Official Hitachi Plasma HDTV Thread - HDT52, HDT51, HDS52, HDF52 ...

I have yet to find the HDS52 on-line. The only place to get it is at CC. If anyone knows of another vendor, please forward along. This set has great pq and some nice features. Can't figure out why Hitachi does not spread the wealth a bit more.

I bought the HDS52 at the weekend. The PQ is excellent - it even looks pretty decent with SD . It looks very good with the contrast and brightness dialed down to below 50% for the first 100 hours. The Day/Night settings for each input allow for ultimate customization and calibration for each connection and 2 viewing conditions/times. Once you set the clock it automatically switches to night settings at the desired time. 2 HDMI, 2 Component, 3 video, MMC/camera USB input on the side.

I have Oppp connected via HDMI and Cable connected via component and both look great.

The power swivel feature has proven to be useful as it allows you to swivel to avoid reflections during the day and tweak the position for direct viewing at night- obviously this will depend on your room conditions but for me with a lot of windows it does help - also makes connecting new cables easier - the comcast engineer liked that.

The PQ coupled with the connections and features make this a very desireable set, the form factor is very appealing also with black side speakers which at night blend into the all black frame. Sound from those speakers is acceptable when you dont want to activate your surround receiver for Letterman.

The one thing I have yet to uncover is discrete selection for inputs, instead you have to scroll through an input menu to select. It would make things easier with macro enabled remotes to have a discrete selection method for each input.

Overall I am very happy with the purchase (this is my second Plasma, I returned the first as I wasn't blown away with the picture quality) and would recommend comparing it to other choices out there.

I've only seen the 55HDX61 in person and was pretty impressed. I tried to buy one last month but was told they are discontinued and a new model is due out any time now. No news appears on Hitachi's web site so I am wondering if anyone has heard of when the new models will hit the stores or if anyone has actually seen one of the new units on display.

This is a great thread to start. I have been looking at many plasma's from the past month or so and have finalized that ill go with the 42HDS52 for my bedroom. Ill probably end up buying it from CC in a couple of weeks or so since no other vendor currently stocks them and i havent been able to find them online either. If anyone know of a online vendor for Hitachi in US please post about it. Looking forward to hearing from more S52 owners.

I have had my HDs52 for about two weeks now. I love it.

Bought it from CC and have already recieved 258 dollars in price protection.

eddie

I have a Harmony 880 remote that I use with my 55HDT51 and it is possible to have discrete selection of Video1 through Video4 inputs but there doesn't seem to be a discrete code for selecting RGB and it requires a macro that goes through the input menu selection process.

One area of disappointment with all the 55HDT51's (and 42" models) I have seen has been banding in areas of graduated color i.e the sky going from dark to light, and posterization on skin tones. Has this been fixed in the new "52" series models? I have tried improving the situation via video menu adjustments but to no avail. Otherwise it is an great plasma.

Has anyone actually seen the 42hdt52 east of the Mississippi. Neither of Hitachi's primary distribution channels (CC and Sears) appear to carry this model on their web sites. I am interested in the model because of the firewire feature. The 42hds52 model appears (from the manual) to turn off any video out when the source is from the hdmi or component inputs. I have read where other manufacturers limit the output to analog, but Hitachi appears to kill it.

Can someone post some screenshots here of their displays in action?

Well I slugged off to Comcast last night to pick up my HD DCT6200 STB. I am still playing around with the inputs from my receiver but hopefully I successfully reintegrated my TIVO plus direct component for HD viewing pleasure. I need to figure out the audio settings on the DCT6200. It seems to be only passing stereo, not 5.1, to my receiver. I am using the optical SPDIF out. I need to do some more playing but I'm afraid that's all I'm going to get. I am getting a 1080i signal from the DCT6200 STB via the component out. Picture quality is stunning except for my ground loop issue. I hope to make the call to Comcast soon to get that sorted out. I am looking forward to digging into the setup a little more and will post my findings and more likely seek out assistance from you all.

Can anyone provide any input on optimal settings for the 55HDT51 (contrast, brightness, etc., etc.)?

I just had the TV delivered on Monday and am pretty pleased with it. Some dark scenes (in HD) tend to pixelate (posterization?) and hair (in SD) sometimes doesn't look so great. Other than that, I'm very pleased with the HD picture quality.

I've got the Avia disk on order, but have read that both Avia and DVE have shortcomings for Plasmas.

I bought the set from HH G and would recommend them, only if you don't have any questions! The salesperson was full of misinformation and insisted that plasmas can be adjusted in the same way that a rear projection set can. I'm no expert, but I do know that there aren't any bulbs in a plasma!

Purchased the Hitachi HDF52, the specs say it has split screen but I can't figure out how to do it , I can only get PIP, any help would be appreciated. Thanks

The brightness is in the middle, the contrast is way up there though, didn't have to really mess with any settings out of the box on the 42HDT52. No posterization problems that I have seen on the Samsung I had for a few weeks, maybe the HDT52 use greatly different components/software. I would call Hitachi and ask them about it.

I only got the HDT because it was cheaper in the local dealer than the HDS was at Circuit City, it has the tv guide, which won't work on my cable system for some reason, who knows where that problem is. The firewire is nice, but Hitachi won't give me a single part number for anything that will work with it.
I plugged my video camera into tonight, the tv won't recognise it, would've thought it would playback through it, but no luck.

Anyone got the tv guide working with there HDT models?

I am interested in hooking up an HTPC to the 42HDS52.

I sent Hitachi an email asking about the best way to do this and this was their reply:

Thank you for visiting the Hitachi website and for your inquiry.

Unfortunately, we would not recommend connection this unit or any plasma units to a computer. While it is true that you could possibly obtain a video card that would output HDMI or components, but there is a possibility that you could get "pattern burn" on your television by hooking a computer to it due to the static non moving images.

If you have any further questions about any Hitachi product, please call our technical assistance number at 1-800-HITACHI. Please reference your e-mail address when you call in as a customer service file has been created based upon your e-mail contact. Again, thank you for your interest in Hitachi.

Mike

Hitachi Consumer Electronics


Any thoughts on this?

What is the best way to hook up an HTPC to this TV? Has anyone done it? I hear that the resolutions on this TV are a bit non standard and that it makes hooking up an HTPC a bit of a chore.

The pwer swivel you mentioned is that for a table top display? Or is it the bracket for hanging on the wall? I just ordered my HDS52 from CC. A concern I have is the glare on the screen as I too have alot of windows. Thanks!

It seems like no one has a lot of answers on these sets yet. I will try to help where I can.

hhh@metallica --> The swivel is for the table top.

abentin --> They are probably afraid of the BSOD (blue screen of death) burn in. I have not tried to hook up a HTPC to one of these units but just like any other plasma device you need to be very careful about static images (lines, icons, dialog boxes, pictures, etc.) displaying for long periods of time on screen.

BucksWin --> I have not changed from the defaults yet on my HDS52.

wshful --> Have you cycled through all the PIP modes?

So far I have been just enjoying my set and reprogramming my remote(s). Watching the US OPEN in HD was a thrill. The overhead camera shots of the stadium were thrilling. I was not prepared for the depth I would perceive while watching an HD show. WOW.

Happy viewing.

Hey guys, do you know anything about the Hitachi 55HDM71 version? AVdeals.ca has an amazing price on that plasma and I'm thinking of recommending to someone. I'm impressed with the 55" Hitachi's I've seen in the stores - the HDT51 and 55HDM71C.

As far as I can tell, the Hitachi 55HDM71 is their "monitor" commercial version of their 55" display.

Anyone have info on that model?

Thanks!

R Harkness:
http://www.hitachi.us/tv/browse/pro_.../55HDM71.shtml

Thanks MaliciousBraham,

Actually, I'd already looked at that before which is how I found that model was the "pro" version.
But it's a bit confusing: that link touts 8 bit processing, whereas the information on the AVdeals site touts 10-bit processing.

I know someone who owned a consumer Hitachi mentioned some banding and I immediately thought "8 bit processing." So I'm just curious which specs are right. Did Hitachi perhaps update the 55HDM71 to 10 bit processing? Or do the consumer models have 10 bit and the pro model 8 bit?

Thanks to anyone who can shed light on the differences between the 55HDM71 and the consumer models.

Has anyone found out how to access the service menu on the 42HDS52? And is it a useable service menu? The previous Hitachi plasmas had color decoder adjustments in the user menu, but only the 42HDX62 has that feature this year.

Thanks,
Duke

Ok I know these sets are new but it seems based on Bobharp's post that playing video games on these sets wouldn't be a good idea. Has anyone here tried to play video games on these sets?

I'm very close to picking up the 42HDS52 but my problem is that I do play games from time to time. Can anyone tell me how previous Hitachi sets have handled burn-in?

I think I remember reading somewhere (I believe CNET) that ALis panels are most prone to burn in.

All plasmas are prone to burn in after long perioids. These ones have a pixel shift screen saver, just like the Samsungs have.

These are fine for playing games on, I use it with my xbox, looks great, no problems.

From my Hitachi tech support experience, I wouldn't believe everything they say. They told me the reason I am not getting the TV Guide information from my cable is that I do not have a digital cable box, obviously wrong since the HDT52 has a cable card slot and the TV guide feature. They didn't know the product that are selling.

Thanx James. I think I'll be looking to pick the 42HDS52 very soon. Right now this is the only set Im really interested in.

All the new Hitachi Plasma's can be found on Plasmaplanet with the exception of the Director's series as they are not supposed to be sold on line.

Pricing is pending as the larger sets are supposed to debut within the next month (55"). They are MAP priced which means they cannot post the sale price on line.

I would suspect Monitoroutlet should be carrying them also very soon as they are very good at providing quotes. I believe the new Hitachi 42" model is the highest customer rated set on CC. Virtually all of the previous line are being or have been cleared out of stock.

I don't have a Hitachi, but a Sony which is now 4 1/2 years old, which uses the Hitachi AliS glass. I have played a lot of video games (PS2, Xbox, GC), and have never had any issues with burn-in. Because AliS panels fire half of the pixels at a time, supposedly they actually should be less prone to burn-in than a normal progressive panel.

A power plant near hear that I work at occasionally used to have huge CRT's for displays in their control room (there were 5). They changed out 4 of the 5 for plasma's but due to the fact that they are dispalying more or less static images (data) 24/7 they had an issue with burn-in not long after installing them. I don't know what the panels were (the CC operator wasn't sure), but anyway they replaced them with the same Sony panels that I have. They had no more problems after that (I'm not sure how long they've run, either, but the operator seemed to think there was a big difference as far as burn-in resistance).

Thanks for the input enigma. It looks like my first HDTV purchase will be the Hitachi 42HDS52.

Now, I have another question....for those of you that own this set how many of you receive HDTV by way of satellite transmission? I have Directv. What's this thing about "HD Lite"? Are HD signals really that compressed? If so I need to drop DTV before I drop some serious cash on their receivers.

Looks like Time Warner has more movie channels anyway and I don't know if I can wait for this MPEG-4 stuff.