warmed up the smudges slowly faded. Hitachi recommended replacing the LCD screen which is actually just one piece of Laminated LCD and a special front cover. The one they removed from my set was quite a bit thicker than the replacement. The technician indicated to me that this is because Hit has addressed the problem with the screen(s) and smudging and has a new manufacture design fix for it is a smaller laminate layer and hence, a thinner LCD screen. Now all they need to do is fix the small gap as the new screen does not fit perfectly in the case.

"I mean the two parts (LCD/Light Engine and Front Screen) are two completely different areas of the set and so I can't see the connection between the LCD being thinner and the front screen having to be thinner. "

The front screen and the LCD screen are the same thing, it is one peice of laminate material. Now because the LCD is thinner, there is a small gap between the screen and the supporting housing. The case is not designed to have this half thickness LCD screen, there must now also be a mod for its correct placement.

EDIT: when I say "special front cover" I mean the dark anti-reflective coating on the LCD wafer, not the external housing that supports the actual screen itself. The LCD is just a very thin layer of extremely flexible material.

Uwish,

Thanks for that information. I really didn't realize that the LCD itself was basically part of the front screen of the TV. Since the front screen of our TV has a scratch and they are replacing it with a new screen does it sound to you like we're going to have this gap issue also or maybe it depends on if they replacing it with the redisigned part or the old one. What's your guess?

This really troubles me. We're to have a screen replaced that has a scratch from delivery that doesn't really bother us most of the time and it looks like we could end up with a gap as you've described.

W,

I would suggest that yes the screen would be the "new" one, I can't see them installed an old screen especially with known issues. Once company's have a fix they usually go full throttle with them. You should check to see when your TV was manufactured, if its new enough you might have the new screen anyway so a replacement would be no different to what you have now. I need to stress that the gap is pretty small, around 5mm but on a $$$$ unit I am and want perfection. My unit has a manufacture tag of Feb 2004 and as far as I can tell, the new screens are "just" off the production line (assuming within 60 days).

I have issues...

When I first power up, everything's fine, after it's been on for about an hour, I start to see bright colored pixels showing up. Most annoying are the red pixels that seem to show up in shadows. They're not stuck, because they move with the shadows and get worse the longer the set is on. I've tried searching, but coudln't find anyone else with anything like this. I'll probably call Video only tomorrow, anyone have any ideas for things I could try? thank god for extended warrantees.

Happens on all inputs.

Where the hell did all the "hithos" go? they all jump ship?

Most of us are enjoying our sets! As for what is going on with yours? Hard to say. Doesn't sound like anything I've heard of or seen before. You'll wanna get the tech's out.

I was wondering... anybody know the likelihood of a lamp failing after only THREE hours? I just took delivery on a new 50v500, and after about 3 hours, I noticed a stuck pixel (looked like a real big clump, of maybe 3 or 4 together). Anyway, as I was inspecting the spot, the TV suddenly shut off, and has yet to come back on. Lamp light stays lit... blinking light sequences when powering on, following by blinking power light as it immediately shuts itself down, proceeding back into lamp light being on, until I hit the power again. Tried powering it on/off several times, and unplugging and replugging the unit a few times to no avail.

Someone posted in this thread that they had this happen, and got it working just by powering it on/off repeatedly. Is that a likely explanation for this problem? Or is it more likely just a failed lamp? Guess I gotta call Sears to see about getting a replacement...

I was initially leaning towards the GWIII, because of reliability concerns, but the Sears salesman gave me the deal of a lifetime on the 50v500 (he pricematched a walk-in-only price for another store, gave 10% off, made a calculation error that gave us about another $100 off, then accidentally re-price-matched the price he just gave us, and gave us yet ANOTHER 10% off, and threw in the $300 stand for free... the resulting price was so ridiculously low that the manager had to be called in to authorize it, but he was too busy to come down and do it, so he just overlooked the issue.) I ended up deciding that the GWIII couldn't be THAT much more reliable than the Hitachi... well, I guess I jinxed myself, and now I'm paying the price for it! In the three hours that I the set was working though, the picture was pretty amazing (great resolution, and crispness, altho the black levels definitely need some work, among other things). Just hope the next one will last longer than 4 hours :)

Jason

Originally posted by jason douglas



I ended up deciding that the GWIII couldn't be THAT much more reliable than the Hitachi... well, I guess I jinxed myself, and now I'm paying the price for it! In the three hours that I the set was working though, the picture was pretty amazing (great resolution, and crispness, altho the black levels definitely need some work, among other things). Just hope the next one will last longer than 4 hours :)

Jason
You just got a bad set. IMHO the Hitachi blows the GWIII away. Hang in there.

Anyone know Hitachi's coverage on stuck pixels? I have developed 4 also, and it is pretty irritating. As for the person with the lamp issue, I would swap it out, mine did the same thing, it was a power supply problem.

Originally posted by Uwish
W,

I would suggest that yes the screen would be the "new" one, I can't see them installed an old screen especially with known issues. Once company's have a fix they usually go full throttle with them. You should check to see when your TV was manufactured, if its new enough you might have the new screen anyway so a replacement would be no different to what you have now. I need to stress that the gap is pretty small, around 5mm but on a $$$$ unit I am and want perfection. My unit has a manufacture tag of Feb 2004 and as far as I can tell, the new screens are "just" off the production line (assuming within 60 days).

Uwish, I was originally scheduled to have my screen replaced last week but I postponed the installation pending my technician checking the supposed screen redesign and gap situation with Hitachi. I just spoke with him after he called Hitachi. Hitachi said that there has NOT been any redesign of the screen and it is still the same part number as it has originally been and it should fit the same as before. My TV has a manufacturer date of January, 2004.

Originally posted by Uwish
The front screen and the LCD screen are the same thing, it is one piece of laminate material. Now because the LCD is thinner, there is a small gap between the screen and the supporting housing. The case is not designed to have this half thickness LCD screen, there must now also be a mod for its correct placement.

EDIT: when I say "special front cover" I mean the dark anti-reflective coating on the LCD wafer, not the external housing that supports the actual screen itself. The LCD is just a very thin layer of extremely flexible material.


According to the Tech and Hitachi, as I originally suggested, the LCD is NOT part of or directly bonded to the front tinted screen. The LCD itself is located around the light engine area. If the LCD itself was upfront and the size of the actual screen, then this wouldn't be a "projection" LCD TV but rather a direct view LCD (and at this size it would be considerably more expensive at today's prices!). It sounds like what you are calling the LCD is actually the special lenticular panel attached behind the front screen. Again, Hitachi is saying there has been no redesign or new part numbers of the front screen and it should fit exactly the same way as before and not leave a gap.

There is obviously a misunderstanding here since you have some kind of gap now that you didn't have before. I can't really explain what is going on in your case but you ought to double-check your situation - are you sure the installation was done properly? I've decided to go ahead with the installation now on Friday. If it turns out they were all wrong and there is a gap I'll check back in and let you know but then I'll be one very unhappy customer because I've checked this out just about as thoroughly as I know how.

W,

Oh I know exactly what they did as I watched the entire thing. And I can tell you the front screen is attached to the LCD, it is one piece. I know I saw them take it apart. I can also tell you the screen they removed was twice as thick and the LCD screen they put back in..again I saw it with my own eyes. And I know there is a gap because I can see it, and it wasn't there before. I am still waiting for the Hit Canada rep to get back to me regarding the redesign of the case..if any. I think you will just have to see for yourself when they come to replace your screen. Then I think you will have a better understanding of what the LCD screen / wafer really it. And trust me, the dark cover on the front IS attached to the actual LCD wafer, I even peeled the old one off the "defective" part. It is all one piece, you can not just replace the LCD portion without replacing the dark tinted front panel of the screen. The part came as one complete laminated layer. That screen you watch IS the LCD wafer, the LE lens is located at the bottom of screen assembly in the center, it projects onto the back of the case on a reflective surface which is then reflected again onto the front screen. As I indicated, you will see more on Friday when they take it apart. Then I think you will have a better understanding of what I am talking about.

Uwish - I will again call the Hit Tech and have him look at your latest post to see if I can't get this all sorted out and possibly avoid a problem. At this stage I'm getting two very different explanation about what the parts involved are called (LCD vs. Lenticular panel) and regardless of what it's called - redesigned and thinner leaving a gap vs. being told by Hit that there has been no redesign and the parts should fit same as before. Since you've been through this personally, I'm definitely paying attention to what you have observed first-hand. Thanks for your efforts to help.

My model is 60vx500. I think yours is 50v500? Is that right. Do you imagine that it would be redesigned for one but not the other?

W,

I think what is happening is the part# may still be the same but there is a new manufacturing technique. Even my tech who installed it said there have been changes and one of them is quite obvious, the screen is about half the thickness as the original. This is supposed to fix the "smudge" issue that all of these set have. I would highly doubt they would just make a fix for the 50V500 and not the 60V500. Really the set is the same, just 10 inches bigger and I would hypothesize the manufacturing technique is identical. It was pretty neat to see the top half of the TV removed. When I opened the box with the new screen even the tech thought they sent the wrong part as the thickness differential was very obvious. The best way I can describe the dark anti reflective finish is making the analogy to tinting your car window. When you get your window tinted, they basically put a dark "sticker" over the existing glass. This is almost the same process for the dark anti reflective coating that goes over the LCD screen. You can actually peel this layer off the LCD when it was out of the set. I started to remove it on the old LCD screen they took out, just to see how the layer was manufactured. Believe it or not, there is nothing in front of the LCD, what you watch is the LCD screen itself, I thought there would be a clear plastic or some protective layer in front of the screen but there isn't. Even if you touch your screen now, you can tell there isn't anything in front of the screen, just the LCD itself. Since your screen is getting replaced anyway go ahead and touch it when the set is powered on, you can see and feel that it is an LCD screen similar to a laptop display. The top case is large, but really there is nothing in it except the rear reflective panel and the front LCD screen. Thats it, the LE and lens are all in the lower portion of the set. I bet you when your screen is replaced, you should notice the difference in thickness also.

Just an update on my unit... Sears was very nice about the whole thing, and brought out a brand new one within two days. Never did get a chance to figure out what was wrong with the lamp... but thankfully, no stuck pixels on the new unit they brought. No other observed problems, either, so I think this second one will be a keeper.
J9: When I talked to Sears, they said it was normal for there to be stuck pixels, and it didn't sound like they wanted to replace it. However, I've read elsewhere here that if you CAN see the stuck pixels from Hitachi's recommended viewing distance, than Hitachi should make the dealer replace it... my advice would be either try talking to a different salesperson, or talking to Hitachi directly.
Just got done watching a few movies on the set, after I gave it a rough calibration... dvd's are gorgeous on this set. When it comes to resolution, this set really excels!

My understanding is around 6 to 10 stuck pixels is needed before Hit will do anything about it. The tech that worked on my set said 8 and I have heard 6 and 10 so I throw the 6 to 10 range out there as a guide.

Hello All, If i've dumped this spew in the wrong place let me know and I'll Move it. I have a 50V500 and HTPC /w DVI setup, LOVE IT, watching movies with incredible picture. That is until 2 days ago when I noticed first on the TV menus, and then on movies themselves a pink outline on certain elements offset a few pixels to the left.

I went to Avs forums and found a posting where through the Service menu LCD Adjust > Ghost, you can work the problem. I followed the instructions in the post, , which said set the TV to input 3, turn off TV, hold in the input button on the TV for 3 seconds, then press the power button on the TV, release the input and power. The first time I did this nothing happened, TV turned on, but no picture. I figured there was no picture because it had just been on a moment before and it was still cooling as it usually does. I fiddled with the remote a bit, no dice, so I turned off the TV and waited until the fan turned off. When I turned the TV back the menus (even the info/channel text) were pink and the picture had a strong red tone.

There was nothing in regular menus to correct this, which is when I realized I had done something very wrong. So I turned off the TV again and waited for the fan to stop and the light to go out. Now I tried to enter the service menu again, turned TV on, set to input 3, turned off, hold input for 3 seconds, the press power, release both. Same behavior as before, TV turned on but no picture. I fiddled with the remote again, nothing, so I turned off the TV and waited for the fan to turn off. Then I turned on the TV again, now everything looked bleached with extremely high contrast and an unusual orange hue. Now I got the feeling, I was inadvertently changing settings somewhere even though the monitor was off.

It is important to note that while I had successfully destroyed my once pristine picture, I had not found the Service Menu yet, and I could still notice the outline of certain elements (especially the menu options) still offset a few pixels to the left.


Very frustrated, I went back to the avsforums, and found one of mfusick's postings on accessing the Service menu to deal with red push among other things. His method of holding in input then power then releasing worked on the first try. So now I was looking at the Service menu scratching my head. I did find LCD Adjust > Ghost, AND WAS ABLE TO FIX THE ORIGINAL OUTLINE OFFSET! But even though I fixed the first problem, my new picture problem is exponentially worse. I noticed a Factory Reset option in the service menu..........so I used it. Now instead of being bleached with orange hues, the picture looks very yellow with abnormal brightness/contrast.

So this is where I am at now on 7/14/04. I’m actively looking for some help whether it’s finding a qualified calibrator in Fresno California of all places, or Friendly/Generous advice from a knowledgeable forum poster.

Any Information provided would be greatly appreciated

Originally posted by Uwish


I think what is happening is the part# may still be the same but there is a new manufacturing technique. Even my tech who installed it said there have been changes and one of them is quite obvious, the screen is about half the thickness as the original. This is supposed to fix the "smudge" issue that all of these set have.

Yes, the new screen is definitely thinner than the original, it leaves about 1/4" gap between the screen and the black trim. To my dismay, this is where a flying ant crawled in last night.

I can see it crawl and fly inside the screen. My question is should I just leave it alone (hoping it will die soon) or remove the screen and zap it.

Btw..does anybody know how to remove the screen? I've looked through the training manual and service manual, but can't find any instruction.

Thanks.

Removing the screen is not easy. You have to undo about 20 bolts and remove the entire upper screen assembly as a single unit from the lower housing. I think Wired might be right though, I have seen new set (Manufactured June of 2004) and they to also have this small gap between the screen and the supporting housing. Hence, I do not know if there is a design fix for the thinner LCD wafers or not. I have seen this gap now on several newly manufactured sets. Hit is going to have to address this issue, especially on a high ticket item like these sets. My recommendation is just let it die inside your set, if you attempt to remove the screen and cause any damage it will not be covered under warranty. I believe the manufacture warranty specifically states that only certified technicians can do anything (Physically) to you set or the warranty will be void. I still have not heard back from the Canada Hit rep regarding this issue but I am not going to let it slide. I think this gap is totally not acceptable.

Here is Southern Alberta Shaw is taking over as the service provider for cable / Internet which i think is great. Now I can get HD and I have ordered a DCT6200 series High Definition terminal. Any have any thoughts on this receiver? I don't have a choice in which model I get and this one seems pretty standard in the industry. I am planning on DVI out to TV and optical audio to my amp / audio receiver...hopefully things go well. Just wondering about others experiences?

Originally posted by fourizonly
Yes, the new screen is definitely thinner than the original, it leaves about 1/4" gap between the screen and the black trim. To my dismay, this is where a flying ant crawled in last night.

I can see it crawl and fly inside the screen. My question is should I just leave it alone (hoping it will die soon) or remove the screen and zap it.

Btw..does anybody know how to remove the screen? I've looked through the training manual and service manual, but can't find any instruction.

Thanks.

A couple of years ago I had an ant crawl inside my RPTV.....it crawled around the inside surface of the screen. It probably entered through the rear where there are plenty of holes for ventilation. Anyway, bought some ant traps and set a few behind the TV. In a day or two, it was gone. Don't know if it was the ant traps that did the trick.....more than likely it got fried or it discovered there was no food in there or anything else that would interest it. I suggest you give it a couple of days and I bet the problem will solve itself.:)

Wired711,

did u get your screen replaced on Friday?

Uwish,
The screen replacement didn't happen on Friday. I called our Tech on Friday to discuss the additional postings here over the last week or so since he's read them, particularly the point that now at least two people that have had recent screen replacments report that this has left an unacceptable 1/4 inch gap - big enough to allow a flying ant to enter apparently! The Tech was out so I spoke with his assistant. I told her I would like to FAX some messages to her to show him. I had already given our Tech one or your original postings from a couple of weeks ago when he came out to our place for the original appointment (about a week ago) and at that time he agreed it was best to call Hitachi to get an explanation before proceeding with the installation. As you know, Hitachi told him that the screen didn't change and would be the same thickness as the original.

I FAXed over the latest posts to him early Friday afternoon and in the FAX (as I told his assitant) I wrote that I didn't want to proceed until we had a good explanation from Hitachi about how they can say the screen hasn't changed and yet folks who have had recent replacements can verify that the new screen appears to be about 1/2 the thickness and leaves a gap. I also said I wanted to know if he was still confident to proceed despite all of the contradictory info and to please call us. He didn't call me back on Friday and he didn't show up at our house on Friday night (we stayed in all Friday night in case he decided to show up - we couldn't reach him at his office). So, we're still waiting to hear from him. I'll give him a couple of days. This has really turned into a mess of misinformation and contradiction over what should have been a simple replacement. By the way, I called Hitachi myself last week but they wouldn't put me in touch with a tech to discuss this since I'm not one myself. They would only answer questions about operation which doesn't help me.

Also - I'm really troubled by your report that you are seeing a gap on new sets. Is the gap on these new sets about 1/4 inch or the same unacceptable gap as you have now? Even on my set with the original screen there is a small gap but it's probably about 1 mm which isn't a problem.

I'll send an update as soon as I have more info. Thanks again for trying to help.

W,

The gap's I have seen on the two new models were about the same size as mine (approximately 4 to 5 mm between the screen housing and the screen itself). Hence I am concluding that all the new models have this re-designed screen but as of yet it does not appear to have any re-design in the casing or mounting hardware for this thinner screen. IMHO you should get your screen replaced as it is defective (and scratched) and worry about this small gap later. Maybe I am making far to big of a deal about it...I do not think it is "super critical" more aesthetic really but on a unit this pricey I do expect perfection. Also, it is not noticeable unless you stand right in-front of the unit and look for it. I have noticed another thing with this new screen. I do not see anymore pixillation on dark images! I always assumed this was a LE issue and not really resolvable as LCD's never reproduce black levels as well as non LCD RP tv's. However, I have watched several DvD's that I could notice significant dark level pixillation on before, and I have not seen this effect since the new screen has been installed. Can anyone else confirm this?? This effect was always there in dark scenes and was independent of the Black level enhancement setting. Now I do not see this issue at all which is great.

Problem with Black/white movies - green tint on the left and red on the right.

I've been searching this forum for many weeks and finally bought the 60v500a from Sears. I appreciate all the posts and suggestions in the different threads. However I've now noticed an issue with the TV.

In a B/W movie on cable 2 days ago I saw a slight green tint on the left side of the screen and a slight red tint on the right saw. I saw bokes posted the same problem a few weeks ago but didn't see any solution mentioned. Its visible on a black and white movie and I think slightly on any white or near white image. I haven't tried the screen wipe but will do that tonight. Anyone know what the solution to this is?
Thanks!

Originally posted by Raif
Problem with Black/white movies - green tint on the left and red on the right.

I've been searching this forum for many weeks and finally bought the 60v500a from Sears. I appreciate all the posts and suggestions in the different threads. However I've now noticed an issue with the TV.

In a B/W movie on cable 2 days ago I saw a slight green tint on the left side of the screen and a slight red tint on the right saw. I saw bokes posted the same problem a few weeks ago but didn't see any solution mentioned. Its visible on a black and white movie and I think slightly on any white or near white image. I haven't tried the screen wipe but will do that tonight. Anyone know what the solution to this is?
Thanks! The solution for this is light engine replacement. If you are still within the 30 day window, I would suggest you get a replacement set.

Thanks fourizonly.

Not the news I wanted to hear, but thanks for the reply.
Yes, I am within the 30 day window. Just hit 2 weeks actually. Sears will replace so I guess I better contact them. This must not be a very common issue since as far as I can tell I'm only the second person to mention this.

Yo Ho's! Just thought I would drop in and see what has been goin on in this hojoint. Looks like the number of Ho's is continuing to grow and the problems continue but not too bad considering the problems associated with other mfg's and their sets. Now a tale of a problem I experienced and how it was resolved. This should be imp reading for everyone.

One day I turned on my set and things looked wacky. Everything looked like it had an orange tint. Not only that, but my remote was acting crazy.
I couldn't access certain controls from my remote (some worked and some did not). I had to rescan my cable channels also. hmmmmmmmmmmmm
wtf? I tuned into a channel that was displaying a b&w movie and it had a pinkish tinge to it. I checked my user settings and they were all back to factory. I went into the sm and it to had some strange settings that were not there before and it showed zero hours on my lamp.

I started from scratch and started tweaking my set and tried all sorts of things and gizzmogazzmarunos in the service menu. No avail. If anything, it was looking worse and at one point it even had that bleached out look that someone described earlier in a post. I used DVE and tweaked and tweaked and tried everyone's settings and while I did manage to make it a bit better, the problem persisted and basically my set looked like ****. In the service manual it talks about the lamp and how it can go bad and still work but the colors will look abnormal. I had purchased a replacement lamp several months ago and decided to put it in. I did and no difference.

After struggling with this for several weeks, and deciding my set must have gotten a power surge from a nearby lightning strike or sumpin, and thinking the $2400 I spent was a bust, I decided to see if I still had warranty coverage. I wasn't sure cuz I was right at a year since my original Panny purchase that went bust and CC replaced it with this Hitachi.
Luckily, the warranty on the Hitachi began when I physically took delivery of it and not when I originally bought the Panny. So, I placed a service call with the local Hitachi warranty provider. It took them about a week to come out and I scheduled to be off to be there when the dude showed. I just knew he would power on and say that everything looks ok to him and walk. Boy was i wrong. This guy was very professional and had downloaded some info from the Hitachi Service web site that is available to those who do service for Hitachi. He had inputed to them what I had described over the phone as the problem and he had a print out of a step by step proceedure of how to fix it. It involved him going into the SM and checking settings and doing some **** that blew my mind. He went into some screens that I had seen but was afraid to explore and he did some stuff that boggled my mind. The screen went red. Then it went green. Then it went blue. He reset vertical and horizontal alignments and then he turns to me and says that ought to get it. I was dumbfounded. First, he worked so fast I could not keep track of what all he did. I tried, believe me.
I was skeptical he had fixed anything. He clicked on antenna A and started surfing some channels and the results were unbelievable. The set looked amazing! Even better that before all my problems started and if you read any of my old posts, you will find I thought my set looked terrific. Geeze Louise I was happy. He told me my remote was history and he would turn it back to Hitachi and order me a new one. NO CHARGE! SCHWEET!

This all took place last week and the set continues to look terrific. I will not have a chance to check the user settings until my remote arrives, but part of me doesn't want to touch a thing. I did ask him why this all happened and he said they don't know. He said he has been on a handfull of service calls for sets that did what mine did and the fixes the manufacturers provide him seem to work. He said he has never had to set one twice either. This problem seems to affect more than Hitachi but he did not get specific.

I figured I owed it to you Ho's to comeback and share this experience. I think Hitachi initially replaced light engines and whole tv's when these problems first occurred. They probably have had a chance to research the problems and what was causing them and come up with some simple fixes that the servicedudes can do in your house. This is my guess anyway. Morale: don't be afraid to place a service call if your set starts displaying weird color symptons.

Adios,

Manpig

Yo Pig,

Nice to see you post again, but where are the instructions! "I tried" is just not good enough!! :D

Btw..is the weird color tint uniform or in strands?

I figured I owed it to you Ho's to comeback and share this experience.
Way to go Pig, you have contributed to the Ho body of knowledge.

Fouriz, sup?

I know I know. I should have had my camcorder set up like John did when he had his ISF done and promised to share a tape with all of us Ho's. Then I could forget about doing it like he did. lmao.

The colors were not in bands but all over the place. As my daughter often says: That's Wrooooooooooonggggggggg. Have you ever seen a color tv that is on it's last leg? That's how it looked.

Originally posted by dsierra
Way to go Pig, you have contributed to the Ho body of knowledge.

Please hold back the applause and praise. Just throw some slop my way.
:D

[QUOTE]Originally posted by manpig
Everything looked like it had an orange tint.


Holy crap...i came home yesterday, and my wife says to me, she says the tv color is off. Everything looks orange.
Sure enought, everything has an orange tint...but all my settings were the same.
Looks like i will be calling hitachi service, eh?

Thanks for the post manpig, really calmed me down seeing that there is a simple fix to this problem.

Crazy,

Let us know what happens with your set. I will be curious to hear if they do the same whizmogizmo stuff with yours. Maybe you will do a better job of reporting exactly what they do. You know how repairdudes are usually slow and like to talk? Well, my guy was more like a UPS driver. Man, this guy was fast. He did also tell me that some of the sets he reset like mine did not display the "orange" problem. Some have pink and green and blue problems but the fix is the same. Last night we had a pretty good storm and a bolt of lightning hit nearby and all the power went out for about 20 seconds or so. I was like....oh crap...here we go again, but the set seemed to have survived without any problemos.

Good luck on your set.

WOW,

Hooked up my new DCT6200 up last night to Shaw digital...what a difference. I am using Monster 3 2m component cable and even the non digital channels looks better than my digital channel on my old DCT. Can't wait to check out HD, I was watching ST Nemesis on digital last night in 5.1 surround sound and I could swear I watching the DvD! Totally satisfied with this digital box and my current Hit settings. This is what TV is all about!

Wired,

Still no new screen yet?

I just have been going back and forth with Hitachi and my local service dealer. No one want to fix my TV. The local service dealer will take my TV in to the shop, but said it would be 10 to 14 working days in the shop. I don't know what to do next... this is insane.

has anyone got stuck pixels fixed under warranty? I have 4 red ones that just showed up one day. Center viewing area, hitachi wants the tech to fill out a special form to fix it...it might get approved, it might not. Well for $3000 bux, it is going to get fixed.

Aressa,

That is way to long! I don't understand why it would take that long? It takes about an two hours to swap out a LE and about an hour to replace a screen so I do not see why it would take 14 days? Is the local service dealer that backed up that they can no longer make a house call?
I have had my screen swapped out and so far so good, no issues to report at all, in fact I think the image is better than it was before also!

J9..

I do not think they will replace a screen with less than 6 or 8 stuck pixels. Take a really good look at your screen and maybe you can find a few more, even if they are gray and not noticable. I think that is why they are making you fill out this special form. I have heard of 6 as a minimum but I have never had that confirmed by anyone "in the know"

woot, new light engine is on its way, should be here next week...woohoo

Hum, there must have been something else wrong with your set as stuck pixels have nothing to do with the LE its an LCD issue. Were you having other difficulties like colour issues etc??

Hey Ho's!!!

How is it all going?? Long time since I've been here. Got a problem now with the 50v. It's almost a year old and I get this orange faded blob on all the black backgrounds now. Has anyone seen this yet/before?


Thanks,

Bruce

B,

That issue is up in the air I think. Alot of speculation about what causes it, from what I can piece together however, the consensus is a power supply issue. I have seen some other posts regarding this and it seems to be followed with a unit not being able to power up or develops into other power issues etc...I had one user in another forum state this happened to his unit and eventually it just would not power up. I do not know if simply replacing the PS unit clears the issue or if you also need a knew LE now...again this is conjecture it has not been confirmed yet. I hope you got an extended warranty on your set as LE are $$ and I would imagine PS are not cheap either.....

EDIT:

"... there's a known problem with the lamp circuit, meaning there's a cold contact on the lamp switch which can cause power supply problems and ultimately main board problems..."

I took this from another forum where a member claims to have had the same issue as you. When his tech came out he told him that on the "earlier" units (I am assuming 2003 year stamp any month) had a PS issue that was causing all of these problems and up to now (Aug 2004) there have been three manufacture re-designs of certain components. The 50v500A is supposed to included all three of these re-design features despite Hit claiming that there is no difference. To my knowledge, Jan 2004 is when these "A" models began production.

In my investigations up to now that little A (50V500A) DOES have some mod's over the original set. There are new part#'s for PS, LE and bulb circuit boards. Thus, I am concluding different part#'s means different parts of some form - either a redesign or a mod of the original part. Now there is another "new" mod, the LCD screens themselves. They are thinner and correct the smudges and some crop circle issues.

Thanks Uwish. I got an extended warranty form from Hitachi a couple of days ago letting me know it was going to run out. Can get an additional year for 299. Gonna fill it out right now :D

Thanks again,

Bruce

I would not be surprised if it is a LE or PS problem. My first thought was a bulb going bad, but it has been going on for to long without any failure. This set is on from 6am to 11pm.

My set is one of the first runs, no A. Bought it in Sept. 03 and I do have the smudgies but only in the cold weather so I'll wait until October or November to have it fixed, if it lasts that long.

Thanks again,

Bruce

No, my tv had no other problems. I am guessing the light engine/light box is the whole assembly including the LCD panels.

J9..

The LE and the LCD screen are two completely different parts, stuck pixels have nothing to do with the LE but is a LCD issue. I fail to see why they would replace your LE to fix a screen issue? To me this makes no sense.

All,

This is slightly off topic but I checked out the Hit website again today and found piles of new PR LCD models.

http://www.hitachi.us/tv/browse/lcd/lcd/lcd_index.shtml

New units are 710, 714 and the 810 series. Not totally sure what all the differences are but it looks like all of these new units come with a built in HD tuner and other bells and whistles. I would also imaging there are improvements in the LCD tech arena like black levels etc....just thought I would share.

I've been tracking these threads that discuss the new models:

Hitachi 50VS810: When will it be released, and what are differences from the 50V500? - in the Rear Projection Units forum of AVS Forum....

This thread is located at:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?threadid=428994


Hitachi 50VX915 LCD--1st decent LCD? - in the Rear Projection Units forum of AVS Forum....

This thread is located at:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?threadid=419544

I downloaded the spec sheets for the 50v710, and the 50V810 models. From what I can see..

7XX series is the same LE, has few more inputs and new remote and "Higher" contrast screen..maybe the black level performance will be a little better. The look is identical to 500 series. Also has the built in HD tuner.

the 8xx series

-has a new LE ...7.1 Fresnel Lens system
Ultra compact (thinner than the 500 series which is not that great considering the 500 series was the thinnest RP tv I have seen to date)
-built in HD tuner
-higher contrast fine pitch screen (whatever that is..maybe this is just the Fixed 500 series screens).
- more inputs and the look is different, high gloss black finish and the stand is a little different.

I have also found there is a 9xx series also but it isn't for the regular consumer. Some really high end unit and a real high end price to.

So it looks like the 7xx series is just a slite update from from 500 series. In fact I would bet its the same unit just with all the fixes from the 500 series. The specs are almost identical, same size and it is 0.6 lbs heavier..maybe it has a couple more screws :) or the built in HD tuner. Same LE, etc I think the "next gen" stuff is in the 8xx series models as it has a totally new LE and is even more compact than the 500 or 700 series.

Edit: you can get the Hit spec sheets on all the models from this site..compare yourself and see if I missed anything.


http://www.cinelightcorp.com/LCDRPTV/default.asp

All,

I think I may have found an answer to the pink hue and SM settings. Well partially, I think it was Manpig earlier in the forum who had the hue issue and the tech came out and changed a few SM settings. Another user on another BBS had the same issue and followed the tech threw the guide. He has the settings for the three inputs you need to correct the issue. Please see the post below...

"Tech solved my problem in 10 min. using SERVICE MENU

Sears tech came out yesterday to check my pink-hued picture which kicked in about 10 days ago on all inputs. Tech was an older guy, worked on TV's all his life, and was highly familiar with the new generation sets since Sears sells so many of them. He said by far the most common problems with 50V500's are software related vs. parts malfunctioning. He hasn't even had to replace a lamp yet on a 50V500, although most units haven't been in the field that long. Best guess on lamp life is ~5000hrs which equates to 3 years usage at 4-5 hrs viewing time per day. Having TV in a well-ventilated position can prolong life.

Now about the service menu...something the manufacturer DOES NOT want the home user to mess with and probably for good reason. An unknowing consumer could screw things up royally by adjusting values, kind of like messing with the registry on a PC. But I watched the tech's workings like a hawk and took notes...he was good about it. The service menu is highly technical with several dozen parameters and code values. To fix my color problem the tech went to LCD DRIVE on the menu and adjusted the 3-character codes for SIG-C-R, SIG-C-G , and SIG-C-B. (menu navigated by using the remote's 4-directional round select button) Somehow my codes had become faulty, possibly from static shock or a power blip when the problem initiated 10 days ago(altho I use a surge protector with TV). The codes for these parameters were showing "000" whereas the correct code was "01D" (zero-one-delta). If the problem ever occurs again, I would now know how to fix it.

My suggestion for smart 50V500 owners would be to at least know about the service menu and know how to access it. I wouldn't change anything unless you have precise technical guidance. One neat feature...at the top of the service menu is a meter which displays hours of usage of the set. Mine was at 1573 hours; all of this time totally problem-free until the color glitch occurred on Aug. 7.

To display the service menu, have the TV off and be sure the cooling fan has cycled off. On the TV front panel, press and hold the INPUT button and the POWER on/off button at the same time. (My set was on ANT B when the tech worked on it, so I don't know if ANT A/B makes any difference) As soon as the picture comes on with the service menu overlaid, let go of the buttons. If you hold the INPUT button too long it will remove the service menu after a couple of seconds. That's also how you turn off the service menu by pushing the INPUT button again which serves as an exit."

NOTE: I want to emphasize what this user is saying and not fiddle around with the SM settings without knowing what it does or you may be worse off than before. I post this as it is the most detailed fix for this pinkish hue issue I have seen

Great spying Uwish :D

Is "01D" the setting for all 3 RGB? If I post a pic of my orange/pink blob, can you tell me if it is the same thing you had?

I just need to figure out how to post a pic.

Thanks,

Bruce

Bruce,

As far as I know this is only a fix for a totaly pink hue, not just a blotch in one specific area of the screen. The entire image has a pink push that this corrects. If you want to check the settings, you can still go into your SM and verify what the three values are set to. I do not think your issue will be resolved by this as far as I know.

OK, thanks...different issue.

Hello everybody.
I have 50v500 for about a year. I noticed that when screen is durk or black I see redish light. it looks like you see the red light behind the screen. It is covered central part of the screen does not have sharp edges and it is about 20" in diameter When I watch programs with colors I see no problem. Only when it is a dark screen. And also only when I sit in front of the tv.
Has anybody have this problem?
Please let me know
Vik

sure have vik. check out posts 414 and 415 of this thread

Funny, I thought I went couple pages back to read all. I did not see your post. Thank you for quick response. I have CC 4 years extended warranty. I am too LAZY too call them. If you know any more details about repares and what they do, please posted.
Thanks again,
Vik

Guys,

To me this sounds like a LE issue and I do not think there is a quick fix other than LE replacement.

Sorry for my ignorance, what is LE

vik2004 - LE = Light Engine

Sorry, I am just so used to all the acronyms...

OK folks - as far as I know, I think this issue is a new one in this or any of the Hit v500 threads (original one included). Here goes...

We've owned our 60vx500 since February. We love the set and it's the best we've ever owned even with the less-than-perfect black levels (yes, I'm keeping my eye on any black level improvements of the new units when the become available).

One persistent problem however that I've never posted about until now concerns an intermittent noise that appears to come from the cabinet of the set while it's running. It sounds like plastic making a sudden short burst of noise like it is expanding. During loud soundtracks one might not notice it - especially during a movie like "Master and Commander" rife with it's own natural creaking noises but almost any other time it's a bit unsettling when it unexpectedly occurs if not just plain annoying. It sounds like it's coming more from the bottom left side (when facing the set) and the frequency is anywhere from once per minute to once or more per 30 minutes as a rough approximation. I can't figure any pattern to make it happen "at will" other than to turn the set on and wait. My wife thinks it is happening less now than it did than during the Winter but it's still too frequent.

My theory is that it has something to do with the plastic cabinet expanding/contracting from the heat of the bulb. We're at a loss as to what to do about this as this is one of those issues that's hard to explain to a tech or to demonstrate at will. Although, hang around for anywhere between 1 and 30 minutes and it's a good bet it will make itself heard.

Had anybody heard anything similar to what I've described? I'm not holding out too much hope because you guys are usually pretty vocal about unnatural noises coming from the set - fan noise included. All contributions and suggestions on what we could/should do about it appreciated.

One last thing that may help describe the noise. It is similar to the sound of plastic moving that I can hear if I cross closely directly in front of the set (when it's on or off). I weigh about 183 but I guess there's enough vibration transferring up to the cabinet from the floor (moving floorboards) somehow. The set sits on a piece of very heavy Salamander AV furniture and the family room has wall to wall carpeting. Nevertheless, walking close still seems to cause enough vibration to tweak the cabinet. Even if you have never heard the noise we hear when the set is on as described above when we're sitting 12 feet away on the couch, I'd also be interested to hear from anyone who has heard the noise I describe when walking very close in front of the set. If you have, that's pretty much a similar type of noise to that which I described above.

Thanks in advance.

Wired,

I to have heard this noise but I am not sure my set is doing it anymore. When I first bought the unit it made a similar noise ever now and then and I just thought my Hit stand was "settling" as it was on carpet. Now my unit and stand is on hardwood flooring. I do remember it happening once but can not remember if it has occurred recently but I will make sure I pay attention.

I've done searches and scoured the posts here already (Thanks folks, the Hitachi posts here have been very helpfull!)

Here's few remaining questions I have:

Is is possible to perform the same ND filter modification (black level enhancement) as on the Panny LCD projectors?

I've heard a few folks talk about fan noise. Are the fan(s) user replaceable?

I know the built-in speakers can be used as a center channel. How good are they?

Are the 60v500 and at the 50v500 similarly bright? Do they use the same bulb?

Oh, and does anyone have personal experiance with uecweb ?

Thanks,

i have a 60v500. i have had no problems with it. i am extremely happy with it overall. i have owned it for about 5 months now.

the only one of your questions i feel qualified to address is regarding uecweb. i purchased from them and had no problems. i felt i got a great deal. although prices for all TV technologies have been dropping rapidly, i still haven't seen any other deals that i felt were as good as the one i got from uecweb.

it took something like 7-10 days for delivery, but that's par for the course for a bulky item.

Originally posted by Uwish
Wired,

I to have heard this noise but I am not sure my set is doing it anymore. When I first bought the unit it made a similar noise ever now and then and I just thought my Hit stand was "settling" as it was on carpet. Now my unit and stand is on hardwood flooring. I do remember it happening once but can not remember if it has occurred recently but I will make sure I pay attention.

Thanks. I'm pretty sure there must be something not quite right (or not quite "tight" to be more specific) in our particular unit than what is the norm. Otherwise believe me, if the fan noise is bothersome to some people I'm sure that this noise would be at least and probably more objectionable and there would have been posts about it. We plan soon to stop by the AV store we bought the set from and have a conversation about it. A tech from the store was at our place a couple of months ago and said he thought he had heard the same noise from units in the store but at that time we didn't push that particular issue. After living with it for some time now I think we're convinced that something isn't quite normal and it's a bit too distracting. So, it's time to go back and see what, if anything can be done. Love the set in all other respects though.

Just on the off chance wired, Is the set in the sun at all? If it is, could your noise be expansion and contraction. Just an idea, but you have probably ruled it out. I have a 27" direct view that snaps once in a while due to the set warming up and cooling down.

Hey Bacffin,

There is a large window at the back of the house that's opposite the set. Some sun does get in but we have an auto shade that we bring down when we're watching to kill the reflections. The noise is present in daytime or nighttime viewing even many hours into the evening. It only occurs when the set is actually turned on so I think it more likely that some plastic piece(s) somewhere are expanding/contracting as a result of the heat from the lamp. I think the room temperature could have an effect but doesn't seem to be that great of a factor. Do you ever hear these types of noises on your v500 series set? Thanks for the reply.

RE: UECweb. Great bargain. Delivery seems to be a local thing. Mine was nicely handled, setup, I turned it on, before they left. My son lives in a different city and the deliverer wanted to leave the set on the first floor. You pay for in house (one stair) delivery; insist on it. Bought a 3 year extended warranty and the stand which exactly fits the set. . .all for about $500 less then the best bargain I could have gotten locally.

Wired,

I don't have any noise at all, except for the fan, which I really don't hear. My set sits on an east facing wall in front of 2 sash windows so it does get exposure to some light in the morning. Again no snap crackle pop noise though.

As a trial and error test, try loosening the screws holding the bezel on and see if it goes away. Just a 1/2 turn or so to take the holding pressure off. If it doesn't work on the bezel, try the lower back panel and see if that does it. Just my 2 cents.

Bruce

Thanks again for the feedback Bruce... and for the suggestion. I think that's worth a shot. I'll report back soon.

Mine pops sometimes too, but not that often.

David

Thanks David. Hopefully after I try Bruce's suggestion it won't happen that often for me either. It's good to finally hear that at least to some degree this "pop" "crunch" or <insert your own cleaver adjective for expanding/contracting plastic rubbing against plastic> noise has been heard by others who own this set.

Wired,

Yup I heard it once yesterday but it only occurred once during about 3 hours of on time. It is possible that it happened while I ran to the biffy but..I pee fast :)

Once in three hours is a whole lot better than once every 30 minutes (or even 3 minutes sometimes). I'll probably try the (very slight) screw loosening thing over the weekend.

I kinda wish they had found some way to keep the set light but not use so much plastic. My old RPTV cabinet is made of wood (press board). It looks good and solid and doesn't make any noises it shouldn't make since there's no crappy plastic expanding / contracting or just moving. Then again, it does weigh a couple hundred pounds!

With the old set, you can put your hands on it and try to twist a little and it won't make a sound. Try this with the Hit and you hear lots of rubbing plastic - similar to the pop-crack-rub noise we (too "occasionally") hear while we are watching.

just a data point: my set (60V500) doesn't make any popping or cracking noises.

Well, I guess that my problem has all cleared up! I'm glad that I've had good people working on my set!

See, it seems that Teletron called Hitachi and gave them a "Statement of Fact" that my TV was working within the factory operational parameters. Just AMAZING.


Of course nothing has changed... except now Hitachi has informed me that they will deny any more warrany claims associated with servicing this issue.



I really don't know what to think any more, and just going to count to ten before I hit every site on the web and give the worst possible review of this TV and Hitachi's service. For f***s sake, I just want that beautiful TV that I pulled out of the box six months ago back. :(

I had a convergence problem with my 60V500,and the local Hitachi service provider came out,looked at it,acknowledged the problem,contacted Hitachi who proceeded to tell the service tech that the problem was within manufacturer specs! I found it hard to believe that a fixed pixel display manufacturer would have specific guidelines on convergence error,and even if they did how would someone measure it?Thankfully(I guess) a week or two later the whole picture turned blue and LE was replaced(maybe a precursor-the blue was bleeding on the left half of the screen) I have to agree with aressa,Hitachi service leaves a lot to be desired!

I'm about to do a Rent-to-own at www.rent-a-center.com since I have no credit or cash.
I see they have this Hitachi 50V500A model and am curious about it so I started reading these threads on here.
Is this the best LCD/CRT projector available for this price range like that was stated earlier in these threads? Or is one of the other models offered at the Rental place better choice.
www.rent-a-center.com (http://)
I think the way it works is that the sett is under full warranty by the rental store untill its paid off then the warranty is gone.

Also. Would it be a good idea to use a good solid surge protector with these sets? Like a Trip litte ISO4? Not some Office Max plastic pos strip.

Can I get any advice on this? Thank you

To all the experts,
I know the 50v500 smudges are well documented.....mine have been on my set since it arrived in march '04. But here's the twist..

I know they appear worse on light background's, for instance the HD Olympic swimming events it was very noticeable.

But my smudges seem to DISAPPEAR for long periods of time, I can go weeks without seeing them AT ALL, and I'm looking for them. I know content varies, but Even when light backgrounds appear, the smudges aren't there. I logged 6 hours on the set this weekend, never a glimpse of a smudge. And my smudges are in two places, and rather large, they are very easy to pick out when they are there.....

I'm sure they are there the whole time, but what causes them to appear? I dont think it is content based, is it environmental?

Anyway I have a Hitachi tech coming out on Friday, and I'm going to be hard pressed to get a replacement screen if I cant show him the smudges.

Is there anything I can do to make them MORE noticeable for the tech, besides showing him WHITE backgrounds.(I'm searching my dvd's for those too)

Hey Andy. Do you have a digital or polaroid camera? If so, try and take a picture of the smudges and show them to the tech. Good Luck.

noticed something on my 60v500a the other night and though i'd mention it - it may be connected to some problems people are seeing.

during the olympics, i saw what looked a bug landing on the face of someone who was being interviewed. looked a bit closer and it appeared instead to be a bug on the camera lens instead of on the person's face. the bug moved when the camera moved slightly. then eventually, i came to realize that the bug was inside my set, near the screen. not sure how it got there, but maybe it's attracted to the bright light, although in this particular case it looked more like a fly than a moth.

anyway, i wonder if it is possible that some smudges or other picture defects may be caused by this kind of thing - an insect landing or getting getting inside and maybe getting stuck on or near the bulb.

From what I can gather these smudges may be temperature dependant. They seem to appear and stay for longer periods when the set is cool. Since it is summer out, the only thing I can suggest is hope for a cool night and leave the windows open so the room with the set is cool. Then when powered on they should appear. Or, like the others suggested, take a good dig photo of it to prove you are not seeing things.

Hello everyone.

I'm not sure if this has been discussed before because I couldn't find anything when I did a search on this thread for it. Anyhow, I have a Dish 811 receiver hooked up via DVI to my Hitachi 50v500. Recently I have noticed that my picture is kinda blurred and off, both HD and SD. I'm not sure how to describe the symptom. There seems to be a slight shadow or ghost for everything being displayed on the tv. I really notice it whenever I display the channel guide. Letter and lines have a distinct shadow to the left of them. I'm not really sure if this is a problem with my tv or with the receiver. I have switched it to component and is experiencing the same issues. I have a Zenith DVB318 dvd player that can upscale 480i to 720p and 1080i via both component and DVI. I'll test tonight to see if I get the same effect with that dvd player on the same inputs too. I was just curious to know if anyone else who might be experiencing this issue? I just noticed this during the Olympics. Any suggestions as to what this is?

My buddy had the same issue on his 50V500 as well. Service Tech came out and went into the Service Manual and fix the Ghosting on it. It is very easy to do yourself if you have a service manual. But if its under warrenty have them fix it. I bought the service manual the other day and went into it last night and ghosting seems ok on my 50V500a. THere are so many little tweaks you can do but havent had a chance to look through the whole manual yet. Hope this helps. But it is a very simple fix.

Thanks for the info jmeitz! It's good to hear that there is a simple fix for this. Had me worried for a moment there. I thought the LCD panels were out of alignment or something. Thanks for the 411.

Also make sure your sharpness is turned all the way down.

David

Well well. This is ONE TASTY CROW I am eating.

I just got DVE from Amazon and did a QUICK calibration. Amazing difference.

I had been using "DVD Essentials" that I had back from 1996-7 and I knew the pluge was not quite as good as I could have used. I took a vew minutes and got the colors really balanced. DVDs looked much better right away.

So, I jumped over to one of the quintessential "underwater" HDTV shows on DiscoveryHD and though the picture looked like crap; then I remembed (duh) the the base settings are per-channel. WOW. When I got the brightness and contrast set right the picture seemd to jump out of the screen. Very nice.


Ok, so only one problem that came up in my little process: I realized that the picture alignment is quite a bit high. Using the DVE with the framing tools I realized that my picture is aimed too high (the "5% Safe Action" frame is actually all the way off the top of the screen). The bottom is just at the border of the overscan screen. Does anyone know what would be involved in adusting that, or should I (like I said in my last post) just bite the bullet and get a full ISF cal?

Originally posted by aressa
So, I jumped over to one of the quintessential "underwater" HDTV shows on DiscoveryHD and though the picture looked like crap; then I remembed (duh) the the base settings are per-channel.

Per Input, not per channel.

Originally posted by wired711
Per Input, not per channel. That's what I meant...

A few weeks ago, Manpig returned to the thread to tell of his orange tint problem and easy fix.
I saw it, replied how the same thing happend to my tv.
I called for service.
The "technician" said, "oh yeah, thats a light engine replacement"
I said, "hold on bub, i think you can fix that via the service menu."
He says "These sets dont have a service menu"
I say, hold on"
i get online, and print off both Manpig's post AND Uwish's posts about the problem and the service menu fix.
He says, "hold on"
goes out to his truck, and comes back and says, "Oh, I didnt bring that service manual, i will have tocome back."
2 weeks later, they sent a different guy out, who sits down in front of my TV, and easily corrects the orange/pink hue problem.
He called it a white ballance problem.
Anyway, thanks Manpig and Uwish for stearing me in the right direction.

Wow! No SM? Hum was this his first Hit? Good thing this forum is around, imaging the headaches you would have gone threw with a new LE and re-calibration etc...

I to had to convince my tech about the smudge issue using this forum as a reference. Glad to be able to give something back!

Crazy MB, Uwish, Hithos:

First, glad to hear that Crazy is back to normal (pardon da pun). I had been wondering what happened on your set.

I reported my problem and the fix that was done and everything was hunky dory for about 5 weeks and then it happened again. My warranty was fixin (texan for "getting ready") to expire and I quickly called for service. They came out the other day (same tech as before), and the first comment out of his mouth was "man, this is unreal. This is the first time I have had a call back on this issue". I was ready this time. I had a camcorder set up on a tripod and focused on the viewing area of my Hitachi. I thought this might freak him out but he did not even comment on it. I turned the camera on and recorded his whole procedure. I have not viewed the tape yet but am hopeful that it is clear enough to see exactly all the steps he went thru.

He basically did exactly what he did last time. He got into the service menu and toggled thru various settings and recorded on paper what they were.
Then he re-initialized the LCD's ( i think that is what he called it) which consisted of three screens: red, green, and blue. He then went back thru and wrote down the final settings. It also looked like he may have changed a couple of them slightly. When he was done, the set looked fantastic again. I told him I was worried that this had happened twice and my warranty was expiring etc and he told me I better get an extended warranty. lmao. I told him I was not sure he had fixed my problem because even tho he is making my set look good, he had not determined what was causing the problem to occur. He then said he would contact Hitachi and discuss this with them and call me back. He called the next day and they have recommended him replacing some circuit board on my set and they think that is the culprit. He told me as soon as they get the board that he would come out and replace it. I will report later which board he replaces in case Crazy who is temporarily normal later needs the info.

Lastly, the tech had a 3 page printout from the Hitachi Service website that told him exactly how to fix the problem. I asked him to email me a copy and he said no. C'mon dude I said to him, but he was relentless in not doing it. He started talking about people who get sm info off the internet and get into their sm and jack things up etc and they have to fix the mess assuming Hitachi will cover it etc. Lmfao. I didn't have the heart to tell him it was probably our favorite site AVS.

PS: for those who did not read my earlier post discussing this problem it has to do with the whole picture having an orangish pinkish hue. This is not the problem some have reported where only sections of the picture is out of whack. In this case, the whole screen has the problem.

Pig:D:eek: :eek: :eek:

manpig,

Great info. You did the right thing in pushing for the true cause rather than accepting what appears to be temporary fixes to the symptoms. I wish you lots of luck with the new circuit board. Let us know how everything goes. Are you going to actually consider getting an EW? Can you still get one?

Yo pig :p how's it going?

Thanks for the info. Looks like I got a similar problem A big orange/pink round blob that is about 20" in diameter and feathers out on the sides. It is really visible on black screens, otherwise you would hardly know it was there. Is this the same thing?

You can get an extended warranty. I just did. It was through Satisfusion who supplies them for all Hit products. They actually let me know my original was going to expire (ya...OK).

I'm going to wait for the weather to get a little colder and recreate the smudgies and call them in to fix it. Then I'm gonna sell it to my son and buy the 60v810. Man am I cruel or what...:D

BTW, Where has "A" been?


Bruce

Wired and Bruce,

Can't believe you dude be still around. Haven't heard from Agirl in quite awhile which is my fault cuz I kinda clamoured this dealio and that is a different story. I rededicated myself to my real job but felt obliged to come back and report on this problem. Circuit City sent me an offering to get an extended warranty which I will bite the bullet and probably buy. I have never bought a freekin ew in my life. It will cost me close to 5oo for 4 years but it probably is worth it. For what I saved on my initial buy it probably makes financial sense but gd it chaps my azz to do it.

Bruce, my problem and I think Crazies prob who is now normal, is a total degregation of the screen to a pinkish orangish hue. It looks like total caca when it happens. It affects the whole enchilada. left to right and top to bottom. right normal? lmao. that cracks me up bout him finally bein normal. oh btw to your son Caveat Emptor!

laterz,'

Pig

Yep, I'm still around, not posting much, just reading. I never bought an EW either, so I feel the spanking too.

Watch out when they tell you 4 years. I would bet that the 4 year ew starts from the day you bought it, not today. I just got the 2 year plan for 299, but it is actually only good for one year. I can't remember what the cost was for a plan when I bought the unit, but I remember it was a good chunk of change. Might have been the better deal to get it then.

It sounds like my problem is different than yours. As soon as the weather gets colder, I'll get both the smudgies and blob issue fixed. Uwish mentioned it could be a power supply or LE problem, but no one was definite for sure.

Talk to you later,

Bruce

Piggy,

Let us know how it goes. I bought the EW when I picked up the set. I hate buying EW's, but there are some things that I think are really deserving of it. One of them are RPTVs. Too much new technology and things changing from year to year. Not exactly what I would call stable.

Also Piggy,

Watch that video taping and give us the dibs. I'ld like to have this on file in case it happens so I can avoid having to wait for the service call.

Hey Bacfin and Piggy,

Sorry to hear about your new woes. I am calling Hit tommorrow and checking on the purchase of EW. My initial purchase of the 50 was early Oct. 03, the 60 was delivered in March 04, I think. Have you contacted Hitachi directly? Long term trouble...loyal customer....maybe they will assist.

Hos,

I tried to contact Hitachi direct concerning extending my warranty period and I did it via email. I got a nonvalid page result. I guess that part of their website doesn't work. I asked the service tech who worked on my tv if it is possible to extend your warranty thru the manufacturer and he thought it was not possible or at least he had never heard of someone doing it. I thought I read here somewhere that someone had, but could be wrong. The EW I am talking about taking is thru CC and it is called the City Advantage Plan. They want like $509 for 4 years and I called today to verify the time period and the lady said it would start on the day I purchase the plan. I have until Oct 1 to make the decision. I also asked if the bulb is included and she promised me it was although she would not send me something in writing saying it was. She just said this question comes up all the time and that the bulb is covered. I would feel better about forking over the 500 if someone I knew could tell me they had a bulb replaced at no charge under their warranty. Surely, I will go thru a bulb or two during that period and it would make this plan feasible.

To Chris, hello and yes I will try to document the entire procedure when I have time. Has anyone heard from Faxdude? Did the hurricanes get him?
Hope not. I think Ahardt traded her Hit in for a Wega and is too ashamed to come here and tell us. LmFaO

Hey Pig. I am pretty sure that Hitachi can steer you towards an EW. You many have to call them though. Forget the email thing with them. As for CC, if you have a store close, then go in and get the scoop on the EW and the bulb issue. Good luck man.

Try satisfusion.com pig, that is who Hitachi steered me to.

Bruce

Originally posted by Bacffin
Try satisfusion.com pig, that is who Hitachi steered me to.

Bruce

Bruce, didn't you say in an earlier post that you paid like 300 for a 2 year that in actuality was good for 1 year?:confused: I could be wrong on this (I'm from Texas ya know), but it would seem that the 4 year that is actually for 4 yrs and covers lamps for $500 from CC would be the way to go. Are you on the board of directors for Satisfusion or what?:D

watch it pig or I'll hit ignore :D

Yes they are charging me for 2 years and I am getting only one but I only need the EW to get it fixed, then sell it and upgrade to the newer and bigger model.

They offer other plans. Give them a call and see if they can beat the plan CC is offering you. Just trying to give you other options.

Bruce

Hos,

Couple of things. First, I got an email from CC saying that presently even tho the lamp is technically a consumable, that CC is covering lamp replacements under their protection plans.

Next, I watched the video of my orange/pink sucky picture fix about 10 times and have the following to report. If your picture ever does this, I would not try to fix it yourselves tho because it is an easy fix from service and they really need to document it when it happens.

He basically just went into the sm or what they call the i2c mode. He toggled thru some of the pages and recorded the current settings on a piece of paper. He did not change anything at this point. My settings as he did this were the ones listed in the service manual which kinda suprises me. He cliced on LCD Adjust and recorded some stuff. Then he clicked on Ghost and again recorded some stuff. I asked him at this point if he was making changes and he said no that he was recording data in case he screwed up something during the next step. His next step was where the action took place and all he did was to do a Memory Initialization. Once he did this, it took care of the problem. After, he toggled thru everything and made sure none of the settings changed and as far as I could tell nothing had. Before he left, he told me he would call Hitachi Tech support and report my problem and he anticipated that they would have him change out the Drive Module. I wonder if the drive module is what is shown on page 151 and 160 in the service manual? I seem to recall the A models having a couple of parts different from the non A models. This could be one of them. I would bet Crazy who is now Normal has a non-A model.

Laterz,

Pig

Originally posted by manpig
I think Ahardt traded her Hit in for a Wega and is too ashamed to come here and tell us. LmFaO

She is on Vacation this week. I talked to her on Sunday. She still has her TV and is not buying another :P

My warranty is coming up in October as well and I am starting to think about the EW. I do have the smudge issue but only in the winter time. I haven't seen it since April or so but I have no doubt it shows up due to cold weather.

How much does a bulb cost?

Hello Mike,

How have you been? Tell A I said Yo when she returns. I bought a replacement bulb from some place in Florida right after I bought my set for about $165 no tax but plus shipping. Here is the company: http://www.vancebaldwin.com/pages/Parts-HIT1.htm They were selling for $300 everywhere else.

Regarding the EW's, I was one of the first to buy this TV. I do think Hitachi has changed a few things on their production since. I really think the early buyers might need a EW, and for everyone else it is probably a coin toss. I wonder how many people have had to change a lamp. Mine never burned out but I did replace it when I started having problems.

I guesstimate about 4500 hours on my set and I have not had to change the bulb yet.


Bruce

A newby needs some help- many thanks in advance!

My Hitachi 50V500, bought last October, has developed vertical pink/red ghosts. This is especially noticeable along the right black edge on full screen (3*4) pictures, but is also notice on other vertical lines, such as tennis courts, and even people against a consistent background.

I have a tech from "Electronic Laboratory", a Hitachi authorized repair outfit, coming by tomorrow AM.

Any advice? Has anybody else experienced this?

The rest of the picture is more or less OK- it seems like the red "gun" (I don't think there is one, is there?) is out of alignment. Should I be fixing this myself? Is there a link to accessing adjusting the service menu that I should be using?

Note that both my HDTivo, which has a DVI input, and my Sony DVD, which is component, have the same problem. Thanks!

iandrysdale,

I don't think this is something you should be fixing. Let your warranty provider do it and make notes and come back and report what he/she did.
You really shouldn't be perusing the service menu unless you really know what you are doing. My tech told me that he has seen 3 sets this year where people got into the sm and jacked the tv so bad that it could not be fixed without major board replacements at their expense. They must have fessed up that they did it which according to my lawyer is a no no.

Originally posted by manpig
iandrysdale,

I don't think this is something you should be fixing. Let your warranty provider do it and make notes and come back and report what he/she did.
You really shouldn't be perusing the service menu unless you really know what you are doing. My tech told me that he has seen 3 sets this year where people got into the sm and jacked the tv so bad that it could not be fixed without major board replacements at their expense. They must have fessed up that they did it which according to my lawyer is a no no.

Update- the Hitachi authorized repair company showed up and were at the house no more than twenty minutes. They went into the service menu and found the red sharpness needed adjusting- a quick fix. Thankfully, the unit had 3 weeks left on the OEM warranty- no out of pocket. Thanks for your advice.


Ian

Originally posted by iandrysdale
A newby needs some help- many thanks in advance!

My Hitachi 50V500, bought last October, has developed vertical pink/red ghosts. This is especially noticeable along the right black edge on full screen (3*4) pictures, but is also notice on other vertical lines, such as tennis courts, and even people against a consistent background.

I have a tech from "Electronic Laboratory", a Hitachi authorized repair outfit, coming by tomorrow AM.

Any advice? Has anybody else experienced this?

The rest of the picture is more or less OK- it seems like the red "gun" (I don't think there is one, is there?) is out of alignment. Should I be fixing this myself? Is there a link to accessing adjusting the service menu that I should be using?

Note that both my HDTivo, which has a DVI input, and my Sony DVD, which is component, have the same problem. Thanks!

I have the same problem. I have this red ghost image. I also had this fly get into my set and flew around. He then died. Now there is this shilloute of a dead fly in my set.

Just a quick report on my experience with an issue(s) that's been brought up a few times.

A week ago my 50v500 went into the Red push and/or Pink push state. In this state everyone looks like they've got a sunburn and the picture also looks grainy to boot.

After searching through the threads I found someone else mentioning the problem and they even detailed the steps their service guy did in the Service Menu to fix the problem. Well I went through those same steps and the result was nada. The problem remained.

So I called CC (I have the extended warrantee and if part needed to be replaced this would've netted me a new TV due to the three strike Lemon guarantee) and a service guy finally got out to my place today. The first thing he did was turn off the TV and attempt to get into the SM. After multiple failed attempts, and after blowing off my suggestions (although this could've been a language problem, the guy spoke very broken English) he was unable to get into the SM. He finally stepped away from the TV and allowed me to try. Voila, I got into it on the first attempt (it's actually a little trickier than just holding down the input/power buttons simultaneously). It does pay to read these forums.

Anyhoot, I watched what he did in the SM, just to see if it was some arcane techno-encrypted magic, but alas he just selected "Init Memory". The TV flashed for a second and all was well. Yay!

He also mentioned, if I understood him correctly, that he had just done the same sort of fix on this same model TV that was exhibiting ghosting problems. Coincidently my TV had ghosting problems a few months back and another company's service guy had come in, taken one look it and concluded that it needed a new light engine. Three weeks later it had a new light engine and the problem was fixed. But it'd be a whole lot easier to just reset the internal memory via the SM!

Anyhoot, this simple fix seems worth a shot for those that see the pink/red push and/or ghosting problems. Just go into the SM and select "Init Memory" (or was it "Memory Init"?). Obviously any calibrations done to the TV to that point will be lost.

Also, the easiest way I found for getting into the SM is this: Put the TV on an input that doesn't currently have a signal coming into it. Power down the TV completely (wait till the blue light stops blinking and the fan clicks off). Press and hold the Input button on the front panel and then press and hold the Power button for 2-3 seconds. Now release the Power button and then release the Input button. You should see the SM at that point.

FWIW the service guy said this is one of the best TVs he's seen out there. I just wish he spoke better English so I could've picked his brain a bit more about that comment and about other issues he's seen.

It's MEMORY INT and is shown on page 49 in the service manual. I hope this fixes your problem for good. For me, it worked for about 4 weeks and the problem happened again. The service guy did the same fix and I have been good for a few weeks now. He is supposed to replace some module in my tv to fix it for good, but he hasn't as of yet. I need to call I suppose and jack them up a bit.:eek:

>It's MEMORY INT and is shown on page 49 in the service manual. I hope >this fixes your problem for good. For me, it worked for about 4 weeks and >the problem happened again. The service guy did the same fix and I have >been good for a few weeks now. He is supposed to replace some module >in my tv to fix it for good, but he hasn't as of yet. I need to call I suppose >and jack them up a bit.

Thanks and thanks for the heads up. If this keeps happening I'll be on the same path and if a part needs replacing I'll be pursuing CC's replacement guarantee.

The problem I have is that I really like the TV. Obviously I've had several issues from a reliability standpoint, but I think I'm the exception rather than the norm and the picture quality is just superb (at least to my layman's eyes).

I wish the guy had spoken better English (or I spoke any Spanish/Portuguese) so I could've picked his brain about how often he has seen this problem. What triggers it? Is the problem known to repeat itself? If so is there a long term fix? Etc.

My guy did speak English and he told me he has seen it quite a few times and not just on the Hitachi. It apparently can happen with other displays.
He told me mine was the first he had seen do it more than once which should be good news for you. Good luck.

My 50V500 has a screen artifact visible even when the set is powered off. The screen does not appear uniformly dark - there is an area on screen (near the top and centre - that almost looks like a reflection of a ceiling light source (its like a poorly defined circle about five inches in diameter). I'm unclear whether this is a know issue affecting these sets for which some terminology has been assigned or whether I have a unique issue. When the set is powered on - this lighter area of the screen is hardly noticeable and completely unnoticeable during a fully white screen (screen wipe) but I am wondering whether there is some degradation of whatever materials makes the screen dark.

Can anyone speculate on what I'm seeing? Thanks.

Wilder,

There is a reflection that occurs on these sets when the set is powered off.
It appears near the center and does go upward as I recall. I think it was determined early on that it was some kind of reflection from an internal mirror(s). It does not however affect the image of the screen with the power on . You might want to go to a local store that sells the set and turn off the power on the floor model and see if you see what you are seeing on yours. If you see the same thing then chances are what you have is normal.

I had the Sears repair man come down and remove this fly that got caught between my screens.

I originally called to have them fix this red ghost image that has showed up on my V500. He said he couldn't fix it because it has something to do with the TV warming up. Bullshit I say!

Are there many of you who are getting this red ghost image? Other than the Memory Int, how were you successful in fixing this problem?

Is there any specifics anyone could give me so I know what I am talking about when walk into Sears this weekend?

OR am I stuck with this red ghost?

can you post a pic of your red ghost?

Sure, I'll post it later today, after work.

Hello:

I just noticed that my TV appears to have a dark spot on the bottom left corner. It is not a cluster of dead pixels, because there is color behind it, just a little dull. I only notice it on blacks, and the room has to be completely black. This spot is really not noticeable on any other color. The black spot will appear purplish if it is displaying black. The screen is clean, and it seems fine…do you all have any ideas? I have a 60v500a. If I had to guess, I would say the light engine, if it is the case, think it will get worse? Could I fix it instead of calling a tech (might be a smudge??)



Also, I tried to find a post on how to enter the SM, and once in how to navigate around, does anyone have a link to this? Also is there a service manual in PDF of our sets?

Here is my red ghost of death.

The repair man said it was a normal thing. A large red ghost image is a normal thing?!? Well, forget that. This Hitachi is history. I'm getting rid of this piece of crap and getting a Sony.

Originally posted by serro821
This Hitachi is history. I'm getting rid of this piece of crap and getting a Sony.

If I remember right that's exactly what I said about 6 months ago. Every time I see one in a store I just laugh and think to myself that was one of the best moves I've ever made.

So because you've encountered a lousy service guy your conclusion is that all Hitachis are crap. Ever studied logic?

Originally posted by DangerMouse1964
So because you've encountered a lousy service guy your conclusion is that all Hitachis are crap. Ever studied logic?

I never had a service guy out to my Hitachi, I just looked at the PQ, the design, the build and came to that conclusion. I don't think all Hitachis are crap, just the V500.
I'm a big fan of logic, you should try to use it instead of bias sometime. :rolleyes:

has anyone heard of dust getting into the light engine or light path? My tv has a dark purple spot that is only visable on completely black scenes. I heard it could be dust or a smudge on something? Make sense? Also, does anyone know how to get into the service menu on the 60v500a?