Hitachi VS810 Owner's Thread - Page 49

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.

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!!

I have a 60VS810 that is about 5 years old. It has over 9600 hours on the original bulb and light engine.

I have noticed that dark scenes are very difficult to see. I watched Unforgiven over the weekend and during the dark scenes at the end of the movie the picture was so dark I could hardly make anything out. I was watching the movie with the lights out.

During the day the TV is very difficult to watch during the day as any non-bright scene is difficult to make out.

Can this be corrected by a new bulb or is this an issue with the light engine? Thanks.

the bulb lose their brightness with use. I found @ 5,000 - 6,000 hours there was a noticable decrease using my meter. Judging by your description, I would guess it is the lamp that is dimming.

I have a used lamp, @400 hours on it, that I have been meaning to put on ebay, since my set died.

If you are interested, pm me or email me with an offer. I am located in Ontario Canada. I also have a spare remote for the set.

vega509@yahoo.com

Can you remind me how to check the hours on my bulb? Or is that number reset with every LE change?
Tried searching the thread but couldn't find the answer.

You say your set "died".
Did you finally give up on the S810 and go with something else?

My extended warranty will expire in a couple of months. Though this LE has been the best of the bunch (2 years +) a green cast has gradually crept back on the left third of the screen. Rarely noticable, except on B&W programming.
But I have quite a few old Hitchcock DVDs that are B&W so it's an issue.

Am considering calling the repair people again (they are excellent) for one more LE before the warranty is done (though I am concerned I may get one that's actually worse...it's happened before).
Probably should have done so earlier....maybe the warranty company would have offered a settlement to make me go away...

My set is also 5 years old... I replaced the bulb about 2 months ago, and now it is bright and beautiful. I replaced the LE. before this and it also increased the brightness.

TheRang

the hour counter does not reset by changing the LE or the bulb. It can be reset in the service menu. The meter is on the 1st page of the service menu.

My set did actually end up in the local landfill. The on going LE problems were never resolved, but I got a break when the service people installed the last manufactured LE and it had a short in it that took out the power supply and other componenets. Hitachi pro rated the set based on the hours it was used against the claimed life of the set and bought me out.

"Last manufactured LE"
Does that mean an original part, not a refurb?

I guess you got lucky....sort of....with a buy out.
How does one get into the service menu?
Thanks

PS what TV do you have now?

start with the set off (fans and all) press and hold the menu button on the set, and press and hold the power button on the set for @ 5 sec, release both buttons.

I purchased a Pioneer 151 Pro plasma set @ 1 yr ago.

The buy out was not the best case with this set, if they could have restored it back to factory specs I would have been further ahead.

I ended up replacing the lamp in my 60VS810. The picture has improved. But there seems to be a new (old?) problem. Sometimes the picture flickers or flashes. I remember seeing this problem when I first received my TV. I changed one of the video options (black level boost? or dynamic contrast?) and the problem went away. I also think the flickering starts to go away after the TV has been on for a few minutes.

Maybe this is a warm-up or "break-in" issue with a new lamp?

I'll post more later if I notice any more changes.

I have a 70VS810. I had a flicker (brightness kept flickering). Fixed the problem by replacing the lamp. Lamp otherwise was fine (only about 2000 hours) although I did notice it had some white 'residue' on it. Has worked fine since.

I guess I'm one of the lucky ones. I've had this TV (50VS810) for 5 years and 4 months and it's been perfect. I've noticed recently that the picture has darkened up on it so maybe it's time for it's first bulb change. Can anyone tell me what the OEM bulb is - Phillips, etc.? Most places sell the bulbs without the housing and I want to make sure I get the correct one. Thanks!

I got my bulb from Andrews Electronics back in December. I think it was LM700, don't recall the brand.

Thank you, I'll check with them. Did you buy just the bulb or the entire housing?

The entire housing.

Just a little FYI.
My 50" Hitachi has worked great from day one. In fact after 5 years still has original bulb!
After my wife mentioned it seems a little dull, not as bright and vibrant as it was.
I decided maybe time to replace the bulb.
So, I wanted to check out exactly how to replace the bulb.
Took off the plastic cover door (a single screw) to look at the bulb assembly. Decided to remove the two screws to remove the bulb and housing.
Very simple I thought, came right out. I put it back in place, turned on the TV and it wouldn't come on!!
Tried reinserting the bulb housing several times, no luck, just a flashing light indicating a bulb problem.
When all else fails, read the manual !!
Turns out I have to put the plastic cover door back on with that single screw and.... all is well !
I couldn't believe that would cause it not to turn on. But it did.

FrankoMan, did you ever figure out the problem? My 50VS810 is doing exactly the same thing and I've not been able to figure it out. It's got about 12,000 hours and I've had it since purchased new in '04. Never had to change lamp or experienced any problems with it until now.

Blitzwing/FrankoMan,
Mine is doing the exact same thing. Has anyone figured this out yet? Any info or thoughts are appreciated....

huge class action law suit against HITACHI FOR ALL THE BAD LIGHT ENGINES ON THESE TV. MINE ALSO IS GOING GREEN AND IS FUSSY FOR TEN MINUTES BEFORE IT CLEARS. I BELIEVE THE REFURBISHED LIGHT ENGINES ARE BETTER.BUT WHO HAS 500.00 TO THROW AROUND PLUS LABOR TO HAVE IT INSTALLED. CALL HITACHI THEY WILL GIVE YOU A PHONE NUMBER TO GET A REFURBISHED LIGHT ENGINE. OF COURSE THEY MIGHT NEED YOURS TO REFURB.I AM TRYING TO JOIN THE CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT BECAUSE HITACHI KNEW THIS WAS A PROBLEM AND NEVER REACHED OUT TO THEIR CONSUMERS. BASTARDS , TRYING MYSELF TO FIND A LIGHT ENGINE AND INSTALL IT MYSELF SO I CAN HAVE A BACK UP TO MY NEW SAMSUNG . CANT FIND A SERVICE MANUAL DOWNLOAD FOR FREE ANYWHERE SO I CAN GET OLD LIGHT ENGINE OUT

where can i get a service manual for free to help me take light engine out ?
please send me a message if you can help.Searching the thread stinks

can pull back of tv apart and can get to light engine,just not sure how to get it out.

Also i guess Hitachi made a better phase four light engine for this tv.
one with better filters and better cooling process.

Not sure how to find that one though.
or if it is still available.

apparently the phase four light engine is the only one still available,be it new or refurbished.still need someone to email me a service manual for the 50vs810 hitachi,so i can get old light engine out. email address is bcapaldo@rochester.rr.com

I gave my Hitachi to my son and bought a new 50" Samsung.
The manual went with it.

As far as I'm concerned, it's much less hassle if you buy the bulb already in a new housing.

Facing the TV, the door is on the left side rear corner.
One screw removes the door. (go ahead, try it .) Look inside.
The bulb housing is held in by just two screws. (if I remember correctly)
Remove them and the whole thing just pulls out.

Slide the new one in, replace the two screws , replace the cover and your done.

Don't know if anyone is still out there on this Hit 70VS810 thread, but thought I'd give it a try. We've had a 70VS810 for a couple of years; pix is fine. I had a chance to pick up a used one for $100 (w/ stand) from someone who was relocating. There was no pix & he said he'd hear a pop, which we both assumed was the bulb.

Long story short, I replaced the bulb, polished the magnifying lens in between the light engine and the new bulb, and plugged it in. The set turned on like my other one, but the screen is white and I can't see any menu or input settings of any kind. Sound works.

Any ideas?

Thanks for any help you can provide.