Hitachi VS810 Owner's Thread - Page 4

outis, did you ever find out what was wrong with the set? I am interested as I am still considering the 60VS810. Thanks

After a quick call to Hitachi technical support, they offered to send someone out to look at the problem, at which point I indicated that I'll just have CC swap it out for a new unit (which they are doing). Note that another friend here at work and I bought units together (they're cheaper that way!), and his unit does not exhibit the problem I indicated. Overall, it's a very, very subtle problem, and only certain images will exhibit the symptoms (and only certain people would notice it), but with the pricing on this unit there's no way this would be acceptable long-term (and both CC and Hitachi agreed). So the bottom line is that even though the problem is there, I'm having CC swap it out for the same unit.

So if you're looking to purchase something in the near term, this is the best picture for DVD, SD, and HD that I've seen -- real blacks, good contrast, very good saturation, etc.! However, if you have lots of light in the room this might not be the unit for you, as the screen will show some reflections (but far better than my current direct-view tv). As this is a basement room, I can keep out all light, and I use the "night" mode for viewing.

Overall, I find myself totally immersed in the program when watching DVD/HD (watching espn's sunday night game was like watching football for the first time ever!), and even SD (when run through Dish's 811 receiver and upcoverted to 720p) looks great (my wife had a hard time noticing the difference between SD and HD, but that's a different story).

Finally, I second the comment above about being sure to buy from a local vendor, as there are problems that can occur and the Boulder, CO CC has exceeded my expectations in keeping me happy with my decision/purchase.

Let me know if there's other items I can help with.

Enjoy!

Thanks, outis. Have you ever noticed vertical bars in the background of scenes with mostly a solid color behind the main characters, as in Finding Nemo? I noticed it on 2 sets in two different CC's. Also saw it next to the Kirk running the same store HD feed and it sometimes had these bars on it while the DLP didn't. Also, do you find yourself needing to shut off all the lights to avoid reflections, or is it mainly windows/lights directly across from the unit? Thanks again.

Nope on the vertical bars -- I suspect that running the signal to 200 tv's might have something to do with this. Also, can you verify that the Kirk and Hitachi are connected the same (component video, eg); also, there's an "info" button on the Hitachi that shows info on the picture (such as 720p, etc.). For best picture, you're going to want to set your satellite receiver to displaying 720p, which is what the Hitachi eventually displays.

For the reflections, I turn off the lights mostly to enhance the overall experience of watching the movie. The amount of reflections also appears reduced almost 90% once you turn the tv on and are watching it. Also, I have a halogen light that I can turn on that's to the left of my viewing position and above the height of the tv, and I don't see any reflections when it's on.

What's in your first HDMI connection?

David

I can't believe you've used up 2 digital ins already..

Here's a rather unscientific suggestion:

I assume both units have component outs as well as digital outs. Try hooking up the DVD player to input 1 digitally and input 2 via component. Compare PQ to see if there's much of an improvement.

Then try the same thing with your HDTIVO, looking at HD, regular cable, and the network feeds (which tend to look worse than regular Sat Cable channels due to over compression).


All things equal, if your HD Tivo overrides your component input unless its powered down (if I remember your earlier post, it doesn't), that might be the tie breaker.

Did anybody use VS810 with PC? I would guess that many tips from V500 threads should work. Please, share if you have any positive (hopefully) experience on using VS810 as PC monitor.

wupshaw, this is great news for me since I am planning to connect my PC to VS810 (should be delivered tomorrow!). Could you please give some more details on what setting do you use with your laptop video card. What resolution? Do you see over/under scan? Thanks a lot!

Anyone know if these codes work on a 50V500? I may have to get that remote. :-)

Any 50V500 owners feeling like they should have waited to buy their TVs? I mean mine is less than 8 months old. :-)

Interesting...cuz I thought the Tosh DLPs had the BEST color reproduction and sharpness, overall. Well, I'm going into the store this weekend where I plan to buy my DLP, and they now have the VS810 up there on display right by the Tosh, so I'll verify with my own eyes again.

Part of it may be personal preference, but I saw the Toshiba in several different stores, the colors always looked oversaturated to me. I dialed down the setting but I just couldn't get them to where the color reproduction was satisfying or realistic. I was bummed because I thought it was going to be the one. I had the owners manual and couldn't figure out any other settings to try, but maybe I missed something.

But, I'm a firm believer that there is no "objective" best picture, since everyone has differerent preferences. Out of all the DLPs, I liked the 5085 Samsung the best, but pedestal was a deal breaker.

As for the 810, many places have the color set poorly. Set color temp to High and saturation at around 22%. That should give you a fair basis to compare. Then go with what looks best to you.

Yeah, I was in CC last night and I agree that the 5085 is the best Samsung but the pedestal blows, although one couple bought it after comparing it to the 810. The Samsung was hooked up to HD feed while the 810 was playing a LOTR DVD and there was a greenish cast. The 810 remote had been ripped off so there was no way to play with the settings.

I also saw the greenish hue or cast at the local CC. I adjusted the green phase and gain down but it didn't seem to help. Are there just a few bad sets out there or is common with the 810. The set is great except for that.

Yeah, people need to quit jacking our remotes... The settings get screwed with, then the remote disappears, then we can't fix the settings... *mutter* as for the green cast, ours doesn't do anything of the sort but we've got the thing tuned so far off factory settings at our store its insane. what can i say... the other senior sales associate and i get bored sometimes and go in service menus and putz around

Just got back from local CC with my wife comparing the 810 with the Kirk. Both were playing a HDnet football game. The picture on the Kirk seem brighter and with higher contrast but the 810 was also beautiful in its own subtle ways. The PQ was softer and less in your face like the Kirk. I may actually prefer the 810 picture.

However, I did notice that the grass on the football field was definitely greener than the Kirk and other DLP sets. In fact, the overall picture has a green hue to it. Is this what other had observed? I hope this can be calibrated out. Would some owners of this set please post your experience with this green hue and whether you were able to calibrate it out?

On the bright side, my wife definitely prefer this set's aesthetics to the Panny PT-50DL54, which is the set I was going to buy. Now, decision time - go with the PQ of a HD2+ or the aesthetics of the 810??? The $700 or so difference in cost is also a consideration, but not a show stopper.

In my opinion, the aesthetics of the 810 is worth AT LEAST $500. In the same vein, the local high end Hitachi dealer quoted me $39xx for the 915(?) when they arrive and $300 for the 4 year extended warranty. I cannot believe that I am planning to spend $4K for a TV. Guess I have gone middle age crazy..

If you think this unit looks good in the store wait to you get it home- both the PQ and cabinet looks are outsatnding. NO bars or artifacts of any sort and plenty of blacks to go around. 'Football' greens are fine but after bouncing around between 4 games the source feeds had different greens not the 810.

The appeal of the all black set and 'semi-chrome' & black Maxim stand form a dramatic centerpiece in the family room AND NO cheap silver looking plastic. Sit and enjoy.

Game over.

dewey

I have been having a rather interesting issue with my 50VS810 and I am now on my third set in less than 2 weeks. The issue is only with the component inputs and any signal at 480p.

While watching DVDs any sudden change from a light to dark frame, dark to light frame, or a bright flash such as an explosion or gun firing causes the tv to lose synchronization. That is the tv picture flashes for a brief second as if a power surge has hit the tv or the sceen will go totally black for a second or two. In each case the input display flashes in the upper right hand corner as if I had just switched to that component input.

I have tried 3 different brands of dvd players, new cables, routing the dvd player cables through a receiver and directly to the back of the television all of which produce the same results. I even purchased a Samsung 841 dvd player to test it. I had the same problem with the componet outs, but oddly enought the DVI output at 480p did not have the issue.

After spending about 40 minutes at CC the sales manager was also able to reproduce what I have been seeing at home on the Display 50VS810 in the store. They had to rewire the display. Evidently they had only been sending an interlaced signal to the tv and not a progressive signal. But once the Manager was able to see what I had been describing all he could offer was to send a Tech out to look at my 3rd 50VS810 and it has not even been 30 days.

I am really trying to keep this TV as the picture is stunning, however I am concerned about the issue with the component inputs and a 480p signal. Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions.

Setup:

Hitachi 50VS810
Kenwood VR-5700 receiver
Kenwood DV-5700 DVD player

Hi folks,

I have the 61" JVC DILA set on order from American, but it has not come in yet...

Should I be considering the 60" Hitachi? What advantages/disadvantages does it have over the JVC?

Thanks.

Good question, but to get a good answer, you really should go look at them side by side.

Another question is how many have the 60" Hit? Personally, I have only seen the 50".

As always, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, they are all good sets.

Packfan:

I WAS in the same position that you are in, the VS810 or JVC. I wanted the 60" version in both and right now you can't compare since the Hit. isn't out yet. But based on the 50" version there was no comparison. This is just me opinion though.

I popped in quite a few dark scenes from movies (LOR, Blackhawk Down, Matrix) and in the JVC the scenes we're completely washed out couldn't see any detail. That turned me off right away, can't spend that much and not see dark scenes. I was ready to buy the JVC set until I saw that. The hit. did a great job with these scenes, it could've been better but of the TV's out now it was at the top of my list. The hit. also has more digital inputs, two HDMI and 2 component.

It's a bit more in price, but with the deals C.C. is running now, you can get the 60" cheap and get a 10% off gift card, that $400+. I believe that ends up being cheaper then the JVC, which is why i ordered the hit. should be here in the first few weeks of Oct.

I thought the chassis looked flimsy and the general look sub-par. The color was off with some noise components. I'll grant that this was at BB but all the units had the same general crummy feeds, out of the 8 sets displayed it was about the worst.

I wanted to buy it badly as the engine is Gwiz but I felt they could have done a much better job in converting the technology from their commercial line.....dewey

What is the MRSP of the 60" 60VS810?

Now let me get something straight...

The Hitachi has 2 HDMI inputs, but they are shared with the component inputs. So you can have one or the other used, but not both... That seems very odd...

How many component inputs are there?

OK. I just saw the manual. There are 2 component and 2 HDMI. So you can use 2 component and no HDMI, 1 component and 1 HDMI, or no component and 2 HDMI? Am I getting that right? At least with the cable card, it isn't necessary to use a digital input for cable TV, but if I use an HDMI input for a cable HD-DVR, I lose an HD input?

Thanks for any clarification you can give...

VS810 owners, what do you think about silk screen effect (SSE) after having this set at home for a while? I got it delivered 3 days ago and I love everything about this TV but SSE bothers me. Most likely this is because I still constantly looking for it in every bright scene....