hello, I've been reading this whole thread on the problems with the Hitachi v500/a series tv's and my parents have one and asked me to see what I found out.

My parents have a 60V500A since may/june 2004 and havent had problems until about 6months ago, we never had problems with the red cloud or red hue, but instead we have a problem with a greenish tint for the whole picture of the television. My dad tried to play with the color settings, but it was not doing anything to the picture, I notice this wasnt really a problem being discussed as more were having problems with the red cloud, But when can be the problem? My dad called and they told him it may be the light engine. I've tried to search on google, but havent found anything about a greenish tint for the whole picture.

I have pictures of what I am describing, but I just registered and it wont let me post them, if anyone wants to post them for me, it would be appreciated, Thanks

Im selling my 50v500 (perfect, no issues or anything with the light engine, had an issue i thought was it but after calibration its now fine) but i was just wondering what you guys think is a good price to move this tv on craigslist or something. Ive got it at 825 right now with only 1 person who emailed me about it and never followed me up with another.

We bought our 50V500 in the fall of 2004. The lamp blew in August of 2006 and we replaced it with a generic one (LTIN/UX21511). The generic lamp blew at the beginning of this month. My question is this a) is this not a pretty short life for the bulb and b) could it be related to the lamp fan? How do I check to make sure that the lamp fan is working properly

Once every five days it will. Lamp and Lamp ballast are confirmed good. A low volume pulsing whine sound can be heard vicinity behind the right speaker at back of set. Somnetimes temp light lights up sometimes lamp light lights up, but in every case when startup does not occur, there is no sound from the fan and the the faint pulsing sound is heard, then I pull the plug to reset and try again.

Anyone have a clue what is not happening inside my set?

Thanks!

I am going to sell my Hitachi, but wasn't sure how much to sell it for? What would you suggest?

So far I've had good luck with this set, but I have some vertical banding, and while it's not completely obvious all the time, it's just annoying enough to make me want to fiddle around with the service menu. Has anyone had any luck eliminating this by toying around in the service menu?

From what I understand, there is a "STRIPE" setting that controls vertical lines, and if I adjust that setting, I should be able to reduce the visible vertical banding.

Any suggestions?

I've been checking out these posts for a while since I noticed the red cloud on my 60v500A a few months ago. Today I had the light engine replaced under the extended warrenty from Sears. What a huge difference. The new picture is fantastic. Blacks are black. Whites are bright white. Colors are more vibrant. Seriously a night and day difference. I don't know if its better than what it was when I bought it (that was 2 years ago) but its defintely a huge improvement over what it was yesterday. FYI - One thing I noticed when he replaced the LE was how dusty the lens on the old one was. I was surprised at how bad it was. Even with no red cloud problem the picture quality had to have been suffering because of that layer of dust on the lens. The repairman said it could make a big difference and I should have it cleaned periodically. I definitely will, because it was filthy. FYI 2 - the box for the LE was delivered to my house a few days before the repair. The LE box was labeled "REFURBISHED" and the repairman said Sears would sending my old LE to Hitachi and I assume they would repair and resell it?

Regarding the repair persons recomendation above, is there any easy way for us owners to do this ourselves? What is involved in opening the TV housing to clean out this dust?

Thanks.

So far I've had good luck with this set, but I have some vertical banding, and while it's not completely obvious all the time, it's just annoying enough to make me want to fiddle around with the service menu. Has anyone had any luck eliminating this by toying around in the service menu?

From what I understand, there is a "STRIPE" setting that controls vertical lines, and if I adjust that setting, I should be able to reduce the visible vertical banding.

Any suggestions?
I posted about it here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9243142&&#post9243142). I ended up moving the setting one tick to the left. The lines are darker, and more visible when close to the screen, but I don't notice it as much when I'm sitting on my couch watching. When I made the lines lighter, they were much more visible, especially on light areas like smoke or sky. A little counterintuitive, but it's what I found. YMMV.

One note about entering the SM: I struggled a lot when following the directions to press and hold both INPUT and POWER simultaneously for 2 seconds.

What worked for me was to hold INPUT and just press and release POWER. I held INPUT for 2-5 secs and the menu came up every time, no matter which input I was on.

I uploaded a single zip file with the SM, so it's easier to get. Download the Hitachi 50V500 & 60V500 Service Manual here (http://www.bestsharing.com/files/mFEVpEm204721/Hitachi%2050V500-60V500%20Service%20Manual.zip.html).

For anyone who bought there 50V500 at Sears and bought the protection plan, has Sears ever replaced your TV?

Just had my LE replaced yesterday. Overall the picture quality is MUCH better than what I had before with the red cloud issue. Basically looks like a brand new TV. Here's the problem though, it seems the contrast is maxed out and I can't adjust it to be lower. The screen is incredibly bright. Not just brighter than before, but TOO bright.

Using the Cars dvd with the THX optimization screens, there is a white box that is supposed to show 8 shades of white/grey for adjusting contrast, but I can only see 2 shades (could see all 8 with my old LE). Regardless of if I adjust contrast from 100% to 0% I can't really tell a difference. (yes, even with contrast at 0%, the picture is just WAY too bright, almost hurts your eyes in a dark room)

It's almost as if contrast is "stuck" at 100%, whether I turn the setting down to 0% or not.

Has anyone had this problem with the new LE? Is it possible there is something I can adjust somewhere in the service menu to correct this?

Just had the light engine replaced for a 2nd time, thinking it would fix this "stuck contrast" problem, but no luck. The new light engine is no better than the last. Has this happened to anyone else? Basically, adjusting the contrast control all the way from 0% to 100% and back does nothing to the picture at all, and the default picture is way over contrasted, almost hurts your eyes in a dark room. The service tech came back today and did a factory reset from the service menu, because Hitachi doesn't know what else to do. Of course that didn't help, only made things worse as now all of my settings are reverted to factory defaults.

Am I the only one who can't get a decent light engine in this piece of *#@! set?

Is the vertical banding an issue for LCD Projection technology or is it just something that is noticeable on this particular set?

Every time I go to a store and see all the TV's without this, I keep kicking myself for not researching this particular set more before I bought it.

Just had the light engine replaced for a 2nd time, thinking it would fix this "stuck contrast" problem, but no luck. The new light engine is no better than the last. Has this happened to anyone else? Basically, adjusting the contrast control all the way from 0% to 100% and back does nothing to the picture at all, and the default picture is way over contrasted, almost hurts your eyes in a dark room. The service tech came back today and did a factory reset from the service menu, because Hitachi doesn't know what else to do. Of course that didn't help, only made things worse as now all of my settings are reverted to factory defaults

Well I heard back from the service tech after he spoke with Hitachi support. Basically they are giving up on me, saying they will no longer help me with the set. They say they replaced the light engine, which is what they needed to do to fix the original problem, and they will not provide further support for a TV with contrast that is "stuck" at 100% because they don't know what's wrong with it. WTF!?!?!

Any advice before I call them personally and raise hell? If they can't fix it, shouldn't they replace it?? Since buying the set a couple years ago, I've had it entirely replaced by Circuit City twice within 3 months, have now had 2 new light engines installed, and now they refuse to fix the situation. I should've bought a Sony.

I was in the service menu, and I guess I held down the right arrow for too long, because an "auto adjust" message popped up, and the brightness level is way too high now. I can sort of adjust the brigntness in the regular video settings menu, but it is still too bright.

Is there any way to reset this? Even a factory reset didn't fix this problem.

HELP!!!!

I was in the service menu, and I guess I held down the right arrow for too long, because an "auto adjust" message popped up, and the brightness level is way too high now. I can sort of adjust the brigntness in the regular video settings menu, but it is still too bright.

Is there any way to reset this? Even a factory reset didn't fix this problem.

HELP!!!!

Sounds similar to my problem, only I didn't cause it in the service menu, it started when the tech installed the new light engine. Does your contrast control do anything to the picture? I can adjust from 0% to 100% with no change in the picture at all, it's way to "bright".

Sounds similar to my problem, only I didn't cause it in the service menu, it started when the tech installed the new light engine. Does your contrast control do anything to the picture? I can adjust from 0% to 100% with no change in the picture at all, it's way to "bright".
My contrast control still works fine...all of my video settings that I can adjust in the normal menu work. But I apparently tweaked some kind of brightness setting in the service menu. I don't know how to fix it, and I'm afraid to try anything for fear that I may somehow make it worse.

Just to clarify my problem, should a factory reset make my picture this bright? Blacks are now gray. It doesn't make any sense that such a high brightness level would be a factory default.

Anyone know the particulars about a factory reset? Have I basically voided my warranty by doing this? I could always call a tech out.

Once every five days it will. Lamp and Lamp ballast are confirmed good. A low volume pulsing whine sound can be heard vicinity behind the right speaker at back of set. Somnetimes temp light lights up sometimes lamp light lights up, but in every case when startup does not occur, there is no sound from the fan and the the faint pulsing sound is heard, then I pull the plug to reset and try again.

Anyone have a clue what is not happening inside my set?

Thanks!

Sounds like a bad circuit board. I had this problem and reported it here somewhere.

I am going to sell my Hitachi, but wasn't sure how much to sell it for? What would you suggest?

If you pay me $500 I will come haul it off. Just joking of course, but in reality this set is a pile of crap. I am still mad at what me and my hitho brothers have gone thru after spending our hard earned money on such trash.

My brother bought my 50V500 about a month ago(with bad light engine). My 50V500 is from mid-late 03' I believe. Has there been anything filed against Hitachi(BBB maybe?), and I imagine they haven't issued a recall for the thing either. :mad:

I think the lowest i found a Refurb LE for was $500 about 6-8 months ago. I just don't want ot spend the money.

The set is useless unless you're in warranty. There's not much point in paying $500 or more to fix a bad light engine when you can go out and spend just a little more and get a better set.

I'm still having pretty serious vertical banding issues and I think I'm about to call a tech. Ugh.

16:9

Yeah

thanks for those thoughtful comments beinc

My brother bought my 50V500 about a month ago(with bad light engine). My 50V500 is from mid-late 03' I believe. Has there been anything filed against Hitachi(BBB maybe?), and I imagine they haven't issued a recall for the thing either. :mad:

I think the lowest i found a Refurb LE for was $500 about 6-8 months ago. I just don't want ot spend the money.

Call Hitachi and complain like mad. Try to get past the person who answers the phone, and get to the 2nd level of customer service - those are the people who will help you.

I explained everything I knew about how the original light engines are defective, due to their faulty design, and that all original light engines will eventually go bad after enough use. I mentioned avsforum and all the 100's of other people with the same problem, getting light engines replaced without being charged for the part. Mention how Hitachi is aware of the faulty design, but isn't doing anything about it, etc.

After enough arguing, I eventually got them to agree to ship out a new light engine at no cost. I still had to pay $250 in labor to have it installed, but was not charged for the part. Of course, if you've seen my earlier posts, I'm not in much better shape now after having it replaced twice, but it's worth a shot...

Maybe this is common knowledge, but I think I've figured out my problem with vertical banding. As you know, this set sometimes experiences pixel memory. I notice this if I watch an HD channel that isn't airing HD programming...the black bars on the side sort of temporarily burn in on the edges, and when you flip to 16:9 programming, you can still see the darker areas.

Anyway, it seems like my banding is caused by sort of the same thing. If you go into the service menu and page down to LCD Adjust-->Stripe, I think some of these settings are too dark, causing the lines to sort of burn-in as I watch programming. I've noticed that I see basically no banding when I turn the set on, but then it gradually gets more noticeable to the point where it's blatantly obvious after maybe 20-30 minutes.

Anyone else adjusted this setting on their set? I'm pretty mad that I even have to consider doing this. I watched the Super Bowl on a friend's Toshiba DLP and it blew this set out of the water. I totally regret getting a LCD Projection set.

Actually, the STRIPE settings didn't fix this. Does anyone have any ideas? It is EXTREMELY annoying. Does this require a new light engine?

I don't notice banding at all when I first turn on the TV, but it progressively gets worse and worse as the tv runs. Ugh. Any help is appreciated.

Ok, I figured out the NRSH line adjustment and this fixed my banding issues. But my picture is still somewhat out of wack.

On the second page of the service menu, there is an auto adjust for RGB 480p. From what the service manual says, I'm supposed to input the "RGB Amplitude Adjustment Signal" and hold the right arrow until the set auto adjusts.

What the heck is the RGB Adjustment signal? Does anyone have any ideas here?

well its just been under 1 year since i had the LE replaced on my 60v500 and now it needs another one (good thing i have a EW) , i just had the service tech in and he confirmed its a bad LE however the symptoms are different than last time,, its not a red blob issue, but its more like bits of color retention when the image on the screen changes from light to dark, also the PQ has deteriorated rapidly, has anyone else experienced anything like this,

Well I figured out my RGB 480P auto adjust problem. I used the half-black/half-white test pattern from the GetGray calibration disc, and it worked like a charm.

My picture is still great (except for some banding that is still visible). i bought it back in August '05, so 18 months and no serious issues for me (knock knock knock).

I am bumping this thread, because this thread is what helped me get a resolution on my Optical Engine replacement.

Good stuff guys... Thanks for the wealth of info.

well its just been under 1 year since i had the LE replaced on my 60v500 and now it needs another one (good thing i have a EW) , i just had the service tech in and he confirmed its a bad LE however the symptoms are different than last time,, its not a red blob issue, but its more like bits of color retention when the image on the screen changes from light to dark, also the PQ has deteriorated rapidly, has anyone else experienced anything like this,

Had a 60v525 Canadian model that had the identical problem. It was only 3 days old. Needless to say this unit was replaced and the replacement has been fine ever since.

well its just been under 1 year since i had the LE replaced on my 60v500 and now it needs another one (good thing i have a EW) , i just had the service tech in and he confirmed its a bad LE however the symptoms are different than last time,, its not a red blob issue, but its more like bits of color retention when the image on the screen changes from light to dark, also the PQ has deteriorated rapidly, has anyone else experienced anything like this,

To follow up, the service center is coming to pick up my tv on Saturday according to the tech they are replacing the LE with a new one (with a new bulb) ,according to the tech it is the same part # as the one they replaced less than a year ago, i have to think if they haven't improved these LE from a year ago i find it hard to believe i wont have more problems down the road, the good thing is i still have over 2 years left on the EW, with a 3 repair replacement policy im pretty confident they will be replacing this tv before the EW is up , the question i have, due to the history of this tv's LE has any one been offered a replacement before the tv needed a 3rd repair, i was thinking of talking to a supervisor about this at the repair center.

Hi all, have had my hitachi 50v500A since october 04, no problems like that are stated in this group. none .not braggin, maybe got lucky with this set. so thank you all who played a role in helping chose this brand and set.

I just want to thank everyone...if it wasn't for this forum I would not have a happy ending to my"red blob" problem.
Back in Jan.0f 2004 i purchased a Hitachi 60V500A direct from the Hitachi offices in Mississauga through a friend of mine that knew one of the Vice-Presidents.

The T.V. was delivered but with-in one day it would not turn on so I called and a replacement was delivered.
All was well until about a year ago and I noticed a little red blob but since it really didn't effect the picture I did nothing about it.
After time the blob grew larger so I called Hitachi and was told by their customer service rep that it was caused by dust.
Fast forward to the middle of Jan.2007 I took on the task of getting all the screws removed and try and figure out how to clean the dust out of the television.
I bought four cans of compressed air duster and cleaned everything....
Did not make any difference!!
So I get the bright idea to "google" for 60V500A and ended up on this site.
After cursing myself for not coming here first before I took the television apart I discovered I was not alone with the dreaded red blob.
I called Hitachi and was told to contact my local Hitachi repair depot and arrange for a quote....oh!! oh!! and this is when I was told there was NO problems with this telivision.
I told the customer rep. I was fully aware that the optical light engine on these sets were a problem according to many av sites on the net and he just blew me off as if it were just rumors.

The service tech arrived the next day and didn't have to do anything except charge me $70.00 to tell me what I had told Hitachi customer service and him when he walked in my front door.
Then the fun began....I called customer service and was told to fax in my original bill of sale and they would call the service tech who came out and get a quote.

I called customer service a couple days later and was told that since I was out of warranty there was nothing that could be done.
I explained that I had spent $5700.00cdn. for this T.V. and stand and was told that the only thing I would ever have to do would be to replace the light bulb every 7000 hours at around $200.00 and the T.V. would be like new.
I was never offered a EW from the factory and did he mean I have a $5700.00 boat anchor.
That I owned several Hitachi CRT sets that were at least 8 years old and looked as good as the day I bought them.
That this was the payment I get as being a early adopter ..........Finally he agreed to take it to head office and see what they could do.
Two weeks of solid calling everyday sometimes two times a day and still no answer back from head office.
Finally they said they would pay half for the LE and I pay the labour.
I said no way because that would bring me almost 1000.00cdn. I an guessing I am getting a reburb for that.
They said they would let head office know of my decision and call back in a couple of days.
When I called back their offer was still the same.
Out of fustration I called the head office in Mississauga and managed to get past the receptionist and for her to direct my call to someone there NOT reroute me back to customer service.
She connected me to a guy by the name of John.
He let me talk and listened to my problem and said he would get back to me in a couple days.
End of story.
I got a call today March 1/2007 Hitachi is paying for the LE and I am paying for the labour.

Will update when all is done.


Thanks to this forum I knew enough NOT to take NO fo an answer from Hitachi customer service.

well i was just wondering if you can reverse this setting in the service menu 480p
after i activated it the screen brighten up.it looks washed out.is there anyway to fix it?scared as hell.
thanks for any help in advance





I had nothing to loose since they are replacing my Light engine so I did the 480p check and sure enough I have the same thing as you.
Screen looks like it has too much contrast....and bright.
I have the service manual but cant find the fix.
The tech that is going to replace my LE is a pretty good guy I will see if he knows how to fix this problem and post it here.

To follow up, the service center is coming to pick up my tv on Saturday according to the tech they are replacing the LE with a new one (with a new bulb) ,according to the tech it is the same part # as the one they replaced less than a year ago, i have to think if they haven't improved these LE from a year ago i find it hard to believe i wont have more problems down the road, the good thing is i still have over 2 years left on the EW, with a 3 repair replacement policy im pretty confident they will be replacing this tv before the EW is up , the question i have, due to the history of this tv's LE has any one been offered a replacement before the tv needed a 3rd repair, i was thinking of talking to a supervisor about this at the repair center.

Virtually all the LE's we've been replacing in the V500's the past 6 months to a year have been Hitachi refurbs. We've had our share of these new rebuilds going bad, usually not the red screen problem either.

well i thought i fixed it but know the darks are to dark i wish i knew how to reset it back to how it was.
does anyone know where i can download a service manual
thanks

peppboy there is a link for the service menu in a post one page back.

now to follow up on my 2nd LE, i just received my tv back from the service center and i still have the problem, now the picture does look a little better but thats most likely due to the new bulb, the problem is when the scene changes from bright to dark you see a ghost image on the dark screen, i am thinking its a different problem than the LE, has any one else had this problem and if yes what was it

thanks for the tip i will down load it
thankyou.

Hi guys,

I'm so glad I've stumbled upon this site. I have the Hitachi 60v500a, purchased it in 2005, "only" have 3600 hours on the bulb (I've heard of these bulbs lasting over 8000 hrs). Basically what happens is occasionally when I try to turn on the tv it will not turn on. The lights will flash in sequence (power, temp, then lamp) and there is a buzzing noise in the lamp area that occurs every 6-9 seconds and happens a maximum of 5 times before the television shuts off. The lamp led then stays lit, with the others off. The manual states this as the television warming up, but says nothing about the buzzing noise. Usually when this happens the next time I turn on the television it turns on quickly and without a problem. Today I had to do this about 7 times before the television turned on. I checked the lamp and it lamp looks fine (lamp does not look "blown"), and when I do get a picture, its great (brightness is exceptional).

Is anyone else having this problem? I really don't think this is a bulb issue, I think its more to do with the unit itself. Does anyone else's unit's buzz as well?

Is anyone else having this problem?

Is anyone else having this problem? I really don't think this is a bulb issue, I think its more to do with the unit itself. Does anyone else's unit's buzz as well?

Is anyone else having this problem?

Yes! I had pretty much the exact same problem.

I have the 50vf820-next model after the v500 and i had this problem. i had a tech come out and apparently there was a wire that wasn't hooked up properly or something. i wasn't around when they came to fix. I still have problems turning the TV on once in a blue moon, but no buzzing anymore. try unplugging-waiting a minute or two and then trying to turn it on again. i would def. have tech come out though!!!!

Yes! I had pretty much the exact same problem.

I have the 50vf820-next model after the v500 and i had this problem. i had a tech come out and apparently there was a wire that wasn't hooked up properly or something. i wasn't around when they came to fix. I still have problems turning the TV on once in a blue moon, but no buzzing anymore. try unplugging-waiting a minute or two and then trying to turn it on again. i would def. have tech come out though!!!!

Thanks! Its a good thing I purchased the extended warranty! I'll call to have a tech come and check it out. BTW, it came on fine today, no buzzing, no warm-up. Weird. But we'll see....

Wanted to give you guys a heads up on when you go looking for a replacement lamp. A site called laptopsforless.com has the lowest price and the worst customer service. They don't return calls or respond to emails. Stay away from them.

BoldFace: I had that same problem today, the manual told me the lamp has failed. I have an extended waranty from CC and called them. They are going to send me a new lamp this week.

After trying to turn on a few times I finally got a picture so we'll see if the new lamp makes this any better. I've had the tv since Dec 2003 and have about 7000 hours on the original lamp.

BoldFace: I had that same problem today, the manual told me the lamp has failed. I have an extended waranty from CC and called them. They are going to send me a new lamp this week.

After trying to turn on a few times I finally got a picture so we'll see if the new lamp makes this any better. I've had the tv since Dec 2003 and have about 7000 hours on the original lamp.

I guess my lamp is failing in half the time. :mad: I would like to see if this fixes your problem.

Update: My problem hasn't happened since then. Turns on quickly now. I'll keep you guys posted.

I just picked up a 50V500 from a co worker who purchased it new from CC in 2004. Of course, the warranty is out, and no EW was purchased. I had this set a total of THREE DAYS before it took a dump. At any rate, it's already in the shop and I am calling Hitachi CS/CR tomorrow to explain the situation in hopes that they will cover the LE and labor. I know that the same shop that my set is in replaced a LE in another 50v500 a few weeks ago on Hitachi's dime.

Wish me luck!

BoldFace: I got the new lamp today, took me 10 minutes to install and the tv looks great, no problems starting up. I guess the EW finally paid off.

Where is a good place to purchase a bulb for the Hitachi 60V500A?

Thank you,
Harry

Get your lamp here (http://www.tritronicsinc.com/cgi-bin/onramp.exe?pgm=itemdet_cs.bbx&custnum=RETAIL&password=1153011679&id=LT-UX21511++++++++++)

I purchased my 50V500 in March 2004 and in June 2004 it developed a purple "smudge" on the screen. They replaced the light engine in July 2004. I was at this site a lot back then. What brought me back is that recently I've noticed when my screen is black, there seems to be a pink/red tint in the center of the screen. It is not noticeable during normal programming or in the black side bars. Sounds like this is likely to get worse the longer I wait. I have an EW with CC through March 2008.

I would assume that although I've had my light engine replaced in 2004, it was prior to the redesign that I've been reading about.

I purchased my 50V500 in March 2004 and in June 2004 it developed a purple "smudge" on the screen. They replaced the light engine in July 2004. I was at this site a lot back then. What brought me back is that recently I've noticed when my screen is black, there seems to be a pink/red tint in the center of the screen. It is not noticeable during normal programming or in the black side bars. Sounds like this is likely to get worse the longer I wait. I have an EW with CC through March 2008.

I would assume that although I've had my light engine replaced in 2004, it was prior to the redesign that I've been reading about.

you need another light engine. if you are lucky, maybe cc will give you your money back as an instore credit and you can get a new tv. :D

Get your lamp here (http://www.tritronicsinc.com/cgi-bin/onramp.exe?pgm=itemdet_cs.bbx&custnum=RETAIL&password=1153011679&id=LT-UX21511++++++++++)

I think I have a slightly used spare lamp. If anyone is interested you can pm me.

Sold.

Hey everyone, I'm new here and have some questions.

For those that have replaced their own bulb, is it difficult? Did you go with one supplied by Hitachi or some other brand? My shop is quoting me ~280, I've seen bulbs online for ~160. Any reason to pay for the one at the shop?

Also, I've got the same red cloud! Shocker! Mine is a 60vx500. How annoying. I've put in a call to Hitachi and they're calling my shop for the diagnosis. The TV was purchased 12/03, so it's over 3 years old. Anyone else get them to replace the LE with a TV that old?

Thanks all!

-M

Hey everyone, I'm new here and have some questions.

For those that have replaced their own bulb, is it difficult? Did you go with one supplied by Hitachi or some other brand? My shop is quoting me ~280, I've seen bulbs online for ~160. Any reason to pay for the one at the shop?

Also, I've got the same red cloud! Shocker! Mine is a 60vx500. How annoying. I've put in a call to Hitachi and they're calling my shop for the diagnosis. The TV was purchased 12/03, so it's over 3 years old. Anyone else get them to replace the LE with a TV that old?

Thanks all!

-M

Yes, call the customer relations department at 1-800-654-7013. You should be able convince them to pay for the LE part. You'll most likely have to cover the diagnosis and labor.

GOOD NEWS! I just spoke to my repair shop and Hitachi authorized the replacement of the LE, I will just be paying the labor.

What have others paid for labor? My shop said $250. Is this similar to other's experiences?

Thanks again!

you need another light engine. if you are lucky, maybe cc will give you your money back as an instore credit and you can get a new tv. :D

I do recall something in the cc plan that would replace the tv after 3 service calls. They have already replaced my LE once. Another time my screen brightness was way down and there was a pink color on the whole picture. They came out and went into the service menu and it was a quick fix. This latest issue will be the third service call. I'll have to look into the details.

It is hard not to hope for this, on the other hand, some people are saying that their picture is better than ever before after they received their new LE.

Anyone actually had an EW with CC and got their tv replaced after enough problems?

Anyone actually had an EW with CC and got their tv replaced after enough problems?

Yes, several have including myself. You are correct you have to have 3 problems. On the third problem you have to push City Advantage to do the exchange before the repair is done. All of what happened to me is documented in this thread. Search "manpig" on the thread search and you will see how it is done at least from my perspective. Good luck.

I rec'd this set from a co worker a few weeks back. It was purchased from CC in Nov 2003 and did not have the EW, according to CC.When I first picked it up and got it home, I noticed that there was a red hue about cantaloupe sized in the screen. Oh well, it was given to me, so how could I complain?

When i got it home, I immediately Googled it and found that there were MANY issues with it and the LE..

Oh great... now i have a bunk set...

Then three days later, the lamp took a dump..

He offered to pay for whatever was wrong with it if I wanted... but I declined saying that I would see if Hitachi woudl cover it. I already felt like it was a defective LE, and he said he'd never had it serviced.. so I guess you tend to 'get used' to the red cloud... I can't see how tho, as noticable as it was to me... Then again, I was in theatre management for 17 years, so I tend to notice things most people never would (until i point it out!).

Dropped it off at the local shop (props to A-1 Electronics!) and get the verdict the next day.. Bad lamp and LE. Get it touch with Hitachi and speak with a Customer Relations rep... In case you don't already know this, as with many worldwide manufacturers, the first layer of warranty, or service related issues are pre-screened with low level phone reps. Immediately ask to speak to a supervisor , albiet in a kindly manner, of low level phone person can't provide immediate satisfaction. There job is to simply say NO and get you off the phone without satisfaction...

Anyway, spoke to CR person who read my file (blah blah), I kindly explained that the set was a great set, but there were many outstanding issues with this set, much like there are typically issues with new cars when they first hit the streets. (I named the new Tundra in specific) I advised that while it wasn't his fault, and given the fact that I was well aware of numerous others who have had the same issue and that the defective part has been modified to correct the problem, that Hitachi should be willing to stand behind their product and at least offer a free replacement LE, either rebuilt or new, made no difference to me.

He states that he is sorry to hear of my misfortune and taht he will get a NEW LE, not a replacement, out to A-1 Electronics in the next couple days. He would need to contact them to verify, get shipping addy, etc, and get the NEW LE out to them. It would be MY responsibility to pay any labor charges, which was exactly what I was after in the first place...

To me, it was a win win situation.. I got a replacement LE at no cost, and Hitachi will, in all likelihood, get my next home entertainment purchase... :D

Way to go to all those who have held steadfast that they do the right thing and give replacement LE's out for what was, apparently, a design flaw from the get-go..

As with everything else in life, YMMV.

My labor is $350, which also includes lamp replacement. The lamp itself is $314,, which seems a bit hight to me, but, as indicated in prior posts, my co worker is paying for replacement costs... so I REALLY can't complain...

I mean, I get a free TV, get it repaired under warranty (because Hitachi did the right thing!) AND he is picking up the costs of labor & lamp... Wish ALL of my past coworkers were that damn cool.. :) So Scharf Dawg, if you ever stumble upon this post, you my friend, are BOMB. :D

GOOD NEWS! I just spoke to my repair shop and Hitachi authorized the replacement of the LE, I will just be paying the labor.

What have others paid for labor? My shop said $250. Is this similar to other's experiences?

Thanks again!

I've read most all of the posts in this thread and have come to the realization that I am probably screwed. I have a 50V720 with no extended warranty, the warranty expired 12/2006. The bulb went out 01/07. Up until that point the TV was perfect, no trouble at all. Then after receiving the replacement bulb (which took 2 months to get) and installing it, I now have a blue blob, ghost, ???? at the top center of the screen which grows and shrinks at random. I was extremely careful not to touch the glass on the lamp and checked it for fingerprints. It seems to be fine. I am not sure of where to go from here. Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated. I have seen posts about Mem Init and service menus, LE replacements, etc. Ugh. It seems like this kind of investment should yield more than 2 weeks past the warranty period.

I've read most all of the posts in this thread and have come to the realization that I am probably screwed. I have a 50V720 with no extended warranty, the warranty expired 12/2006. The bulb went out 01/07. Up until that point the TV was perfect, no trouble at all. Then after receiving the replacement bulb (which took 2 months to get) and installing it, I now have a blue blob, ghost, ???? at the top center of the screen which grows and shrinks at random. I was extremely careful not to touch the glass on the lamp and checked it for fingerprints. It seems to be fine. I am not sure of where to go from here. Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated. I have seen posts about Mem Init and service menus, LE replacements, etc. Ugh. It seems like this kind of investment should yield more than 2 weeks past the warranty period.

Can you post a pic of your blue blob? If it is blue and drippy looking, it is probably the light engine and you may be able to get Hitachi to cover the part and just pay for the labor. See all the other posts about doing this.

My labor is $350, which also includes lamp replacement. The lamp itself is $314,, which seems a bit hight to me, but, as indicated in prior posts, my co worker is paying for replacement costs... so I REALLY can't complain...

I mean, I get a free TV, get it repaired under warranty (because Hitachi did the right thing!) AND he is picking up the costs of labor & lamp... Wish ALL of my past coworkers were that damn cool.. :) So Scharf Dawg, if you ever stumble upon this post, you my friend, are BOMB. :D

Labor is $350 including lamp replacement
Lamp is $314

Does this mean your total bill is $664 or $350?

I am a bit confused. I am also confused by the part where your co-worker gave you a tv for free and is now paying to have it repaired. Unless of course you look like Beyonce and he wants some of that. ;)

need help deciding, i have posted my issues with my 60v500a LE well now the tv just had its 3rd LE put in, the warranty co now offered to replace the tv but not for what i paid for it but they will give me a credit for another 60in tv something in the sony A2000 price range, im not to happy about this because most people getting replacements are getting a credit for the original purchase price, in fact i was told i would get the original price but of course nothing in writing, any way i just wanted your guys opinion, if you would accept this, my tv still has over 2 years left on the warranty and the LE was replaced ( 3rd time), if i keep my tv i would bet it will need a 4th LE in about a year but who knows and if the LE makes it another 2 years I would lose out on a replacement what would you guys do? thanks

need help deciding, i have posted my issues with my 60v500a LE well now the tv just had its 3rd LE put in, the warranty co now offered to replace the tv but not for what i paid for it but they will give me a credit for another 60in tv something in the sony A2000 price range, im not to happy about this because most people getting replacements are getting a credit for the original purchase price, in fact i was told i would get the original price but of course nothing in writing, any way i just wanted your guys opinion, if you would accept this, my tv still has over 2 years left on the warranty and the LE was replaced ( 3rd time), if i keep my tv i would bet it will need a 4th LE in about a year but who knows and if the LE makes it another 2 years I would lose out on a replacement what would you guys do? thanks

Who is your warranty provider? The reason I ask is because mine was thru CC and they did the same thing with me. They had some Mits tv shown as the replacement. When I went to the store I told the lady that was helping me that I was not happy with that tv and just wanted in-store credit for what I had paid originally and then I would pick out the tv I wanted and pay any difference. She did not give me any flack.


Regardless, I would replace it.

Who is your warranty provider? The reason I ask is because mine was thru CC and they did the same thing with me. They had some Mits tv shown as the replacement. When I went to the store I told the lady that was helping me that I was not happy with that tv and just wanted in-store credit for what I had paid originally and then I would pick out the tv I wanted and pay any difference. She did not give me any flack.


Regardless, I would replace it.

The Store is PC Richards they are about the same size as BB and CC and they compete directly with them in the NY area, they have always been reliable in the past in fact i have purchased just about every piece of electronics from them in the past 15 years but after this i am a little disappointed, As for the replacement, to clear up what i said, i had used the Sony A2000 as an example, they offered me a $2500 store credit + tax,and the loss of the balance of the warranty the original cost of the tv and warranty was about $3700+ tax and stand it was about $4400

Hey Pig...You O'l dog, How are things going? Still got your hit? I do, and now I need my second LE. The pink blob this time. I'ts a struggle man.

Bruce

I'm so glad I found this forum. It will be 3 years since I purchased my V500 in May. Luckily i got a 3 year extended warranty when i bought the tv. I ordered a lamp last weekend thinking that was the problem, but I guess it's the Light Engine. My question is for those who have had the LE replaced. Has this problem re-occured? Have you had to replace the LE again?

Sorry if this has already been answered...there are too many posts to go through
Thanks

Hey Pig...You O'l dog, How are things going? Still got your hit? I do, and now I need my second LE. The pink blob this time. I'ts a struggle man.

Bruce

Hey Buddy, long time no talk to. No, I had so many problems with my Hit that CC finally gave me instore credit for what I had paid for the Hit and I got a 60 inch Sony SXRD. :D Had it for quite awhile now with zero problemos. Sorry to hear about your problems, but what can I say.

they have the revised LE. You "shouldn't" have the same issue as us V500 owners. Though by now, I think 90% of us have had the LE replaced to the modified version.

My daughter had her LE replaced under extended warranty and was wondering how I can tell if the new LE is the updated unit. I also noted the extensive amount of stuff that had to be removed just to replace the LE. What a pain. I have a Samsung DLP and the LE can be replaced in about 10 minutes. Also, the tech didn't make any ajustments after installing, but the picture is great regardless. Any thoughts on this?

Have you had to replace the LE again?



Many have had to have their LE replaced more than once and many have not.

My daughter had her LE replaced under extended warranty and was wondering how I can tell if the new LE is the updated unit. I also noted the extensive amount of stuff that had to be removed just to replace the LE. What a pain. I have a Samsung DLP and the LE can be replaced in about 10 minutes. Also, the tech didn't make any ajustments after installing, but the picture is great regardless. Any thoughts on this?

How old is your daughter?

BTW, we have the original Philips brand lamps for your Hitachi TVs...bare OEM bulbs for a fraction of the retail price on our discount-merchant online store.

How old is your daughter?

I see you haven't changed pig! :D

How old is your daughter?

Texas is a big state Pig, but you better hope she never finds you. She's armed and dangerous.

Texas is a big state Pig, but you better hope she never finds you. She's armed and dangerous.

I can play submissive if I have to. Tell her to bring it. ;)

The total bill is $650, which does include the labor and lamp replacement. As far as my buddy giving me the set and then paying for the repair cost... some people are just stand up kinda folks who do the right thing...

I told him I would pay for the lamp, but he said not to worry about it.. he'd take care of it... Who am I to argue?

Should pick up the set tomorrow.. :) I've been out of town for 10 days...

The light on the front panel indicating a problem with the lamp is on, this is the 2nd time this has happened to me. I got a new one back on 4/12 and all was well until yesterday. I do have a cc ew and they are coming out on Sat. for fix. According to cc if I have the same problem 3 times then they will replace the tv, is this correct? I did have another service call in Oct 06 to fix my picture which was looking pink.

I got a new one back on 4/12 and all was well until yesterday.

You got a new what back on 4-12? Lamp? If so, I pretty much figured this would not fix the problem of your set not powering on sometimes and then sometimes it would if that is what your problem was. This is either a bad lamp ballast or one of the circuit boards.

CC's replacement policy is 3 major problems but you have to ask for replacement by calling the City Advantage number and getting it approved.

Hi guys, im posting this question to those of you that had there tv replaced under warranty or just upgraded after having enough with the problems of these tvs, my main question is after getting a $3000 credit from the warranty co. i was sure i was going to replace the 60v500a with the 60in sxrd xbr2 but when i looked at the sxrd in a few different show rooms i was not that impressed, now it does seem better that the Hit but not by much, and now that i need a new tv im looking for something that has that wow factor, so than i come across the 52in xbr3 and that to me has the wow factor but being used to a 60in i feel going down to a 52in will be a problem, my viewing distance is between 8 and 11 ft so my question, what have you guys replaced your 500v with and has any of you gotten a smaller screen and if yes are you happy going smaller thanks guys

manpig: I got a new lamp back on 3/12 (not 4/12) and on 4/7 the tv would not power on, the light indicating a problem with the lamp is on now. With the original lamp prior to the replacement on 3/12 the tv would sometimes power on and sometimes it would not.

manpig: I got a new lamp back on 3/12 (not 4/12) and on 4/7 the tv would not power on, the light indicating a problem with the lamp is on now. With the original lamp prior to the replacement on 3/12 the tv would sometimes power on and sometimes it would not.

I had the same problem once upon a time. It is documented here in this thread somewhere. As I recall the tech replaced the lamp ballast and a circuit board. He wasn't sure which was the culprit but since he ordered both he replaced both. The problem went away.

Hi guys, im posting this question to those of you that had there tv replaced under warranty or just upgraded after having enough with the problems of these tvs, my main question is after getting a $3000 credit from the warranty co. i was sure i was going to replace the 60v500a with the 60in sxrd xbr2 but when i looked at the sxrd in a few different show rooms i was not that impressed, now it does seem better that the Hit but not by much, and now that i need a new tv im looking for something that has that wow factor, so than i come across the 52in xbr3 and that to me has the wow factor but being used to a 60in i feel going down to a 52in will be a problem, my viewing distance is between 8 and 11 ft so my question, what have you guys replaced your 500v with and has any of you gotten a smaller screen and if yes are you happy going smaller thanks guys

I did the opposite. When I got my instore credit I upgraded from a Hit 50 to a Sony SXRD 60. Mine isn't the XBR series tho. I think the model is KDS-60A2000.
As far as I am concerned the bigger screen the better.

Do I think the Sony is head over heals better than the Hit? No. It is a 1080P display so that looks great when coupled with the right upconverting DVD player.
HD looks very good but not head over heals better than the Hit. Standard Def looks about the same to me as it did on the Hit. Also, there are several functions the Hit had that are superior to the Sony. But the main thing for me is that I have had this tv for quite awhile now and the best damn thing is that I have had zero problems! After what I went thru with my Hit, I can't tell you how great that is.
Good luck.

I have used the service menu before to do a memory init which had fixed my overly red picture problem. I have the service manual and it says to "Enter the I2C mode from the front panel by pressing and holding the INPUT and the POWER button for two seconds, then release"

This doesn't work. I got into it before after an hour or so of trying. Does anyone have the key to this? It is very finicky.

Power down the TV when you are on input 3, 4, or 5, then try. Sometimes the menu won't come up when you are on input 1 or 2.

Be sure your service tech is smarter than mine, and puts a 50V500 light engine into your 50V500 TV. In earlier posts I mentioned problems I was having after my new light engine was installed -- couldn't adjust contrast, menus were cropped off the screen, etc.

Finally they sent a new service tech to my house who figured out the problem -- the previous guy had ordered a light engine for the 50V500A model. The TV worked, but it caused a bunch of incompatibilities. (After having 2 incorrect light engines installed, even Hitachi didn't know what the problem was.)

When he installed the correct light engine this week, he showed me the paperwork that comes with the light engine, from Hitachi, with a big warning not to install the 50V500A light engines in 50V500 sets.

Power down the TV when you are on input 3, 4, or 5, then try. Sometimes the menu won't come up when you are on input 1 or 2.


Also, as you do this, just keep the INPUT button depressed as you power on and see the service menu and then release it. I found this to work better than just following the 2 second rule.

Also, as you do this, just keep the INPUT button depressed as you power on and see the service menu and then release it. I found this to work better than just following the 2 second rule.

Still having trouble. The TV is off and was on input 3-5 when it was last on. I press INPUT and POWER at the same time and hold. Once the screen becomes visible I release the input button and then the power button. I also tried releasing the power button first and then the input button. Still no menu. Am I missing something??

Ok, I figured it out. press INPUT and then POWER to turn the TV on. Then when you see the menu let go of INPUT and then let go of POWER. I went to factory reset and then to memory init. The tint is now gone. Oddly enough I will have to do this again in a number of months as the color drifts. I bought this TV in Jan of 2004. Still have same bulb and LE.

so the cc guy came out yesterday and the replacement lamp that they sent me last month was a refub by LTI - the guy said they have about a 50% failure rate with those and not sure why they send them out. He happened to have a new Hitachi lamp and everything seems to working again.

LTI lamps are very poor quality. I am on my second one in less than 60 days and I know of at least one other person who is on their third.

When I phoned them to complain, they tried to tell me it was my ballast that was failing. Evidentially it controls the power regulation to the lamp assembly. However, when I mentioned that I put my original 8000hr bulb back in and it continued to work fine (tho, a little dimmer, hence the replacement) they changed there tune.

Sorry, but TV's don't know "which" lamp is installed, to me there is simply an issue with the LTI QC.

Anyone know where I can get a stand for my 60VX500A?

It looks like new they're $300.

Thanks for any suggestions!

I'm also up for suggestions of other good/affordable stands for a TV this size.

I had my light engine replaced just over a year ago on my 60v500 due to the red cloud. Had no problems getting it fixed with the extended warranty from Circuit City. About a month ago I noticed a stuck pixel in the middle of the screen. I have seen on here that you have to have more than one to get repaired but decided to call CC anyway. Repair guy came out and looked at it and said he would submit claim for my second light engine. It took a few calls back to CC but I got word yesterday that they are going to exchange the tv and not repair it. It is actually going to be a store credit.

Manpig are you still happy with your sony? Has anyone gone to any other brands?

Manpig are you still happy with your sony? Has anyone gone to any other brands?

yeah, other than a few minor things like no PIP, the freeze mode sucks, no separate input buttons on the remote. other than that aok. i would look at
the LCD models out now and see how it compares to them. good luck and congrats.

also, having two hdmi ports is nice. the more the better. i already use one for an upconverting dvd player and just recently started using the other to input my laptop
directly to the tv.

Went to CC last night to look around. It is pretty amazing how much the prices have dropped. While I was there, I asked about returning the matching stand I have and they gave me a full refund for that also. I need to call the warranty department again about transferring over the rest of my extended warranty.

The wife really wants to go with a flat panel.

Just had the light engine replaced for a 2nd time, thinking it would fix this "stuck contrast" problem, but no luck. The new light engine is no better than the last. Has this happened to anyone else? Basically, adjusting the contrast control all the way from 0% to 100% and back does nothing to the picture at all, and the default picture is way over contrasted, almost hurts your eyes in a dark room. The service tech came back today and did a factory reset from the service menu, because Hitachi doesn't know what else to do. Of course that didn't help, only made things worse as now all of my settings are reverted to factory defaults.

Am I the only one who can't get a decent light engine in this piece of *#@! set?
I just had my LE replaced today. I'm having the same problem as you except everything is Yellow and Green...the service technician said that it was a bad LE, and they would have to order another one.

Update: Got my LE replaced yesterday. Now I have a new problem... there is a yellow tinted area across the top 3 inches of the screen. Anyone else had this problem? They are sending the technician out (again) next week.
same exact problem...the guy said they're gonna order another LE...the LE he brought was brand new. i dont understand why it is bad..,

My 50V500 has had the LE replaced 4 times over the last few years with the last one installed a little over a year ago. Now the extended warranty has expired and I am now getting a ghost image around everything....is this a simple fix not requiring to much $$$ or should I just scrap this piece of junk and get a new TV????

My 50V500 has had the LE replaced 4 times over the last few years with the last one installed a little over a year ago. Now the extended warranty has expired and I am now getting a ghost image around everything....is this a simple fix not requiring to much $$$ or should I just scrap this piece of junk and get a new TV????


See if this works.

Hey Manpig,

PM me where you live in Dallas I might be moving there in the VERY near future with New Twins (July) and looking for info on the area.

Thanks for the TV service menu info, but no matter what I try I can not get into the service menu (keep getting a temp alarm), comes up black. This TV has been a pain in my backside since it was bought a few years ago for a whopping $3500, 4 light engines what a joke.

Ordering the Mits WD-57831 tomorrow !!!

This Hitachi will move to an anchor on my Sea Ray !!!! LOL

Funny thing is I am in my home office now, watching a 19" Hitachi CRT that is 20 years old and I bought it at a German BX, I'm prior Air Force.

Yea I need to upgrade my office viewing but the dam still thing works.

Dan, I don't understand why you can't access the sm. Maybe I could help you over the phone if you are interested. PM me if you are.

I live in Lubbock which is 350 miles west of Dallas. Congrats on the pending twins....double the trouble. ha ha

What up, fellow hit hos

So I have the red blob- I've had it for like a year or something but due to sleep deprivation and deployed-to-Iraq-DH I'm just now getting around to getting it looked at. I have a service dude coming out tomorrow. The pic is red- annoying in black/white backgrounds- but definitely watchable...of course my standards have dropped considerably from what they once were...sleep deprivation will do that to you. I have reproduced for those of you that don't know.

I have the CC EW. If they can fix it I hope that's what they'll do. I like this tv, I'm happy with it (excepting red blob), I don't want another one :(. I don't want some POS TV with a reflective screen that I can do my hair and make up in :(. I haven't perused the tv section of a/v stores for fun in awhile, but that's what was out there the last time I looked. Course, this bad boy is getting up on five years old now, a geritol in a/v terms, so maybe it would behoove me to push for a newbie. We'll see, I guess.

Last gear purchase? The HD tivo...schweet!

Wowza! The queen of the hitso's speaks. How are you Ahardt? As you can see, even tho I am now a Sonyslut I remain committed to helping hithos. I really haven't made a connection to the SS bunch. Sorry bout your red blob but nothing a new LE can't take care of. Maybe you need to have that new youngun of yours spill some juice on some circuit boards and get to the 3 problems replace thingie CC has. Did I say that? And yes as usual you are so correct about reflective screen. Stop by my house anytime to do your make-up. ha ha. Man, it is great to see you post. Now all we need here is for Faxman to show up.

Let us know how that service call goes.

Ok no matter what I try when I try to acess the SM all I get is a black screen and the ghosting is now geting worse. Watching the NFL draft today felt like I was watching a 3D movie without the glasses.

So I hit the local Sound Advice and the typical box stores BB & CC and I am looking at the 57" Mits WD57831 or the equivilent Sony, leaning towards Mits.

Comments?

Ok no matter what I try when I try to acess the SM all I get is a black screen and the ghosting is now geting worse. Watching the NFL draft today felt like I was watching a 3D movie without the glasses.

So I hit the local Sound Advice and the typical box stores BB & CC and I am looking at the 57" Mits WD57831 or the equivilent Sony, leaning towards Mits.

Comments?

What input are you on when you try to access the sm? Set your input to like 3 or 4 with the tv on and then turn the tv off. Let it sit for a couple of minutes. Then try to access the sm.

Tried everything i can think of and now it is starting to have temp alarms constant...Guess I am ordering the Mits WD-57831 this weekend. Anyone in this chain happen to know when the new Mits are coming out?

read that some where???

Hey guys, I'm back!! Having problems again!! When I turn the set on it powers back off, blue light flashes fast. After about 5 min it decides to come on. Remote isn't sending additional on/off commands as I have a visible infrared sensor and can tell when a button's pressed.

Any idea as to what the problem could be?

I'm seriously thinking about going to CC Monday morning with all my repair orders and ask them nicely to replace the tv.

WOW! The Customer Service Manager at the store refused to listen or look at my folder full of repair orders/warranty claims. All I got was since you didn't purchase an extended warranty from CC we can't help you. If she would of listened to what I said she would of heard me tell her that I had an extended warranty through my Credit Card Company and why would I pay for the same coverage through them?!! Got back home and tried the 800 # and they were just as bad spouting the Corporate line of since it's no longer under warranty there's NOTHING they can do. I told her that they sold me a defective tv that has had two, going on three, major repairs in three years and that the set has been broken more than it's worked right.

Anyone have a name and fax number for CC Corporate who may just listen to me?

Thanks

WOW! The Customer Service Manager at the store refused to listen or look at my folder full of repair orders/warranty claims. All I got was since you didn't purchase an extended warranty from CC we can't help you. If she would of listened to what I said she would of heard me tell her that I had an extended warranty through my Credit Card Company and why would I pay for the same coverage through them?!! Got back home and tried the 800 # and they were just as bad spouting the Corporate line of since it's no longer under warranty there's NOTHING they can do. I told her that they sold me a defective tv that has had two, going on three, major repairs in three years and that the set has been broken more than it's worked right.

Anyone have a name and fax number for CC Corporate who may just listen to me?

Thanks
It won't help! I too have had 3 major repair jobs (3 Light engine replacements) and will have number 4 next Tuesday. Pretty much your stuck with the defective unit as it seems like all the replacement parts are refurbished and even Hitachi don't care. However, check your EW company. They should cover a replacement if you still have problems because this could get costly for them.

I figured out what was causing the prob. It was a replacement lamp that I purchased from laptopsforless. Although, the lamp does work it's causing some startup problems. After reinstalling an older lamp, it works fine now.

BTW..don't purchase anything from laptopsforless, they have ZERO customer service. Emails and voice mails go unanswered and you can never get to a live person.

I figured out what was causing the prob. It was a replacement lamp that I purchased from laptopsforless. Although, the lamp does work it's causing some startup problems. After reinstalling an older lamp, it works fine now.

BTW..don't purchase anything from laptopsforless, they have ZERO customer service. Emails and voice mails go unanswered and you can never get to a live person.
crap!!! i just bought a lamp form them last month

crap!!! i just bought a lamp form them last month

Hey nicerollin did you have a problem just getting the lamp plugged into the set? The one they sent me had a small round tab that prevented it from going all the way in. I tried to call the jerks to let them know but, as I said they have no customer service. Luckily (or unluckily) the tab snapped off pretty easy and went right in.

The pic always seemed washed out and adjustments on the set didn't make any difference.

Hey nicerollin did you have a problem just getting the lamp plugged into the set? The one they sent me had a small round tab that prevented it from going all the way in. I tried to call the jerks to let them know but, as I said they have no customer service. Luckily (or unluckily) the tab snapped off pretty easy and went right in.

The pic always seemed washed out and adjustments on the set didn't make any difference.
I actually have not used the new lamp. I thought the light engine problem was a lamp problem, so i ordered a new lamp. then i found this board to find out that the yellow cloud was a LE problem. i dont need the lamp right now, but eventually i'll have to replace the old one

i just had my LE replaced. it was working fine for about 5 hours then i started seeing these blue dots on the top of the screen. is this a LE problem or can i fix it with the service menu?

manpig: i had gotten the sony 60in xbr2 to replace the hitachi the pq is night and day to the hitachi but one thing i have noticed is the sse seems to be considerable worse on the sony have you noticed this too? i was thinking that there is something wrong with the sony, or maybe this is how it is

manpig: i had gotten the sony 60in xbr2 to replace the hitachi the pq is night and day to the hitachi but one thing i have noticed is the sse seems to be considerable worse on the sony have you noticed this too? i was thinking that there is something wrong with the sony, or maybe this is how it is

pardones my dumbness but what is sse?

i just had my LE replaced. it was working fine for about 5 hours then i started seeing these blue dots on the top of the screen. is this a LE problem or can i fix it with the service menu?

doesn't sound like something you can fix in the sm. can you post a pic? how big are the dots? in other words, are they pixel size or like the size of a silver dollar?

pardones my dumbness but what is sse?


silk screen effect: it looks like little sparkles from the screen its the texture and structure of the screen you would notice it most when there is a bright moving image on the screen, against the stationary texture of the screen

doesn't sound like something you can fix in the sm. can you post a pic? how big are the dots? in other words, are they pixel size or like the size of a silver dollar?
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v239/Hdvsheba/?action=view&current=IMAGE_002.jpg

it changes shape (into a blob) as you watch and moves from one side to another on the top of the screen. i believe it's a light engine problem. they're coming out to look at it in about 30 mins to take my tv away for the 2nd time... this sucks

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v239/Hdvsheba/?action=view&current=IMAGE_002.jpg

it changes shape (into a blob) as you watch and moves from one side to another on the top of the screen. i believe it's a light engine problem. they're coming out to look at it in about 30 mins to take my tv away for the 2nd time... this sucks

yeah, that is a blue blob. i had that one too and it got real drippy. fix was a new light engine.

silk screen effect: it looks like little sparkles from the screen its the texture and structure of the screen you would notice it most when there is a bright moving image on the screen, against the stationary texture of the screen

oh ok. no, i have not had a problem with sse with mine. did you calibrate your brightness and contrast with avia or dve? i have seen a wee bit of sde with mine especially watching standard def programming but it has not been a major issue for me.

oh ok. no, i have not had a problem with sse with mine. did you calibrate your brightness and contrast with avia or dve? i have seen a wee bit of sde with mine especially watching standard def programming but it has not been a major issue for me.


i did some basic adjustments and it did reduce it a little but i still see it, but i see it on all rptvs just to varying degrees

Had the LE replaced about a year ago and I think it is still fine - however as of late, the picture seems a bit more washed out - just not very bright. Is that a sign that its time for a new bulb? Is there any way to know for sure as to when to replace it? And if needs to be replaced, what is latest consensus on where to get the bulb from?

Thanks! Bob

bob, you might just need to have the bulb replaced. replaced my bulb in feb.07,have had my hitachi since, dec 04. 1st time i have had to replace bulb. picture was getting darker,and was just slow in warming up. also you can go into the service menu and it will tell you how many hours the bulb has on it. hope this helps

I just got the LE replaced on my 50v500a and now I'm noticing that not only is there a lot of overscan (1-2" left, 2-3" right, 1-2" top & bottom), but the image also seems to be horribly off center(3-4"). On top of that, about 6" in on each side, there are two dirty streaks/lines/bubbles. They go away if I touch the screen and they stay away if I rub it for a bit, but then they come back a few days later.

I just got the LE replaced on my 50v500a and now I'm noticing that not only is there a lot of overscan (1-2" left, 2-3" right, 1-2" top & bottom), but the image also seems to be horribly off center(3-4"). On top of that, about 6" in on each side, there are two dirty streaks/lines/bubbles. They go away if I touch the screen and they stay away if I rub it for a bit, but then they come back a few days later.

Definitely call whoever did it, and have them come fix it right. I have a 50V500 (no "a" in the model number), and the first two times I had my LE replaced they put a 50V500a LE in the TV. It "worked", but it was clearly not compatible. I had all kinds of problems with it. Once they put a correct 50V500 LE in it, it cleared up all the issues. Would just be worth confirming if they definitly put the right model LE in your TV. I'm guessing a 50V500 LE may not be 100% compatible with your 50V500a TV, based on my experience.

I agree to call back whoever did the LE replacement. They should have checked alignment after install to verify placement. It sucks for you that they did not.

On your other problem, it almost sounds like screen separation. If you are still under a service contract, it should cover to have your screen replaced if it is.

I just got the LE replaced on my 50v500a and now I'm noticing that not only is there a lot of overscan (1-2" left, 2-3" right, 1-2" top & bottom), but the image also seems to be horribly off center(3-4"). On top of that, about 6" in on each side, there are two dirty streaks/lines/bubbles. They go away if I touch the screen and they stay away if I rub it for a bit, but then they come back a few days later.
A little late on this response, sorry....

After I had my 'Optical Engine' not LE, LE is the ballast and UHP driver assembly..... My screen alignment was off. Mine wasn't that far off but it was cutting the bottom row of my EPG off and that bothered me.

I saw instructions posted for how to align the Optical assembly. But in my case it wasn't far enough off to dictate pulling the display apart again. There is a Horiz and Vert position control in the service menu. The position is in hex counts, so definitely write down where you started from. If you move it to far you can trigger a watch dog.

It was a pretty good deal and its in good condition. I've been through these pages and i can't find anything that is similiar to what i'm experiencing. No red clouds, no splotches or crop circles.

I'm currently using a composite connection for both direct tv (dish) and composite for a dvd player. On both of these connections, the picture is a good quality, but its obvious that there is something wrong with the color. The entire screen has a brown hue to it. Where there is supposed to be a white color, is a brownish color. I've tried resetting the entire screen settings, and it didn't really do much. I dont' think its an issue with the actual inputs, b/c they all produce the same brown hue. (Even tried my Wii which has an S video input). It looks like i'm late to the party, but hopefully someone with some knowlege might luck by and help. Thanks!

Bumping so someone might see this

so my 50vx500 will not startup. after i press the power button i hear a high pitch noise (not the normal fan noise) and i'll get a picture for about half of a second, then the unit shuts down. the TEMP light then starts blinking. ive tried to unplug it and i get the same thing. ive called a couple of repair shops and one of them said that i need a new lamp. however the LAMP light isnt lit at all. if anyone has had this same problem could you let me know what the outcome was. and lastly, i dont have an extended warranty

so my 50vx500 will not startup. after i press the power button i hear a high pitch noise (not the normal fan noise) and i'll get a picture for about half of a second, then the unit shuts down. the TEMP light then starts blinking. ive tried to unplug it and i get the same thing. ive called a couple of repair shops and one of them said that i need a new lamp. however the LAMP light isnt lit at all. if anyone has had this same problem could you let me know what the outcome was. and lastly, i dont have an extended warranty

Sounds similiar to a problem I once had. The fix was a circuit board called the main power board. I could also hear at times the high pitch noise you descirbed. Below is a post I made when it happened:

Ok, here goes: A new Hit problem to report. Not sure what to name this one. hmmmmmmm
How bout "My freekin TV won't turn on"? It started as we had watched about 4 hrs of tv one evening and shut the tv off and went to bed. The next morning it would not turn on.
I unplugged it and let it sit for about 5 minutes and re-plugged it in and still nothing. I tried several more times and no go. I then went to work. When I came home that evening I tried it again and it came on. ????? wtf? We watched evening tv as usual, shut it off and went to bed. Next morning....same dealio. Nothing. This continued except that the waiting time for it to come on again kept increasing. I placed a service call. A week later the tech came out and took the back lower panel off and looked around and hit the back of his screw driver on some relays on some circuit boards with no luck. He left and said he would need to call Hitachi support and get back to me. He calls me later and tells me they are going to order in a new lamp, a new lamp ballast, a new power board, and a new control board. One of the boards was on back order and I was sitting with this problem from late April until yesterday. As stated prior, the problem got worse and worse and at one point it took a whole week for the set to power up. This happened prob about 10 days before the part was due in and I just left the tv on 24/7. I never turned it off for 10 days or so. Anyway, the tech came yesterday and had all 4 parts he spoke of. He first removed the lower back panel and put in the new lamp and then replaced the ballast. The ballast btw, is a small circuit board and is located above the fan exhaust port. He then tried to power the set up and nothing happened. Next, he removed the subwoofer on the right side of the tv right behind where the power switch is located. He also removed some hardware in this area and it exposed the main power board. He then replaced the main power board and tried the tv and voila it worked. He decided not to replace the main control board they had ordered as it did not seem to be the culprit and it would have taken him several hours to do it. He put everything back together and was about to leave when I stopped him. I then showed him the red cloud. Like other posters here, I decided to play dumb and just see what he would tell me. He started looking thru a file he had of service bulletins and fixes he downloaded and thought he had something on it. He mumbled to me that he thinks the fix is a light engine replacement. He said he would leave the ticket open and report the new problem to my warranty provider which is Circuit City CitiAdvantage. He said it would be up to them whether they want to replace the light engine or do a replacement to a new tv as one poster had occur. (plueeze let that happen). He told me the bill for what he did that day was about $1300 and that since I have had other problems prior, that they might just want to cut their losses and give me a new tv.

This is kind of interesting: I asked him before he left about what would happen to my set if they do in fact replace it. He told me he thought they were suppose to destroy the set, but that he has seen instances where they were resold as open box or display sets at a reduced price. He didn't name names but says they have gotten sets back in for service which they did replacements on. I also asked him about the smudges and screen replacements and asked if this model has been notorious for this problem in his service area. He told me has only done one screen replacement for our model but has done several for smudges on Samsungs. He also told me he has done light engine replacements for banding problems. Thats all for now.

Pig

It was a pretty good deal and its in good condition. I've been through these pages and i can't find anything that is similiar to what i'm experiencing. No red clouds, no splotches or crop circles.

I'm currently using a composite connection for both direct tv (dish) and composite for a dvd player. On both of these connections, the picture is a good quality, but its obvious that there is something wrong with the color. The entire screen has a brown hue to it. Where there is supposed to be a white color, is a brownish color. I've tried resetting the entire screen settings, and it didn't really do much. I dont' think its an issue with the actual inputs, b/c they all produce the same brown hue. (Even tried my Wii which has an S video input). It looks like i'm late to the party, but hopefully someone with some knowlege might luck by and help. Thanks!

you might try going into the sm and doing a memory init. instructions on how to do this are in this thread.

It was a pretty good deal and its in good condition. I've been through these pages and i can't find anything that is similiar to what i'm experiencing. No red clouds, no splotches or crop circles.

I'm currently using a composite connection for both direct tv (dish) and composite for a dvd player. On both of these connections, the picture is a good quality, but its obvious that there is something wrong with the color. The entire screen has a brown hue to it. Where there is supposed to be a white color, is a brownish color. I've tried resetting the entire screen settings, and it didn't really do much. I dont' think its an issue with the actual inputs, b/c they all produce the same brown hue. (Even tried my Wii which has an S video input). It looks like i'm late to the party, but hopefully someone with some knowlege might luck by and help. Thanks!

You could attempt a white balance adjustment but experience with the V500 series is that isn't going to fix your problem. You've possibly got a signal board issue, this board processes both video and color before dumping off to the DM board on the engine. You're other possibility is the engine itself and dust, dirt or nicotine build up. That's an engine replacement there.

so my 50vx500 will not startup. after i press the power button i hear a high pitch noise (not the normal fan noise) and i'll get a picture for about half of a second, then the unit shuts down. the TEMP light then starts blinking. ive tried to unplug it and i get the same thing. ive called a couple of repair shops and one of them said that i need a new lamp. however the LAMP light isnt lit at all. if anyone has had this same problem could you let me know what the outcome was. and lastly, i dont have an extended warranty


OMG... ive had this exact problem!! So I Hear this high pitch noise. It will beap several times and the screen won't turn on. The temp light then comes on, and sometimes, I may get the lamp light. I tried leaving my TV on the one time it did work for 3 days, but then I got worried about the electric bill as well as the TV being on for FAR too long. I scheduled an appointment with Sears warranty people. THE ONLY DATE THEY HAVE IS JULY 1??!! Wow, thats crappy. Quite honestly, this set has been trouble. It has its good times, but there are WAY too many problems and I hope I get a new TV.

Anyone know if I leave the TV on for a while.. if I'll have problems? Also, anyone have any experience wiht Sears Warranty's?

hey guys.....well, in a bad/good way, im glad im not the only one having a problem with my Hitachi. i have DC Audio and Service from NH coming on monday. i'll be sure to post on what happens and how much its going to cost me.

okay, so the guys came over today and it turns out that the fan was stuck. according to the technician there is a "dead spot" in the fan. he used a pencil or something to give the fan blades a little push and that seemed to get the fan and the tv to turn on for now. he's going to order a new fan which he thought it would cost 50-70 bucks.

So, I finally had a technician come out to take a look at my red cloud on my 50V500A today and sure enough, it's the light engine. However, a couple of disturbing points came out of his visit:

1. He hit the "factory reset" setting in the service menu and this re-zeroed the number of hours on my tv set....it now says 0.

2. He says that the light engine can't be replaced in my house. Rather, they have to take the TV to their location and replace it there. Something about it being difficult to access and you can't access it from the back but rather from the front and everything needs to be disassembled. He says typically it can be done with Mitsubishi, Sony, etc. but not with Hitachi or RCA.

So, my questions are obvious....are these things to be concerned about? Should I let them take my TV away? Is this normal?

Thanks for any insight you might be able to offer.

Mark V.

So, I finally had a technician come out to take a look at my red cloud on my 50V500A today and sure enough, it's the light engine. However, a couple of disturbing points came out of his visit:

1. He hit the "factory reset" setting in the service menu and this re-zeroed the number of hours on my tv set....it now says 0.

2. He says that the light engine can't be replaced in my house. Rather, they have to take the TV to their location and replace it there. Something about it being difficult to access and you can't access it from the back but rather from the front and everything needs to be disassembled. He says typically it can be done with Mitsubishi, Sony, etc. but not with Hitachi or RCA.

So, my questions are obvious....are these things to be concerned about? Should I let them take my TV away? Is this normal?

Thanks for any insight you might be able to offer.

Mark V.


i had the same questions when i needed a LE, they wanted to take the tv, and i was reading that some people were getting this repair in home, but it depends on the service center, i would not have any concerns if this repair is being provided by the warranty co. because if something bad happens they should replace the tv,

Sears replaced two light engines right in my living room. No problems.

The top of the TV (think of it as a hood) comes off, this includes the screen and angled back section. With this off, it exposes the light engine's top. You can now take off the back of the TV to get to the light engine and remove that part. It most certainly can be done at your house. Whether or not they will do it there, well, that's another matter.

Should I be concerned at all the the tech re-zeroed my hours in the service menu?

No. That's what will normally happen whenever you do a factory reset. It's no big deal. That's really just a function to give you an idea of how many hours have logged on the bulb. It's not that big of a deal in the real scheme of things.

Sears replaced two light engines right in my living room. No problems.

The top of the TV (think of it as a hood) comes off, this includes the screen and angled back section. With this off, it exposes the light engine's top. You can now take off the back of the TV to get to the light engine and remove that part. It most certainly can be done at your house. Whether or not they will do it there, well, that's another matter.

The Hitachi's are somewhat labor intensive on the disassembly end. Somewhat cumbersome as well. It depends on the size of the set. A single repair person can remove the top off a 50" by himself, a 60" is another matter and many companies don't allow the serviceman to ask the customer for assistance due to liability issues. Then it's a matter of whether the serviceman can get an assistant to help. In todays world of electronic repair that's not often an option.

This TV has been so frustrating. When I first had the "Temp" problem I called Hitachi and the person on the Phone asked me to unplug the TV and so it would reset itself. It worked and then a couple weeks later the problem got worse and no its to the point where the TV will NOT turn on at all. 80% of the times it will be the TEMP light. The rest it will flash LAMP. But i see the lamp trying to come on its just I think the Fan won't start so the lamp wont.

The most frustrating part is that I called 2 weeks ago to schedule an appointment and they gave me July 2! I live in a 1 Bedroom CONDO and only have 1 TV which is the Hitachi and its hell. I dont think I want to buy my TV at Sears again due to this fact. I hope they replace the TV or at least give me a loaner if it takes longer to fix.

The beeping is constant now and I still have 1 more week till they at least look at it.

This TV has been so frustrating. When I first had the "Temp" problem I called Hitachi and the person on the Phone asked me to unplug the TV and so it would reset itself. It worked and then a couple weeks later the problem got worse and no its to the point where the TV will NOT turn on at all. 80% of the times it will be the TEMP light. The rest it will flash LAMP. But i see the lamp trying to come on its just I think the Fan won't start so the lamp wont.

The most frustrating part is that I called 2 weeks ago to schedule an appointment and they gave me July 2! I live in a 1 Bedroom CONDO and only have 1 TV which is the Hitachi and its hell. I dont think I want to buy my TV at Sears again due to this fact. I hope they replace the TV or at least give me a loaner if it takes longer to fix.

The beeping is constant now and I still have 1 more week till they at least look at it.

still waiting for my new fan to come in, but since monday my TV has been working fine, well...until last night when the whole "Temp" light came on. but i just moved the fan blades with a plastic knift and the TV turned on. maybe you could give that a shot and hopefully your fan isnt completely dead.

Hope you can help me out with an issue I seem to have with a 03 model V500S. I just had the LE replaced (NEW, not re manufactured, according to Hitachi) and a NEW lamp at the same time. The set has been turned on LITTERALLY a dozen times and has less than 2 hours total on the NEW Lamp and LE and the lamp is gone again.. according to the LED’s up front, anyway.

It now also buzzes when it is turned on. It is not a continuous buzz, rather it is intermittent. Like it buzzes while something is cycling internally. I unplugged it and allowed it to sit for a few minutes. Tried to power it up and the Power, Lamp & Temp lights all cycle one by one, as they should per the manual, and then the buzzing starts.

The lights continue to cycle, the buzzing continues intermittently, the Power LED begins to slow down blinking, the buzzing continues, then, all LED’s, less the LAMP LED go out and the TV is powered down, on it’s own, like a safety mechanism.

First of all, I don’t think it’s right that I even have to fool with this, seeing that a shop just repaired it. Well, it was actually repaired about 2 months ago, but I’ve kept the unit at a friends house in their spare room, since being repaired. That is, until today when I moved it to my house. Worked fine for about an hour, then as a programmed the cable box remote to control the TV, and the TV remote to control the cable box, the above happened.

I’m at a loss and can only HOPE that this is some stupid fluke that a reset of some sort will cure. My luck simply can NOT be this bad… :(

Thanks to anyone who replies!

So the tech came out to my home on Tuesday and took a look at the TV. He freaked out because I forgot to put the screws back into the TV. I just took a look at the fan to see if anything was stopping it and forgot to put the screws in because I knew the tech would over react. I just told him the people on the phone instructed us to do it. In any case, he didnt think it was the fan that was the problem. He had to make a call to someone and explained exactly what was going on and at that point he pulled out the power supply. Bascially it look liked the mother board from a Computer.

He ordered me a new power supply and not a new fan. He said it would arrive shortly and in 14 days he would come back to install it. I hope he is right about it being the Power supply.

I've not really enjoyed my time with the Sears Warranty. I wonder if anyone else has had a good experience with Circuit City. They take SOOO long to come out.

By the way!!! For the person who posted above, i too have the beeping problem on my TV. The lamp will briefly turn on that turn off.

Perfectchris:

At least you have a warranty. After reading all the issues associated with this set, if it IS the lamp or the LE again, this piece is headed to the friggin dump.

I'll go drop $800 on a 42" Vizio and call it a day. This set is in my bedroom anyway, so it doesn't HAVE to be that big...

ha ha... Thats my "replacment" TV until my Hitachi is replaced. Honestly, I think the PQ on the Vizio is better... and i be ill have less hassle.

The wife just woke up and learned that the TV wouldn't turn on. Of course, I get an earful, while I'm at work no less. While she's giving me the riot act, the TV turns on... This sounds like a short somewhere...

I tried to reset it (unplugging and letting sit for 30 minutes) but when I plugged it back in, nothing but a high pitched buzzing, lights flashing sequentially, then shut down cycle with the lamp LED lighting up.

I plan on calling the repair shop tomorrow morning.

The wife just woke up and learned that the TV wouldn't turn on. Of course, I get an earful, while I'm at work no less. While she's giving me the riot act, the TV turns on... This sounds like a short somewhere...

I tried to reset it (unplugging and letting sit for 30 minutes) but when I plugged it back in, nothing but a high pitched buzzing, lights flashing sequentially, then shut down cycle with the lamp LED lighting up.

I plan on calling the repair shop tomorrow morning.

The buzzing sound is probably the lamp trying to fire unsuccessfully. Sounds like it's time for a lamp.

BTW, we've had some issues with aftermarket lamp housings not working in the Hitachi V500 series. The housings aren't made the same way as the originals and the tab on the back end fails to trigger the lamp-In switch. Thus, the set continually blinks giving the warning that there's no lamp in the set.

MOtvGuy:

In your opinion,
How should I approach this with the repair shop? I mean, the set literally has less than 2-3 hours on it since the new LE and lamp were installed. I should NOT be required to pay anything for the lamp replacement, IMO. If they made note of the hours on the set when they had it in, they could verify the fact that the set hasn't been used since it was installed.

If it comes down to it, I'll order a lamp only and install the thing myself. Aside from taking the set apart to get to the lamp/housing, it can't be THAT hard. After changing 100's of 3k xenon bulbs in Christie lamphouses, this should be easy enough to accomplish.

Ya know, you said the buzzing sounded like the lamp failing to ignite... the buzzing is VERY similar to the buzz emitted from an igniter in a Christie lamphouse now that I think about it. Of course, smaller igniter assm'y in the TV, but the principle is the same. I'd love to get my hands on an actual service manual so I could see what the internals of the set are comprised of. I have a link to be able to download them in .rar format, but I have no clue how to do that.. A .pdf file would be perfect.. Anyone? :confused:

If they made note of the hours or if they reset the lamp and/or engine hours.

That's the catch. I have no idea how this repair shop will handle this. They likely have their own warranty for any work they do. When they replaced the engine and lamp they should've entered the service menu and reset those particular hours. Many shops don't do that if the set isn't in warranty thus there's no way to accurately gauge just how many hours have accumulated since the previous repair.

I'm willing to bet that there was no record of the hours noted... Soooo.. it'll likely be an uphill battle.. I hope I come out on the good side of things..

We reset Hitachi engine hours because so many of these rebuilt engines are failing right out of the box or just a few weeks after installation we need those accurate hours so we can return the thing back to Hitachi for warranty as a new, defective engine.

Good luck.

MOtvGuy:

Thank you for your help..

The wife just woke up and learned that the TV wouldn't turn on. Of course, I get an earful, while I'm at work no less. While she's giving me the riot act, the TV turns on... This sounds like a short somewhere...

I tried to reset it (unplugging and letting sit for 30 minutes) but when I plugged it back in, nothing but a high pitched buzzing, lights flashing sequentially, then shut down cycle with the lamp LED lighting up.

I plan on calling the repair shop tomorrow morning.

Can you determine where exactly the buzzing is coming from. In other words, the lamp assembly is located near the front of the tv about 10 or so inches from the left side as you face the front of the tv. When my main power board was buzzing it was on the right side of the tv as you face it.

The buzzing sound seems to come from the left rear, but it could be from the front.. It is definitely from the left tho..

I was busy at work today and did not get the chance to call the repair shop. The set turned on fine this morning, however, the wife said she smacked it a few times last night. Better the set than me.. LOL..

All seems well at this point. Learned tonight that the right side speaker doesn't work properly.
It has sound but is very muted. Left side sounds great...

I'll just keep my fingers crossed that the lamp continues to light.

Hey, just got a new PS3 and have a DVI to HDMI cable coming soon.

My question for you PS3/V500 owners, what settings do you have to get the best visuals? What is your blacks set at? How about sharpness, contrast, etc.? Any help, cause I want to get the most out of my PS3 and V500!

Thanks

bump

John-
It may take a few days for you to get a reply...

In case anyone is out of luck in getting a light engine under warranty, there is one on Ebay right now. Item# 260140721539
Looks like it is for a 50V500A.

Hey Manpig...you still around? I am dumping the Hit and was thinking of the Sony next. What did you buy?

Thanks,
Bruce

okay, so the guys came over today and it turns out that the fan was stuck. according to the technician there is a "dead spot" in the fan. he used a pencil or something to give the fan blades a little push and that seemed to get the fan and the tv to turn on for now. he's going to order a new fan which he thought it would cost 50-70 bucks.

so the fan was replaced and it was only 50 bucks. the fan isnt OEM, which is fine, because the guy said that the housing was wrapped in foam to cut down on the fan noise. and i can say that its quieter than ever.

Hey Manpig...you still around? I am dumping the Hit and was thinking of the Sony next. What did you buy?

Thanks,
Bruce

Sup Bruce? I went with the 60 inch Sony SXRD which makes me a Sonyslut but the tv is 1080P and have had zero problems thusfar. I have a brother in Houston with the same tv and he has had no problems. I think my model was the A2000 or something like that and they have just come out with a newer model. No PIP on my unit if that is imp to you. Good luck to ya. Let me know what you end up with.

The issue with my set was resolved after the tech replaced the big piece that looked like a mother board. So i wasn't actually the fan althought i had the same symptoms others had. Honestly, I just want a new TV. I dont trust this one..

Sup Bruce? I went with the 60 inch Sony SXRD which makes me a Sonyslut but the tv is 1080P and have had zero problems thusfar. I have a brother in Houston with the same tv and he has had no problems. I think my model was the A2000 or something like that and they have just come out with a newer model. No PIP on my unit if that is imp to you. Good luck to ya. Let me know what you end up with.

Thanks for the input pig. I called Hitachi and they basically told me to go pound sand, so now I'm trying to decide on the Mits 65" diamond or the 70" XBR2. Going bigger! Mmmm, let me see, Sonyslut or Mitwhore....I hope happier days are ahead. :)

Bruce

I continue to have issues with mine. The lamp doesn't always fire up on power up. After three or four tries, she normally fires right up..

Three or four times, however, it's taken 5 minutes or so to get it to fire up.

This set has become a real PITA. I don't think I'd buy, nor recommend, another Hitachi based on my total experience with this one..

I think I'll just replace it with an $800 Maxent 42 LCD and call it a day!

I continue to have issues with mine. The lamp doesn't always fire up on power up. After three or four tries, she normally fires right up..

Three or four times, however, it's taken 5 minutes or so to get it to fire up.

This set has become a real PITA. I don't think I'd buy, nor recommend, another Hitachi based on my total experience with this one..

I think I'll just replace it with an $800 Maxent 42 LCD and call it a day!
I think it's early LCD RPTV technology that's the issue, not the brand. Of course, you're welcome to your opinion, but I don't believe one troublesome product means all of their technology blows. Hitachi is (or used to be) one of only a couple manufacturers that built all their own parts. Hitachi and Samsung have been suppliers to a lot of other brands for a long time.

Glad I found this site. I too am having issues with my 60v500a. I had the LE replaced within 30 days of buying it. I did not buy the EW and may be regretting it now. The LE is failing again -- 2 years 4 months later. Trying to figure out all my options to get it replaced.

Does anyone know if the 50v500a and 60v500a LE's are compatible? I know the part numbers are off by one number, but I was told they may swap out.

50v500a - UX22202R/D
60v500a - UX22203R/D

Thanks

Glad I found this site. I too am having issues with my 60v500a. I had the LE replaced within 30 days of buying it. I did not buy the EW and may be regretting it now. The LE is failing again -- 2 years 4 months later. Trying to figure out all my options to get it replaced.

Does anyone know if the 50v500a and 60v500a LE's are compatible? I know the part numbers are off by one number, but I was told they may swap out.

50v500a - UX22202R/D
60v500a - UX22203R/D

Thanks

NO.

My v500 worked fine for 2 years, recently about 2 mos ago got the LE replaced and now I do not seem to be able to switch aspect ratio to 16:9 on my Sd content from DirecTV. I have been running SD in 16:9 to avoin the bars on the sides, but now every time I turn the set on it is back to 4:3 standard with bars, no 16:9 even available. So I go with next best thing 4:3 expanded but when tV is turned off and then back on it is back to standard.
Any ideas?
BTW it is a great forum lots of unbelieve info here.

Andrew

i'm on my 3rd light engine (if you count the original one) and multiple service calls. i love the TV when it works, but this is just ridiculous. the tech came out again this past friday and put a recommendation in for the TV to be replaced by CC. he put out an estimate for the TV's 4th light engine and is pretty sure the warranty company won't repair the TV again. now i have to wait to see what happens. i am not having them repair this set again. i am tired of just waiting for the next problem. oh, and the 3rd LE was put in less than 2 months ago.

i can't say i hate hitachi. i just got a lemon it seems.

Hello fellow Hit owners. I am new to this forum but have had similar problems with my Hitachi over the last few years. I had my LE replaced last year. The warranty and plan had expired but Hit paid for the part. I now have a new problem that I'm hoping someone can help me with.

My original lamp had about 10k hours on it and the TV turned itself off one night with the lamp light blinking. I figured I had to replace the lamp so I did. It worked for a few hours and then off again. I had a tech come out and he replaced the lamp and the cage with OEM parts and said that would fix it. It didn't. He said he would have to replace the ballast. I bought the ballast from him and replaced it myself since now the TV isn't worth what it was going to cost to pay him. That did not solve the problem. I bought a new Sony but would love to get this one working if possible.

Does anyone have an idea what this could be? It doesn't make any noises when I try to turn it on, the lights just all come on and then the lamp light blinks. I've checked the lamp "triggers" at the front opening and the rear of the cage and they seem to be making contact. Any help would be appreciated.

sboone03---- Mine has done the exact same thing. Replaced bulb and lamp light still flashes. Changed ballast lamp light still flashes. I was wondering if you figured it out yet? Im off to buy a new plasma and would like to get this thing working to at least sell it or put in the kids room but I also dont want to spend any additional money.

I have a PDF of the service manual I could email you folks.I forgot I had it until last night after I D/L the owners manual for a Denon 3808.I no longer own one of this Tv's (thank goodness)but I did enjoy it when it worked right.I choose the Hitachi over the Sony because the Sony had bulb and start up issues,little did I know the issues this TV would have!!

H2Racing - I haven't figured it out yet. I'm on another bulletin board and someone there said he had this problem and he had the power supply replaced. I have the service manual PDF (mentioned by 6speed) and don't see a part called the power supply.

6speed - Is there a part called "power supply" that you know of? I've done an on-line search but can't find anything.

I have a 60vx500, bought in early 2004, but with only 650 hours or so on it (ended up having to take contract work away from home for a long time, not here enough to use it!)

To me, shadows always had a greenish tint, no matter how it was adjusted. Yellows also were on the green side.

A couple of months ago, it developed one "semi-stuck" green pixel about a quarter of the way in from the left side, but centered vertically. Now there are two pixels like this, with the one that just appeared being much brighter.

By "semi-stuck", I mean that they don't "light up" with no signal present from the DirecTV box or my DVD player. The screen is as totally black as it gets, but if I cycle the power on the DirecTV player, those pixels seem to stay slightly darker than the surrounding area for a few seconds after I turn it back on, then over a second or so turn bright green. It also seems as if they disappear very briefly at other times. They appear regardless of whether the unit is running on the DVI input from the DirecTV box or the component input from the DVD player.

With all of the other issues I have read about on this thread, I figured it was best to give the dealer a call (they owed me...took the money for this unit, along with $500 for a Plateau stand, but then took over two months to deliver......turned out a CEO of a large company bought two, had one stolen, and he got the one I was promised the day before I came in with the check.)

They replied that they'd have a rep from Hitachi call me, and she did so promptly. When I described the situation, she said that yes, they would provide a free light engine, but only if a service tech diagnosed that was the problem--but she said that stuck pixels are not a light engine problem.

The pixels are so bright that I simply can't ignore them, and we're not using the unit much as a result. If it's not the light engine, then what could it be? With all the other horror stories in this thread, I don't want to throw any good money after bad.

Thanks very much for any advice you can offer!

Red Blob of death!!
I've got a red bolb that is in the middle of the screen and has been getting biger over the last year. I guess I need to replace the Light Engine. Can anyone give me feedback on what website they ordered theirs from. I've seen somewhere there is a manual, so I hope to switch it out myself. Anyone got any help on the red blob?

lawndog...

this is a well known issue of this set. Call Hit customer service and demand a new LE, they will make you contact a licensed service center to verify the issue and you will likely need to pay for the labour. Better than paying the extra $1k for the LE alone..

cheers

My 50v500 is out or warranty and I am starting to see the same problems (red blob) and realize I will need a new LE. How much is it costing for those not under warranty. I don't think it will be worth replacing but wanted to get an idea before making that decision.

Thanks, Dan

Hey guys,

Im starting to have issues with my 60v500a that we purchased about 3 years ago.
I hadn't realized there were so many problems with this tv until last week when my lamp died and i browsed avs for lamp info.

Anyway, i installed a new lamp today, but now the colors look terrible, the blacks arent black, and there is a red blob on black screens. The red bulb is attributed to LE problems, but i wanted to know if my bulb change could possibly be throwing things out of wack?

I do have an extended warranty for the tv, but now im worried....i purchased a lamp without the housing from a website, its an OEM bulb that is actually used in the hitachis and not just some compatible bulb. Will the fact that i changed the bulb myself in the housing have any bearing on my warranty? Is this something i should bring up when i go to the store telling them i need warranty service? (i know for a fact the first thing they will ask me is if i replaced the lamp as thats not covered by the warranty)

I was having some issues prior to replacing the lamp, but when the tv wouldnt turn on and the lamp light was flashing, i just assumed it was the lamp causing the problems.

Here are some of the issues my parents have seen prior to lamp replacement (i dont use the tv much myself):

"Takes a long time to turn on, sometimes i have to push power so many times" - im assuming the lamp wasnt firing...

Sometimes tv turns off automatically

No picture, but sound was there - was told of this a couple of times when it happend, i just power cycled the tv and all was working again.

A couple of times the screen was black....no picture and no sound - this one i didnt know until right now, but apparently my parents had this issue

White screen, no sound - this is one i saw a couple days before the lamp went out completely...i power cycled and it was working again

And now, with the new bulb, the red blob is noticeable. i never noticed this before, but cant be entirely sure it wasnt there in the weeks before the bulb went out

The mother also thinks the picture quality is poorer now. I agree, but i thought it might just be due to the messed up colors.

EDIT: OH! I forgot to mention, when i swapped out the bulb, i noticed that something inside of my old bulb was shattered. Perhaps a stupid question, but is this normal?


What do you guys think about my issues?

To those of you having power on issues, it could be one of a couple of things. First, make sure your fan is spinning on the back of the set. It could be as simple as that. If the fan is ok, I hate to tell you but it could be the Power Control Circuit Board. Good luck.

I also have the crimson blob of death, progressing to the point of having red logos nearly indiscernable from black backgrounds. Night scenes provoke a mixture of nausea and seething rage in me.
I could try begging Hitachi for a new LE, but why bother? Just one of many known problems with this set that will inevitably arise.
I like the looks of the Sony SXRD's(and the almost universally positive reviews), and the fact that they are several generations into production. At half the price of my 50V500A, they look like a real steal.

Now to convince the wife that not every night scene storyline involves nuclear apocolypse...


P.S. - Bite me Hitachi.

My 4 year old 50V500A also developed the red blob, so I dumped it and replaced with the Sony KDS-60A3000.

So the bulb seems to have died in this set. I hear the buzzing still, like the ballast is firing, but the LEDS on the front of the set are blinking as if it is the bulb.

The set simply isn't worth fixing, especially since the price of LCD's has dropped as much as they have recently.

I'm giving it to a friend and he can deal with it.

I just had the light engine replaced on my 60V500A set and it fixed the red blob problem but now I notice really bad vertical binding. The repairs are being covered under my service plan but is this new problem also a light engine issue?

Thanks for anyone's help with the facts...

~ML~

Just want to get the boards opinion, I've had my 50v500 for 4 years now, few issues over the years that required a tech person to come out and adjust the tv and I replaced the lamp 3 times all covered under my CC EW. My question is the EW is expiring on 12/26 and I am trying to figure out if it is worth to extend the EW for 1 year at $252 or 2 years at $355? Thanks for any feedback.

Hey all,

Having a strange issue I hope someone can maybe help with. I'm getting a strange yellow push in the lower right and sometime lower left corner. It appears on all sources.

I recently had a service call for this issue, and the tech replaced the light engine (currently on it's third), but the issue did not go away. The strange thing is that it's hard to replicate, sometimes it's very severe, and other times barely noticeable.

I'm still under a service agreement with GE, just hoping someone might have some ideas so I can point the service tech in the right direction.

Here's how it normally looks, source is the Xbox 360 via component...

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a244/EchoOfGecko/50V500/P1010062.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a244/EchoOfGecko/50V500/P1010064.jpg

Here's the more severe appearance...

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a244/EchoOfGecko/50V500/P1010065.jpg

But oddly, when I power cycle the TV, it usually gets better or goes away...

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a244/EchoOfGecko/50V500/P1010068.jpg

Thanks in advance if anyone can help!

You've got another bad engine.

It's not terribly surprising. All of the V500 engines being replaced the past year or so are rebuilts. The quality of those rebuilts has been uneven. Some bad right out of the box and others that failed within a week or so of installation.

Posting again since I didn't get a response last time...

I just had the light engine replaced on my 60V500A set and it fixed the red blob problem but now I notice really bad vertical binding. The repairs are being covered under my service plan but is this new problem also a light engine issue?

Thanks for anyone's help with the facts...

~ML~

Posting again since I didn't get a response last time...

I just had the light engine replaced on my 60V500A set and it fixed the red blob problem but now I notice really bad vertical binding. The repairs are being covered under my service plan but is this new problem also a light engine issue?

Thanks for anyone's help with the facts...

~ML~

Probably.

Thanks for the reply but I kind of need more than a "probably".

because...I have the Circuit City service plan and at first they approved a new light engine to be sent out for replacement and now they have changed their mind and said they want to have my existing light engine pulled out and then sent in to be "rebuilt"!!! Obviously this will mean I will be without my TV for however long that takes!

So...if anyone out there has had the vertical banding issue and then had it fixed...can you guys please help me out here and let me know what fixed your problem. If it isn't the light engine then it would be much better for me now that CC is being a pain in the ass here.

Thanks!!
And Happy New Year to ALL!:)

If CC has the contract on your set then it should be up to them to diagnose and make the necessary repairs. Since you didn't have the banding before the new engine was put in it's quite likely the new engine is the culprit.

As to CC's desire to pull the engine out and send it in for rebuilding, well, that's a new one on me. We go through at least 3-5 of those engines each week. There is no option that I know of that would involve us pulling an engine and sending it in for rebuild. In fact, the only manufacturer I know of that's doing that is RCA.

For a few of you guy who have replaced your bulb but are still getting a blinking lamp indicator.

NOTE: First off make sure you unplug your tv then put it all back together. Then plug it back in. If you don't unplug it you'll probably still get a blinking lamp due the sensor on the lamp cover door being opened while power is on.

I ran into the same problem as you guys. Replaced my lamp with a generic bulb but lamp indicator still blinked. So after some troubleshooting i found that there was little to no resistance while pushing the lamp into place. But my old lamp had a little resistance from the connectors. So i felt that maybe the lamp connectors were't making full contact with the connectors on the tv. So i took the bulb out of my new lamp assembly and put it into my old lamp assembly. Presto, TV turns on!!!!!!!!!!

So in short, check the connectors, maybe spread them out a little or something so they fit into the females more snugly. Check polarity. I think it was the back of the bulb goes to the upper pin and the the side of the bulb goes to the lower pin. Don't quote me on that.

For a few of you guy who have replaced your bulb but are still getting a blinking lamp indicator.

NOTE: First off make sure you unplug your tv then put it all back together. Then plug it back in. If you don't unplug it you'll probably still get a blinking lamp due the sensor on the lamp cover door being opened while power is on.

I ran into the same problem as you guys. Replaced my lamp with a generic bulb but lamp indicator still blinked. So after some troubleshooting i found that there was little to no resistance while pushing the lamp into place. But my old lamp had a little resistance from the connectors. So i felt that maybe the lamp connectors were't making full contact with the connectors on the tv. So i took the bulb out of my new lamp assembly and put it into my old lamp assembly. Presto, TV turns on!!!!!!!!!!

So in short, check the connectors, maybe spread them out a little or something so they fit into the females more snugly. Check polarity. I think it was the back of the bulb goes to the upper pin and the the side of the bulb goes to the lower pin. Don't quote me on that.

If you look at the lamp housing on the generic lamp you purchased you'll see it is warped and won't fit flat and flush in the lamp socket. When that happens the boss that pokes through and is supposed to accuate the Lamp-in protection switch isn't protruding through enough to trip the switch.

My company began using the cheaper generics to save the stores money. We eventually gave up due to the cheap, warped housings and switched over to replacing just the lamps.

The housing was fine. I matched them up and it was pretty much the same. The microswitch felt fine and the pertruding peice on the housing which trips it was plenty long enough to do so. Trust me, i looked into that as being the reason for over an hour.

In the case of my tv, it was truly the connector. The pins on the old housing looked slightly smaller in diameter and a little shorter.

My sister ordered a replacement lamp/housing from Sears a couple of days ago for her V500A. It came out to just over $300. I tried to convince her there TV is hardly worth $300 (the darn things always glowed red anyway), but she wouldn't have it.

Is there any reason I can't just order a new Hitachi lamp for half the price and put it in the old housing?
Does a new housing offer any specific benefit? In my mind I picture the whole thing kind of like a headlight and can't imagine what the extra money really buys.

Thanks in advance!

yea, i think i remember i saw a website selling just the bulb. And Yes, you can just replace the bulb inside the old housing. It's actually really easy and only requires a philips head screwdriver and a 7mm socket. Just don't get any fingerprints anywhere on the bulb.

You need a whole new light engine to solve the red glow to the picture.

Thanks for the reply but I kind of need more than a "probably".

because...I have the Circuit City service plan and at first they approved a new light engine to be sent out for replacement and now they have changed their mind and said they want to have my existing light engine pulled out and then sent in to be "rebuilt"!!! Obviously this will mean I will be without my TV for however long that takes!

So...if anyone out there has had the vertical banding issue and then had it fixed...can you guys please help me out here and let me know what fixed your problem. If it isn't the light engine then it would be much better for me now that CC is being a pain in the ass here.

Thanks!!
And Happy New Year to ALL!:)

See my post 1401 back in July 2006. My 1st LE replacement failed almost immediately. It started with vertical banding and quickly got worse. All replacement LE's are rebuilt and for some reason many of them have defects but if you do get a good one they work better than the original. My 2nd replacement has worked flawlessly since then.
Good Luck

I just got rid of my 50v500a.Red Blob again I have a brand bulb ASY part #UX21511.IF anyone is intrested please pm me for details

See my post 1401 back in July 2006. My 1st LE replacement failed almost immediately. It started with vertical banding and quickly got worse. All replacement LE's are rebuilt and for some reason many of them have defects but if you do get a good one they work better than the original. My 2nd replacement has worked flawlessly since then.
Good Luck

Ditto

on LE # 2 and no issues so far. Been on #2 for over 2 years now and only on 2nd bulb. 1st lamp had over 8K hours on it and still works but is starting to darken and flicker in places so I replaced it with an LTI one that seems to be working fine now for almost a year.

I hope I am posting this in the right place.

We bought out Hitachi 50VF820 on 2/18/06. Not long after we were experience a weird problem and honestly I can't remember the specifics...but we called Circuit City and they came out. Said problem was realated to Direct TV, but noticed our light engine was bad. Ordered and replaced with a new one.

We were about to switch to Fios anyway so didn't worry about the origional problem...switched and that problem went away.

About 6 months ago, started having a purple haze cover the whole screen when you turn on the TV. The first couple of times turning it off and on made it go away. Then it just stayed.

CC came out and jiggled a cable and said that was the problem, a bad connection. Great fixed...or so we thought. Next morning, purple screen is back.

Now everytime you turn the TV off for a period of time, you have to unplug the HDMI cable and re-plug it to make the purple screen go away.

CC has replaced the software, another huge part that consisted of some circuit boards among other things and the HDMI cable. We switched out the Fios DVR and still had the problem.

We bought the extended warranty but that has run out except I know CC extends it when they replace parts. I've called them yet again and at this point I just want the thing replaced.

Called Verizon and they said some brands have HDMI connection issues and if we just hook up componet cables this should fix the problem.

Has anyone had this problem? Is there a fix?

Lately I've noticed that my set buzzes slightly when I turn it on. I'm not sure how to explain this exactly, but sometimes the buzz sound is very brief, other times it is longer, and the three red lights on the front of the set flash, and the set won't turn on. Other times, it won't buzz at all and will start up normally. When the buzz is short, the set powers up just fine.

Do you guys think this is sound kind of electrical failure? I would hate to think that this thing is becoming a fire hazard or something. I don't notice the picture changing after it kicks on, it just seems to be something to do with the startup on the set. If anyone could give me some advice about this I would really appreciate it.

I have the same issue, but now my lamp seems to have died.... Agian... There is no way in hell that I got 1000 hours on this lamp.

I got the dreaded 3 front panel light strobing left to right error, and once I removed the lamp, a steady lamp light blinking. Ordered a new UX21517, hopefully it fixes the problem. Good luck with yours.

FYI, there are lamps (no housing) on Ebay for under $100 bucks. $159 in the housing, but if the lamp is the only thing thats bad, why buy the housing?

<My 2c>

Pete in Seattle

Hitachi 50V500A Red Pix distorted.

I tore one apart and here is what I found.

1. There is a filter element you can't access. It clogs with dust and the resulting heat melts the Polarizer lenses. These lenses are in front of the LCD's. 3 of them. One blue melted, one red lite melting hazing, green no melting.

Blue is affected most, green not affected, red is affected some. You need to not turn on you TV untill you clean the air filter. This filter is on the bottom front of the LE. Access from the front. Or tear the entire tv down and remove the LE.
2. Hitachi is aware and all tvs do this from early days. There fix is a larger filter on the New LE's.
3 see images.

Other than the melted lenses there is a lot of dust inside the light reflection stage. all surfaces mirrors and refract lenses all dusty.

I took a ton of pics and put them
gloucesterlistings.com/hitachi/index.html

In these images I have shown how to cut a hole to access the filter element. I would use a solder iron to melt away or cut the square hole. 1/4 inch or less below the plastic there is the metel case with the filter element . If you follow the square outline you will avoud contact with the element and fan. I guess Hit will love this mod but hey, why not.

Once the opening is created you have a way to vaccuum the element clean. I would do it 3 month intervels. You could create your own element and add a fan and all that.

For those with vertical lines it makes sence the polarizing lenses are out of adjustment.
Crazy technoligy.A.

So the bulb seems to have died in this set. I hear the buzzing still, like the ballast is firing, but the LEDS on the front of the set are blinking as if it is the bulb.

The set simply isn't worth fixing, especially since the price of LCD's has dropped as much as they have recently.

I'm giving it to a friend and he can deal with it.

This is probably too late, but my set was having problems that I thought was lamp problems. Buzzing and not powering on. (Lamp light flashing) Have to turn on and off mutiple times to get it to power on. Then it started shutting down while watching the set. (Still lamp light flashing) I found a service manual online and checked. The lamp light is only connected to the switch for the lamp access panel. The Lamp light on the front of the set flashes when the panel is not on. The switch has 5 volts sent by way of a pull up resistor on one side and has ground on the other side. My problem was that the ground supplied to the switch would intermittantly rise above ground causing the set to think the door was removed. I have grounded the switch to the chassis of the tv and have not had any issuse for a year now. If you are having problems similar to this and do not have any electronics experience, maybe if you show this to the tech working on the set he will understand.

I just had the light engine replaced on my 60V500A set and it fixed the red blob problem but now I notice really bad vertical binding. The repairs are being covered under my service plan but is this new problem also a light engine issue?

I'm in the exact same situation. We had the pink bloom problem so we got a replacement light kit, and now there are faint vertical lines all the way across the screen, about 1 inch apart. Argh! Is the only solution to get a 3rd light kit?

I'm in the exact same situation. We had the pink bloom problem so we got a replacement light kit, and now there are faint vertical lines all the way across the screen, about 1 inch apart. Argh! Is the only solution to get a 3rd light kit?

I fixed my vertical banding problem on my 50v500!

First, in the service menu I went to LCD Adjust->Stripe and made the boxes disappear as much as possible. This reduced the presence of the vertical banding, but didn't remove them completely...they were still fairly evident, especially when watching DVD.

Second, in the service menu I went to V.Com and all three color screens were flickering like crazy. I adjusted each screen to reduce the flickering as much as possible...I couldn't get it to completely stop on my green screen, but the red and blue screens are fairly stable. Anyway, I reduced the flicker as best I could, and now the vertical banding has completely disappeared! It may just be my imagination, but my picture seems to be a lot clearer/sharper now as well. Yay!

Hitachi LCD rear projection screen TV’s (50v500a) are not worth fixing because they are a problem the manufacturer caused by design of the console it’s housed in? If you fix it, it's just a matter of time before it happens again.

I had the pleasure of talking to Kevin at Hitachi's customer support (800-654-7013) today and was told I've waited too long to have them replace the light engine and there is nothing they can do for me at this time. My set is 4 yrs old that equates to almost $1000 a year for this disposable TV. He says mine lasted this log because it was not in an enclosed cabinet type entertainment center (it’s on an open stand). I don’t remember anything in the instructions saying does not use an enclosed back entertainment center, but should that matter at all? I'm very dis-satisfied with Hitachi and learned a lesson with this one. I started to buy a SONY but chose Hitachi for the cheaper price guess the saying is true "you get what you pay for" :-(

Hitachi LCD rear projection screen Tv's (50v500a) are not worth fixing because they are a problem the manufactured caused by design of the console its housed in? if you fix it, it's just a matter of time before it happens again.

If you're talking about the "pink bloom" problem, my understanding is that it is caused by inadequate venting in the original light kits, so the heat buildup slowly warps the lens. The newer light kits have better ventilation so, at least in theory, the problem shouldn't happen again after replacement.

I had the pleasure of talking to Kevin at Hitachi's customer support(800-654-7013) today and was told I've waited too long to have them replace the light engine and there is nothing they can do for me at this time. My set is 4 yrs old, that eqautes to almost $1000 a year for this disposeable TV.

My 50v500 is also around 4 years old; we got an extended warranty on it and I felt a bit like a sucker for doing that until the last few months when the pink bloom problem became really evident. We got it fixed for free and the set is still under warranty for about 5 more months. So this is one case where the extended warranty actually paid off.

He says mine lasted this log because it was not in an enclosed cabinet type entertainment center (its on an open stand). I dont remember anything in the instructions saying do not use a enclosed back entertainment center, but should that matter at all?

I'm guessing that being in an enclosed space would just amplify the heat build-up problem that I mentioned above.

I ordered a UX22202DR light engine from Tritronics Inc. This is a re-manufactured part with their updated design. You can get a new part UX22202D, but costs a lot more. I did not know anything about this company, but their cost was significantly less. You do have to put up an extra $200 for core charge, but they promptly credited my card when I shipped it back to them. The new LE has been in my set for two years now without any problems. Our set is on 6 to 12 hours a day. The picture looks just like the day I bought it. I am very happy I took the chance and ordered this. I am an electronics tech and had no problems changing it, but I think anyone that is mechanically inclined that can remember how to reassemble something they took apart can do this. There were no adjustments needed other than normal brightness etc after I installed the new LE. http://www.tritronicsinc.com/storefrontB2CWEB/itemdetail.do?action=prepare_detail&itm_id=532161

Tbone4life - Did you ask to speak with a supervisor? The protocol has been...and was for me....that the first person you talk to will say no and give all kinds of reasons. If you get upset and ask to speak a supervisor, they have been willing to work most folks, at least up to now. When I called, this is how it was handled. Once I got a supervisor on the phone, it was no problem. They agreed to pay for the part and I paid for the labor.
Good luck!

Tbone4life - Did you ask to speak with a supervisor? The protocol has been...and was for me....that the first person you talk to will say no and give all kinds of reasons. If you get upset and ask to speak a supervisor, they have been willing to work most folks, at least up to now. When I called, this is how it was handled. Once I got a supervisor on the phone, it was no problem. They agreed to pay for the part and I paid for the labor.
Good luck!


Kevin at Hitachi CS was a supervisor, he says I waited too long and my set is too old. (OCT/2003).

I think i'm going to do it myself. I found a thread with pictures of the procedure to replace it. JK318's link is the best price I've found so far.

I've seen posts where posters are quoteing the hours. how do I get this info on my set?

Hitachi LCD rear projection screen TV’s (50v500a) are not worth fixing because they are a problem the manufacturer caused by design of the console it’s housed in? If you fix it, it's just a matter of time before it happens again.

I had the pleasure of talking to Kevin at Hitachi's customer support (800-654-7013) today and was told I've waited too long to have them replace the light engine and there is nothing they can do for me at this time. My set is 4 yrs old that equates to almost $1000 a year for this disposable TV. He says mine lasted this log because it was not in an enclosed cabinet type entertainment center (it’s on an open stand). I don’t remember anything in the instructions saying does not use an enclosed back entertainment center, but should that matter at all? I'm very dis-satisfied with Hitachi and learned a lesson with this one. I started to buy a SONY but chose Hitachi for the cheaper price guess the saying is true "you get what you pay for" :-(

I agree the darned thing isn't worth fixing! I paid about $3000 in 2004 for this thing and had a great picture for about the first 6 months and then the picture started to darken and finally the dreaded "red light" that would up costing $275 for a new bulb. The set came back on but the picture quality was nowhere near as good as it was when the unit was brand new. I've since replaced the bulb a second time and the picture continues to get worse. I now have the "red blob", whites that are either yellow or light green, skies and bodies of water that are a brilliant green, and flesh tone that change from a washed out gray to sickly greens......now they tell me the "color engine" needs to be replaced. Well, Hitachi can file that under "ain't gonna happen!" Since the set was new, the cooling fan was just slightly less noisy than a lawnmower. After my second call to Hitachi, I simply gave up calling them in frustration.....why bother! I noticed with some amusement that this set can now be purchased on the net for just about $1000. It occurs to me that the price is just about $1500 too much! What a piece of trash this set has been....DON'T GET ONE EVEN IF SOMEONE IS WILLING TO PAY YOU TAKE IT! My new Sharp flat panel is on order and this piece of garbage is going to the recycle bin.:mad:

I noticed this weekend when shopping at Conn's where I originally bought this set that they along with Sears and other stores Don’t sell HITACHI anymore? Hum what’s that tell you about Hitachi ( they s:pck ) is what it tells me. I feel the same after the second call to customer service they are not going to help me at all, so I’ll make an ongoing point in my life to post all I can and inform as many people as possible about the poor quality and poor customer service of Hitachi.:D

hi guys, have a question,has anyone ever cleaned the inside of their 50v500a, had mine for 4 years ,just replaced bulb. and if so is it fairly easy.or is it something i should let a pro do? thank you in advance for any help given. karl

Well I bought my unit back in 2003. Two years ago (end of 2006) I had to get the LE replaced under extended warranty because of the red hue issue and after 8K hours I just replaced the lamp about a year ago.

SO far so good. Image in HD is just as fantastic as I remember it since day one with the unit. I won't put any more money into it other than lamps however, if the unit goes again either LE or other issues (picture quality etc) it will head to my basement for use with computer and or gaming console until it calves.

I admit, I spent $4k on the set new and I still hope I get another 4 years out of it, I don't expect units like this to be garbage after only 5 years of use.

I have about 10K hours on it since the new LE and no signs of any image problems yet.

Uwish, brought mine in Oct 04, hadn't had to have LE replaced, knock on wood !!!, justed replaced lamp about a year ago. PQ is still very good in HD, if I also can get 4 more yrs. out of this tv i would be very happy indeed, good ideal for later use of this set!! bye

Today I had someone come in to install a new light engine for the first time. It's been over 3 years since we purchased it and this will preserve the life of this TV (50v500A) and if it wasn't free, I'd kick this one to the curb. It's kind of unfortunate that all I have to pay is installation since if I had to pay for the part, I would be able to justify a new TV to my girlfriend!

I am going to be purchasing a new AVR (Pioneer 1018 whenever it's going to be actually sold) and I'm looking into getting hdmi cables for my rogers cable box and PS3. Does anyone have their setup to either using a HDMI to DVI adapter or cable from their receiver to the DVI input on this TV? I know DVI is video only so I'm going to be using the digital audio outs from the PS3 and the HD cable box to the receiver and from the receiver to the speakers (thus the tv has no need for audio).

Lastly, will the TV be able to show Blueray Discs over the DVI connection?

Sorry if it's already been explained, I'm new to this and I'm now tired of having component cables going everywhere!

I amDoes anyone have their setup to either using a HDMI to DVI adapter or cable from their receiver to the DVI input on this TV?

Yes. I have a DVI to HDMI cable going from my Denon 3808 to my 50V500. It works great. To me it was a huge improvement because now all the video sources I care about are going via a digital signal path.

I know DVI is video only so I'm going to be using the digital audio outs from the PS3 and the HD cable box to the receiver and from the receiver to the speakers (thus the tv has no need for audio).

You won't need to do that at all. Hook your HDMI sources up to the AVR. The AVR will send the video to the TV via DVI and the AVR will play the audio. You won't need to use the digital audio outs. In fact you don't want to use the digital audio out with the PS3 at all - you won't be able to get uncompressed audio if you do.

Lastly, will the TV be able to show Blueray Discs over the DVI connection?

It depends a lot on your AVR, but for my with my 3808 it works very well.

So I've had this set for a few years and now that I have a BluRay player I have question - does anyone ever see banding on color gradients? I used to see this on some high def content off of cable but I thought it was do to compression. But today I put in the Ghost in the Shell 2 BluRay and at the very beginning there was a globe with a halo around it and there was a lot of banding that almost looked like compression. I was wondering if it's the set's lack of color range or something?

Yes. I have a DVI to HDMI cable going from my Denon 3808 to my 50V500. It works great. To me it was a huge improvement because now all the video sources I care about are going via a digital signal path.



You won't need to do that at all. Hook your HDMI sources up to the AVR. The AVR will send the video to the TV via DVI and the AVR will play the audio. You won't need to use the digital audio outs. In fact you don't want to use the digital audio out with the PS3 at all - you won't be able to get uncompressed audio if you do.



It depends a lot on your AVR, but for my with my 3808 it works very well.

Okay, so I picked up an HK avr 354 and last night I tried hooking it up to the DVI input. It worked great for a few minutes however after that I still got the audio coming from the AVR but all I saw was snow on the screen. I really love the AVR and want to keep it, however if I can't get the HDMI out of the AVR to the DVI input of this TV then there's no point. Anyone else run into this? I am using an SA8300HD PVR box and a PS3.

Thanks!

Yes. I have a DVI to HDMI cable going from my Denon 3808 to my 50V500. It works great. To me it was a huge improvement because now all the video sources I care about are going via a digital signal path.



You won't need to do that at all. Hook your HDMI sources up to the AVR. The AVR will send the video to the TV via DVI and the AVR will play the audio. You won't need to use the digital audio outs. In fact you don't want to use the digital audio out with the PS3 at all - you won't be able to get uncompressed audio if you do.



It depends a lot on your AVR, but for my with my 3808 it works very well.

Last question, the HDMI to DVI cable you have, is it 25 pin DVI? or 19 pin? I think the issue I'm having is that it's 19 pin whereas in the manual I just read AGAIN it's 25 pin.

*UPDATE: Nevermind, I got a 25 pin and it still didn't work, however I found out it wasn't the TV's fault since going directly from the STB or the PS3 into the DVI input generated a signal, it was only when I send it through my HK AVR 354. I'm guessing it's converting the signal to a newer HDCP signal that the TV cannot do since when I hit "Info" JUST before I get the snow it states that the display is not HDCP compliant. and also asks to please connect component cables.

NET: still out of luck.

Over the last week or so, I've noticed a blue tint to my picture on the top right corner. It's more noticeable at certain times, depending on what kind of picture is on the screen.

Anyway, I called Sears today about my warranty (I'm one month from expiration) and I told them that I wanted a replacement instead of a refurb, due to all the troubles that everyone has had with this set. He said the only way they could do this is if the tech comes out and determines that (a) the set can't be fixed or (b) the parts aren't available.

Is this part still manufactured by Hitachi? I'm really hoping that they'll just refund my money and I can buy a better set anyway. Anybody have any insight into the availability of this part? I figure that's the best chance I have for a refund.

I replaced my LE with the help of a buddy of mine that worked for Hitachi, however he did not normally do LE replacements. After replacing the LE, the pink cloud is gone, but the color just does not seem to pop. White still looks greenish or yellowish and blue does not seem to really pop. We have done factory resets, but this still is not helping.

Can anyone point me in the right direction?:confused:

Over the last week or so, I've noticed a blue tint to my picture on the top right corner. It's more noticeable at certain times, depending on what kind of picture is on the screen.

Anyway, I called Sears today about my warranty (I'm one month from expiration) and I told them that I wanted a replacement instead of a refurb, due to all the troubles that everyone has had with this set. He said the only way they could do this is if the tech comes out and determines that (a) the set can't be fixed or (b) the parts aren't available.

Is this part still manufactured by Hitachi? I'm really hoping that they'll just refund my money and I can buy a better set anyway. Anybody have any insight into the availability of this part? I figure that's the best chance I have for a refund.

No, the LE is no longer being manufactured so any replacement is a refurb. I guess they realized their errors in the design and cut it. Sorry.

The good side is that I had the LE replaced about a month or 2 ago and it's back to looking nice!

No, the LE is no longer being manufactured so any replacement is a refurb. I guess they realized their errors in the design and cut it. Sorry.

The good side is that I had the LE replaced about a month or 2 ago and it's back to looking nice!
My wording wasn't very good. I meant that I want them to either replace it with a new set or give me a refund instead of having my existing set fixed. Sounds like the LE will just need to be replaced.

I replaced my LE with the help of a buddy of mine that worked for Hitachi, however he did not normally do LE replacements. After replacing the LE, the pink cloud is gone, but the color just does not seem to pop. White still looks greenish or yellowish and blue does not seem to really pop. We have done factory resets, but this still is not helping.

Can anyone point me in the right direction?:confused:

I know when I had my LE replaced, the technician did the factory reset and all was good. There's two resets apparently. One that the tech did, but then there's also the one that you would do in your menuing. I know it's a stupid question, but did you reset your own display settings? There's a tint option that maybe you had to the green side of things and now that it's a new LE, maybe you need to reset if back to the middle or slightly to the red side. That or the colour temperature ... net there's a bunch of options in the menus that might need tweaking.

That said, since all LEs are now only refurb, you may have received on that still has issues. If changing things in the menu doesn't work, I'd call Hitachi again since there's been so many issues on this. Maybe if it's just been serviced, they'll cut you some slack.

My wording wasn't very good. I meant that I want them to either replace it with a new set or give me a refund instead of having my existing set fixed. Sounds like the LE will just need to be replaced.

Aaah, that's different. I highly doubt that the TVs are still being manufactured since A - the TV's 4 years since they started building it and B - they've had nothing but troubles with this one.

Now, to answer Sears' points:
yes it can be fixed (that was EXACTLY the same issue I had, blue hue in the top right corner that seemed to vary sometimes in amount but later I also got a blue blob that looked like it was oozing from the top centre of the TV). It is the LE and that can be fixed.

Second point - yes, parts are available, they are refurb but Sears probably won't care if they're new or refurb. Now, if I were you, I'd play that up to Sears saying that you didn't buy a TV that could only provide refurbished parts. Since it's still under warranty you at least have a TINY shot at that. I'm sure they'll fight back on it.

At worst, you'll get a "new" LE and it should be a great picture again. It is unfortunate that this TV has had so many issues but at least Hitachi knows it's because of their design and that's how I got my LE replaced for free (even though it's not under warranty). I think they are doing all they can to "put fires out" on a TV that was poorly designed. I can't say anything bad about their CS in my personal dealings with them, they were pretty understanding and manned up to their errors.

Aaah, that's different. I highly doubt that the TVs are still being manufactured since A - the TV's 4 years since they started building it and B - they've had nothing but troubles with this one.

Now, to answer Sears' points:
yes it can be fixed (that was EXACTLY the same issue I had, blue hue in the top right corner that seemed to vary sometimes in amount but later I also got a blue blob that looked like it was oozing from the top centre of the TV). It is the LE and that can be fixed.

Second point - yes, parts are available, they are refurb but Sears probably won't care if they're new or refurb. Now, if I were you, I'd play that up to Sears saying that you didn't buy a TV that could only provide refurbished parts. Since it's still under warranty you at least have a TINY shot at that. I'm sure they'll fight back on it.

At worst, you'll get a "new" LE and it should be a great picture again. It is unfortunate that this TV has had so many issues but at least Hitachi knows it's because of their design and that's how I got my LE replaced for free (even though it's not under warranty). I think they are doing all they can to "put fires out" on a TV that was poorly designed. I can't say anything bad about their CS in my personal dealings with them, they were pretty understanding and manned up to their errors.
Well you were exactly right. LE replacement scheduled for Thursday next week. We'll see how it goes. The guy told me there was no way they'd do a refund/replacement set because of the cost difference. I'll be happy if the new LE doesn't have any issues. I might ask them about extending my warranty.

Kudos to Sears for EXCELLENT customer service. I had the tech out the day after I called, and they wanted to come Tuesday for the replacement, but I couldn't do it that day.

At worst, you'll get a "new" LE and it should be a great picture again. It is unfortunate that this TV has had so many issues but at least Hitachi knows it's because of their design and that's how I got my LE replaced for free (even though it's not under warranty). I think they are doing all they can to "put fires out" on a TV that was poorly designed. I can't say anything bad about their CS in my personal dealings with them, they were pretty understanding and manned up to their errors.

Bobby,

I think I have this same issue now, how did you get your LE replaced for FREE when it was not under warranty??:eek:

Thanks

Oh and by the way, how much did it end up costing you (if you dont mind)?

Bobby,

I think I have this same issue now, how did you get your LE replaced for FREE when it was not under warranty??:eek:

Thanks

Oh and by the way, how much did it end up costing you (if you dont mind)?

Basically, it's because it's a manufacturing defect. Hitachi didn't really figure out how hot these run and how to best vent it out. They added extra fans to the LE from the original which help however we'll see if it permanently fixes the problem. Ours had one additional fan but the new (refurb) one we got had yet another in another place. Essentially the it's the lack of venting that's causing the blobs to form. Before I called Hitachi I did the research and knew what the problem was and also knew that they've been replacing them free (minus labour). I started with this before I let them "See what they can do" however they replied with the fact that it's a case by case approach but the fact that I knew what I knew probably helped. I think it also depends on how many issues you've had with the TV, we've had none. The more you know about it, the more you can push back if they say it's not under warranty. I know I am coming across as though I had to fight them to get it, this is not the case, they were very good about it, I have no complaints. It helps if you butter up the company a bit saying how much you love the TV and want to keep it.

Our TV now works great, *knock on wood*, but until it happens again you won't know if it will happen again. The one reassuring thing is that the repairman that came to the house said that in all the new LEs he's installed, he can't recall anyone calling back (over a year now). Just keep it out in the open, do not have it in any wall units or anything.

My fee for the labour was about $220 (I can't remember the exact amount) but if it gets us another year or two out of the unit I'm happy. The only issue is how long this original bulb will last.

Thanks for the info, I called around and the cheapest I could find for replacement was $390 if Hitachi gives them the part or $490 and they buy the part and replace it. Its ashame Hitachi would not send me the part. I found detailed instructions on how its done and feel confident that I could do it myself.

By the way, just for a referance my set is 4yrs and 6months and the bulb just blew. We average 8hrs of tv a day (the kids babysitter) and my sons leave the damn thing on over night alot of times. Anyway thanks and see ya.

Thanks for the info, I called around and the cheapest I could find for replacement was $390 if Hitachi gives them the part or $490 and they buy the part and replace it. Its ashame Hitachi would not send me the part. I found detailed instructions on how its done and feel confident that I could do it myself.

By the way, just for a referance my set is 4yrs and 6months and the bulb just blew. We average 8hrs of tv a day (the kids babysitter) and my sons leave the damn thing on over night alot of times. Anyway thanks and see ya.

The last thing that I forgot to mention is the fact that Hitachi would only send the part free to one of their licensed service shops. I couldn't have it shipped to one I picked.

Thanks for the info on the bulb. Hopefully there's still a fair bit longer since we don't watch AS much, no kids yet. :)

This post left blank intentionally (for the three so I could post a URL) :D

Bobby,

Oh yeah and I purchased the LAMP ONLY for $99.00!

from InternationalLight technologies. This did not include the cage, so I used mine.

Their website http://www.intl-lighttech.com/

I'll admit that I haven't read this whole thread, but I'm fairly confident that nobody else has asked this question yet. I found one of these tv's (50V500) on the side of the road with some other stuff that was clearly trash, and although the power cord had been cut to leave only about 6" on the back, I took it home to see what was wrong with it.

I spliced on a new power cord, fired it up, and found the telltale red splotch in the middle (and lots of blue to the right). I already have an HD projector, so I don't feel like gambling $400+ on a set that was made in 2003 and has over 8,000 hours on it, according to the service menu.

Finally, my question: Does anyone know if I can change the settings in the service menu to just turn off all the color and make it a black & white display? I have some usage ideas for it that don't really require color, so if I can just take the "color engine" out of the picture, I'll be good to go.

Thanks...

I posted this on another forum (ecoustics) and reposted it here just so people know that Hitachi will not give out anymore light engines (according to them). They are dead to me now :mad:

I am having the same issue, bought the TV in 2/04 noticed the red glare starting in 2006, was told by Sears that it was just the bulb going and that replacing the bulb would fix it. Well last weekend the bulb finally went, I replaced it and guess what the red sploch is bigger than ever!!. So I stumble across this site and the whole LE thing. Call Hitachi customer relations, they tell me that there is nothing they will do, talk to a jackass of supervisor named Christopher and he says he will do nothing since I'm just know calling about it. Ask for another supervisor, he says there is no one that will do anything for me and that he is the top guy. So I payed a tech to tell me that its the LE for nothing. That class action suit sounds better and better, even $30 is better than the nothing I got.

I'll admit that I haven't read this whole thread, but I'm fairly confident that nobody else has asked this question yet. I found one of these tv's (50V500) on the side of the road with some other stuff that was clearly trash, and although the power cord had been cut to leave only about 6" on the back, I took it home to see what was wrong with it.

I spliced on a new power cord, fired it up, and found the telltale red splotch in the middle (and lots of blue to the right). I already have an HD projector, so I don't feel like gambling $400+ on a set that was made in 2003 and has over 8,000 hours on it, according to the service menu.

Finally, my question: Does anyone know if I can change the settings in the service menu to just turn off all the color and make it a black & white display? I have some usage ideas for it that don't really require color, so if I can just take the "color engine" out of the picture, I'll be good to go.

Thanks...

Well I know there is a colour bar that you can add and decrease the saturation of the image however I'm not 100% if your can take it all the way down. I can test it tonight at home. You may still see the blob since light (and darkness) is comprised of RGB combined light being projected. Basically, if there's a red blob then there's a lack of information and you probably still see if it can do "black and white". It will probably just become a grey blob. This is my guess and I could be wrong, I'll first see if you can get it to only black and white, the blob part I won't be able to test, which I hope I never see again!

I posted this on another forum (ecoustics) and reposted it here just so people know that Hitachi will not give out anymore light engines (according to them). They are dead to me now :mad:

I am having the same issue, bought the TV in 2/04 noticed the red glare starting in 2006, was told by Sears that it was just the bulb going and that replacing the bulb would fix it. Well last weekend the bulb finally went, I replaced it and guess what the red sploch is bigger than ever!!. So I stumble across this site and the whole LE thing. Call Hitachi customer relations, they tell me that there is nothing they will do, talk to a jackass of supervisor named Christopher and he says he will do nothing since I'm just know calling about it. Ask for another supervisor, he says there is no one that will do anything for me and that he is the top guy. So I payed a tech to tell me that its the LE for nothing. That class action suit sounds better and better, even $30 is better than the nothing I got.

I had my LE switched out a few months ago without any issues from Hitachi. I know they stopped MAKING the LEs so all you could get was refurbished ones. If they stopped that altogether then that would have been just recently.

The red blob probably got bigger because the bulb is brighter. Switching that out couldn't have altered the actual blob itself.

I realized the other day that since color mixing with light is an additive process, you can't just remove the color. To get white, you have to mix all the colors, so as long as the color engine is shot, there's no way to get a black/white/gray picture without the red blob.

Guess I answered my own question, but thanks for the reply, BobbyJ.

here's some info that i hope helps, Solution #1posted on Aug 31, 2008
I had whole redish/pinkish screen on my 50v500 starting a few days ago, then I read through each of the threads on this site for the samilar problems on my model. I found TVtechmaniac's solution (pasted below) solved my problem. Thank you TVtechmaniac!

Enter the I2C Service Menu, be sure the power is OFF.
1. On the front control panel, press and hold the INPUT button.
2. Then press the POWER button for two seconds.
3. You may keep the INPUT button depressed until you see the OSD with the Service Menu displayed.
4. If you don't see the service menu, please repeat Process making sure you wait until the Power blinking LED stops.
5. Execute the Memory Initialize operation after the adjustment values have been written on a sheet of paper. Highlight “MEMORY INTI”, arrow to the right and hold the button to the right (approx 5 sec.) until a check mark appears in the box. This activates the Memory Initialization.
6. After the Memory initialize operation has finished (10~15 sec, the channel will revert to CH 3.) the pink image symptom should be fixed.
7. Write back the adjustment values from your notes to their respective adjustment parameters in the adjustment mode. (In other words, set the Data Values back to the the Data values written down before the Memory Initialization procedure). NOTE: Make sure the SELECT Button is pressed on remote after every change to the values. Failure to do so will result in the data values not being changed.
8. Exit I2C menu. Press exit repeatedly until you go back to the normal picture.
9. Turn the set off-on and Confirm the picture remains in a good condition.
BE SURE TO COPY DOWN DATA SETTINGS BEFORE INITIALIZING I2C SETTINGS

also i have a copy of the service menu

karlw56 - how do you enter the service menu?

On the front control panel, press and hold the INPUT button.
2. Then press the POWER button for two seconds, also make sure before you do this your on input 2 0r 3, You may keep the INPUT button depressed until you see the OSD with the Service Menu displayed.
4. If you don't see the service menu, please repeat Process making sure you wait until the Power blinking LED stops

I wonder - how does this memory init fix a flaw in the light engine? Or is this a separate problem?

GOOD NEWS!!! Hitachi finally gave in and replaced my light engine (with a brand new one at that!!). All it took was a complaint to the San Diego Better Business Bureau and they all of a sudden became my best friends :eek:

I did have to pay $180 for the labor, but it was worth it and now my TV looks better than ever. So remember, use the BBB and it will work for you as well.

CYA :D