OK. Looks like a false alarm. Problem(s) appear to have resulted from faulty HDMI cable. All is well for now. Picture is very good.

did the wipe change back to white? I don't think the screen wipe function has anything to do with cables, as it is an internally generated signal.

did the wipe change back to white? I don't think the screen wipe function has anything to do with cables, as it is an internally generated signal.
Yes, the screen wipe is now white again. All other functions are also back to normal. I guess time will tell whether or not the TV is fixed properly. I still have three (3) years left on the extended warranty. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

I've had the 50VS810 for 2 years, and generally love it.

However, I'm having a major problem lately where every time I power on the TV I need to unplug it, replug it in order to get a picture. It responds to the power on remote command (blinking blue light etc.) and if I wait I can usually see that the lamp is lit as the screen takes on the 'grey shade' found during an all black/no signal. I still need to unplug it and plug it back in before I'll actually see a picture. This happens on HDMI and (I think) on standard connections (I usually power on to HDMI, where my DirecTV HR20 is attached). I suppose it could be a problem with the notoriously buggy HR20, but I'm curious about thoughts here on the 50VS810. I have the extended warranty, so I plan to call and begin that process soon if there isn't a 'simple' fix, but I want to know what I'm in for and what to watch out for if I begin that process.

Thanks,

I have a 60vs810 and I recently purchased the hd drive for the 360 .
I am having a problem deciding which looks better, 720p or 1080i?

Can anyone shed some light on the subject?

I've had the 50VS810 for 2 years, and generally love it.

However, I'm having a major problem lately where every time I power on the TV I need to unplug it, replug it in order to get a picture.

This has happened to mine a couple of times too. Same cure, unplugging it got the picture back.

It's headed in for a new screen soon.
I intend to mention it to them so they can take a look while it's in the shop.

Along with the suspect light engine and noisy fan.

This has happened to mine a couple of times too. Same cure, unplugging it got the picture back.

It's headed in for a new screen soon.
I intend to mention it to them so they can take a look while it's in the shop.

Along with the suspect light engine and noisy fan.

Thanks, Please keep me posted on what you find out...

Hi guys just a quick note and a question

Its been almost 2 months since my light engine has been replaced the set looks great. sorry to here some of the problems you guys are still having. I just extended by 2 years my extended warranty with CC. I figure the next time it breaks they won't be able to repair it so I should at least get some of my money back towards a new set.

The Question

I got a PS3. Anyone here hook up a PS3 to your set? The PS3 is for christmas so I was wondering if anyone has done this yet and how does the picture look. I got a HDMI cable and I plan on hooking it up to input 2. Any thoughts ?

Token22

yep, I have the PS3 on a 60VS810 that I have had a lot of issues with. it looks outstanding, I plugged it into my 42" sammy plasma also and overall feel the Hitachi looks MUCH better.

BTW, the picture issue for me was resolved with a light engine change. I've also had issues with video cut outs when connected to my Rotel Pre-amp ( Digital board mod with some resistors fixed this), power up issue ( bulb fixed this), Green and Red Dots on the Screen ( light engine replacement also cleared this), Front Speakers not working at all (repair underway but suspect digital board again). Auto Aspect ratio not working properly on componant source (firmware seemingly) and random tv shutdowns (like hitting the power, not instant, currently being diagnosed)

All in all though, I still think this TV is one of the better looking sets I've seen, and I have spent a LOT of time hunting for a replacement while having these issues. and I agree with an earlier post the VS69 series is barely 1/2 the TV of these and the VG825 line. if yo ucan get it fixed, do it.

Despite the problems, I'm high on the ebst video quality I can find and still don't fully regret this purchase, I just got a lemon sadly

just for reference, This is my 7th Hitachi TV, 3rd of which is RP and I have never ever had a single issue before now. But Hitachi needs to do somethign a bout their frontline support, these guys are not empowered to do anything and it wasn't til I managed to find an emai into client relations that anything started to happen for me as far as a fix goes. it's been a difficult road to get this working to what I expected when I paid over 5K for it 20 months ago.

Hey everyone. This will be my first post in this forum. I have a 50vx915 which I recently purchased and am very pleased with. It appears many light engine issues are affecting the vs810's. Has anyone had a light engine repaired or replaced on a vx915? I would assume it is the same engine, correct? I am getting a little concerned based on the history posted here. I realize so far so good, but I want to make sure of what to expect if the unfortunate happens.

Hey everyone. This will be my first post in this forum. I have a 50vx915 which I recently purchased and am very pleased with. It appears many light engine issues are affecting the vs810's. Has anyone had a light engine repaired or replaced on a vx915? I would assume it is the same engine, correct? I am getting a little concerned based on the history posted here. I realize so far so good, but I want to make sure of what to expect if the unfortunate happens.


I have the 50vx915 and had the light engine and inner screen both replaced.
I believe they are the same light engines.
I had the inner screen replaced because of blotches that you can see when you use the screen wipe.
I had the light engine replaced because of picture tilt.
So far the set has been great with no issues and that was over a year ago for the repaires.

See Ya, Hoss

Hos, tks. Was that repair under warranty? If so, was that under Hitachi warranty? Did they give you any hassels? Just would like to know how your experience went.

Hoss, forgive my ignorance but when and why would you use a screen wipe.

Hos, tks. Was that repair under warranty? If so, was that under Hitachi warranty? Did they give you any hassels? Just would like to know how your experience went.

Yes the repair was a Hitachi warranty, no hassels, Hitachi want you to have the latest firmware before they send out a tech. The techs I had were great so everything went good and i'm happy.

Hoss, what is the latest firmware you have for the 50vx915? I will try contacting Hitachi today as well.

What about the screen wipe function. When and why would you use this function? I am concerned about using this function as it seems many problems have arisen after pepole used this function. Perhaps the most current firmware update has addressed this issue?

Not sure if anybody is reading this thread any longer? If so, I have one very important question. Has anyone who owns a Hitachi 50vx915 had there sets professionally calibrated? If so, would you be so kind to share your both your daytime and night settings. I would be forever greatful.

hello all I am unsure if anyone still reads this thread but I am wondering if anyone would know the updated model to the 60vs810. I have a 60vs810 that is being replaced because of a screen problem and I am not sure what the corresponding model is?

its the vf820 but be prepaired they took away alot of the features on that model.looked at one at c.c. and wouldnt trade my vs810 for any of the new lcds hitachi has come out with

I am thinking the same thing. Those new Hitachi's are ugly as hell.
They said they will give me credit for the TV and I can buy what I like, I am thinking about going with a 50 inch plasma. I don't really care about the drop in screen size, the 60 was a bit too big for my place anyway.

Im thinking about the samsung HP-S5053... any comments on this set?

Having my light engine replaced for the green bleed problem... It really isn't that bad but I thought I would get it done before my CC Protection Plan expires this may... I have enjoyed this set for over two years now and I hope that the new light engine helps with the green bleed... I will update when work is complete..

Digimat--- the sammys are nice plasmas but I have heard the sound is less than stellar... I love the contrast on the sammys but watch out for motion artifacts... I have bought two LCD flat panels since my purchase of my 50vs810 and love them both.... You may want to consider the 52" Sharp LCD flat panel or one of the sammys depending if they are going to give you full credit.... They come with full 1080P which will be nice if you are going to display blu-ray discs or play Playstation 3 in the future... It is just a thought but I don't think you can go wrong with the the sammy plasmas.... If they are going to refund your money then go get a Pioneer Plasma.... I looked at a Pioneer Elite 50 inch yesterday and almost bought it because it was the most incredible TV I have ever seen.... It was marked down to 3899.00.... Walking out of that store felt like turning down a date with Jessica Simpson plus a nightcap....

Also looking for a replacement for the same reasons, I am leaning toward the Sony 70XBR2 as I will be replacing my 70VS810. Haven't found a TV that even comes close to the XBR2 yet.

Haha, well I dunno if Jessica Simpson is similar to a pioneer elite but she does have nice legs. :)

The store says I can have 2800, towards a new TV or the 62vs. Which is the only Hitachi RPTV they still sell. Personally I don't think this TV is equivalent to mine in most respects, even the Hitachi Rep I spoke said the same, but I think 2800 isn't bad.

Im any currently looking at either the new sammy's or the Pioneer... the Pioneer just had a recent price drop but I am not sure if they will honor anything but retail pricing.

Does anyone know if this is correct? should the store be giving me full credit for what I paid for this TV or the cost of the same TV today?

They told me they give what they think the TV should be worth, but I got exactly what I paid for it. It is a store credit so you can spend it on anything. Think of it as having a massive gift card. They will still honor the sales price and should give you credit for using any coupons you can find.

I have this tv, and am wondering how much the new light engine will cost me, as I have no warranty.
I have the green bleed problem, it seems to get a little better after a few hours of continuous use.
Any input on this problem, and how common it is woulod be appreciated.
Dont want to scrap this 3 year old set, but I am assuming the repair would be expensive.

RICK
Toronto, Canada

Digimat or Mheav, can you please share your settings for both day and night. Tks.

I have this tv, and am wondering how much the new light engine will cost me, as I have no warranty.
I have the green bleed problem, it seems to get a little better after a few hours of continuous use.
Any input on this problem, and how common it is woulod be appreciated.
Dont want to scrap this 3 year old set, but I am assuming the repair would be expensive.

RICK
Toronto, Canada

you might as well buy a new tv for the cost....

Tiger... I really never use the night setting.. To me it makes the picture too soft.. Even if you put them on the same settings for both day and night they will look different when you toggle between the two...

Day
Contrast 100
Brightness 53
Color 35 to 45 (depending on channel) normally stays at 40
Tint Middle
Sharpness 60
Temp High
Black Enhancement Low
Contrast Mode Normal

I will repost after new light engine is installed.... (not sure when that will happen)

New light engine is about 1458.00 Part # UX23751
Refurbished light engine is 658.00 Part# UX23751R

If I wasn't still under warranty then I would probably get a new set... However this set is really nice other than the green bleed....

MHEAV
excellent post, do you know whats injvolved in changing the light engine?
I broke down last night and bought the Sony 60" KDS60A2000 for $4500.00 CND
SXRD Grand Wega with 1080P
I still have to fix this F^&in Hitatchi, so it sounds like a refurb light is the way to go.
Thanks for the info, I am a automotive tech, and I think I will tackle this puppy myself.
Cant be harder than a Supra twin turbo head gasket,LOL

Just spoke with global electronics, (globalsemi...........dot youknow)whos number I got from Hitatch Canada, they want $967.39 plus 14% tax for a refurb light engine.
What I wonder is, did they fix the greeen bleed problem with the refurb units, or will this just happen again...............

open to any ideas or options.

Thanks

RICK
Toronto, Canada

Go to: http://www.unionel.com/catalog/cat_item_idx_598.html

They have it for 658.00..... It shouldn't be too bad but I haven't seen it replaced yet... Hopefully I can let you know in a week or so how difficult it really is.... I have seen my TV torn down to pieces a year ago and I don't think that changing the light engine would be too difficult for the mechanically inclined..

From other posts I have read online I think that the refurbished light engine does address the green bleed problem as noted here in this forum......

http://www.highdefforum.com/showthread.php?p=33314

By the way, how good is the sony??? How would it compare to the 50vs810 if there was no bleed.... All I know is that before I started noticing my bleed I thought that the Hitachi was as good as anything I have seen outside of some Pioneer Elite Plasmas..... Unfortunately, the bleed is getting worse and now is affecting brightness, color (obviously) and contrast... I saw the sony in a store and it looked pretty freakin nice...

My local Hitachi repair centre tells me that refurbed light engines are just about all that is available on the lower models (V series).
They don't think the new part is any better because it often fails again fairly quickly.

Can anyone with a refurbed VS series light engine comment on how the "new" part has lasted?
And what is different between the refurb and the original?

Just got the Sony 3 hours ago, all I can say is WOW! KDS60A2000
blows the VS810 out of the water, in every aspect.
Very happy camper, I purchased the 3 year warranty this time, although I am told the only real problems are premature lamp failure, which sony tells me is not covered by the warranty.
anyone want a 50VS810 for 500 bucks?





They have it for 658.00..... It shouldn't be too bad but I haven't seen it replaced yet... Hopefully I can let you know in a week or so how difficult it really is.... I have seen my TV torn down to pieces a year ago and I don't think that changing the light engine would be too difficult for the mechanically inclined..

From other posts I have read online I think that the refurbished light engine does address the green bleed problem as noted here in this forum......


By the way, how good is the sony??? How would it compare to the 50vs810 if there was no bleed.... All I know is that before I started noticing my bleed I thought that the Hitachi was as good as anything I have seen outside of some Pioneer Elite Plasmas..... Unfortunately, the bleed is getting worse and now is affecting brightness, color (obviously) and contrast... I saw the sony in a store and it looked pretty freakin nice...[/QUOTE]

iv had my vs810 since april 05.tvs on 8 to 10 hours a day sometimes longer.still on the original bulb no green bleed.. screen wipe is white as can be. i really like the sonys but cant see spending the money right now when my tv still looks as good as the day i got it.plus the sound on the sonys are no where near as good as the vs810.just my 2 cents congragalations on your new tv.

yeah, true about the sound, although anyone whos is going to drop that kind of coin on a TV, more than likely has a alternate audio sytem with optical 5.1 ect
I intend to fix my VS810, as it does have a sweet picture when operating properly.
I am going to squeeze Hitatchis nuts and see what they will do for me.
The links from MHEAV explain that Hitatchi has acknowledge a fault and it sounds like they are prepared to bite the bullet.
Thanks for all the great info that I have found here in this forum.
RICK
Toronto, Canada


iv had my vs810 since april 05.tvs on 8 to 10 hours a day sometimes longer.still on the original bulb no green bleed.. screen wipe is white as can be. i really like the sonys but cant see spending the money right now when my tv still looks as good as the day i got it.plus the sound on the sonys are no where near as good as the vs810.just my 2 cents congragalations on your new tv.

Hey folks,

first off: I love this TV. So far I've not seen any of the "negative" issues that some others have seen with this TV, so, I hope I'm not jinxing myself. Had it over a year.

Here's My question: There are some additional audio options in the OSD (Digital Output, DRC) that are not appearing in my menu. Where are they?

The current setup is: HDMI input from my DTV STB, Optical out from the TV to an older (but still working!) Kenwood VR-2080 that's DTS/Dolby Digital (AC-3)/PCM (CD Format) aware. Firmware is V0136.0000.

I've turned off the TV and left the receiver on, hoping that when I spin up the TV set while the receiver is on it'd get recognized...no go.

Any help'd be truly appreciated.

Thanks! -M

Mheav, thank you for the settings. I have tried them and the picture looks amazing. I agree on the night settnigs. I too think it looks watered down and soft. I keep the same settings only adjusting the contrast down to 85. This seems to work the best for my eye especially when all the lights are out and watching DVD's.

Good luck on your new/refrub engine. Lets us know how it turns out.

Just got word that my light engine has came in and a tech will contact me to schedule a replacement... Keeping my fingers crossed..... For people who have had it replaced......... ,,, Did the light engine improve brightness and contrast problems?? My bleed is pretty bad and is greatly affecting grayscale... I assume the new light engine will help with this..... Hopefully!!!! I will let you guys know how it turns out!!!! In the meantime, If you have purchased an HDTV since your Hitachi VS model, What did you get and how do you like it....?????

Den- Hitachi 50VS810

Bedroom- LG 32" LCD HDTV (32LC2DU)

Game Room- OLEVIA 32" 2 Series LCD HDTV (232V)

mine turned out better than new ......... hard to beleive. It cot me a bundle of $$$, could have got a new tv for the price, but after shopping, I took the chance that the 60vs810 could be brought back to new.

mine turned out better than new ......... hard to beleive. It cot me a bundle of $$$, could have got a new tv for the price, but after shopping, I took the chance that the 60vs810 could be brought back to new.

Vega,

Which light engine did they install?

The one with or without the 'R' in the part number.

Also....has anyone noticed a slight yellow tinge to the picture?
I can see it on the screen wipe.
Same area of the screen that has the condensation blotch problem (which is getting fixed tomorrow). Could they be related?

yes, t was the 'R' model. According to Hitachi, it is brand new, and factory modified for better cooling. I had the yellow spot center screen, @ 2/3 of the picture. That is gone. There is now no green cast any longer, which the set had since new. In my opinion the picture is better than when the set was new, I was impressed then, more so now. I still feel this is one of the best pictures on the market, but am dissapointed with Hitachi's policy here in Canada. It cost over $1600 for the replacement.
The light engine was replaced just after the new year, and I cannot see any degradation as of yet, I will post here if the new light engine has any problems.

yes, t was the 'R' model. According to Hitachi, it is brand new, and factory modified for better cooling. I had the yellow spot center screen, @ 2/3 of the picture. That is gone. There is now no green cast any longer, which the set had since new. In my opinion the picture is better than when the set was new, I was impressed then, more so now. I still feel this is one of the best pictures on the market, but am dissapointed with Hitachi's policy here in Canada. It cost over $1600 for the replacement.
The light engine was replaced just after the new year, and I cannot see any degradation as of yet, I will post here if the new light engine has any problems.

Thanks for the info....and great timing :)
My TV is getting picked up today by the service depot and I intend to relay this information. My only worry is that apparently the Extended Warranty company is very reluctant to replace light engines due to cost and the last time they looked at my TV here at the house they didn't think the yellow hue was bad enough to warrant replacement.
I'll be pushing for it nonetheless.

Maybe I'll go back to Hitachi because the screen issue is a warranty item and the green cast has been there since day one.
I've spoken to Hitachi Canada's new National Service Manager a few times and he seems like a decent guy.

I've spoken to Hitachi Canada's new National Service Manager a few times and he seems like a decent guy.

do you have his name, and phone number ....... I'd like to speak to him, as I feel I've been burned by Hitachi.

Does anybody know if this new light engine is indeed truly a reworked model that isn't succetable to the green bleed issues?

My TV is under warranty for 3 years with CC, and if it truly is a definitive fix, I may just call them up. To anybody that has received this new light engine, how does its picture quality compare to the original engine (minus the green bleed issues and whatnot)?

Something about these new and improved light engines has me wondering.

In looking at the price and model number, are these "new" light engines not just refurbished and perhaps modified versions of the old ones?

Original: UX23751 @ $1458
New: UX23751R @ $658

When I see the letter "R", and a value at less than half of the original, it seems kind of obvious. Not saying this is a bad thing if the "R" version works better and lasts.

My depot is ordering a light engine for my TV today. Should I be calling them to specify which light engine?

I have been waiting since december 7 for my light engine replacement, should I be upset?

I have a guy coming out to look at my Vs810 tonight
PLEASE let me know if you find anything more about the replacement (R) refurbished part number.
I have no warranty and am biting the bullet to buy the new part, if the problems have not been addressed, I am throwing money away.
Hitatchi should be eating this one, I have since bought the Sony KDS2000A SXRD
It is quite amazing, but I did get a 3 year warranty THIS time around.

Rick
Toronto, Canada

KDS60A2000 Sony
50VS810 Hitatchi
Harmen Kardon AV210
BELL EXPRESSVU 6100 HD


Something about these new and improved light engines has me wondering.

In looking at the price and model number, are these "new" light engines not just refurbished and perhaps modified versions of the old ones?

Original: UX23751 @ $1458
New: UX23751R @ $658

When I see the letter "R", and a value at less than half of the original, it seems kind of obvious. Not saying this is a bad thing if the "R" version works better and lasts.

My depot is ordering a light engine for my TV today. Should I be calling them to specify which light engine?

do you have his name, and phone number ....... I'd like to speak to him, as I feel I've been burned by Hitachi.

I PM'd you the info. Good luck :)

Getting my new light engine Friday morning..... Details on the part # used, how hard it was for the tech to install, and how well it works, will come after thorough testing of the new engine.... God I hope it works well... If it doesn't, then I will fall under CC's strike three policy and will get a new TV.... Not sure what I would get or how much credit they will give me for a new one ..... I really hope it doesn't come to that.....

Strike 1 Blotches (new screen assembly fixed 100%)
Strike 2 Green bleed getting worse (light engine installed later this morning)
Strike 3 ?????

Getting my new light engine Friday morning..... Details on the part # used, how hard it was for the tech to install, and how well it works, will come after thorough testing of the new engine.... God I hope it works well... If it doesn't, then I will fall under CC's strike three policy and will get a new TV.... Not sure what I would get or how much credit they will give me for a new one ..... I really hope it doesn't come to that.....

Strike 1 Blotches (new screen assembly fixed 100%)
Strike 2 Green bleed getting worse (light engine installed later this morning)
Strike 3 ?????


PLEASE report
great forum

CC Tech arrived with the refurbished light engine and I did not let him install it... The box was extremely damaged. In other words, the box was crushed.... I am getting pretty ticked off now, and complained to the store in person... Not sure what I will do, but I have a choice to reorder parts or consider replacement.... I have waited since December the 9th for light engine to come in and once I saw the box was badly damaged I just about lost it.... The CC tech was realy nice and he said before he left that I did the right thing by not installing it.... I haven't decided what i am going to do.... I guess it all depends on what they can offer me as replacement......

hi, long time lurker, but also a long time home theater geek. I have a 60vs810A, and was wondering if anyone has any suggeestions on any tweaks for the tv inside the service menu? i am mainly curious as to what the the sub light setting is on your tvs. before i get flamed for not looking in other boards, i have not seen anything that deals directly with the service menu itself, only how to get to it. also, if there are any other settings that could be adjusted to sharpen or improve the picture, let me know.

as for what i am running, my hdmi's are taken by a hd a1 and a ps3, and my hd cablebox is in component 1.

what i am trying to figure out is how to improve my picture, as it looks great as it is, but i can tell it can look better. i know some of it is related to the sets natural push of green, and i am considering having the ligth engine swapped out.

i look forward to any info you could share.

I just had my light engine replaced a couple of days ago. No green bleed and all seems to be ok. My service tech said the repair invoice was around $1400 but from what was on the light engine I do believe my unit was refurbished late 2006 (label on the box). I had to do some basic adjusting of the LCD in the service menu as I was getting vertical banding as others were reporting in other threads but that was a simple adjustment. I'm wondering if anyone out there knows or has a manual that explains what each of the calibration points in the service menu do as a lot of them are quite cryptic. I'm having particular trouble in figuring out which of the settings causes the LCD to shift vertically and I'm not referring to the vertical shifting of the entire screen. I would like to adjust my RGB all separately as in the test patterns i seem to be one pixel row off from being perfect. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Mike

I am supposed to get mine done this week, no warranty
is there a warranty on the replaced part?
glad everything worked out good, I would just be worried that the same thing might happen a year down the road

OK. I'm back again and I am starting to get pissed off. After not having my 50VX915 for almost 3 months while awaiting a light engine replacement, my 6 month old lamp blew the other night. The freaking lamp cost me about $240 from theSears 1800Parts deal.

The documentaion that came with the lamp clearly states that the warranty on the bulb is one (1) year. After spending an hour on the phone and talking with 9 different people, Sears finally blew me off and told me to call Hitachi. Consequently, I did. This is where the story gets interesting.

I call 1800Hitachi and the guy tells me the warranty is 90 days. I email Hitachi and get a response and apology and am told that the warranty is 1 year. I call Hitachi and am again told 90 days. As I am hanging up the phone, I get another email telling me 1 year. I am about to go BALLISTIC.

Right now, I can watch my TV as I saved the old bulb. However, a screen wipe shows, as does light colored scenes, the green blob starting to re-appear.

My wife told me to buy the Sony. She won't have to tell me that next time. With three (3) years left on my extended warranty, I'm going to do my best to get my money's worth out of this damn TV.

In summary, the documentation and emails from Hitachi state that the warranty on a new lamp is one (1) year but live people at Hitachi say 90 days. Jesus.

OK. I faxed a copy of the documentation that came with bulb and got a call back from Hitachi. They are going to send me a new bulb. The lady who called still didn't know what the deal was. She stated that she was going to forward my fax to upper management to see if it was a typo or what. Thus, the good news is that I am getting a new bulb. The bad news is that the warranty on same is unknown. Go figure.

Just a reminder to newer viewers who may have missed my earlier post:

I have VS810 series firmware v0140.0000. It is the latest for this TV as of ~Oct 2006. If you would like me toi email it to you, please PM me.

d2thez,

What exactly does all the new firmware updates do??? I am still on V135.0000.. By the way, I told the CC tech to reorder the Light Engine... I just can't let go of this TV... I want to give the new Light Engine a chance before I consider a replacement from CC...

Well Hitachi doesn't provide changelogs with the firmware them send you, but I do know it fixes alot of issues with CableCards. I started with v0134.0000 and have updated to 135 and 140 with my set. PM me an email address and I will send you teh firmware and instructions. The flashing is very easy.

On a side note, I too suffer form the green bleed. Please let us know the outcome of your new light engine (it is the supposedly redisgned refurb model you requested right??).

So, I got my new refurbed light engine and 2 days into use noticed something is not quite right... I started messing around with the service menu and what I noticed was as follows. When I go into the stripe function of the LCD adjust, on my reds and blues I have a skewed line pattern at about 5 degrees from 12 o'clock. Next, comparatively speaking to my old light engine, the green push is overwhelming, and I can't seem to mitigate it. Next, high frequency ringing, which usually shows up in high contrast areas is much more pronounced then before; every TV suffers from this but this is to the point of annoyance. Next, which I have a feeling is the result of high frequency ringing is that in 2.35:1 ratio movies when you have the top and bottom black bars show up I have the first centimeter or so from each dark area quite a bit lighter then the rest of the image which makes it quite distracting when watching movies.

Most of this is not a problem if you are watching 16:9 or 4:3 extended as the entire screen is covered and there is nothing unusual except from the two points I mentioned first however, if any one has any idea how to mitigate the ringing as much as possible and the green push please let me know. Also for those of you that own this TV I have a favor to ask of you. When you get into the service menu and go to the test patterns the patterns where there is a black square in the center of the screen with either red, green, or blue, do you have a row of lighter colored pixels for each of the patters just above the black square? If not then there has to be a way to calibrate that, please let me know because my tech is useless and Hitachi guys are of no help.

BTW my tech has been notified and he will be coming sometime this week.

Thanks,
Mike

-Just purchased a Hitachi 70vs810, very excited, it is a refurbished unit, light engine was replaced. There are a couple of things missing and I would like to know what settings are best suited for this TV. Missing items are the sync CD and software as well as the user manual. Any important issues i need to be aware of??? I currently own a couple of HDTV's (Sony), was looking at the 70XBR2 but it was out of my budget, ran across the Hitachi and i couldn't pass up the deal. Please help with any and all information possible. Thanks in advance for everyone's help, Zeb.

mstaz,

What did you do in the service menu to help with the vertical banding? My service rep told me i needed a new light engine, again!

What will help with the vertical banding is the streak option in the LCD adjust menu. You need to do this calibration for each of the RGB colors and the 5 brightness settings of each. As noted earlier my banding is pretty much gone or goes unnoticed however, my refurbed light engine has other issues that need to be resolved and my tech already made a note of them and is contacting Hitachi to see if it may be adjusted within the service menu.

Let me know how it goes.

I am still with you guys,....... just nothing has happened yet.... Hope tho have something within a week or so...

-Just purchased a Hitachi 70vs810, very excited, it is a refurbished unit, light engine was replaced. There are a couple of things missing and I would like to know what settings are best suited for this TV. Missing items are the sync CD and software as well as the user manual. Any important issues i need to be aware of??? I currently own a couple of HDTV's (Sony), was looking at the 70XBR2 but it was out of my budget, ran across the Hitachi and i couldn't pass up the deal. Please help with any and all information possible. Thanks in advance for everyone's help, Zeb.

I have owned the Hitachi 70VS810 with matching stand for 2 years and found it amazing vs. the Sony LCD set I almost bought myself at the same time.

FYI, I found the set settings out-of-box almost perfect to begin with and adjusted the colour to my personal taste as it has many of them.
The day and night settings I ignored and I use the daytime one as I find the night setting washes out the blacks and good contrast this set can provide.

If you get to the Hitachi website, you should still be able to find the user data you seek for this set.
Whatever price you got for this Hitachi set, I am certain it was half the selling price of the current same size Sony 1080p set as when I bought my set new as it was this price about 2 years ago, so you probably got great deal.

Hope this assists you.

The information you provided was excellent, yeah i did get a great deal. I'm too ashamed to say what i paid for it, but if you shoot me a PM I'll give you the details. They had another one but it wasn't available for sale as yet (light engine was being replaced). The Hitachi replaced a 60" Sony XBR HDTV (2002 model year), needless to say that the Hitachi was superior. Thanks again for your help, if you have any additional information you feel would be important, pleeeeeease post it, thanks, Zeb.

i've had my 50vs810 for a little over a year now and i am very happy with it.i bought it as a demo and got a really good deal.in the past year i have had the light engine and screen replaced under warranty(the light engine was not bad but the tech missdiagnosed the problem so i got a new light engine anyway).the other day i was playing the xbox 360 and the picture seemed to get washed out.what i mean by that is that it is sort of on the whitish side as far as color and the picture just isn't as crisp as it used to be.i tried readjusting the picture but i can't seem to get it back to the beautiful picture i am used to having.i think i can eliminate the light engine since it was just replaced.could the bulb be getting weak?any other suggestions before i call the tech since i'm out of warranty?i did try a screen wipe just for the heck of it but it didn't help.

i've had my 50vs810 for a little over a year now and i am very happy with it.i bought it as a demo and got a really good deal.in the past year i have had the light engine and screen replaced under warranty(the light engine was not bad but the tech missdiagnosed the problem so i got a new light engine anyway).the other day i was playing the xbox 360 and the picture seemed to get washed out.what i mean by that is that it is sort of on the whitish side as far as color and the picture just isn't as crisp as it used to be.i tried readjusting the picture but i can't seem to get it back to the beautiful picture i am used to having.i think i can eliminate the light engine since it was just replaced.could the bulb be getting weak?any other suggestions before i call the tech since i'm out of warranty?i did try a screen wipe just for the heck of it but it didn't help.


something probably changed in the sets software. The first thing I would try is to unplug the set for 10 minutes, plug it back in and restet the video settings. If the bulb was failing, the picture would get dark, not brighter. Failing that, there is a Memory Init in the service menu which may correct your problem.

something probably changed in the sets software. The first thing I would try is to unplug the set for 10 minutes, plug it back in and restet the video settings. If the bulb was failing, the picture would get dark, not brighter. Failing that, there is a Memory Init in the service menu which may correct your problem.

i reset all the settings to factory and my deep colors are back and the washed out look is gone.the only problem now is that the picture is definately on the dark side and it is set to Day which was usually very bright.

i reset all the settings to factory and my deep colors are back and the washed out look is gone.the only problem now is that the picture is definately on the dark side and it is set to Day which was usually very bright.

did you reset the user menu, or the service menu settings?

i went to the video menu and clicked on reset at the very bottom.that's all i've tried so far.is that what you mean or is it something different?

check all the cables, turn off black enhancement, set color temp to high, then go to the screen wipe. if you are in a dark room, the picture should be bright enough to be uncomfortable to watch. if you re watching a dvd, be sure the players settings are set to normal.

check all the cables, turn off black enhancement, set color temp to high, then go to the screen wipe. if you are in a dark room, the picture should be bright enough to be uncomfortable to watch. if you re watching a dvd, be sure the players settings are set to normal.

i tried all that you suggested and the picture is definately still dark.should i try a factory reset in the sevice menu?

there is nothing to lose. When my light engine was replaced, the tech used the Memory Initialize, not the reset. This will not change any color uniformity, or gamma adjustments from the LCD Adjust menu, but all else will revert to factory settings. If you have been in the service menu, and pressed the 480p, the picture will get dark if the correct test pattern was not displayed.

with either Factory Reset or Memory Init, press and hold the right arrow for 2+ seconds. the set will change to off air, do not press any buttons on the remote for one minute.

Mheav,

Have you had that light engine replacement yet? I am anxiously awaiting your results.

As for those who have had a light engine replacement with the supposed new and improved rebuilt "refurb" model, how is picture quality compared to the original model?

Not Yet.... Kind of in a pickle here... CC is going to call me by Wednesday to offer some sort of replacement... There is only 1 or 2 TV's that I could consider replacing my TV with... Both are LCD Flat screens... Not sure exactly what they are going to offer yet and not sure what I am going to do.... In a perfect world, I would like for them to replace my light engine and if I am not satisfied, replace the TV... I made this warranty clam on 11/28/06 and it is not fixed yet... I am pretty ticked off but atleast they are going to offer me something now.... HOWEVER, I love my Hitachi and would like to see it with a new light engine...... I pose this question to all of you>>>>>Which TV currently at CC would you consider replacing your VS810 with.... ??????? LCD Flat and Plasmas included......

The TV that I would really like to have is......

--Pioneer PRO-1140HD Elite® 50'' PureVision® Plasma (CC doesn't carry it)

Of the ones that they do carry, I am looking at.....

-- Samsung 46" LCD HDTV (LN-S4695D)
-- Sharp AQUOS® 46" LCD HDTV (LC-46D62U)
-- Sharp AQUOS® 52" LCD HDTV (LC-52D62U)
-- Sony 46" BRAVIA XBR® LCD HDTV (KDL46XBR2)


I really don't like any of the RPTV's that CC currently carries...

CC basically told me that they would offer me a replacement up to the price I paid for my 50VS810..... I paid 3.5K on the Hitachi...

What would you guys do???? What TV would you want???

vega509... According to the service manual, Memory Initialize does Initialize the RGB (480p) adjustment... Did your tech display any certain pattern during Memory Initialize???

yes it does, but if you press on the 480p adjustment without the proper pattern, things will go crazy. try displaying an all white screen, 255 and press the 480p adjustment, you will see a very bright and washed out screen.

if you do the Memory Init, you do not need to display any pattern, you just need to be on input one, with all user settings reset from the user menu.

there is nothing to lose. When my light engine was replaced, the tech used the Memory Initialize, not the reset. This will not change any color uniformity, or gamma adjustments from the LCD Adjust menu, but all else will revert to factory settings. If you have been in the service menu, and pressed the 480p, the picture will get dark if the correct test pattern was not displayed.

with either Factory Reset or Memory Init, press and hold the right arrow for 2+ seconds. the set will change to off air, do not press any buttons on the remote for one minute.

vega,i tried the factory reset in the service menu and the picture is still dark.do the lamps start to gradually go bad or do they just go bad at once?is there a way to check the hours on the lamp in the service menu?i would say i have 2 years on that lamp.

vega,i tried the factory reset in the service menu and the picture is still dark.do the lamps start to gradually go bad or do they just go bad at once?is there a way to check the hours on the lamp in the service menu?i would say i have 2 years on that lamp.


did you try the memory init, thats the one that resets almost everything, including the 480p settings. the factory reset is very limited in scope. my bulb has more than 8200 hours on it, and still very bright. My friends went 6700 hours, his popped, no noticable darkening, just a small color shift, reds not as intense.

to check the hours on the set and the bulb, once in the service menu, press the menu button, there are 3 menus available, at the top of one of them is a 5 digit number. thats the time on the bulb and the set.

Not Yet.... Kind of in a pickle here... CC is going to call me by Wednesday to offer some sort of replacement... There is only 1 or 2 TV's that I could consider replacing my TV with... Both are LCD Flat screens... Not sure exactly what they are going to offer yet and not sure what I am going to do.... In a perfect world, I would like for them to replace my light engine and if I am not satisfied, replace the TV... I made this warranty clam on 11/28/06 and it is not fixed yet... I am pretty ticked off but atleast they are going to offer me something now.... HOWEVER, I love my Hitachi and would like to see it with a new light engine...... I pose this question to all of you>>>>>Which TV currently at CC would you consider replacing your VS810 with.... ??????? LCD Flat and Plasmas included......

The TV that I would really like to have is......

--Pioneer PRO-1140HD Elite® 50'' PureVision® Plasma (CC doesn't carry it)

Of the ones that they do carry, I am looking at.....



-- Samsung 46" LCD HDTV (LN-S4695D)
-- Sharp AQUOS® 46" LCD HDTV (LC-46D62U)
-- Sharp AQUOS® 52" LCD HDTV (LC-52D62U)
-- Sony 46" BRAVIA XBR® LCD HDTV (KDL46XBR2)


I really don't like any of the RPTV's that CC currently carries...

CC basically told me that they would offer me a replacement up to the price I paid for my 50VS810..... I paid 3.5K on the Hitachi...

What would you guys do???? What TV would you want???

MY 70VS810 been around for two years, I bought at CC and have the extended warranty.
IF I had to replace it like you are (sorry to hear it took THREE MONTHS) I would get the Sharp 52 LCD panel since I have seen it and like it a lot.
(And CC sells it for the 3500 dollars they will give you).

Make sure the new set has an exchange policy/warranty extension
like you other one did and check for colour-banding like some Sharp LCD panels' owners have experienced.
Note: according to them, the second time around it's fine - no banding (if it ever occurs).

That, of course, would be IF I had the 50" Hitachi LCD RPTV set like you have.

Hope I don't ever have to do what you have gone through!

did you try the memory init, thats the one that resets almost everything, including the 480p settings. the factory reset is very limited in scope. my bulb has more than 8200 hours on it, and still very bright. My friends went 6700 hours, his popped, no noticable darkening, just a small color shift, reds not as intense.

to check the hours on the set and the bulb, once in the service menu, press the menu button, there are 3 menus available, at the top of one of them is a 5 digit number. thats the time on the bulb and the set.

my 5 digit # says 00013.there is definately more than 13 hours on the lamp.does that reset with a factory reset or memory init?

memory init will reset this data, not factory reset

i did the memory init and it's still dark.the lamp life must have been reset on the factory reset in the service menu because it says i have 13 hours on the lamp.i just had the light engine replaced about 6 months ago so i don't think that's the problem.any other suggestions before i call the tech?

i did the memory init and it's still dark.the lamp life must have been reset on the factory reset in the service menu because it says i have 13 hours on the lamp.i just had the light engine replaced about 6 months ago so i don't think that's the problem.any other suggestions before i call the tech?

this is from the service manual

______________________________________ ____MEMORY INITIALIZE ______FACTORY RESET
SUB BRIGHT ADJUST DATA (BRIGHTNESS DATA) ________INITIALIZED _______NOT INITIALIZED
WHITE BALANCE ADJUST DATA (G DRV and others) _____INITIALIZED ______NOT INITIALIZED
H POSITION ADJUST DATA __________________________INITIALIZED ______NOT INITIALIZED
V POSITION ADJUST DATA ________________________INITIALIZED ______NOT INITIALIZED
RGB (480p) ADJUST DATA ___________________INITIALIZED _____NOT INITIALIZED
Sub-Contrast ADJUST DATA ___________________INITIALIZED _____NOT INITIALIZED
PIP WHITE BAL ADJUST DATA ___________________INITIALIZED _____NOT INITIALIZED
OSD POSITION SET11NG DATA ___________________INITIALIZED _____NOT INITIALIZED
SETTING DATA FOR EACH DEVICE ___________INITIALIZED _____NOT INITIALIZED
BBE EFFECT AUDIO AGC DATA ___________________INITIALIZED _____NOT INITIALIZED
V CHIP RATING DATA ___________________INITIALIZED _____NOT INITIALIZED
CCD SETTING DATA ___________________________INITIALIZED _____NOT INITIALIZED
FACTORY RESET ITEM ___________________INITIALIZED _____INITIALIZED
LAMP TIME ___________________________INITIALIZED _____INITIALIZED
SET ACCUMULATE TIME ___________________INITIALIZED _____NOT INITIALIZED
GHOST ADJUST DATA ___________________INITIALIZED _____NOT INITIALIZED
FLICKER ADJUST DATA ___________________INITIALIZED _____NOT INITIALIZED
NRSH ADJUST DATA ___________________________INITIALIZED _____NOT INITIALIZED
COLOR UNIFORMITY _________________________NOT INITIALIZED _____NOT INITIALIZED
GAMMA CORRECTION _________________NOT INITIALIZED _____NOT INITIALIZED
V.REF _________________________________NOT INITIALIZED _____NOT INITIALIZED

did you wait 2 miutes before hitting any remote key after memory init? did the set got to channel 3, ANT, and reset all user settings. You have to hold the right arrow button for 2 seconds to start the reset or init. if these did not make any difference, I would doubt a new bulb will make any difference, I have over 8200 hours on mine, and it is stil very bright.

this is from the service manual

______________________________________ ____MEMORY INITIALIZE ______FACTORY RESET
SUB BRIGHT ADJUST DATA (BRIGHTNESS DATA) ________INITIALIZED _______NOT INITIALIZED
WHITE BALANCE ADJUST DATA (G DRV and others) _____INITIALIZED ______NOT INITIALIZED
H POSITION ADJUST DATA __________________________INITIALIZED ______NOT INITIALIZED
V POSITION ADJUST DATA ________________________INITIALIZED ______NOT INITIALIZED
RGB (480p) ADJUST DATA ___________________INITIALIZED _____NOT INITIALIZED
Sub-Contrast ADJUST DATA ___________________INITIALIZED _____NOT INITIALIZED
PIP WHITE BAL ADJUST DATA ___________________INITIALIZED _____NOT INITIALIZED
OSD POSITION SET11NG DATA ___________________INITIALIZED _____NOT INITIALIZED
SETTING DATA FOR EACH DEVICE ___________INITIALIZED _____NOT INITIALIZED
BBE EFFECT AUDIO AGC DATA ___________________INITIALIZED _____NOT INITIALIZED
V CHIP RATING DATA ___________________INITIALIZED _____NOT INITIALIZED
CCD SETTING DATA ___________________________INITIALIZED _____NOT INITIALIZED
FACTORY RESET ITEM ___________________INITIALIZED _____INITIALIZED
LAMP TIME ___________________________INITIALIZED _____INITIALIZED
SET ACCUMULATE TIME ___________________INITIALIZED _____NOT INITIALIZED
GHOST ADJUST DATA ___________________INITIALIZED _____NOT INITIALIZED
FLICKER ADJUST DATA ___________________INITIALIZED _____NOT INITIALIZED
NRSH ADJUST DATA ___________________________INITIALIZED _____NOT INITIALIZED
COLOR UNIFORMITY _________________________NOT INITIALIZED _____NOT INITIALIZED
GAMMA CORRECTION _________________NOT INITIALIZED _____NOT INITIALIZED
V.REF _________________________________NOT INITIALIZED _____NOT INITIALIZED

did you wait 2 miutes before hitting any remote key after memory init? did the set got to channel 3, ANT, and reset all user settings. You have to hold the right arrow button for 2 seconds to start the reset or init. if these did not make any difference, I would doubt a new bulb will make any difference, I have over 8200 hours on mine, and it is stil very bright.

i did everything the way you suggested and it is still dark.i am going to have to call the tech and have him look at it.

yes it does, but if you press on the 480p adjustment without the proper pattern, things will go crazy. try displaying an all white screen, 255 and press the 480p adjustment, you will see a very bright and washed out screen.

if you do the Memory Init, you do not need to display any pattern, you just need to be on input one, with all user settings reset from the user menu.

vega,you say to try an all white screen,255 and press the 480p adjustment.what is the 255?

vega,you say to try an all white screen,255 and press the 480p adjustment.what is the 255?

if you have a calibration DVD, such as getgray, maximum white is 255, on avia white is 235, from the gray scale. it's not recomended to try this as you could end up with an unwatchable set. you may want to try the flex menu, there are brightness and contrast settings in the FC4.ORG sub menu. you will need a service manual to navigate there.

how is the picture using the sets off-air? have you checked your cables? eliminate the simple things first, I've had a satellite reciever go bad and thought the set was bad.

Hi -

Not a biggie but I unintentionally reset my lamp hr usage on service menu to 00000 (from 01672 hrs. ) I just made a note on a post it and will add it to next time I read the counter - I assume there is no way to reset it to 01672 - just thought I'd ask.

Also, on a screen wipe I too have a very slight green tint in lower left quadrant of screen - I truly don't see any impact outside of the wipe - will this get worse? should I be concerned? I bought my set in 1/2005 for 4K, no extended warranty and, honestly I have been thrilled with my set. The only thing I notice is it takes a bit longer to "light-up" when it first turns on - it's been 2 yrs, I feel fortunate my bulb has lasted this long.

I'm in the US - I believe the warranty was for 1 yr so the light engine replacement would likely cost but, like I said, I'm keeping my fingers crossed my "little green monster" doesn't turn into a jolly green giant -

Thanks for all the great posts everyone - I have learned soooo much!

Mark :o

Sorry for my confusion, but i do not think i know how to calibrate the streak option (although i have found it). I definitely do not know how to find the 5 brightness settings of each. Can you give me a quick walkthrough? I have been attempting to calibrate by going to the colored screens (with square in middle) and pressing right or left on the remote, but i am not sure i see a change. Thanks

if you have a calibration DVD, such as getgray, maximum white is 255, on avia white is 235, from the gray scale. it's not recomended to try this as you could end up with an unwatchable set. you may want to try the flex menu, there are brightness and contrast settings in the FC4.ORG sub menu. you will need a service manual to navigate there.

how is the picture using the sets off-air? have you checked your cables? eliminate the simple things first, I've had a satellite reciever go bad and thought the set was bad.

vega,just for the hell of it i bought a new lamp because i talked to my tech and he said that's probably the problem.i installed it a few minutes ago and did a memory init and guess what-my picture is perfect again.i was reading the manual to see how to replace the lamp and in the beginning it says "if your picture becomes dark and the color looks unusual,then it's time to replace the lamp".thanks again for all your help,Len

vega,just for the hell of it i bought a new lamp because i talked to my tech and he said that's probably the problem.i installed it a few minutes ago and did a memory init and guess what-my picture is perfect again.i was reading the manual to see how to replace the lamp and in the beginning it says "if your picture becomes dark and the color looks unusual,then it's time to replace the lamp".thanks again for all your help,Len

biglen

glad to hear all worked out.

how many hours did you have on your lamp? to date mine has 8357, and still going strong, guess I'm lucky. I have a spare on hand, just in case. They are expensive, paid over $385.00.

biglen

glad to hear all worked out.

how many hours did you have on your lamp? to date mine has 8357, and still going strong, guess I'm lucky. I have a spare on hand, just in case. They are expensive, paid over $385.00.

not sure how many were on there because i did the memory init and it reset the hours.i would say it's been 2 years on the lamp,not sure of the hours.i picked my lamp up on ebay for $206.

biglen

glad to hear all worked out.

how many hours did you have on your lamp? to date mine has 8357, and still going strong, guess I'm lucky. I have a spare on hand, just in case. They are expensive, paid over $385.00.

vega,

How do you determine how many hours?
Can't find it in the manual and searching this long thread is frustrating.

Thank you in advance.

vega,

How do you determine how many hours?
Can't find it in the manual and searching this long thread is frustrating.

Thank you in advance.

go into the service menu(with the tv off, and the cooling cycle complete (all panel lights off), on the set press and hold the input button, press the power button, count 2 seconds, release both buttons, when the set starts you will see the service menu.

be careful not to press the right arrow on the remote while "factory preset" or "memory init" is selected. these will reset all to factory defaults.)

hit the menu button while in the service menu and at the top of one of the three pages you will see a 5 digit number.that's the hours that are on your lamp.

I have owned my VS810 for a little over a year now and have been very satisfied in general. However, I now want to calibrate it but am not all that knowledgeable on how to go about it. I have read plenty of positive reviews for AVIA and DVE but nothing specifically from vs810 owners.

What works best for this TV? Also, I am looking for the best "daily use" settings for HD and regular channels and not so much for DVD use. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

check the Display Calibration thread, most everything you need is there.

Not Yet.... Kind of in a pickle here... CC is going to call me by Wednesday to offer some sort of replacement... There is only 1 or 2 TV's that I could consider replacing my TV with... Both are LCD Flat screens... Not sure exactly what they are going to offer yet and not sure what I am going to do.... In a perfect world, I would like for them to replace my light engine and if I am not satisfied, replace the TV... I made this warranty clam on 11/28/06 and it is not fixed yet... I am pretty ticked off but atleast they are going to offer me something now.... HOWEVER, I love my Hitachi and would like to see it with a new light engine...... I pose this question to all of you>>>>>Which TV currently at CC would you consider replacing your VS810 with.... ??????? LCD Flat and Plasmas included......

The TV that I would really like to have is......

--Pioneer PRO-1140HD Elite® 50'' PureVision® Plasma (CC doesn't carry it)

Of the ones that they do carry, I am looking at.....



-- Samsung 46" LCD HDTV (LN-S4695D)
-- Sharp AQUOS® 46" LCD HDTV (LC-46D62U)
-- Sharp AQUOS® 52" LCD HDTV (LC-52D62U)
-- Sony 46" BRAVIA XBR® LCD HDTV (KDL46XBR2)


I really don't like any of the RPTV's that CC currently carries...

CC basically told me that they would offer me a replacement up to the price I paid for my 50VS810..... I paid 3.5K on the Hitachi...

What would you guys do???? What TV would you want???



MY 70VS810 been around for two years, I bought at CC and have the extended warranty.
IF I had to replace it like you are (sorry to hear it took THREE MONTHS) I would get the Sharp 52 LCD panel since I have seen it and like it a lot.
(And CC sells it for the 3500 dollars they will give you).

Make sure the new set has an exchange policy/warranty extension
like you other one did and check for colour-banding like some Sharp LCD panels' owners have experienced.
Note: according to them, the second time around it's fine - no banding (if it ever occurs).

That, of course, would be IF I had the 50" Hitachi LCD RPTV set like you have.

Hope I don't ever have to do what you have gone through!

OK so I am in the same boat execpt I DO have the 70VS810. The TV I would like to replace it with CC is not going to carry, the Sony 70XBR2. I believe I have been looking for a replacement for arond 6-8 months. Although since I still LOVE my Hitachi I don't really mind. Any suggestions for me?

hello all..
first post here..
well..i'm thinking of buying a used 70vs810. the guy is asking $3000 with stand and is only about 7months old. is that a good deal??

also..is it a native 1080p resolution? i've been in hitachi's website and they mention about
"VirtualHD 1080p"??? that isn't true 1080p right??

just wanted some insights on the matter..i know the light engine goes out often..whatelse should i look for? and finally..is that a good buy for a used 70" tv??

thanks again

My 2 year old 50vs810 recently began showing a green cast on all dark image areas (especially noticeable on a blank/black screen).

I have the 5 year Circuit City protection plan, and I'm curious what people think my best options are...

Given everything I've read about the dreaded "green blobs" and the challenges/inability to resolve them through repairs, I'm most interested in getting credit toward a new set.

Any advice on how to handle the Circuit City deal? I was 'sold' on the idea that my set would be replaced with a new model if I was unsatisfied with its quality for any reason over the term of the contract, but I expect that's a lot different in execution.

Advice appreciated.

hello all..
first post here..
well..i'm thinking of buying a used 70vs810. the guy is asking $3000 with stand and is only about 7months old. is that a good deal??

also..is it a native 1080p resolution? i've been in hitachi's website and they mention about
"VirtualHD 1080p"??? that isn't true 1080p right??

just wanted some insights on the matter..i know the light engine goes out often..whatelse should i look for? and finally..is that a good buy for a used 70" tv??

thanks again

The VirtualHD thing is somewhat deceiving mentioning 1080p,IMO, but it is actually a method used in picture processing, then it drops the picture to the native 1280 horizontal x 720p vertical resolution of the set.
I originally bought my 70VS810 with matching stand for 5500 plus extended warranty, shipping and tax about 26 months ago.
You could buy something close in this size used, too, but I believe the choice would be in the DLP type display and some household members or yourself could have a problem with the colour wheel or wobbles getting headaches like mine did.
At about 12 feet away, you still get a great picture, accurate colour and good definition right out of the box (at least I did).

OK so I am in the same boat execpt I DO have the 70VS810. The TV I would like to replace it with CC is not going to carry, the Sony 70XBR2. I believe I have been looking for a replacement for arond 6-8 months. Although since I still LOVE my Hitachi I don't really mind. Any suggestions for me?

If I have an "unfixable" problem with my 70VS810 and Circuit City cannot replace it with the same exact size HDTV, I will demand my money back and GET that KDS-R70XBR2 from Best Buy Magnolia (where they DO carry it).

CC might try to dump that 73" Mitsubishi DLP set in my direction they often try to sell (it appears on and off their website), but that won't work since I didn't "buy" into that display technology to begin with since the rainbows and headaches started with a several family members, including me.

Let's hope that CC has more "backbone" to offer replacement cash since they don't WANT to offer the Sony or the JVC LCoS 70" set sizes when these sets breakdown under extended warranty
I had a few run-ins with their so-called area managers on this thing already for clients wanting to buy a bigger SXRD than 60" and he didn't want to sell the 70". :D

Not Yet.... Kind of in a pickle here... CC is going to call me by Wednesday to offer some sort of replacement... There is only 1 or 2 TV's that I could consider replacing my TV with... Both are LCD Flat screens... Not sure exactly what they are going to offer yet and not sure what I am going to do.... In a perfect world, I would like for them to replace my light engine and if I am not satisfied, replace the TV... I made this warranty clam on 11/28/06 and it is not fixed yet... I am pretty ticked off but atleast they are going to offer me something now.... HOWEVER, I love my Hitachi and would like to see it with a new light engine...... I pose this question to all of you>>>>>Which TV currently at CC would you consider replacing your VS810 with.... ??????? LCD Flat and Plasmas included......

The TV that I would really like to have is......

--Pioneer PRO-1140HD Elite® 50'' PureVision® Plasma (CC doesn't carry it)

Of the ones that they do carry, I am looking at.....

-- Samsung 46" LCD HDTV (LN-S4695D)
-- Sharp AQUOS® 46" LCD HDTV (LC-46D62U)
-- Sharp AQUOS® 52" LCD HDTV (LC-52D62U)
-- Sony 46" BRAVIA XBR® LCD HDTV (KDL46XBR2)


I really don't like any of the RPTV's that CC currently carries...

CC basically told me that they would offer me a replacement up to the price I paid for my 50VS810..... I paid 3.5K on the Hitachi...

What would you guys do???? What TV would you want???

They didn't replace the light engine but are offering a replacement? How did you get to that point? Honestly, I'm about to place a call on my green-ing 50VS810 and would be happiest to just get the Aquos 52" LCD you mention as a replacement; I just don't trust a repaired set. Any ideas on how I can 'push' things in that direction?

I recently purchased an upconverting DVD player. Is there a way to input a 1080p signal into the 50VS810? Any firmware upgrades?

mrbakedbean :cool:

check the Display Calibration thread, most everything you need is there.

I searched for a vs810 calibration thread but couldn't find one, can you point me in the right direction?

I searched for a vs810 calibration thread but couldn't find one, can you point me in the right direction?

go to the dsplay calibration thread, this applies to most sets.

Hi. I just lucked into a Hitachi 70VS810 for free. Long story short, someone we know was moving and didn't want to take it. It was her husband's who passed away two years ago. The catch is it's broken. I'm hoping someone here can help. I've read much of this thread, and I won't pretend that a bunch of it went right over my head.

Anyway, the problem is there is no picture or sound. It gets power, and the light under the power label on the front blinks blue. The other two lights illuminate as soon as it's plugged in, then go blank.

The history is that she said she went to bed and left it on all night. When she woke up in the morning it was blank and wouldn't do anything.

The woman we got it from said she had someone look at it and they told her it needs a fan. I'm clueless, and as such am trying to learn before getting taken by a repair person. (Steroytypes and all.)

In any case, I hope somebody can help.

Thanks...

I heard something regarding a bad connection at the bulb, my brother just had the exact same prob, e-mail him, he spent 2 hours on the phone with a tech, who walked him through it, now after trying 3 diff bulbs, the issue is resolved
coachdon@sympatico.ca

Wow, I need to drudge up this old thread, but I really need some assistance.

I had to go into the service menu and perform a Memory Inititialize, which basically turnes all settings back to factory defaults. But now that I did it, the entire screen has vertical 'bands' or 'stripes' going up and down. They are spaced about 1/2 inch apart.

Does anybody know the service menu adjustments to get rid of these stripes?

in the service menu cursor to LCD Adjust and press the right arrow, on the sub menu cursor down to Stripe and press the right arrow, you will see the red stripe settings. cursor to the 1st and press the right arrow. Adjust using the right or left arrow until the stripe is gone. press info to return to the stripe menu. repeat for the remainig red adjustments. when finished, and in the stripe menu press select and the green menu will show. follow the same procedure for the green and blue. when all 15 settings are to your liking, press the exit button to return to the LCD Adjust menu, cursor down to GC Write and press the right arrow. press exit to leave the service menu.

Hmmmm, I did that but their are still lines on the screen during viewing. I think it helped. Maybe I wll try again.

Hey vega, do you have your set professionally calibrated? If so, did it make a big difference? Also, what does the 'streak' option do in the service menu?

Hmmmm, I did that but their are still lines on the screen during viewing. I think it helped. Maybe I wll try again.

Hey vega, do you have your set professionally calibrated? If so, did it make a big difference? Also, what does the 'streak' option do in the service menu?

I'd also be interested in knowing if a professional calibration made a difference.

Plus.....got my TV back this week from repair (new light engine under warranty).

Looks better, the yellow hue is gone :)

But, there is now a vertical issue. When looking at a standard 4:3 picture the black bar bars on either side now angle in slightly from bottom to top by about 3.8".
Can also see it on my PVR menu. (Keystone?)

I figure it's an adjustment the service depot can do but would rather not have them take it away again. Is this something I can adjust myself via the service menu?

Hmmmm, I did that but their are still lines on the screen during viewing. I think it helped. Maybe I wll try again.

Hey vega, do you have your set professionally calibrated? If so, did it make a big difference? Also, what does the 'streak' option do in the service menu?

I did the calibration myself, both grayscale and the color decoder. It made a huge difference.

Streak is for horizontal lines.

Rang, if you have keystoning, there is no service menu fix. The optical engine was either installed incorrectly, or is defective. The geometry is perfect on my set, and overscan is under 5%.

Wow, Vega, you really know you stuff. Last question for you.....

Is there a service menu adjustment for overscan?? Mine is a bit excessive I believe!

What is overscan?

overscan is the part of the picture not viewable at the top, bottom, and sides of the screen. This is not adjustable in the service menu of this set, but vertical and horozontal position is. Getgray, DVE, and Avia have patterns to measure overscan.

So if overscan an't be adjusted via service menu, I am guessing it isn't user adjustable at all?

So if overscan an't be adjusted via service menu, I am guessing it isn't user adjustable at all?

it may be adjustable physically, I don't know. the only software adjustment is the h&v position.

Just an update on my experience...

I've had the 50VS810 for almost 2 years and it really is a great set. My only pet peeves are the long boot/reboot cycle and the shared Component/HDMI inputs, which require some creative planning in order to actually use as 4 HD inputs. The picture quality has always been stunning, but recently I've been watching the upper right corner of my screen go green.

It's not a 'blob', but rather an issue where the black level (beginning in the upper right and fading across the screen) is tinted green. It seems to be getting worse. So...

About 8 weeks ago I called CC and asked for a tech to come out (I have the extended warranty). I explained the problem (along with a few other nagging issues - spontaneously changing languages in menu screen, sometimes dropping a color altogether from the RGB mix, usually fixed with an unplug/replug). He suggested that my 2 year old lamp was the problem, and said he'd replace it. A few days later, another tech came back and replaced the lamp. Green still there. Tech said "I don't see it except in black scenes", to which I explained that I watched content that had dark scenes in it (imagine that!). He deferred to have another tech come out.

The third tech arrived and again said that he didn't believe it was an issue. The part that might fix it was very expensive and he would be fired if he replaced it and they inspected it and found that it was OK. I darkened the room and made him look at scenes that showed the green tint. He just played dumb until I threw him out.

Next, while still angry, I drove to my local CC where I bought the set and looked around in the TV department until someone noticed me. When the rep asked if I needed help, I asked him to tell me a little about their extended warranty offer.

He explained that is was a 3 or 5 year option and would completely cover the performance of the set; in fact, if they had to come out 3 times for any reason they would just replace the set. I asked, "who decides what acceptable performance is? Me, or your techs?". He said it was a CUSTOMER SATISFACTION guarantee, and that the set needed to meet MY expectations for performance.

I then let him in on my experience an told him that the story he's quoting is BS. He called over a manager and they got on the phone with the warranty folks. A few minutes later, he told me to expect a call within 2 days to arrange the exchange of my set. Great. No Call.

I call them and they say: "we can send another tech out, but if he doesn't find a problem - too bad". I see green, my neighbors see green, my wife and daughter see green. CC tech amazing are blind to it or say it's not there during bright scenes so why worry... I fight with a few different people and get no resolution.

After a few weeks away on business, I took a trip BACK to CC to tell the helpful sales agent that they didn't live up to their commitment. Fortunately, the same guy was in. Explained the situation and he sent me over to talk to a store manager. They got on the phone again and this time got a real good one: "the customer can pay to have a 3rd-party service tech come out and fix the set, and we'll reimburse him". Even the CC store manager was blown away and had never heard of such a thing.

I thought I was sunk. The CC store manager, instantly offered me a replacement. They would handle it in store. "Go pick out another TV". I chose a 60" Sony 60A2020, which despite being more than $1000 less than my Hitachi was, is 10" bigger and true 1080p. Arrives tomorrow. No charge, even exchange...which seems more than fair.

Hopefully the Sony works out, and my hat's off to the staff at Circuit City who did not want to let the insurance agents ruin the sales/promise of their customer guarantees nor turn away a frequent customer like myself. Now I'm happy.

I'll miss the Hitachi 50VS810, it's a more stylish set than the Sony and I think the picture is great (except the green). Fingers crossed for a good, peaceful ownership experience.

Vega,

I REALLY hate to ask this of you, but in your free time could you post your service menu settings for the stripe function? I have a hard time believing each TV has a "unique" setting and think if I just copy yours it is a good place to start with my tweaking. I have been messing with it myself and I just can't get it right. It looks fine when a predominantly blue/green/red or a bright white is in the screen, but if a grey or beige like color is on I can see strips all over the set.

And to everybody else, has anyone suffered from an issue where sometimes you turn the TV on and a picture never comes up? I verify the lamp comes on but it is like the rest of the set doesn't turn on. I get no picture and the menu don't come up either. I have to turn the TV off and then back on to get the picture to appear.

Vega,

I REALLY hate to ask this of you, but in your free time could you post your service menu settings for the stripe function? I have a hard time believing each TV has a "unique" setting and think if I just copy yours it is a good place to start with my tweaking. I have been messing with it myself and I just can't get it right. It looks fine when a predominantly blue/green/red or a bright white is in the screen, but if a grey or beige like color is on I can see strips all over the set.

And to everybody else, has anyone suffered from an issue where sometimes you turn the TV on and a picture never comes up? I verify the lamp comes on but it is like the rest of the set doesn't turn on. I get no picture and the menu don't come up either. I have to turn the TV off and then back on to get the picture to appear.

each set is different, and each optical block (light engine) is different. when I had the new optical block installed every setting in the service menu was different from the original settings on the original, and from the settings I changed. This adjustment has to be done by eye. These are the settings that came as new.

STR-R0 STRIPE0-R 00-FF 6
STR-R1 STRIPE1-R 00-FF 3
STR-R2 STRIPE2-R 00-FF FF
STR-R3 STRIPE3-R 00-FF FB
STR-R4 STRIPE4-R 00-FF F8
STR-G0 STRIPE0-G 00-FF 6
STR-G1 STRIPE1-G 00-FF 3
STR-G2 STRIPE2-G 00-FF FF
STR-G3 STRIPE3-G 00-FF FB
STR-G4 STRIPE4-G 00-FF F8
STR-B0 STRIPE0-B 00-FF 6
STR-B1 STRIPE1-B 00-FF 3
STR-B2 STRIPE2-B 00-FF FF
STR-B3 STRIPE3-B 00-FF FB
STR-B4 STRIPE4-B 00-FF F8

These are what I changed

STR-R0 STRIPE0-R 00-FF 8
STR-R1 STRIPE1-R 00-FF 4
STR-R2 STRIPE2-R 00-FF FF
STR-R3 STRIPE3-R 00-FF FD
STR-R4 STRIPE4-R 00-FF EF
STR-G0 STRIPE0-G 00-FF 8
STR-G1 STRIPE1-G 00-FF 4
STR-G2 STRIPE2-G 00-FF FF
STR-G3 STRIPE3-G 00-FF FD
STR-G4 STRIPE4-G 00-FF F8
STR-B0 STRIPE0-B 00-FF 8
STR-B1 STRIPE1-B 00-FF 4
STR-B2 STRIPE2-B 00-FF FF
STR-B3 STRIPE3-B 00-FF FD
STR-B4 STRIPE4-B 00-FF F8

this is the settings on the new optical block

STR-R0 STRIPE0-R 00-FF 9
STR-R1 STRIPE1-R 00-FF 0
STR-R2 STRIPE2-R 00-FF FF
STR-R3 STRIPE3-R 00-FF FB
STR-R4 STRIPE4-R 00-FF F8
STR-G0 STRIPE0-G 00-FF 9
STR-G1 STRIPE1-G 00-FF 0
STR-G2 STRIPE2-G 00-FF FF
STR-G3 STRIPE3-G 00-FF FB
STR-G4 STRIPE4-G 00-FF F8
STR-B0 STRIPE0-B 00-FF 9
STR-B1 STRIPE1-B 00-FF 0
STR-B2 STRIPE2-B 00-FF FF
STR-B3 STRIPE3-B 00-FF FB
STR-B4 STRIPE4-B 00-FF F8

and this is where I moved them

STR-R0 STRIPE0-R 00-FF 3
STR-R1 STRIPE1-R 00-FF 1
STR-R2 STRIPE2-R 00-FF 00
STR-R3 STRIPE3-R 00-FF 06
STR-R4 STRIPE4-R 00-FF F0
STR-G0 STRIPE0-G 00-FF 4
STR-G1 STRIPE1-G 00-FF 0A
STR-G2 STRIPE2-G 00-FF FF
STR-G3 STRIPE3-G 00-FF FB
STR-G4 STRIPE4-G 00-FF F1
STR-B0 STRIPE0-B 00-FF 9
STR-B1 STRIPE1-B 00-FF 1
STR-B2 STRIPE2-B 00-FF FF
STR-B3 STRIPE3-B 00-FF FB
STR-B4 STRIPE4-B 00-FF F8

the stripe function is for the evenly spaced vertical lines on the set. you can also try adjusting the NRSH values.

good luck

I got my light engine replaced about 4 months ago on extended warr. Picture was not bad. Had to mess around with service menu settings to get things to my liking however was not able to get rid of one little nagging problem. When the tv shows content in letter box (does not matter if it is DVD,SD,etc), I believe that's what it is called when you have black bars on the top and bottom of the picture, I have a lighter 1-2 pixel line present just below the black space on top of the picture and just above the black space on the bottom of the picture horizontally accross the picture. Does any one know how I may adjust this in the service menu? Also what does the NRSH do and does anyone know where I can get all the definitions for the various settings in the service menu for the 50vs810 as I only adjusted some of the settings mentioned on this forum.

I called my tech on this and the warranty provider and they said the next step will be to get a different tv as my warranty will not cover another light engine due to cost. I don't want to get rid of my hitachi I just want to adjust it so that it has a picture that it is meant to have. Thanks in advance.

Well I just had my 2nd light engine replacement to try to fix green bleed. The first was done within the first year under than Hitachi warranty. It was better than the feactory light engine, so I kept it. But lately I got tired of it again to exercised my Circuit City extended warranty.

I just had it done for the 2nd time, and it is now worse green than ever!! I hate this TV. Does anybody know what steps or decision CC will take next? I would prefer they give me credit and let me pick a new model.

Has anybody had similar situations like this with the CC warranty?

I just had my VS810 replaced by Circuit City with a beautiful new Sony 60A2020 SXRD set. It wasn't easy, however.

The "Protection Plan" people sent out several techs, all of whom said that they didn't think the green bleed was a big deal: "I only see it during dark scenes" one tech said. I explained that I didn't control what the networks decided to air, and that despite my best efforts to influence Hollywood, many movies and tv shows were still being made with night-time scenes that exhibited a major green cast on my TV.

After a few weeks with 3 different techs, I went to the store where I bought the TV. Pretended to browse for new stuff until approached by a salesperson. I asked him to explain their extended warranty and got the usual "5 years fix or replace, it's great" etc. I asked "who decides what 'fixed' is?" he said it was a CUSTOMER SATISFACTION protection plan and therefor up to me. That's when I confessed that I was already a customer and that the PR on the plan was BS. He called the corporate "Protection Plan" folks and they said they would replace the set. A few days later, I called to follow up and they basically said "no go; we'll send out another tech if you want".

A few weeks later, I went BACK to the store and got the store manager. He called the "Protection Plan" folks and explained that I had several visits from techs, a replacement of my lamp, a firmware update, and that the set was still not up to my performance expectations. They said "Tell the customer he can pay a third party technician to come and fix it and we'll reimburse him". The store manager got ticked at that; hung up, and told me to pick out a new TV - he would handle the exchange in store.

Long story short, press for YOUR SATISFACTION (you paid good money for a warranty!) and get the store manager involved if corporate gives you any grief.

I had no problems having my TV exchanged. CC sent out one tech after I called the first time, it was a third party tech and not from CC. He said my optical block r engine was bad and told CC. I have now been credited fully for the purchase and ust have to find a TV to suit me. I have been looking for about a year now. I have it narrowed down to a Sony 60A3000, Sony 70XBR2, Sony 70XBR5, or the new Epson projector set to come out soon the PowerLite Home Cinema 1080 UB. I currently still have my 70VS810, and can't wait to get rid of it. I guess it just depends on the people you have in store, or who they can talk to at the corporate office the day they call in your TV. Good Luck!!

Well I called CC Plan folks again and they told me the would alert the tech folks who installed the optical engine today. They said they guarantee their work for 30 days. She didn't seem to care that it isn't the work that is the problem, but the faulty Hitachi light engine.

Just for the record, I have now had a brand new light engine and a "refurbed or rebuilt" engine. Both have sucked and neither is better than the other. Every engine I get still has green, just in different places.

Any fighting suggestions anybody?

Hey guys I just have a quick question. I just bought this TV from a friend about a month ago. Well the lamp just went out. I was wondering where is the best place to get a replacement lamp and also is it pretty easy to replace yourself or should I have a tech do it?

Thanks for any help.

Well it is extremely easy to install a lamp yourself. You simply uncrew the hatch to the lamp compartment, loosen the 3 screws holding the lamp in, slide it out, and then do everything in reverse using the new lamp.

I am not sure of the "best" place, but I think PartsStore.com has them.

d2thez,

thanks for the help. I called Hitachi and they gave me a number to a distributor in Miami. They said it will be here on Monday. Thanks once again.

I
Rang, if you have keystoning, there is no service menu fix. The optical engine was either installed incorrectly, or is defective. The geometry is perfect on my set, and overscan is under 5%.

Once again you are correct.
The letterboxing top and bottom are way off too, the top "box" is much thicker than the bottom. I can sometimes see the video control signal on the top.
Hitachi Canda has confirmed no adjustmenst are possible and will replace the light engine at no charge to me.

I must say so far they, and the extended warranty company who did the initial engine replacement, have been very helpful.

OK, Long story short, I'm not up to speed on all the technologic aspects/settings of my TV, so please forgive me. I purchased a 50vx915 DS nearly three years ago and aside from buyer's remorese from overspending, I have been pretty happy with it.
I originally dove into the settings and used this thread for suggestions, but I am a "set it and forget it" kinda guy. I don't like tweaking. I did use the AVIA DVD when I first go the TV for "Calibration."
The only real problem I have with this TV is how dark scenes on regular TV programming can look really bad. Skin tones and shadows in particular.
The reason I am writing is because the other night my wife rented one of the Star Wars trilogy and I thought I'd try the 1080i mode of my Denon 3910. Wow! The picture was noticably sharper. After taking a few comments about how a friends plasma (don't know the model) picture was sooooo much better I had gotten a little frustrated.
DVDs have always looked better on my TV. I guess my question is: Is it just the signal (1080 DVD vs standard tv) or can I do something to improve regular TV (other than buying HDTV cable/satt)?

Like some you in this forum I have the vertical banding problem. To lesser or greater extent I got rid of the problem however, on skin tones I notice some lighter banding. My stripe settings are basically perfect in the 15 settings with no noticeable, in my eyes, vertical bands. I've been fooling around for a few hours with the 8 different NRSH values in the service menu setting. However, as some of you know the NRSH values are much more difficult to adjust as the changes in the picture are much more difficult to detect and influence the stripe function, or so it seems. From your experiences which values should be adjusted first in the NRSH and what should I watch for? :confused: ANy help would be appreciated.

My father bought the 50vs810 when it came out. Just for kicks we checked the lamp hours in the service menu and it said 14396 :eek:. I looked up the lamp life and it said from 6000 to 10,000 hours. Is this true?

It probably is. My lamp is about a thousand hours behind his, but still going strong. My theory is that the life of the lamp is related more to the number of times you turn it on than the actual burn time. Because our TV is on continuously, 12-16 hours a day, our lamp has lasted longer than those who have it on for only a few hours a day.

I'd also be interested in knowing if a professional calibration made a difference.

Plus.....got my TV back this week from repair (new light engine under warranty).

Looks better, the yellow hue is gone :)

But, there is now a vertical issue. When looking at a standard 4:3 picture the black bar bars on either side now angle in slightly from bottom to top by about 3.8".
Can also see it on my PVR menu. (Keystone?)

I figure it's an adjustment the service depot can do but would rather not have them take it away again. Is this something I can adjust myself via the service menu?

Once again you are correct.
The letterboxing top and bottom are way off too, the top "box" is much thicker than the bottom. I can sometimes see the video control signal on the top.
Hitachi Canda has confirmed no adjustmenst are possible and will replace the light engine at no charge to me.

I must say so far they, and the extended warranty company who did the initial engine replacement, have been very helpful.

Well, the light engine was finally replaced again this week to solve the "keystoning" problem. This is the now third engine including the original.

The geometry is better :)

But the same yellow hue (VERY obvious watching hockey games and confirmed by a screen wipe), which was the reason I replaced the original engine in the first place, is back.

And to makes things worse there is a nice big blue spot near the middle of the screen, most obvious on black backgrounds.
(is this a bad pixel(s)? Never saw anything like it with the other engines).

The colors on the second engine were spectacular. A screen wipe was white as snow. I'm starting to think I should have just accepted the goofy geometry and carried on with life.

Now I'm right back where I started and I have to call the depot again. I refuse to give up now after all this, especially when the second engine showed what this set is capable of.

Very discouraging.

We just so happen to have a lamp for sale. Check out our auction on Ebay. We paid 250 for this lamp. We bought this from Hitachi in an attempt to fix our tv, but our tv has some other problems so we just bought a new tv. This is a brand new lamp for 1/2 price.

http://cgi.*********/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=150191788092&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT&ih=005

I have a Hitachi VS 810 that is about 3 years old. I have never replaced any component in the TV. Recently I have noticed that the TV seems darker than other TV's I have watched when I am elsewhere. I admit these are newer TV's that I am comparing against, but could my TV benefit from a bulb replacement for a brighter picture?

sounds like like it, you can check your bulb hours just to be sure.

It's light engine time again. Yellow streaks on white/light scenes. Really noticeable on screen wipe. The TV is 3 years old and it's time for light engine replacement #2. My extended warranty ends on 10/31/09 and I expect that I will have probably 4 light engine replacements by the time the warranty expires. I'll be buying a SONY LCD next time.

p.s. Oh yeah, if any of you guys buy a new bulb, check the documentation. I bought a bulb and it lasted about 4 months before exploding. The documentation said that the bulb was warranted for one
(1) year. Hitachi tried to say it wasn't. I finally faxed a copy of the receipt and accompanying documentation. Hitachi sent me a new bulb.

p.s.s. My picture went dark and it wasn't the bulb. It was the light engine.

It's light engine time again. Yellow streaks on white/light scenes. Really noticeable on screen wipe. The TV is 3 years old and it's time for light engine replacement #2. My extended warranty ends on 10/31/09 and I expect that I will have probably 4 light engine replacements by the time the warranty expires. I'll be buying a SONY LCD next time.

p.s. Oh yeah, if any of you guys buy a new bulb, check the documentation. I bought a bulb and it lasted about 4 months before exploding. The documentation said that the bulb was warranted for one
(1) year. Hitachi tried to say it wasn't. I finally faxed a copy of the receipt and accompanying documentation. Hitachi sent me a new bulb.

p.s.s. My picture went dark and it wasn't the bulb. It was the light engine.


My set is 2 1/2 years old.
Was never 100% happy with the greens, too much blooming.
When the picture started going yellow I had the LE replaced under the extended warranty earlier this, June I think.
The replacement LE was screwy right off the bat, so I had it replaced in September.
Back to square one because the picture was now yellow again.
Got it back this week....LE #4.
Looks really good but I'm leery about how long this will last.

I'm with you.....I'm going LCD next time.

5 LE's and waiting for #6 ..........

I just got mine replaced because of the blacks were green and now the picture is better than my new sony 60a3000 the text and color are cyrstal clear compared to the sony.i been watching both side by side and still dont get it.not the sony dosent have a great picture its just every thing looks clearer on the hitachi.whats up with that

I've got a 50vs810a in the UK, but we use PAL not NTSC.

Is there anything I can do to covert it?

Some HDMIs work ,but no AV/Comp inputs work...

I just got mine replaced because of the blacks were green and now the picture is better than my new sony 60a3000 the text and color are cyrstal clear compared to the sony.i been watching both side by side and still dont get it.not the sony dosent have a great picture its just every thing looks clearer on the hitachi.whats up with that

My brother has a new 60a3000 and I think my Hitachi basically has a better picture.

hi folks, have a 18 month old 70vs810, now on it's third bulb, i have not had the tint problems that others have mentioned, but at $365 cdn for a bulb every six months, this could turn out to be the most expensive tv ever produced! got the extended warranty, but of course it does not cover the bulb and the replacement buld has a 90!! day warranty..... is there a chance that the light engine "problems" result in premature bulb burn out?

thanks for any replies.

hitman,
the bulb life has nothing to do with the optical block / light engine. I would call for warranty service as there is another issue, maybe a bad ballast, with your set. Be aware that the more the set is cycled on and off, the shorter the bulb life. There should be no problems getting 8000 hours on a bulb.

My 4th LE is the best yet but there is still some green on portions of the lower third of the screen.

It appears to me those who got a good engine right out of the box are doing fine.

And those of us who didn't are destined to live with engines with problems forever, because every "new" engine we get is actually a rebuild therefore it's likely we inherit someone elses problems.

Or are most of them unreliable and many viewers either don't notice or don't care?

I will live with this one awhile longer (plus I know the extended warranty company won't entertain another claim until after 90 days).

Though it's a lot better, I can see it and it's distracting and frustrating. Even my wife noticed it......

I have the notorious smudges/blotches on my 60vs810, I've had the TV for 2 years and never noticed them and now poof, they show up

The TV repair shop swears it's the light engine, but I've heard others blame the inner screens....the spots are noticable on very light backgrounds (especially/mostly white) and are about 8 inches down and go across most of the screen, they range in size from a dime to a quarter....do you think the light engine is the culprit....or the screen?? I have no other problems, colors are great, still on the original bulb, and it's just a great unit....What to do....what to do! If they put in the light engine and it doesn't fix it, are they responsible to fix it without additional laber fees? Any help would be very much appreciated

i just had my light engine replaced and it only took a week and the green bloobs are back.had the blotches your talking about from day one and there still there even after the new light engine.

Did anyone ever diagnose what was causing the blotches??

no he tried to tell me it was from a bug bomb.yea ok.im done with it.got extra bulbs if anyone wants them.pm me if interested

OK...After 2 weeks the repair shop finally got the go ahead to replace the light engine. Big plus is that according to the lady over the telephone, they ordered a NEW light engine rather than a refurbished one. That sorta surprised me since a refurb costs about $450 with core and a new one costs about $1k with core plus the lady told me earlier that the dealer mentioned that they might just replace the TV since the estimate was $1600. With the history of these TVs, replacement might have been a better option for them, especially since I have 2 years left on the extended warranty.

Has anyone had a light engine replaced and had it correct the blotches?

My 4th LE is the best yet but there is still some green on portions of the lower third of the screen.


Though it's a lot better, I can see it and it's distracting and frustrating. Even my wife noticed it......


This may well be a color uniformity issue, and not a LE problem. Every LE replaced here had some problem. My last one, 1/3 of the left side of the screen had a greenish hue to it, ie it was noticeably greener at mid bright scenes than the rest of the picture.

I found color uniformity settings in the service manual, and managed to get rid of most of the discrepancy. To see if this is the case, bing up full window patterns at 20% to 100%, and see if the green gets better / worse as the picture level changes.

There are 4 level settings. 7%, 22%, 50%, and 77% available, on a 5x5 grid to adjust, each with R G and B adjustments. If you need further help let me know, I do have some literature on using this.

vega

hitman,
the bulb life has nothing to do with the optical block / light engine. I would call for warranty service as there is another issue, maybe a bad ballast, with your set. Be aware that the more the set is cycled on and off, the shorter the bulb life. There should be no problems getting 8000 hours on a bulb.
thanks Vega ..... set is basicaly turned on and off no more than once perday and probably 25% of the time it is not turned on at all (refering to the 6months bulb life), that being said would it suggest the problem to be the ballast as you mentioned?

also although the service guiy is bringing out yet another bulb c\w cartidge, i have contemplated just buying a couple of bulbs (no cartridge) and thus removed the blown cartridge to see how difficult it would be to replace the bulb in it. while doing so i noticed that the bottom half of the lens in front of the light engine had a grey to yellow film on it (not dust). am i wrong to assume that this might be vapour from the two previous bulbs that popped and that the service guy should clean it up while replacing the bulb? i really apprciate your help with this matter.

thanks Vega ..... set is basicaly turned on and off no more than once perday and probably 25% of the time it is not turned on at all (refering to the 6months bulb life), that being said would it suggest the problem to be the ballast as you mentioned?

also although the service guiy is bringing out yet another bulb c\w cartidge, i have contemplated just buying a couple of bulbs (no cartridge) and thus removed the blown cartridge to see how difficult it would be to replace the bulb in it. while doing so i noticed that the bottom half of the lens in front of the light engine had a grey to yellow film on it (not dust). am i wrong to assume that this might be vapour from the two previous bulbs that popped and that the service guy should clean it up while replacing the bulb? i really apprciate your help with this matter.


if what you refer to is the area just in front of the bulb, that is not the light engine, it is a lens to send the light to the light engine / optical block. That lens is cleanable with any optical cleaner, eg what you would use for camera lenses, or eyeglasses. A moistened micro cloth works well. The film on the lens is dust, dirt, and or nicotine if there are smokers in the house, that accumulates over time.

many thanks Vega

This may well be a color uniformity issue, and not a LE problem. Every LE replaced here had some problem. My last one, 1/3 of the left side of the screen had a greenish hue to it, ie it was noticeably greener at mid bright scenes than the rest of the picture.

I found color uniformity settings in the service manual, and managed to get rid of most of the discrepancy. To see if this is the case, bing up full window patterns at 20% to 100%, and see if the green gets better / worse as the picture level changes.

There are 4 level settings. 7%, 22%, 50%, and 77% available, on a 5x5 grid to adjust, each with R G and B adjustments. If you need further help let me know, I do have some literature on using this.

vega

Hi Vega,

Yes....I would very much appreciate whatever information you can offer re adjusting the uniformity. Got nothing to lose, right?

Hi Vega,

Yes....I would very much appreciate whatever information you can offer re adjusting the uniformity. Got nothing to lose, right?

pm me your e-mail address, I'll create a PDF with the information I have, and my observations using this.

Is there anyway to get a firmware update for this set besides contacting Hitachi?

one of the posts in this thread has the latest firmware offered. I do not remember if it is attached, or if you contact the member.

what is a firmware update supposed to accomplish?

as far as I know it was to address the cable card issue .......

I have the notorious smudges/blotches on my 60vs810, I've had the TV for 2 years and never noticed them and now poof, they show up

The TV repair shop swears it's the light engine, but I've heard others blame the inner screens....the spots are noticable on very light backgrounds (especially/mostly white) and are about 8 inches down and go across most of the screen, they range in size from a dime to a quarter....do you think the light engine is the culprit....or the screen?? I have no other problems, colors are great, still on the original bulb, and it's just a great unit....What to do....what to do! If they put in the light engine and it doesn't fix it, are they responsible to fix it without additional laber fees? Any help would be very much appreciated

I have the 50V, bought it from Circuit City in 7/2005 with extended warranty.
I've had the same blotches on my screen that you're refering to.
I've had the Circuit City repair guy out to my house 3-4 times so far and he's never been able to fix the blotches. The last time he came out, he said if what he was going didn't fix the problem, then he would probably have to replace my screen.
He thought the problem was changes in temperature. That the changes made the 2 front screens contort and touch each other, resulting in the blotches we see. Is he certain of this?...I don't think so.

But I'm about to start the process of trying to get CC to credit me the price of my tv under their "No Lemon Guarantee". I asked the repair guy what he thought about CC's "No Lemon Guarantee" and he said they consider a "repair" as replacing a part on the tv. All of the times he's come to my house, all he's done is open the tv, pull the 2 front screens apart and put it back together. The last time he came out, last week, he put some "spacers" between the screens to keep them from touching. But I'm still getting the same problem. I'm going to do my best to agrue their "repair" definition, but we'll see.

10. No Lemon Guarantee.
A. Home and Car Electronics: During the term of the
Contract, if Your Product is repaired three times and it
fails a fourth time, as verified by the Administrator, we
will replace it under Our no lemon guarantee and as set
forth in Section 4. Lamp replacement, “customer
education”, “no defect found”, cleaning and preventative
maintenance, and repairs due to accidental damage do
not constitute repair events under this no lemon
guarantee

4. Non-Repairable Products and Replacement
Products. If the Administrator decides that the Product
is non-repairable, or if repair parts become unavailable,
You may receive a new or reconditioned product of like
kind and quality. We will attempt to provide a
replacement product with equal or similar features and
functionality, regardless of brand or current retail
purchase price. Changes in technology may result in a
replacement product with a lower selling price than the
original Product and may limit the Administrator’s ability
to provide the same or similar model or a unit with the
exact same features as your original Product. At the
Administrator’s sole discretion, You may be required to
return Your defective Product to the Administrator with
freight pre-paid by the Administrator prior to receiving
Your replacement product. If You refuse the
replacement product, the Administrator may issue a Gift
Card to You equal to the current cost for Us to replace
Your Product with a product of like kind and quality. If a
replacement product is not available the Administrator
may issue a Circuit City Gift Card (“Gift Card”) up to the
original purchase price of the Product. If Your Product is
replaced after expiration of the manufacturer’s warranty
and during the term of this Contract for any reason, via
Gift Card or Product replacement, this Contract is
deemed fully performed. If Your Product is replaced at
any time during the term of this Contract due to
accidental damage this Contract is deemed fully
performed.

I've parted with my Hitachi 50VS810 and had it replaced with the Sony 52" XBR4 two months ago. Reason - Hitachi told me to F&%$ off after I asked them for my third light engine. Luckily I bought a third party warranty that reimbursed me up to the original purchase price of the TV if it was uneconomical to repair. I too went through the blotches on the screen - took 4 screens to fix and last one took six months to arrive as it came from Japan and two light engines with the third one a no go as I mentioned above. In a way I feel sad to see my Hit go to some auction or dump site and in the end the Sony has its own problems however, one thing I can say for sure is that I've never witnessed such poor quality control on a product that cost so much in my life. Good luck to all of you trying to resolve your issues because I've been there too - unfortunately or fortunately for me I had some relief with the replacement of what is deemed by many reviewers the best of the LCD TV's out there currently - I don't believe it but to the die hard Sony owners I still think the Hitachi when it did work properly had a picture that rivaled it and features the Sony could only dream of. Good luck to all of you. (BTW Hitachi has new light engines in stock but you have to fight to get them. My warranty provider said it would cost $2400 to replace and that was a pill they were not going to swallow as all other replacements I had previous to this one were almost totaling a whopping $3600:eek:)

I have had my Hitachi 70VS810 for 2 years and it has just started to shutoff on its own... and come back on, some of the time without my help.

The TV does turn off as there is no lights left on which indicates its shutdown but then its turns itself back on usually within 2 minutes.
This doesn't happen all the time but more and more now.
I will shut it off before bed and wake up in the morning and its on without the help from anyone in the house. ( do I have ghost.LOL)

Seriously , its frustrating to say the least.
Please any suggestions are welcomed.

I have had my Hitachi 70VS810 for 2 years and it has just started to shutoff on its own... and come back on, some of the time without my help.

The TV does turn off as there is no lights left on which indicates its shutdown but then its turns itself back on usually within 2 minutes.
This doesn't happen all the time but more and more now.
I will shut it off before bed and wake up in the morning and its on without the help from anyone in the house. ( do I have ghost.LOL)

Seriously , its frustrating to say the least.
Please any suggestions are welcomed.

try putting fresh batteries in the remote, these remotes have a habit of activating when the batteries are low. if the problem persists, take the remote out of the room the tv is in and see if it turns itself on.

try putting fresh batteries in the remote, these remotes have a habit of activating when the batteries are low. if the problem persists, take the remote out of the room the tv is in and see if it turns itself on.

I will try this, makes sense. Thanks so much for your time/help.Appreciated.
I will be sure to post my findings in the next week or so.

Just an update. Got the 915 back on 1/23. Turned it on and went to screen wipe. Still had the rainbow in upper left corner. Green smudges appeared worse. Guys from dealer take it right back to repair shop. Couple of days later, I get a call. Hitachi tech support has told them to order another light engine as this one is FUBAR out of the box.

On 2/7/08, the TV is brought back. Picture is pretty good. Rainbow is gone and screen wipe has most of the green smudges gone. The claim is that the remaining is from cigarette smoke (if so wonder why they were able to remove some but not all?). Anyway, I'm happy...for about 30 minutes. I check out an SD channel and the left border is 1" wider at the top than at the bottom. Further, 16:9 letter box has flaws and 4:3 letterbox (or whatever you call when there is a border all around0 has really screwed geometry. I'm a little upset and I call the dealer who says he'll come pick it up the following Tuesday which he does. I'm thinking a small service menu adjustment.

Two days later, I call the repair shop and am told that Hitachi tech support claims that the geometry is normal for a 3 year old tv and that it can't get much better. I go ballistic and call the dealer and leave a message for the owner. He doesn't call me back. I really go ballistic and the next day, I send an overnight letter detailing all the problems of the past 3 years and for him to call me to discuss an amicable solution in order to avoid litigation.

Today (2/19), 7 weeks after taking the TV away, I get a call from the dealer who agrees that the TV is screwed. He told me that tomorrow he is bringing me a new in the box 50" Sony 1080 replacement. He didn't say which model (I hope it's an SXRD) but at this point, I don't care. Dealer says he will try and get some satisfaction from Hitachi.

Good luck to you Hit Ho's. I am done with Hitachi.

glad to hear all worked out for you!! too many others are out of pocket a pile of money because manufacturers have brainwashed us into accepting low life expectancy in their products. They produce them cheaper, sacrifice quality and longevity to do so, and hope we continue purchasing more of the same. It's called planned obsolescence.

The repair guy is coming out tomorrow. I already replaced the bulb and it only lasted a week. I tried 2 more bulbs...no picture...lamp light still on. Is it the ballast? Also, the tv display is tilted a little. This probably happened when we bought it and the sales manager helped me load it into the back of my excursion...on it's back. He said it wouldn't hurt it. I think he was full of s#@*. The guy is coming out tomorrow with a ballast and hopefully one of my 2 remaining good bulbs will work. Please let me know if anybody knows how to fix the tilt issue.

Thank you.

depending on how the picture geometry is out, ie tilted, keystoned, trapazoidal etc, it can be just very time consuming to very complex. In most cases geometry issues are in the optical block, and replacing it is easiest, but also very expensive.

My second light engine was out of whack. Trapezoidal is a good word.
The vertical bars on each side for 4:3 programs were noticably narrower at the top vs the bottom.
And it was sitting too low. Very visible on letterboxed movies.

They told me it couldn't be fixed/was non adjustable and replaced the LE.

Unfortunately for me that particular LE had the best picture, (vivid colours, no yellow/green haze etc.) of all the LE's I've had.

Figures, eh?

Actually, it's titled like when the ESPN ticker goes across the bottom...it goes down at an angle.

display a geometric pattern (rectangles) to be sure. there may be more than just a tilt on the bottom of the screen as The Rang mentioned.

I finally parted with my 60VS810 after about three years. I haven't been around this thread for quite a while but frequented it a lot when I first got my Hitachi. I have to say it has been relatively trouble-free for all the time I've owned it. I bought a 5-year extended warranty so naturally I'll probably never need it. I did replace the bulb after about 2 years, although it probably wasn't necessary.

I recently got a great deal on a Sony KDS-60A2020, with free stand and free shipping, that was just too good to pass up. I gave the Hitachi to my daughter and her boyfriend who just moved into a new apartment and they were just thrilled to get it. Had the Sony been introduced prior to my getting the Hitachi it would have been a no-brainer. The Sony absolutely blows the Hitachi out of the ballpark when it comes to clarity, detail, color rendition, and most of all - black level (my biggest complaint with the Hitachi was that blacks were mostly dark gray). I watched a Blu-Ray disc on it last night and I was astounded at the picture quality. I just tweaked it this morning with the HD-DVD version of Digital Video Essentials and now the picture looks even better!

I had started to become dissatisfied with the Hitachi of late in that it just seemed to have a much softer image than what I remembered and it also didn't seem anywhere near as bright, even with the new bulb. The lack of an actual black level was really starting to grate on me.

I have a 50vs810 that has been misbehaving lately. I have Comcast and the HD dvr and when we are watching all of a sudden a grid (either red or blue or green) will appear over the entire screen. The grid will just stay for a few seconds and then disappear. The picture then seems to get dim for a second or two and then shifts a little.

This has happened lots of times over the last few weeks. It has happened with both component and hdmi.

Has anyone else seen this before?

Repair guy replaced my 50VS810's inner screen yesterday with a brand new one. So far I have not seen any blotches/smudge marks under the screen.

My 70VS810 had its light bulb replaced first when I discovered a yellow ring in the middle of the set as the tech from Circuit City thought that was the problem.
But the ring did not go away, showing its ugly self during screen shots of snow or blue sky scenes or anywhere the colours were all the same.
So the set was removed from the house for a few days while the optical block was replaced and then it came back.
At first the screen not only looked brighter (due to the bulb replacement), but the colours popped, but something was still amiss and it was the shading of the colours in many scenes.
So I used a blank screen to see what was going on (the DVR's screen saver) and I found colour blotches scattered about the screen-what a mess.
The tech said the warranty has saved me about $350 on the bulb, more than that on the service calls and $1200+ on the optical block, but that doesn't matter to me as I have spent over that in warranty and warranty extensions in the past 3 years, anyway, so I am still in savings mode, but not by much.
I just didn't have to cough up the cash right away and I don't know what the service calls would have been with the Hitachi.
Anyway, I will be calling Circuit City once again for a replacement optical block and hopefully, it won't be worse than this one.:eek:
Who knows if Circuit City will EVER replace the set for an equivalent size (70") now that few HDTVs come in this size anymore, unless these are DLPs and some of my family members cannot sit and enjoy the rainbows and flashes of light on the DLPs with the colour wheels spinning, either.
Honestly, if Circuit City wants me to ever buy another set from them or even recommend them for HDTV purchases (I am a HT consultant), I wish that they would refund the price of this set (I paid $5999+ tax and warranty) or exchange it for a 65" Plasma or LCD panel set and be done with it.;)
I have priced these on sale for about the same price and with the warranty eating up the money to repair this over and over again, enough already!:rolleyes:

you have to wonder ...........

29 months, 7 light engines replaced since the original failed, the last yesterday, and not a single one without serious issues. All have had bad geometry, tilted @ 2 degrees or more, some with major keystoning, picture smaller at the top by 3 inches, all with major green shadows / clouding covering over 30% of the screen, some with severe flickering, most with extreme color banding, all with severe green ringing, and some with burn in still present from the previous owner watching 4:3 material. Each and every one has had some finger prints somewhere inside on the panels, the lenses, or the polarizers, one even came per burned with a nice amber circle covering the center third of the picture. Not a single one has been able to produce white uniformly. Each and every one has red an green sparkles (mosquito noise??) on blacks and dark scenes. This is truly unbelievable, even Hitachi's authorized service people cannot believe that these would be released from the factory in this state.

They do their best to delay getting the light engine replaced (usually 3+ months to get authorization), and frustrate their own authorized service people. Each and every time it takes over 6 calls and plenty of arguing by both myself, and their repair people to get authorization. The service people offered to send pictures of the problems to Hitachi, they would have nothing to do with it, they were not interested. It was suggested that Hitachi send out some of their own people to see for themselves, they refuse. They even suggested to me to buy another TV. This after less than 1600 hours use on the set, according to the service menu the tech brought up.

Think I'll run right out and buy another Hitachi. :mad:

vega, I feel your pain

as I've documented here before I'm on my fourth light engine.
I've seen all the problems you refer to.

Thought I could live with the latest one (it's the best so far but that's faint praise indeed).

But I can't: Two large greenish areas, geometry slightly off, green ringing, picture is just not as sharp as it should...
And the fan on this one is noticably noisier than the others, clearly audible on all but the loudest scenes.

The extended warranty company won't do anything for 3 months after the repair. It's been 5 months now so I guess it's time for another phone call.......

This is definitely the last Hitachi product I'll own.

I have a 50vs810 that has been misbehaving lately. I have Comcast and the HD dvr and when we are watching all of a sudden a grid (either red or blue or green) will appear over the entire screen. The grid will just stay for a few seconds and then disappear. The picture then seems to get dim for a second or two and then shifts a little.

This has happened lots of times over the last few weeks. It has happened with both component and hdmi.

Has anyone else seen this before?

My 50VS810 has been doing the same thing the last 2 months. I have had it for 3 1/2 years and am still on the original bulb. It has done it with my Directv DVR and a PS3 playing Dvds. If anyone has any ideas what could be causing this I would appreciate it.

my problem with my 50vs810 is the picture is dark.i replaced the bulb and it is still on the dark side.i did a factory reset and it still didn't help.when i first bought the tv about 2 years ago if i would do a factory reset the picture would get so bright that it was almost unwatchable.anyone know what the problem could be?

I have a 60VS810 with a blown light engine. Knowing that it will cost me over $1600.00 to fix I have decided to move on. However, does anyone know if repair centers buy tv's for parts as everything else is in perfect condition. Or if any of you are interested please send me a PM. I'm in Mesa, AZ. Thank's for your help.

Hi all. It seems like this thread might be dead but I thought I would give it a shot anyway. Does anyone know if the VS810 can display blacker than black and whiter than white signals? Thanks.

wtw yes, btb no.

Hi Folks, pretty quiet here but hopefully someone who knows how to help me is still lurking :)

I went to calibrate again after moving the TV downstairs. The picture is looking pretty good but the dark is very dark, it's odd. even with both S&V disc and the HD version of DVE, the brightness calibration now doesn't show the bars, it always has in the past.

I have mucked around in the service menu a bit but did also buy the service manual, I went back and validated everything to the defaults per the manual (except for my adjustments for the vertical banding) but still no go.

the picture is just missing some "presence" it seems and I wonder if the problem I identified above isn't the root.

Anyone know what I might need to change?

good day folks ....another not so happy 70VS810 owner ....hve the yellow spot in center of screen, clearly visable with white back ground, just wondering will it gradually get worse and if so over what period of time? have extended warrenty but assume the spot has to reach some sort of tint before they will do anything.

any info would help.
thanks
Don

good day folks ....another not so happy 70VS810 owner ....hve the yellow spot in center of screen, clearly visable with white back ground, just wondering will it gradually get worse and if so over what period of time? have extended warrenty but assume the spot has to reach some sort of tint before they will do anything.

any info would help.
thanks
Don
Try Turing the Brightness, and Contrast down.

My 70VS810 had its light bulb replaced first when I discovered a yellow ring in the middle of the set as the tech from Circuit City thought that was the problem.
But the ring did not go away, showing its ugly self during screen shots of snow or blue sky scenes or anywhere the colours were all the same.
So the set was removed from the house for a few days while the optical block was replaced and then it came back.
At first the screen not only looked brighter (due to the bulb replacement), but the colours popped, but something was still amiss and it was the shading of the colours in many scenes.
So I used a blank screen to see what was going on (the DVR's screen saver) and I found colour blotches scattered about the screen-what a mess.
The tech said the warranty has saved me about $350 on the bulb, more than that on the service calls and $1200+ on the optical block, but that doesn't matter to me as I have spent over that in warranty and warranty extensions in the past 3 years, anyway, so I am still in savings mode, but not by much.
I just didn't have to cough up the cash right away and I don't know what the service calls would have been with the Hitachi.
Anyway, I will be calling Circuit City once again for a replacement optical block and hopefully, it won't be worse than this one.:eek:
Who knows if Circuit City will EVER replace the set for an equivalent size (70") now that few HDTVs come in this size anymore, unless these are DLPs and some of my family members cannot sit and enjoy the rainbows and flashes of light on the DLPs with the colour wheels spinning, either.
Honestly, if Circuit City wants me to ever buy another set from them or even recommend them for HDTV purchases (I am a HT consultant), I wish that they would refund the price of this set (I paid $5999+ tax and warranty) or exchange it for a 65" Plasma or LCD panel set and be done with it.;)
I have priced these on sale for about the same price and with the warranty eating up the money to repair this over and over again, enough already!:rolleyes:


I didn't know this thread was still alive...sorry for all the pain you current owners are still having, but after the 3rd time of repair for bad light engines, bad bulbs and so on, Circuit City did replace the set with a Samsung 67" LED DLP set and I have never been happier, but it meant I had to keep the warranty coverage active all along.
Good thing, too, as the $400 I spent last year on a year's warranty extension not only paid for all the repairs and delivery of the set back and from the repair shop, but it included the replacement set including delivery (the Samsung still runs about $1600-1999 in sales).:D

Favor to ask anyone who might be willing to help with a VS810 ( 60 ideally). I'm trying to get this ting back to defaults, I see it has been mucked with more than I knew of now I have the service manual to compare.

It looks very much like the Gamma is way off ow I have basically everything else defaulted, would anyone be willing to record their gamma settings for all 32 steps ( 0-31) and share them with me? Email, or if easier I can open an ftp to dump some digital pics too.

anyone who would be willing to help I wuld be greatly appreciative.

thnx!

Favor to ask anyone who might be willing to help with a VS810 ( 60 ideally). I'm trying to get this ting back to defaults, I see it has been mucked with more than I knew of now I have the service manual to compare.

It looks very much like the Gamma is way off ow I have basically everything else defaulted, would anyone be willing to record their gamma settings for all 32 steps ( 0-31) and share them with me? Email, or if easier I can open an ftp to dump some digital pics too.

anyone who would be willing to help I wuld be greatly appreciative.

thnx!

Steve,
settings from any other set will not help you. Each set is unique in the service menu settings. I recorded all the settings from my set, and after the optical block was changed, all the settings were vastly different. I have also checked a friends set and those were different again.

One thing I did find, if you think there is a problem with the gamma settings, measure the 10 point greyscale with out any of the black level and gamma enhancements on, it should track close to 2.1. Change the gamma setting, and measure again, it will not track to any curve, but be snake shaped.

almost there :)

Replaced the lamp after some thinking about the comments around my gamma request, made a pretty big difference, so I redid the based calibration using DVE HD. looks pretty good with one exception, I get what I can only describe as color bleed in dark scenes, red green and blue all seem to do it. the effect is very much like saturation being too high.

it's not horrible, but is noticable and distracting but I can't find the control s that relate in the servicve menu even though I can in the service manual. does anyone know what service menu control heading would help me minimize this? In med to well lit scenes the TV looks pretty good again, far better than it was.

Thanks!

does anyone know what it means when the screen does not show any image, but....you can see the light from the bulb (ya know, its not black all the way) I mean not even the menu pulls up on the t.v., so I know its not the source. Additionally, none of the lights are blinking. Is it the light engine, if so, how much does it cost to replace???

Thanks.

I had my light engine replaced 03/31/09... looks like a new TV. Thank God i have an extended warranty or it would have cost me about $ 1600.00 dollars. The old light engine was 4 years old. :)

I had my light engine replaced 03/31/09... looks like a new TV. Thank God i have an extended warranty or it would have cost me about $ 1600.00 dollars. The old light engine was 4 years old. :)


What did the old LE look like before you replaced it?

I'm on the 3rd (or 4th?) LE in 4 years.

Am thinking of having it done again just before the extended warranty runs out so that a. it will stretch the life of the TV or b. the warranty company says to hell with it and makes me a monetary deal.

The TV looks great when it's working properly

The picture was very dark, i thought it might be the lamp, but the teck. said LE. Now the pic. is very bright... i had to turn my cont. down from 93 to 45... and my brightness down from 53 to 46. The lamp is 4 years old, going to have it replaced soon.

Just out of curiosity has anyone sold one of these in the last year or so? I am looking to switch over to a plasma and have no idea what to ask for the set and stand on Craigslist. I've never had any problems with my set but the warranty only has another month left on it. Mine is the 70VS810 so I would think it would still have a little value left in it.

Just checking to see what kind of current experience you all are having with this set?

I'm on my 3rd LE, the newest took 3 months to get from GE who is the holder of the extended warranty.

Immediately the picture was bad, I figured i'd play with it before I called. I finally relented and called and got the tech back out, he fiddled with it and said it's as good as he can get it. That's not good enough for me, so I called back to the place where I bought it. They want the repair company to come out with another technician.

The problem I have is: immediately since the replacement engine came in, the picture was grainy, scrolling on the bottom of the screen was covered, and when there is a black band along the top and bottom of the screen-it has a white line running along the length of it. I didnt have that problem with the other LE. Also, the picture seems to have a pincushion or keystoning effect.

I'm so frustrated now, I don't want to have to go to war, but sounds like I will have to. I only have 9 more months on this warranty, so I want to get it right.

So, how are you all dealing with this touchy set?

BTW- First time poster. I did look at this thread before and immediately once I got it. This has been a wealth of information but also a wealth of anxiety.

SteveG

Hello everyone, I am having an interesting issue with my 50vs810 recently and was wondering if some of you guys can help.

After the TV has been turned off for a while (about 4 hours or longer), when i turn it on, the screen is fuzzy for about 10 minutes until it is warmed up and then the picture stabilizes. It's hard to explain but it looks like the horizontal hold is shaking really bad. It does it on all of my inputs also.

After about 10 minutes, the TV seems to be warmed up and it works great after that. I'm getting concerned because at first it only did this for a few minutes and now it takes about 10.

The main thing I noticed is that when I turn it on, the screen pops up much quicker then it used to. It's almost as if the screen is turning on before it is supposed to or before it is warmed up. I hope this is a simple fix as I've actually had a great experience in the 5 years since I've owned the TV and I don't want to have to replace it.

Thanks for the help!!