Hitachi LCD V500 Issues Thread - Page 7

what is a WEED???..............how many more adjectives do we have for Hitachi display problems that I am no aware of????

hey man, if you don't know what weed is . . ask manpig where he keeps his. hemptv

I was having a "no picture at all and no sound" issue (only three blinking lights in rapid succession) and had a service tech come out to look at it last week. He reseated the bulb and the problem went away for the day. However, the next day the same problem returned, so I reseated the bulb myself and switched the power back on. Upon power up I got the exact same problem as described above. Though I did get audio.

On three separate occasions after that point, my TV would not power up, so I reseated the bulb each time. On two of the three occasions I did this, I got the same blank screen issue.

If, however, I turned off the tv and let it set for a minute or two, then re-powered it, the picture would come back. My tech again came out this past Monday and he said that altough the bulb was not burnt out, it was bad. He didn't go into detail, but apparently there was a bad batch of bulbs that were produced that caused several anomolies with the set, so he replaced my bulb. Since then, I have encountered neither issue. Problem solved? We'll see....

Did he get the filament aligned properly? Somestimes known to affect PQ.

grizzledbiker

Please do not make off topic posts in the thread. Comments like...

"hey man, if you don't know what weed is . . ask manpig where he keeps his. hemptv"

and

"Did he get the filament aligned properly? Somestimes known to affect PQ."

..are really not needed.

Thank you.

There are no weeds. That was manpig 's humor.

I saw in an earlier post that there was a problem with a green hue, I have a two week old set and contacted service about the problem. A service tech showed up today and authorized a replacement set from Sears, claimed it is a chip problem and can't be repaired. This is the second LCD set I have had since January, First was a Sony that died within two days.

I have the white screen on power up problem and am expecting my replacement from Sears in mid March. My remedy of unplugging and plugging back in seems to be less reliable so I now keep my set on 24 7.

I also seem to have a new problem. My sub-woofer (Velodyne DD-18) seems to be rattling something internally inside the Hitachi. This rattle is audible at moderate home theater volumes.The sound is very metallic and seems to be coming from the lower middle rear of the set. Does anyone else have this issue?

I bought this TV in Oct when they first came out and a little while back i noticed the smudges. At first it looked like it was dirty but they don't go away when you clean the screen. They do appear to go away and reappear but I would say there on the screen for about 90% of the time. I watch a lot of hockey and the Ice really makes the smudges more noticable. I also have 2 crop circles.,...acutally, im not sure what everyones definition of a crop circle is.... Theres 2 circles, twice the size of a quater, that appear on the bottom of the screen. They don't take the picture completely away but there noticable in dark sceens. I can best describe it as looking through a magnifiying glass from far away. Should I call Hitachi or Sears about these issues. I do have the EW but not sure who to call first and has anyone had any success with the smudges?

Ivan,

Not sure if you had the same problem as I did, but if you did, AND, if the service guy came out to your house and DID NOT call Hitachi from your house, he had or has no clue as to what he is talking about so you get the old "must be a bad chip" answer.

It's like the old lady with her first computer who finds that her cursor isn't moving. Takes it in and the tech says "Must be a bad mother board and installation. We will swap out the mother board and reformat your hard drive. That ought to fix the problem." Is it possible that was the problem? Yes. Likely? No.

I guess my question would be, did the tech tell you specifically which chip, had the problem? Please pardon my skepticism, but, if you have seen my previous posts (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...17#post3397417), you will note that I had a similar problem which I was certain beyond a shadow of a doubt that I had a major hardware problem. Sears tech came out, (no, he didn't have a clue either but admitted that) called Hitachi, and in less than 30 min. I was good as new (still am so far). If your service tech. did perform his due diligence, and did call Hitachi, then, again, please pardon me.

-Moo.

I suppose I should consider myself lucky, but the only problem I'm having is the loud fan. The tech said there's no guarantee the replacement will be quieter. Anyone had any luck with this?

I absolutely would call about these issues...there is no reason for you to accept these kinds of problems, especially considering the amount you paid for the set. I believe that you have to go through sears for service since you have their EW.

I have not heard of anyone getting the smudges fixed thru service. The leading theory is that they are caused by a problem with the screen, but, again, have not heard of anyone confirming this theory.

It does sound like you have 2 crop circles. what color are they? I had one on my 50v500 that was green...most of those posting here about crop circles have had green ones, but I assume they could be red or blue as well. I think they are caused by dust or other foreign particle on the lcd panel or somewhere else in the light path. the only known fix to date is light engine replacement. this is what I had done, and I've had no problems since. good luck.

Please post a follow up once you've had the fan replaced...I'm curious to hear if it improves. My fan is louder than I'd like it to be for sure, but I'm not sure if my set is defective or if it is just normal to have this kind of noise with these tv's. I know it's not because I have great hearing....my wife would attest to this

I am positive they are not blue or red. its really hard for me to describe but I have to say its like a blur and not specifically a color. I will call sears and see what happens. You would think with the amount of money you pay you would get a set that is acceptable.

Moo man,
The tech did not call Hitachi, I didn't argue when he said they were just going to replace the set. If there is a fix to it, I would like to know how. With my luck the new set will have issues. I'm getting frustrated with the whole LCD thing.

I wouldn't let these issues put you off the LCD technology. It is new so there will be some issues as we all know. I can't remember a new tech that didn't have issues, if we could all have weighted about a year then most of bugs will be worked out and we would all have 50v500xyz but I love the tech and my set has only had some smudges which haven't returned since I first noticed them and my set is the "A". I did contact HiT about it and they told me the A model IS a "newer" version as there are different parts codes associated with it IE LE part # etc. But from a set that has only been on the market for less than 6 months I think most of the issues are being worked out. Don't forget, these units go threw hell in shipping and its true some of the components may be "nudged" or need to be re-seated by a tech. Maybe they should all go threw a burn in after factory delivery to address some of these issues.

I just stopped the delivery of a replacement 50V500 for this same reason. Sears said they will give me a Sony instead, but they don't have a delivery date until April as they are waiting for all the "fixes" to be completed.

Hi folks,
Have had our 60vx500 for exactly 1 month. We are about 10.5 ft back from the set. We've viewed a good variety of source material during the month we've had it and see a couple of distracting effects when there is a white background (e.g. hockey games or snow scenes).

1. Botchy magenta patches: The center portion of the screen appears mostly uniform white but extending out from there toward the corners there are various areas of blotchy magenta patches. While watching a hockey game this is most noticeable in the bottom left and right quadrants. I've read other posts here and on the other HiT LCD threads that mention a reddish problem against white backgrounds like hockey games so this may be essentially the same issue. I think some may be calling these "smudges" but not sure. Have tested with the screen wipe and likewise the magenta botchiness is essentially there although it looks just a little different - hard to explain.

2. Center hot spot: The very center of the screen has a bright white spot about the size of a silver dollar. Do not notice this unless there is a white background. Looks like an internal reflection and see this even when there are no lights on in the room. This is much less distracting than number 1 above.

3. SDE: There is some sceen door effect mostly noticeable on very bright or white moving backgrounds but this is inherent with fixed pixel technology and something we knew to expect and can live with.

4. Not sure if this is related to SDE but sometimes notice (again, white backgrounds only) more of straight vertical line down the left edge of the screen (closer to the edge of the screen than where the gray bar edge would be when watching in 4:3 mode by the way so I know it's not any temporary burn-in). This is a strange one as other times it doesn't seem to be there or it seems to change if I change my angle. Again, not much of a problem compared to number 1 above.

As mentioned in an earlier post on the general owners thread we noticed a slight 3-4 inch scratch on the bottom left of the plexiglas screen after delivery. Fortunately it's not easy to notice it but we did report it to the store and a Hit authorized tech was out at our place a couple of weeks ago to check it out. He ordered a new screen and is waiting for it to arrive. I called the store and as per their suggestion, the service tech on Friday to report items 1 and 2 above. He's going see if he can get any information about these and he'll check them out when he comes out to replace the screen.

Very interested to hear from anybody else who notices any of these issues - particulary 1 and 2 when watching hockey games or other stuff against a mostly white background. Any comments or suggestions appreciated.
Thanks!
Wired

As I noted in my post I see the magenta patches on screen wipes as well and I agree, it really bugs the hell out of us too when watching hockey games. Also as noted, I did in fact speak with the service guy on Friday to give him a heads up for when he comes out to replace our scratched plexiglas screen which is on order. He said he'd look into it and check out the issue when he comes out.

So, you said it was a problem on your "last set". So, what's the story now (with your new set)? Do you have a new set now with absolutely no magenta patches on white backgrounds> Is replacement of the entire set the only reasonable way to resolve it?

Thanks for the feedback. Very helpful to hear from someone else who had the same issue and knows what I'm taking about. Please let me know about my questions above.

Appreciate it.
Thanks,
Wired

Fourizonly,
Thanks again for the helpful feedback. It will help if I need to refer our service tech (who said he is familiar with this forum) or Hitachi to another customer who "had" the same issue.

Six sets is mighty scary. Sound like a nightmare! Our 60vx500 is a January 2004 build. If we have to get a replacement set to resolve the issues I've noted, hopefully we'll benefit from anything they might have specifically addressed in the later builds (or just get lucky). Speaking of, sincere, good luck with set#6!!!

Please keep us in the loop on how it goes.
Feel free to PM me if you'd like to "chat" in more detail.
Wired.

Where do I find the build date?

Where do I find the build date?

Hi Wired,

I have the 50V500 and I do notice the "screen door" effect. For me it is more like projecting on a somewhat dirty screen. After looking at my set closely I can see the grid where the pixels are located and some of them have different distances between them with some areas having thicker grids than others. When looking at SD, the gray sidebars have a light brown grid on them. It is much more noticeable on light colored scenes. Is that what you see?

Any of you experienced Hit Hos have any comments on this?

I don't have the bright spots or the magenta coloring.

I have been wrestling with OTA antenna and D* HD receiver issues and not really worrying about the Hit because the PQ is pretty darn good. Now that it is under control, time to decide whether I have a decent set.

Hi Wired,

I have the 50V500 and I do notice the "screen door" effect. For me it is more like projecting on a somewhat dirty screen. After looking at my set closely I can see the grid where the pixels are located and some of them have different distances between them with some areas having thicker grids than others. When looking at SD, the gray sidebars have a light brown grid on them. It is much more noticeable on light colored scenes. Is that what you see?

Any of you experienced Hit Hos have any comments on this?

I don't have the bright spots or the magenta coloring.

I have been wrestling with OTA antenna and D* HD receiver issues and not really worrying about the Hit because the PQ is pretty darn good. Now that it is under control, time to decide whether I have a decent set.

Hey Berth,
Yeah, I think that pretty much describes SDE and it's inherent to fixed pixel technology (at least it is at this resolution and in it's current state of technology). To me, it's kind of how photo slides from a slide projector look on a screen. Those screens sometimes have a somewhat rough texture (like sandpaper) and that texture can often be noticed a bit through the picture. SDE doesn't bother me all that much (certainly not compared to the magenta blotches issues on white backgrounds) and I knew to expect this before I bought the set. It's more or less of an issue depending on how close you are to the set and how sensitive one person is over another to it.

Glad you don't have the bright spot and especially, the magenta blotches. Really annoying when watching hockey games or anything with bright white backgrounds. I'm working on getting a tech out to look at it.

Wired

Now that I've finally finished reading every post in this thread . . .

I purchased my 50V500 model (not the A) from CC on the 16th of Feb. It is a January 04 build.

Noticed the fan noise right away. Drove me crazy at first, but I think I've started to get used to it. I can't believe that some people posted they don't hear their fans at all, mine is loud.

On 2/29 I noticed that there was about a 1" light pink/purple area on the screen. Not visible in black backgrounds, but otherwise it is very obvious and permanent, especially with white background. Sounds like this might be the "magenta patch" others have had problems with? I have a digital picture of my magenta patch against the white screen wipe, but I wouldn't know how to share it with the forum.

I'm taking advantage of the CC 30-day return policy and getting a new set this Thursday. I hope the exchange lands me one with a quite fan as well. I've learned a lot about what to look for in my new set, hope my info helps others as well.

Got my replacement 50V500 set today, but I requested another exchange before I even had a chance to turn it on. The speaker on one side, which is covered with a very thin metallic screen had some indentations in it like it had been pushed on and permanently deformed.

I noted that the new tv was also a January 04 build and not the A model. The fan was louder than I would hope for but definately a little bit quiter and less high pitched than the previous tv.