Hitachi 57F59A - Page 3

If the menu you are referring to is the one I'm thinking of, I tried it and it does not actually "name" the inputs for me either.

My whites are nearly perfect... amazing actually, much better then any DLP/LCOS/SXRD I've seen.

I adjust my settings per input so they are all a bit different... just experiment with it to get it right for your source. It took me about 3 hours on/off of using Avia and watching different things on each source.

here's my settings using Avia DVD and slight visual adjustments...

Contrast : 40
Brightness : 50
Color : 56
- this is Avia's outcome
- I initially had as 40 (probably too low) may settle around 50 if I decide it is too saturated at 56, not sure yet
Tint : dead center
- Avia has this as 2 notches into the red (right) but I think it was too red there
Sharpness : 15
- this really seemed to make almost no difference once I dialed in the other settings
Color Temp : Standard
Black Enhancement : off
Edge Enhancement : off
Auto Color : off
Noise Reduction : off
Movie Mode : off

Eh, so i guess avia only promises minor picture quality increases on these sets......

those look pretty close to what i have. one thing is you seem to have your color alot higher then mine. i have it set at 43% for cable and 45% for dvd. you should try edge enhancement set on low it gives you a sharper picture ,but not to sharp either if you know what i mean. i have contrast around 41 or 43% everything else seems to be the same as mine. did you set your virtual hd to 540p ?? it helps a little with standard def. i noticed a little bit of improvement on this. dvd's with an hdmi upconvert dvd player look really close to hd. can't wait for blue ray dvd/ps3.

Got this set last Thursday at CC. Was not able to get the price match with Sears, due to Sears did not advertise the 57F59A model, like CC does, and Sears did not show availablity till July 1st. At least it was still on sale at CC for $1349.99. Of course, when I get it home, nowhere on the unit does it show the 'A' at the end of the model.

Anyways, on with the story. After setting it up and tweaking what settings are available, I came up with these settings for best overall use:

Contrast: 38%
Brightness: 61%
Color: 40%
Tint: Middle
Sharpness: 10%
Temp: Standard
Black Enhancement: Low
Edge Enhancement: Off
Noise Reduction: Off
Auto Movie Mode: On

My system has all video being upconverted from the VCR and Cable Box to component out through the receiver, the DVD player is connected the same way. So, this way I only have to use 1 input on the TV.

So far, SD content varies widely depending on the channel. Overall, it is soft looking, either in Virtual HD 540p or 1080i. I don't have HD cable or my antenna set up yet, but DVD looks great, in both 480p to 540p/1080i, or 480i to 540p/1080i modes.

I ran this unit thru a spreadsheet with my SpyderTV colorimeter, and here are the results. You can see that I would like to get into the service menus to do some adjustments.

I would also like to get the discrete codes for my MX-700 remote, so I set up macros for changing inputs around. I would like to seperate the DVD from the cable, due to having to manually change the ASPECT back to 4:3 mode after watching a DVD.

Lee,
Gamma looks great but the color temp looks a little low. Did you use Avia or VE to config the set?

thebigdaddye,
I used Avia to set everything... I made note of the changed setting from it. I may turn the color (saturation) down a bit but everything else looks nearly right on after watching Dish (s-video) and DVD (component @ 1080i) and HD OTA (720p & 1080i).

I looked at 540p but did not really see a difference... probably my s-video connection from my Dish. On the component inputs there was absolutely no difference even when viewing 480p content.

I still think I will get it ISF calibrated though.

Overall, the set is really good. I've seen lots of HDTVs, both RPTV & direct view, and for the $ this set cannot be beat... DLP/SXRD/etc cannot compare at 3 times the cost. I do not like SDE/SSE/rainbows and I can easily see them. The only HD-RPTV I think I've seen that is better are ISF calibrated Mits, Pioneer Elite, or Barco... and after I get mine calibrated I'm sure it will come close... again, at less then half the cost.

for the price and picture you can't beat it. got to love HD when it looks like your looking out your window. http://img222.imageshack.us/my.php?i...ture0196ih.jpg http://img519.imageshack.us/my.php?i...ture0207yn.jpg love hdnet bikini destinations WOW!

thebigdaddye, I looked through the manual and spent way too much time trying to figure it out. I just want the input to say "DVD" etc so my wife knows what she is doing I can set the names in "set the input" screen, but it never shows up if I push the "input" button. Thats what I want it to do. Does everyone else see there named inputs when they press the input button?

Problem is I don't know if anyone found a way into th F59 service menus.

How do you like the SpyderTV meter , does it gives you better results then a DVE/Avia DVD's ?

Kind of "maybe" looking into buying one, but only if it gives me MAJOR PQ improvement over my DVE. I'm in DIY mode because getting all of my F710 inputs ISF'ed is out of my price range

Thanks

Try naming just input 4. Set it to DVD or what not.

I used Input 4 on the 710 for everything. Input 4 is set to auto detect a signal and turn on the TV when a sorce is sent to it. Once a signal is sent it turns on the set so this has been great for my wife. No buttons really to remember. I dont know why yours does not show up when you hit the input button it should be just that easy.

One thing I will give Hitachi they have always had this feature on all sets I have owned from them CRT to CRT-RP

well, I tried it on both 3 and 4(3 is auto on the 59f). My dad has owned several Hitachi TVs and they all worked no problem. What the hell am I doing wrong? This thing is really pissing me off.

I might be interested in one to, as the colormeter can be had for extremely cheap
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16882187014
and then if i "find the software"That makes the other bundles expensive(the spyder tv uses the same meter right? and just has speacial software?), it would work just like the$180 versions?

I'm like you...I can get it to work so the names show up via the menu, but when pressing the INPUT button on the remote, they still show as Input1, Input2, and so on.

I gave up on it and showed my wife which input is what. Lucky for me, she has some technical savvy...but you're right, the naming should show when pressing the damn INPUT button on the remote.

Anybody contact Hitachi about the input naming bug? Works fine on my 710.

Maybe all it needs is a firmware update

you still can't get it. i set mine up ,but it took me awhile at first try selecting the input like dvd, then go to your next input like cable select it then exit out and try hittting info and see if it kept them. i know at first it took me a coupe of times ,but i got it. if you still can't get it then i can try and write down step by step by going through mine again and relaying it to you.

I still can't get it to work...and I tried every combination I could think of. Maybe I'll let my 6 year old give it a try...

If anyone has any step by step instructions for us RPTV challenged folks, it would be greatly appreciated.

lol....are you guys rambleing back and forth about input naming i'll give it a try and see what i come up with

na cannot get it to work, its not really bothering to me, so sorry guys (considering my only inputs currently in use are component input 3 and the cable, i might buy a DVI-HDMI cable and buy a DVD drive for my pc for upscaling )

The only time you're going to see the input name is when you press the info button. Otherwise, when you press the INPUT button, you just see the list of Cable, Input1, Input2, etc.

I don't see whats so difficult, you cannot remember 3 inputs?(assuming you do not use SD connections)video 1 is HDMI videos 3 and 4 component

I'm fine with it...or at least I was a while ago...it was primarily for my wife...

If that's how it's supposed to work, then fine... I think I'll get on the horn with Hitachi to see if they're working on any firmware updates that might address this. When you change the input names, those names should show when pressing the INPUT button on the remote. Am I the only one who thinks it should work this way? Maybe it's the software developer in me....

I agree that is how it SHOULD be as well. Let us know if you have any luck.

I bought the 57" from HH Gregg for $1050. I can't wait to get it Friday. I will be running my DirecTV and upscaling DVD player via HDMI through the Sony 900 Watt surround system. I then will go from the surround receiver to the TV via HDMI, so I will be only using one input. I am going to to try Lee Bailey's settings. DirecTV is bringing an HD receiver Monday. Can't wait to see the results. I was telling my wife if the PQ is as good as the PQ on my SD RPTV Toshiba I will be happy. Hell I paid twice as much for my Toshiba!! Either way, I see it as a win. This and the other Hitachi thread convinced me to give it a shot.

Welcome to the club!

let us know the outcome... I'm working with them right now to try to get discrete code for Input Air.

Tell them about this forum and thread and tell them there are several that would like the rename feature to work properly.

Livin, in answer to your question about how I set up my TV, I used the GetGray DVD, as well as the ISF HDTV Calibration Wizard DVD that Monster publishes. I did use the SpyderTV on it as well. I have found that the SpyderTV does like to set black level a bit too low, and contrast a bit too high. Once the greyscale is more accurate, I'll be able to push the color level up without as much red push. It should go from a great picture to a Holy Sh*t one.

Share you're settings

They're back up at post #64.

eh they wash everything out

for me anyway, compared to %50/%50 brightness %43 color %15 sharpness and everything off.

i use %38 contrast %46 brightness for most programs, %50 %50 for the dark ones.

That brings up a good question: do settings change from day to night, SD to HD to DVD, even very hot (down here in NC) to cool? I know on my RPTV I am always chasing the settings for the best PQ

yes somewhat. mostly from day to night. if you have some light during the day you will see a difference when it turns dark outside because the ambient light causes some loss of picture / washout on rptv. this is one reason these type of tv's don't look as good in most store because of to much light and it washes out the picture.. this is one of the reasons for the day/night feature on the hitachi f59 tv. i don't get much light in my family room unless it's completely sunny in the very early morning. i have one setting for all viewing which i think is the best for all. it may not be same for everyone because of the light control issues. control the light in the room and you shouldn't have to change the setting very much or at all. forgot to mention one of the reason i like this tv is the separate settings for each input like dvd, cable, air ect.. but for the most part my settings are all the same. dvd might have a few settings different thats it.