[Dave Vaughn]

Took delivery (almost) of my Hitachi today...opened the box and it looks like UPS shipped it!!! Damaged on front and back. The driver actually asked me if I wanted to keep it! No WAY...bring me a new one tomorrow. I guess I can wait one more day.


Dave

 

[Cabinboy]

Did you get it from Sears??? It could be the 57SWX20B that fell off the truck when thry delivered it to me. I wouldnt take delivery either. I told the driver not to even remove the cardboard, I didnt want to see it, just take it back.

 

[Dave Vaughn]

Nope...CC....My new one will be here tomorrow between 1 and 3.

 

[milacqua]

I hate these delivery services! In the past I have had UPS and FedEx actually deliver broken items that were half way out of box. Even to the point that a golf club was broken in two and part of the shaft sticking out of the side of the container! Sears delivered a washer and dryer once with the dryer door unhinged!!


Three days ago I bought the same 57" Hitachi you did from Sears but I told them I would pick it up at the store. At the loading dock I opened the top and looked at it as best I could and all seemed fine. I told them to put it on my pick up and I would secure it myself and take care of it from there. Because no one seems to give a damn any more, I think doing it yourself is the only way to be certain it will be right.

 

[simonsez]

I actually rented a small UHaul box truck for about $10 less than the delivery charge. The ramp made it really easy to load and unload...The best part - NO DAMAGE

 

[Cabinboy]

What these delivery guys dont understand is, the box offers no protection whatsoever.


When the second set arrived, they just lifted the box off of the bottom, the box had styrofoam in the corners so it would fit square.


The first delivery guy, when he dropped the set on its back tells me "Its OK the box is padded" !!!!!!!

 

[Dave Vaughn]

All is fine now...delivered all in one piece. Wife is complaining about the stretch modes though (not overly impressed myself), but DVD looks awesome. I may just have to go and buy a STB now to get Hi-Def...I think that is going to be the only way to keep her happy.



Dave

 

[milacqua]

Dave, I'm thinking of the same thing. There are three I am considering since I watch Directv: Samsung SIR-T160, Zenith HD SAT-520 and Sony HD-200. The Sony is the most expensive and the Samsung can be had at Best Buy for "only" $599. They all seem to have the same bells and whistles except the Samsung has to switch manually to and from different resolutions (the others can be controlled by the remote). No big deal really and the Samsung gives you a few games to play during commercials. Since it is a couple hundred bucks cheaper I'm sort of leaning towards the Samsung. Have you checked into any of these and found a good source as to best price? Also, do you really think the stretch will be helped by a STB?

 

[RichUF]

I think you have to give the strech some time. My wife doesn't like it either, but it is becoming more tolerable over time. Before I decided on the XWX, I was researching STB's as well. Each of the three you cite (really 2 as the zenith and sony are the same) had tradeoffs to consider. There is a huge thread on this site about the Samsung that has more info than you will probably need. I seem to remeber that the Samsung doesn't have an expanded stretch mode which means is should perform similarly to the Hitachi's 16:9 standard mode. I think the sony/zenith has what most people think is a superior expanded stretch mode. You can read and nitpick for days about the Samsungs red push and other "design flaws" which they may or may not be fixing, the Sony/Zenith's lack of always-on s-video output, etc. etc. etc. If all you are concerned with is the stretch modes, you should go try to find somewhere that is demoing all of the boxes you are considering and see for yourself.


FWIW, I probably would have gone with the Samsung if I didn't get the built-in tuner. Also keep in mind that a couple more boxes are due out at the beginning of the year.

 

[Dave Vaughn]

Ive just started my "investigation" of STB's. I don't have or intend to get Direct TV so I haven't really looked at the Zenith and Sony's. I have read up on the Samsung and it seems pretty good, but I don't really want to spend that much money on one to watch sitcoms (Im not a broadcast TV lover except for sports). I got this TV because of DVD's and the possibility for HDTV. The wife really wants HDTV, but doesn't want to part with $600 for it! I saw the Samsung T165 (I think that is the number) on ebay for $539.