Archive through July 19, 2005

 

New member
Username: Ontarff

Post Number: 5
Registered: Dec-04
I fixed it! I used the service menu to toggle down to "LCD Adjust". I then used the remote and pushed the stick button to the right. A new menu appeared (See above). I then pushed the stick button again to the right. A black box appeared on a white backround. I saw the pink ghost on the left side of the black box. I moved the stick button to the left to eliminate the pink ghost. I then hit the "exit" button on the remote twice to exit the service menu. Settings are back to normal. Just like new!
 

cigamd
Unregistered guest
Glad to hear that worked for you, too, Danny. One note about viewing the service menu clearly (you mentioned the snow, and I had that problem also initially). You can view the service menu from any of the inputs that are NOT in 1080i mode. It doesn't have to be Ant A/B, just can't be an input that's 1080i.

Snow in the background makes it very difficult to clearly view all the menu options...its scary enough in there without the added distraction of difficult viewing!

Happy New Year to all.....
 

Bronze Member
Username: Jedimaster

Los Angeles

Post Number: 23
Registered: Jun-04
Hey guys, check this out:

http://addict3d.org/index.php?page=viewarticle&type=news&ID=3419

or this:

http://labs.divx.com/archives/000032.html

I want one.
 

New member
Username: Ontarff

Post Number: 7
Registered: Dec-04
This link has nothing to do with the 50V500. Link should be posted in a new thread.
 

Anonymous
 
Has any on heard anything the successor to the 50V500? Hitachi has come out with the 50V710/50V715. Are these comparable in quality to the 50V500?
 

Bronze Member
Username: Jedimaster

Los Angeles

Post Number: 24
Registered: Jun-04
Danny,

anything that has the logo "HD" on it has everything to do with this TV.

You obviously didn't read the whole trend. Scroll up and read about people asking what's the best DVD player to go with.

I certainly think that an HD DVD player would interest any video enthusiast.
 

Bronze Member
Username: Jedimaster

Los Angeles

Post Number: 25
Registered: Jun-04
Anonymous,

here's a list with all the Hitachi LCD's.

http://www.hitachi.us/tv/browse/lcd/lcd/lcd_index.shtml
 

New member
Username: Ontarff

Post Number: 8
Registered: Dec-04
Let's see, the link title is "Hitachi 50V500 LCD RPTV Reviews??" I hate to read through threads when they get off track. Other products associated in general should be on a thread of their own. This DVD player is not 50V500 specific. How about a thread titled "HD Components"? I apologise. Maybe this makes too much sense.
 

Bronze Member
Username: Jedimaster

Los Angeles

Post Number: 26
Registered: Jun-04
Upload

This is my rig.
Note the support pannel between the shelves. I still didn't get a quote for sturdier glass.
 

Bronze Member
Username: Mas

Post Number: 28
Registered: Aug-04
EA.. Nice clean set up!
I wish my amp and MCE PC would fit on the shelves, but aside from being too weak, they are also not deep enough. I'm thinking of replacing the stand all together but that's no easy task (since this stand matches it so wel).

As for divx dvd players... they are getting cheap - but I say just hook up a PC (Media Center 2005) PC and have *all* the codecs + expandability. (I think I almost have Erik sold on the idea after using my MCE ;)

Here's a Panasonic Divx player for $65 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000204SWE

Very hackable and supports DVD, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/+RW, CD, CD-R/RW, VCD, SVCD, MP3-CD, MPEG-4, Picture-CD and divx 3.11/4.x/5.x, AVI + 4x video upsampling..

Danny: c'mon lighten up. This thread has diverged many times while still remaining largely on topic. A little side-chatter is good IMO.

Cheers all and happy '05!
 

Contecsol
Unregistered guest
Ah MAS,
Always the good and logical voice of reason.
I wish you and the other contributors the best for '05!!
Regards,
Scott
 

Bronze Member
Username: Jedimaster

Los Angeles

Post Number: 27
Registered: Jun-04
Thank you Mas,

it is exactly where I was going, except for the fact that you pointed to the Philips DVD player that I am using, not the Panasonic that you mentioned :-)

The Philips I am using it's very hackeable, and I have to warn the users: DiVX on HDTV looks bad, but it all depends on the quality of the divx as well.

High bit rate helps, but to a point: NOT ALL DiVX Works. It's an on-going test.

I am an open source tester, and one of the few that own an HDTV, and mas libman is one as well.

He is one of the first to have made the dvi-d work on this TV from a computer source.

Mas, I need help though, and it's imperative.

Think SONY HDTV. And Compac as the computer source.

I know you sent me the .ifo file for the card that you use, and it's an ATI video card.

Please tell me the ATI card that you use, with the dvd-D or vga out that you have work for this TV.

The Sony TV in question, it's the 70" XBR. I do not know the model number, but it's the only 70"
that is in production.

It's the same old 1080i that I need to solve, and if I do, the beer it's on me :-)

 

Bronze Member
Username: Mas

Post Number: 29
Registered: Aug-04
hah! Are you sure we're talking about the same Mas here Contecsol?? :-)

EA - Panaphilisonic you say? :-)

Good to note about the image quality of Divx.. I do believe that movies encoded in Divx have the potential to look as good as the orig. but that depends on the encode. I've seen some great ones, and some not so great ones.

Question: can you play back HD (720p\1080i) res Divx movies? Its not clear if that player only supports 480p, or if it will render HD...

As for getting the PC hooked up to the set.. I am using an ATI 9600pro (128mb) + DVI-D cable and ATI CAT 4.12 drivers. (Both Nvidia and ATI include support for HDTV resolutions within the drivers now, so there isnt as much tweaking necessary as there used to be.)

Overscan is the one PITA that remains. You can either live with it (i couldnt) or get to tweaking. (Unfortunately ATI does not provide overscan compensation in their drivers, so you have to go 3rd party - Powerstrip from Entech is what I used.)
Using Powerstrip I was able to shift the image (up/down/left/right) and create a custom resolution of 1200x700 that provided the best fit and close-enough aspect ratio. (1200x670 was almost perfectly centered but the aspect ratio was off.)
I suppose the service menu might allow adjusting for overscan, but I fear that it will affect the other inputs which are centered fine... I just haven't tried yet...

A word of CAUTION: Tweaking your video timings CAN fry (as in *ZOT*) the timing chip on your TV!! I have a friend that did this with his JVC 50" RPCRT and had to have his LE replaced. (yay for warranty repairs). So be careful, and don't tweak things too much. Use what is built in to the TV if at all possible (or hope you are lucky and all of this is unnecessary!)

Let me know how that goes..

Cheers,

Mas
 

BigLurchy
Unregistered guest
I made the plunge into what most of you would call bliss, by purchasing the 50v500a. In fact I'll be receiving it in 2 days.

I read you guys metioning calibration "program" disc's. Which I'm somewhat familiar with, but have never used. How about the THX calibration utility provided in some of the dvd's available, like star wars. Just wanted to get your thoughts/experiences with that.
 

New member
Username: Mitt

Post Number: 1
Registered: Jan-05
I am looking at the 42V715 / 50V715 models. Should I pay $200 for delivery and color setup, or take the money, pick it up in my covered truck, and try the setup myself? I am a newbie to new TV's.

thanks,

mitt
 

Unregistered guest
Greetings all,
Been away from the board in recent weeks--guess my 50V500 is working too well. I'm now at 15mo./2250 hrs.

I see where the pink-hued picture issue is still popping up. I originally posted the lengthy Sears tech/service menu narrative last August when the problem happened to me. Fortunately it has not reoccurred since, nor have I had any other glitches with the TV. One thing I did when I first got into using the service menu last summer was to take digital photos of various menus for future reference. Sigamd, my correct codes on the LCD Drive menu coincide with those you posted several weeks ago.

Few other notes...
I don't see many comments on the sound quality of 50V500s but I think the audio is superb right out of the set. I got the Lord of the Rings extended DVD for Christmas and the visual/audio experience on the 50V500 is fantastic.

Since I have the TV on alot I'll be interested to see how many hours I get out of the original lamp. You hear all kinds of stories with lamp life on LCD TVs..I'm optimistically hoping for 5000+ hrs.
 

Bronze Member
Username: Erik_d

Washington

Post Number: 11
Registered: Aug-04
Chad,

I can tell you that I bought the 42V710 and took it home myself (er, well Mas drove it to my house). In any event the color was awesome right out of the box.
 

New member
Username: Mitt

Post Number: 2
Registered: Jan-05
Erik,

Thanks for the reply. I think 200 to "setup" the tv is high, and I can plug in my DVD & cable myself.

mitt (Chad)
 

BigLurchy
Unregistered guest
Well I got mine (50v500), and I am very happy, as erik said the color out of the box was great. I ran the THX calibration utility and no changes were required, perfect marks all across. Xbox is so great in widescreen and hi-def, and dvds are great from my sony dvd player.

The sound from the built in speakers blew me away. I was very impressed.

I have no regrets of my purch at this point. And its been running almost non-stop since I've got it.

My favorite feature I have to say is you can make a 4:3 picture into a 16:9 with little or no noticable distortion.

The optional stand is really nice but lacking for space of all my equipment. But thats why theres a thing called an AV Rack ;)
 

harry12345
Unregistered guest
Just over 1 year with my 50v500 and everything is good. Had to adjust the ghosting back in September but since then the problem has not returned. Checked the time meter in the hidden menu: 2726 hours(I guess the wife and kids watch too much television). Picture quality is great using over the air HDTV receiver. Anyone use an antenna to get over the air HDTV? I'm currently using a cheap amplified set top antenna but can only get 2 of the 6 local HDTV channels. Looking for any suggestions on which indoor antenna to try next. I'm about 25 miles from the transmitters.
 

New member
Username: Mitt

Post Number: 3
Registered: Jan-05
I just bought a 42V715. I love it love it love it.

I bought it over some of the other 40-50inch tvs for a couple reasons;
built in ntsc tuner
hitachi rep
lower cost replacement bulbs
style
value
picture quality

I can pick up about 8 digital broadcast channels just using indoor rabbit ears from my old 19" TV, and 4 or 5 of them are at HD res. I can get HD cbs, abc, and nbc, and each of those has several res options.

 

stevieboy
Unregistered guest
Long time, no talk! To update you all, my 60V500
purchased in March, 2004 has been working perfectly; not a single problem!

Simple question - what should I use to safely clean the screen?
 

Bronze Member
Username: Uwishh

Alberta Canada

Post Number: 23
Registered: Aug-04
A soft cloth like Kiwi or something like that. Do not ust any cleaning solutions unless there are specific for that screen type.
 

New member
Username: Frankoman77

Aurora, CO United States

Post Number: 1
Registered: Jan-05
Hello everyone. I must say I am impressed with this thread. I am looking at buying the Hitachi 50V500 and I am a little concerned. I know that buying any HDTV is a risk.
I am definitely going to be buying the extended warranty with my purchase if I decide to buy the TV. I called Circuit City and asked them if I buy the TV, will I be able to open it onsite and have it tested for dead pixels and other things that may be wrong with it. They told me that it is in a sealed box and that I wouldn't be able to do so. They did say that if the TV is bad when you get home with, I can exchange it with no questions asked.
They are offering a great deal for only $2599 and it comes with the stand for free. I've done my research and found this TV to be an incredible value. It will be my first HDTV so I guess I'm just a little worried throw down 3 grand for a TV that has had a few hiccups as far as problems go.
Any suggestions would be appreciated. I will be using the TV obviously for HD Cable and I play a lot of video games with my XBOX and GameCube.
Thanks everyone.

Frank
 

New member
Username: Mitt

Post Number: 4
Registered: Jan-05
Frank,

I have heard mixed reviews on the Hitachi factory stands - they are not very sturdy, and have limited weight capacity on the shelf.

I have had my 42v715 TV hardly a month, and I really like it. It has a few quarks, none of which are deal killers in my opinion. The remote lights up, but also hums when it lights, kind of annoying if the TV is quite at the time. Also, the tuner swithes channels slow, like a digital cable box. And the remote has a thumb spin wheel to change channels, not the typical push up/down remote setup. It is taking a while to get used to it.

The replacement bulbs are the biggest drawback to moderm rear projection tvs. The replacement for 715 series runs around $180, and that is reasonable considering other brands (200-300$).

The 50v500 series is older than the 50v715, so I am not surprised CC is offering specials on it. You should maybe look around to see if the 715 are in that price range too. Just so you are buying the most up to date model. Check out
http://www.hitachi.us/tv/browse/lcd/lcd/lcd_index.shtml

for their latest offerings.

mitt
 

New member
Username: Harlee1

Post Number: 1
Registered: Jan-05
Hello all.
I was wondering what all I need to have my 50v500 as my pc monitor. I have a standard Dell computer. {cables,software,other devices}
 

Shanny
Unregistered guest
I've heard that a plasma tv only lasts 15000 hours and a HDTV lasts 25000, does anyone know a website that I can find information on all tvs? thank you
 

Holly
Unregistered guest
Hello
I have had my 50V500A for about three months and absolutely love it - I watch it with a grin on my face. The HD cable upgrade rocks!
Just recently the tv seems to have trouble starting up. The blue light blinks, the red lights blink - then it buzzes - then they all go off - today the lamp red light stayed on. Then all of sudden it all works. I did reset it once.
Any thoughts?
Thanks!
Holly
 

Unregistered guest
From eCoustics.com:
"The Hitachi thread has not received a post since Feb 3, 2005. Our older threads are closed, when they become inactive. The thread is now re-open for you to add a message. The same link will work."

Let's keep this useful thread going!

(50V500 owner)
 

Anonymous
 
Anybody have real numbers as to how long the bulb lasts on a 50V500? I've read it is about 5000 hours but I'm wondering if people are seeing more or less than that number. I'm currently at 3200 hours and wonder when I should start to look for a replacement bulb to keep on hand.
 

Anonymous
 
Anybody have real numbers as to how long the bulb lasts on a 50V500? I've read it is about 5000 hours but I'm wondering if people are seeing more or less than that number. I'm currently at 3200 hours and wonder when I should start to look for a replacement bulb to keep on hand. Any good sites to get a bulb cheap?
 

Unregistered guest
I don't know that any real numbers for 50V500 lamp life exist, certainly not from Hitachi. Now that the TV has been in the field for nearly two years, more lamp life accounts should begin to appear. I'm at 3000hrs on my 50V500 with no lamp problems. Last I looked the lowest price online for lamp replacement was $198 from Pacific Coast Parts...
http://www.pacparts.com/scripts/whlsl.cfm
 

Bronze Member
Username: Jedimaster

Los Angeles

Post Number: 28
Registered: Jun-04
Hello again.

I just got my first service call from Hitachi. It's not an actual technician from HItachi, you call Hitachi and they give you another number of an independent contractor. I preffer this, because these guys own a business and I assume they know what they are doing.

Well, sort of :-)

I had the ghosting problem, a yellow hue, pretty wide and annoying, on the left side of the objects on the screen. They used exactly the same steps that was explain in this forum before.

However, it took them about 6 or 7 tries until they figured out that the TV must be set on ANT A or B for the service screen to come up. I couldn't tell them that I knew how, so I had to wait patiently.

The techs ( 2 ) were hispanic, and although their english was perfect, they talked among themselfs in spanish. They also didn't want me to see what buttons they push on either the TV or the remote control. They set themselfs in front of the buttons and covered the remote while using it.

After they accessed the service menu, it took them only 10 minutes to adjust the yellow hue. It's amazingly simple.

But...they also decided to "make sure" that all the colors were "properly adjusted".

Playing the fool, I watched how he missmatched the configuration of the green color. He moved it very very slightly, so it would show a very fine green hue, this time, on the right side of the objects on the screen.

Nice one huh ?

I didn't say anything, I thank them, and they left, not before checking the date of purchase of the TV. I admit I sweated for 20 minutes before their arrival until I found the receipt from Circuit City.

While one of them was "fixing" the TV, I asked the second tech how often does this hue happen and if they encountered any major problems.

He said that the hue happens all the time,( no kidding, I wonder who causes it the second time ) but other problems were rarely encountered.

I asked about the fan, beying too loud, he said that's nothing they can do about it, it's always gonna be noisy. Strange, since I read a posting on this very forum, when someoane called service, they replaced the fan, and it was not that noisy anymore.

After they left, I went in the service menu, fixed the green hue problem faster than they "fixed" it.

Oh well, nice doing business with them, woun't call them again.

The lamp: I talked to several people about this type of TV, and a few of them don't buy them because they do ask the sale sperson about the life of the lamp.

They were all told that the lamps last arround 600 to 800 hours. Are the salespeople that ... shall I say ...misinformed ? Or they try to push plasma or LCD flat panels because of the profits or spiffs that they get? This disturbes me.

DZ, thank you for posting the url for the lamp. I think it's handy to have a spare, even if I expect the lamp to go out after 6000 hours or so, which at the current state, should be in another 5 years. ( I bought a floor sample and it already had 1300 hours on it ).



 

Bronze Member
Username: Jedimaster

Los Angeles

Post Number: 29
Registered: Jun-04
Ouch, sorry for the lenghty post, I didn't realize it'll be that long :-)
 

Silver Member
Username: John_s

Columbus, Ohio US

Post Number: 279
Registered: Feb-04
Hello again everybody.......

That's an interesting story, EA. It makes me thankful that a service call hasn't been needed at my house yet.

I did a little search for any online sellers of the lamp assembly. From what I found, DZ's link is the cheapest price. It is good to hear people getting 3000 hours with no problems.

My theory is that salespeople don't have any more idea than the customer what the average lamp life is....but quoting a low number gives them a perfect transition into selling the real moneymaker of the deal: extended warranty.
 

AM
Unregistered guest
I recently bought the Hitachi 50V500A. After 2 weeks I noticed a blue dot on the screen. I called the repair man and he said it was a dead pixel and that the light engine would have have to be replaced. I am worried about letting him do this, because I do not have any other problems with the TV that I've seen posted here. I don't know much about tv's but I know that when a doctor performs surgey on you, its best to really need it, in case anything else goes wrong. I'd hate to have a new light engine, and no blue dots only to find that I have other picture problems or fan noises caused by them fiddling around insde the set. Any thoughts?
 

not a wise one
Unregistered guest
I have a 60v500 and after 7 months of use I noticed (like AM above) a stuck blue pixel right in the center of the screen. Does anyone know Hitachi's pixel policy? I know every company is different when it comes to dealing with stuck pixels.
 

Bronze Member
Username: Jedimaster

Los Angeles

Post Number: 30
Registered: Jun-04
Have it fixed guys, while still under warranty !

"Not a wise one"...you probably mix and match two different LCD's :-)

The LCD monitor from the computer ... yes, there is a policy about that, such as more then 8 within one inch of each other.

This is not the case with the LCD REAR Projection TV's.

Make that service call...and there is a policy about that... if they fixed it BEFORE the warranty went out and it happened again AFTER the warranty went out, the same occurence is still under warranty.

Use it, don't sleep on it, you paid big bucks for this TV.

 

Bronze Member
Username: Jedimaster

Los Angeles

Post Number: 31
Registered: Jun-04
John S, that is one way of selling extended warranty, but for a different reason :-)

As an x-sales person for The Good Guys, ages ago, I know the trick of the trade. If I am out to make money, I know what to sell to make the money.

Back when I was selling electronics, the choice of TV's was limited to CRT, rear projection, or wall projectors.

Now, it's different. You have plasma, LCD flat, rear projection LCD, rear projection DLP LCD, rear projection CRT, HDTV CRT, etc.

It's where the money is, they don't care about the customer anymore.

They know that you need a big screen TV, and they will sell you one, but they will sell you something that will bring them proffit as well.

They make way more selling a plasma TV ( although it's on it's way out ), or a flat screen LCD.

Because it's cool, and "look at that bulcky thing there, compared to this..."

And the spiffs given by the companies for selling their products are higher then before.

That's why they give the wrong information about products you enquire about, it's done deliberately.

I know it from a fact.

 

Silver Member
Username: John_s

Columbus, Ohio US

Post Number: 284
Registered: Feb-04
AM and not a wise one,
EA's right--run, don't walk to the phone and set up a service call right now. After that if you're in the mood for some scary reading, go to page 5 of your TV's operating guide. Read item #1 under "Important Notes" at the bottom of the page.

EA,
I too worked for a local big box white/brown goods chain for fifteen years (Sun TV 1979-1994), so I know full well how it works. The pressure to sell extended warranty was relentless. Yes, there were "push" models that paid a higher commission, and the pressure to sell those was almost as high. Not only your income level but also your continued employment depended on it. I could fill a book with the stuff I saw and heard on the floor during those years.

I've always thought these kind of companies never cared about the customer, then or now.
 

MIKEMAN
Unregistered guest
Hey maybe you guys or gals can help me out? I just bought a 50V710 it is similar to the 50V500. I got a shaded spot on the center of the Tv screen, it looks that is where the light from the tv shines through and you can see it sometimes when their's a dark picture on and when the tv is off, is this normal does anybody else have this problem or do I have to call one of those popular tech guys, just had tv for a month. Need some feedback thanks.
 

Bronze Member
Username: Jedimaster

Los Angeles

Post Number: 32
Registered: Jun-04
No, it's not normal, call tech support. The picture should be just like the one you saw on the display at the store.

 

MIKEMAN
Unregistered guest
EA, thanks for info but did you ever get close to your tv screen "when on" see light come through the center, looks like a small V from the center to the top of the screen or "when off" you see a little shaded round spot on the center of the tv screen, is this normal. ps "not glare" get back thanks.
 

HD Fanatic
Unregistered guest
EA, in reference to your comment "They make way more selling a plasma TV ( although it's on it's way out )" were you saying that plasma won't be around in the near future? I'm not questioning your knowledge, but I was just curious if you had some inside info. It seems like plasma, although way overpriced, is all the rage right now.
 

Bronze Member
Username: Jedimaster

Los Angeles

Post Number: 33
Registered: Jun-04
Mikeman, I never got close to the TV, when on or off, but I did it since you mentioned. No, I don't see any V shaped light nor any shaded spots.

HD Fanatic, I read a lot about plasma, and I have a friend who's got a second generation plasma TV.

Plasma is the latest rage, as you say, because of the vivid colors and of course, the slim form factor of the TV.

The first generation plasma TV's looked horrible to me, especialy when on SD channels, and there was the burn in problem ( the logo of the TV stations ).

The second generation of plasma TV took care of the burn in problem, and everything looked ok.

Now, my friend with the second generation plasma TV, has a problem, after a year and a half: the colors are not that vibrant anymore, and everything looks washed out. Not very bad, but the image is not as good as it was at the begining. He'll call tech support, but ... it's out of warranty.

A pitty: $ 6000 down the drain.

Why is the latest rage ? The mere mention of the word "plasma" boosts the sales.

Flat screens LCD's look way better, and THAT is the latest rage now.

This is one mistake people make: associating any flat screen to plasma. LCD is not plasma, LCD is the same Liquid Cristal Display used in computer monitors.

I do house calls ( fix computers ), and whenever I happen to see a big screen TV in someone's house, I make a remark about it.

In the past 4 months, 3 out of 5 people told me " yea, it's a plasma TV"...when it was an LCD. Equaly priced as plasma, but they were misinformed.

And about LCos... still looks to me that they have a green tint to all the images ( I played again with the settings of one TV last week ).

Sony announced that it will drop their plasma line as of next year. This means something, I don't think Sony drops out of a booming market without a reason.

 

AlbuquerqueFX
Unregistered guest
Thought I'd drop by and interject some hope for you folks wondering when your bulb will burn out... I purchased the very last floor model from my local HH Greg on Friday for $1799, you couldn't possibly turn this TV down for that price. To make sure I could qualify for the 18 months 0% interest, I had to bring the pricetag over the $1999 limit.

I ended up buying the protection plan. But why would someone do something so foolish?!?

Five thousand, five hundred and eighty four hours of lamp time! I can only assume this is still the stock bulb, still going quite strong, still displaying a fantastic picture! I'm betting I could probably swap the bulb myself, but after the cost and labor, I'd rather pay the $299 for someone else to do it. Besides, after an equivalent of 240 days of constant-on time, you never know if the light engine might need an overhaul or something.

The only slight gripe I have is the black level is quite different at home versus when at the store. I'm not used to the dark grey/blue hue as "black", and I can't get rid of that dark grey hue even with zero brightness or tweaking the gamma or generalized brightness settings in the system setup menu.

I'll likely have a tech out to look at it here in the near future to see if it's "normal" or not, but you can plainly see the greyness even during daylight hours. Seems like it isn't quite right, but also seems like this is why I bought the five year extended protection plan!
 

Bronze Member
Username: Jedimaster

Los Angeles

Post Number: 34
Registered: Jun-04
You did the smart choice by purchasing the extended warranty.

I am surprised that the store kept the same floor sample for so long. Usualy they change it after 3 or 4 months.

To give you an ideea about the deal you got: as of May 2004, Circuit City's cost price for this TV was $ 2199 ( don't ask me how I know this :-)

At $ 1799 + $ 299 warranty + 198 a new lamp, you still got the best deal.

The 5584 hours on the lamp and still going strong, confirms what I said in a previous post. I stated arround 6000 hours or so, but it may be even longer than that. Makes me and everybody else here a happy camper :-)

I don't know about the dark grey/ blue hue that you mention, but call a service tech, and don't settle for "can't do anything about it".

Info: a friend of mine paid $ 230 to change the circuit board on his rear projection CRT TV. It can't cost much more than that for a rear projection LCD TV.

 

Seden
Unregistered guest
I have looked everywhere to see the hours on my TV. I have the 50v715 model. Can someone give me an idea where in the menu i go to see this information? Thanks.
 

Seden
Unregistered guest
Also, to the above poster that got the good deal at HH Gregg, I to had a similar experience last week when I bought my Hitachi. On Easter weekend HH Gregg ran a sale add in the Sunday paper for the 50 inch Hitachi that doesnt have the built in HD tuner. It is the light silver model for $1997. The guy at the HH Gregg here in Nashville said he wasnt sure why the Corporate office ran that add because none of the stores in TN had it since it was a model that was no longer being made. The closest one was in Bowling Green Ky. Just to show you what kind of mark up they have on these things, he gave me the next model up or the 50v715 with the built in HD tuner for $2200, the regular price being $2999. He also gave me the matching stand for free if I bought the 5 year warranty, so basically I got the 5 year extended warranty for $100. I ususally dont get the warranties, but I figured for the $100 the minimum I am going to get is 5 cleanings and at least 2 bulbs, plus the peace of mind knowing that my TV will be covered for 5 years. ( I have a 2 year old and a five year old) so who knows what might happen.

The moral of this story, is that HH Gregg will deal with you when most of the other big box stores wont.
 

Unregistered guest
Seden-
I can only speak for the 50V500, but the hours of set usage are displayed on the SERVICE menu, not the regular on-screen menus. From a post of mine last year...

To display the service menu, have the TV off and be sure the cooling fan has cycled off. On the TV front panel, press and hold the INPUT button and the POWER on/off button at the same time. As soon as the picture comes on with the service menu overlaid, let go of the buttons. If you hold the INPUT button too long it will remove the service menu after a couple of seconds. That's also how you turn off the service menu by pushing the INPUT button again which serves as an exit.
 

AlbuquerqueFX
Unregistered guest
Thanks you guys for the thumbs-up :-) In my head, I'm thinking that 5-year protection plan from HH Greg means I won't have to pay for the bulb if it goes bad... Perhaps I'm wrong? Doesn't even really matter, I'd still pay it because the TV really rocks!

I'm quite sure the light bleedthrough on this TV is way higher than it's supposed to be, because even with the brightness and contrast both at 30 the whole screen still glows a medium/dark grey. Not sure if that means the bulb is actually TOO bright, or if somehow the LCD panels are breaking down from being blasted by the heat for such long periods of time.

Tech service dude is coming out on Friday to have a look, and trust me that he's not going to get away with the "Nothing I can do..." excuse. If absolutely nothing else, I guess I'll just have to threaten HH Greg with dragging it back to the store for a refund to see if someone wants to take ownership of the issue.

But ignoring the black level issue, this thing kicks way too much butt for my own good. I'm coming from a flat-screen Sony Wega 30-something inch (bought it a while back from a friend) that had component inputs and worked really well. Picture quality on this Hitachi is just flat-out stunning, and I'm sure it's only going to get better with the proper brightness adjustment.
 

MIKEMAN
Unregistered guest
EA, thanks for help, called tech support, the tech came out the same day and said it was a faulty screen, he's going to replace, I hope the next one isn't a problem since the tv's like new. Ps seemed like the tech wanted to run over here lol!!!
 

Bronze Member
Username: Jedimaster

Los Angeles

Post Number: 35
Registered: Jun-04
Anytime Mike, and yes, they make good money, the techs that came over at my house, came at 7:30 PM, way off their usual hours. ( Try to get Comcast on the phone at that hour ). And luckily, you get one that knows his stuff.

Seden, he gave you that sweet deal because he knew that they screwed up in the add. The laws are very strict when it comes to advertising products, especialy in newspapers.

If at the store you see a 50" TV with a $ 19 tag under it, can't do much about it, a printer problem. But in the newspaper, it's a whole diferent thing. Good work :-)

 

Silver Member
Username: John_s

Columbus, Ohio US

Post Number: 293
Registered: Feb-04
AlbuquerqueFX--
I just wanted to thank you for sharing your 5584(!) lamp time with us. Much of the earlier postings on this old thread were concerning the possible lamp life on this TV, and your post was a revelation.

In the fifteen months I've had my 50V500A, I've managed to log a whopping 567 hours (I have no time!). So your post has given me some peace of mind.

So how did your service call go?
 

AlbuquerqueFX
Unregistered guest
Service call didn't go well at all.

I ended up rescheduling due to an impromptu business trip, so they were to come out today instead of last week. I get the call this morning that "Rob" will meet me at my house between 1:30 and 3:30 today.

I get to my house at 1:28 EST (all the clocks in my house are synchronized to my little bedroom atomic clock widget) and there's already a sign from HH Greg service on my door saying "I was here at 1:30 and you weren't..."

I won't bore you with the absolutely ridiculous details about how the technician "couldn't be reached" and nor could his two superiors, but I'm tentatively scheduled again for tomorrow. Trust me when I say I'll be a full HOUR early, even though this really bites into my work schedule.

TV is still doing fine, works great for playing HL2, FarCry, Doom3 and some of my much older favorites on a 50 inch screen :-) Using my ATI x800xtpe and the bundled component output cable.
Allows for overscan adjustments straight from the control panel, which has come in really handy. The perfect resolution seems to be 1232x688 on my TV.
 

AlbuquerqueFX
Unregistered guest
Welp, no more good news today.

Technician was generally nice, but was sorely misinformed. He first wanted to tell me that "All these DLP sets have that light issue, you can't get black like a CRT projection". When I mentioned that I own an LCD set, he wanted to argue about it! As I pushed the issue (gee, is there a single Ti chip in there with 650,000 mirrors, or is it three LCD panels that get light from a single prism?) he then wanted to tell me about how the light engine in the Hitachis is just like a DLP with the mirrors and all. I felt the need to ask him about the color wheel present in all DLP units currently in production, at which point he realized his stupidity and gave up.

He then wanted to tell me that there really is no other brightness settings he could adjust (bull, I know about the Gamma ramp setting in the service menu) and that he thinks it's fine with the brightness at like 15... Only problem is, with a brightness of 15, it completely crushes all the black levels below about 20%. To demonstrate this, I loaded up the little THX primer section from Finding Nemo and showed him on a greyscale what brightness of 15 did to the entire gray level of the TV. I then re-adjusted to bring it back to "normal", at which point the TV was glowing gray again.

He then made mention of why my tint was off to one side, so I showed him the color calibration screen and he freaked out about why I had changed the values. I showed him the color bars screen in the indivudal R / G / B components and he wanted to argue how the colored bars SHOULD be darker and lighter versus all the same brightness.

This is not someone I want working on my TV. Period. If he's this clueless on stupid "simple" stuff, I don't think I trust him any further. Fortunately, I was still able to convince him this brightness isn't normal and that it needs looking at. He's going to call Hitachi and see if they can send a tech, because HH Greg doesn't have the external equipment (laptop, or VCOM, or whatever the hell they use) to do most of it.

I also noticed a few nights ago that I have a slight pincushion issue at the top of my screen, and the horizontal and vertical positions are just ever so slightly off (little too far up, little too far to the right). Easy fix, hell I could probably do it in five minutes in the setup menu, but he didn't want to touch that either.

Ridiculous.

A humorous aside: When I pressed him about the service menu, he cited that he didn't want to change anything in the TV without the technical service manual. When I pulled out the 196-page black and white technical manual, he suddenly became concerned and a little defensive about me having access to it :-) He still didn't want to touch it!

I'll post more eventually when I hear from Hitachi.
 

madmatt
Unregistered guest
I just bought this tv (april 10th, 2005) from visions electronics for 2800 CAN including stand... can anyone tell me if that is a decent deal... I know the tv is an older model and hitachi is planning on releasing there newer version soon...
 

AlbuquerqueFX
Unregistered guest
Sounds like a decent deal in my opinion; equates to around $2100 US which is in line with standard pricetag for a clearance item. I paid less for mine, but only because it was a demo model that had been used for a year.

Hitachi's replacement model has also been out for quite some time; the 50v715 I believe is the model number.
 

New member
Username: Hired_gun

North Bend, Oregon USA

Post Number: 1
Registered: Apr-05
I just bought the floor model from our local Sears on clearance for $1763.00 It does have 3860 hrs on it but it looks perfect other than a bright red pixel in the corner of the screen. I have the full warranty so I'm waiting as we speak for the repair tech to give me a call to set the appointment for repair.

How much is a new lamp for it and where can a guy buy one? I think I would like to keep a spare on hand.
 

Unregistered guest
HG-
Pacific Coast Parts appears to have the lowest price ($198) anyone on this board has found for lamp replacement unit...
http://www.pacparts.com/scripts/whlsl.cfm
 

Unregistered guest
HG-
Pacific Coast Parts appears to have the lowest price ($198) anyone on this board has found for lamp replacement unit...
http://www.pacparts.com/scripts/whlsl.cfm
 

Hari
Unregistered guest
I bought my Hitachi 50V500 18 months ago. I did not buy the extended warranty. All on a sudden yesterday my color has changed. It is pink and blue and all sorts of colors. Picture is not sharp. Is this a problem with the bulb or some settings has been changed?. Anyone has an answer. I wanted to get an idea before calling the service technician. Has anyone tried to change the bulb themself?
 

New member
Username: Hired_gun

North Bend, Oregon USA

Post Number: 2
Registered: Apr-05
The bulb is very simple to change. Just a couple screws and its located right in the front under the snap on cover. Bad news is, I doubt that the bulb is the problem.
 

Unregistered guest
Hari-
Sounds like the old pink-hued picture glitch, which has been spoken of in the past on this board. Check back on some posts from Aug-Sept. 04, also later Dec. 04. If this is indeed your problem, it is software related and can be resolved on your own by resetting certain code values in the service menu.
 

New member
Username: Hired_gun

North Bend, Oregon USA

Post Number: 3
Registered: Apr-05
On page 8 of the manual it states, "A small number of missing, discolored or lit all the time dots or pixels is characteristic of TFT LCD technology due to the manufacturing process irrespective of manufacturer."

I have a couple lit red all the time with small comet tails on them. Hitachi is trying to tell me this is normal and is telling me the replacement might be worse. I've have never seen this before.

What is everyone elses opinion on this? Good deal or not, Sears might be getting this one back.
 

Silver Member
Username: John_s

Columbus, Ohio US

Post Number: 300
Registered: Feb-04
Hired Gun,
In my very first post on this forum (before I registered) I quoted my 50V500A manual on this very point. My manual's wording is different than yours as I recall. Nobody ever made a comment on it either way. Personally, I think it's a huge copout by Hitachi, and that the pixels (all 921,600 of 'em) should be covered by the basic factory warranty. I am very sorry to hear about your problem, and I hope Hitachi does the right thing by you.

See January 19, 2004.
 

Casey0315
Unregistered guest
All,

I write these message on the after owning my 500V50 for 14 months. Principally, I hope some of you may have some comments on the issues that I have listed below.

First, let me say that my "first" 500V50 worked great for 11 months. The picture was sharp and clear. The HD cable was stunning.

However, during the 11th month, my first 500V50 had a some problems. First, my temp light and lamp light began blink simultanously when I turned the set on. Eventually, a picture would show up (after several minutes, sometimes 10 minutes). Then the temp light and lamp light would blink simultanously and the set would shut itself off after 10 - 15 minutes.

I was told my lamp need to be replace. So, I removed the lamp and took it to my local Rex store where I purchased the set. Rex sent the lamp in and 10 days later was told that the lamp was fine. After some discussion with the store, they swapped out my set for a new one.

The story ain't over! The new set work perfectly for a month and then the picture seemed to have very bad ghosts. The Rex saleman came out to my home and adjusted the set on the service menu and got it look great again.

Except, when I switched from "Day" to "Night" viewing mode. The "Night" viewing mode was yellow.

While waiting on the Rex salesman to return to fix the yellow hue in the "Night" viewing mode, the new TV went out. All I have now is a million blue lines vertically up and down the screen.

The sound is fine and I know it's not the cable b/c my other TVs have perfect pictures.

Anyhow, the Rex salesman has said it is a processor and is coming Wednesday to pick up this TV.

I hope that none of you all have had these issues. I am so disgusted right now with this TV that I am going to ask to swap it for a 42 inch plasma and pay the difference.

If any of you all have had issues, I'd like to hear about them.

Thanks,
Casey
 

New member
Username: Hired_gun

North Bend, Oregon USA

Post Number: 4
Registered: Apr-05
How many hours were on the 11 month old tv?
 

New member
Username: Hired_gun

North Bend, Oregon USA

Post Number: 5
Registered: Apr-05
Update,
I was just informed they are going to replace my light engine. Part will be here in 5 days he said.
 

Bear123
Unregistered guest
A question to all. I have a friend that can get me a Hitachi 50v500 or 60v500 at cost. My question is, would it be worth purchaing one of those at cost and save or spend the extra money and buy the newer version like the 50vs810 cineform or one of the 50 or 60v715?
 

Silver Member
Username: John_s

Columbus, Ohio US

Post Number: 309
Registered: Feb-04
Hired Gun,
Good news--you will be getting an almost new TV out of this.

Bear123,
Your question depends on the price difference. With the new models, you would be getting a hi-def tuner and an HDMI input. Hitachi's also put a dark filter over the screen in an effort to help with the weak blacks inherent with LCD rear projection systems. But the xxV500's are very good TVs at the right price. I would take an old 60" over a new 50" at the same price.
 

Bear123
Unregistered guest
Hired Gun,
I would be able to get the 50v500 for about $1700 and the 60v500 under $2000. The newer models I would have to buy from a store since my friend can only order what his store handles which is the xxv500 series. Thanks for your help.
 

Bear123
Unregistered guest
Hired Gun sorry didn't mean to speak to you about my question. should have been adressed to John S. Thanks Bear123
 

Silver Member
Username: John_s

Columbus, Ohio US

Post Number: 310
Registered: Feb-04
Bear123,
I would go for the 60V500, as it will cost you well over $1000 more for the 60V715. Once again the 715's have the built-in HDTV tuner and the V500's don't, so that may be important to you now or later. Also, I would go for the new model if the native resolution was higher, but it isn't.

Good luck :-)
 

Anonymous
 
The technician came and said my 50V500 has problem with light engine. The replacement cost of the part is 1,900 dollars. What a rip off...
But he reset the color and the TV is working okay now. Anyone has any idea how to reset the colors in the service menu?.
 

AlbuquerqueFX
Unregistered guest
Welp, thought I would reply back and let everyone know that my 50V500 is in tip-top shape now.

As expected, the gamma ramp adjustment in my settings was WAY too high -- all values were at something like 128. After the tech weenie did a factory reinitialize, all the values dropped to zero. He wanted to reset them back to stock, but I pleaded with him to leave it until we had a chance to see what it did to the black levels.

To his amazement, it completely fixed the situation. Black is now BLACK (well, as much as I would expect from any DLP) and the shadow level is much easier to tweak. Overall brightness is still at full capacity also, which he swore would "go down". Bleh on idiot techs.

I also made him fall WAY out of his comfort zone and adjust my screen geometry as well. I had a slight trapezoid distortion at the top of the screen, and it also needed to be vertically and horizontally centered. He gets in there, starts monkeying around, and swears he can't adjust it right because the screws aren't doing what he thinks they should.

I coax him into letting me give it just one try before he puts it all back together, and whadya know? Ten minutes later, my TV no longer has a funky trapezoid problem and is dead-centered. Idiot. Just read the damned directions and it's amazing what you can get done.

I guess the moral of the story is, you don't want to pay the full price for the extended warranty. If my light engine ever fails or the bulb burns out, I'm sure I will get my $200 worth (if not more). But for general adjustment of your TV, these guys are worthless. I could've fixed this myself within 45 minutes of bringing it home -- versus having to wait three weeks, take off a total of eight hours from work, and having to argue with a bunch of dolts that what I'm asking REALLY IS possible.

Anyway, TV is fan-f'ing-tastic now. Especially since it now has a grand total of 5,749 hours on the stock bulb! :-)

 

Bronze Member
Username: Jedimaster

Los Angeles

Post Number: 36
Registered: Jun-04
I totaly agree with you on the tech's. I still love this TV.

The beef I have now is with Comcast and The Dish Network.

I am going absolutely bonkers. I had Comcast for almost a year, and the box was going nuts at unexpected times. I changed to The Dish Network and the HD image was horrible.
Dumped The Dish after a week, now back to Comcast with an amazing deal: $ 36 / month for 16 months with Showtime included.

The box still goes nuts, but not as bad as before, although the tech said they work it out and it's a known problem with it.

The problem is that whenever, at any given time, it just re-sets it-self. So I miss some 20-30 seconds of whatever I am watching. I never record any show, but if I wanted, because of this problem, recording would be useless.

Sorry, it has nothing to do with the TV, but I wrote this out of frustration :-)
 

Anonymous
 
Just FYI I checked a floor model 50V500 at sears, and it was at 6836 hours and the picture and brightness look great!
 

Silver Member
Username: John_s

Columbus, Ohio US

Post Number: 323
Registered: Feb-04
Wow, 6836 hours eh? Has anyone confirmed that the operation time counter resets itself to "0" when the light is replaced?
 

New member
Username: Hired_gun

North Bend, Oregon USA

Post Number: 6
Registered: Apr-05
Well they finally came and took my TV for light engine replacement. They had it back in 3 hours. The red dot is gone and it looks good as new. They reset the overall usage timer. It was at 4060. They did it manually as part of the procedure to replace the light engine. On a bulb you reset it yourself. It is not automatic. The tech told me Hitachi is now only selling reconditioned light engines and they cost just under $500. He said they look new in every way. The housings have never had a screw in them and the design is all new. They have an improved cooling fan and they run much cooler and quieter. TV now turns off in about a minute instead of 2.
 

Silver Member
Username: John_s

Columbus, Ohio US

Post Number: 324
Registered: Feb-04
Hired Gun,
Excellent post. Thank you. As I said, you have an almost new TV out of this. So, the operation time counter has to be reset manually in the service menu.

Now I want a new fan for my TV!

How times have changed.
 

Bronze Member
Username: Jedimaster

Los Angeles

Post Number: 37
Registered: Jun-04
Anyone knows the dimensions of the fan ? I work in the computer industry now and I can get any kind of fan I can. Most of them are standard 4", 5", 8", 12", what kind does this TV take ?
 

New member
Username: Bugleboy

Post Number: 1
Registered: Jun-05
Just got a 50v500 the color is excellent, as suspected I see the screen door effect which does not bug me since I knew what I was getting into.
But here is the part that bugs me, beside the screen door effect I see a periodic vertical gray lines, starts from dark gray to light gray and it happens every 40 or 50 line and repeats its self. It is obvious in lighter scenes, and not so obvious in dark scenes.
Any body else see this effect on their sets? Is this normal for 50v500? Or I just have a bad set.
 

Bronze Member
Username: Jedimaster

Los Angeles

Post Number: 38
Registered: Jun-04
No, it is not normal, get a tech in to check it.
 

Ehman
Unregistered guest
After more than two years of waiting (married 2 years ago and bought a house, no more money until now!) and reading posts like this one, I finally got my HIT50V500. I LOVE IT! Just ordered DVE online and can't wait to tweak it even more. Thanks for all the posts.

Re: Service Menu
Does changing the settings on the menu only apply to the current video input, or does it change it across the board? I usually start on Ant B, but I'd like to change the DVD pic settings. (video doesn't show up as fast on Vid 2, so I always press the INPUT too long, menu disappears)

Also, what setting has people done to make the blacks considerably better through the service menu (do people just use the black enhancement in the regular video setting menu?)

Thanks in advance! Keep posting them tweaks!
 

Bronze Member
Username: Jedimaster

Los Angeles

Post Number: 39
Registered: Jun-04
Folks,

The deadful pink hue just appeared, and I am fresh out of warranty. 30some days to be exact.

The good news: I got my hands on the service manual :-)

Here it is, for all to download, make sure you get all 14 files:

http://www.eserviceinfo.com/downloadsm/13164/Hitachi_50V500.html

It's 194 pages in pdf format.

At page 49 it explains how to readjust the Memory Initialization.

OK: I've done it and it took 30 seconds, including the bootup time of the TV.

It is not quite as it explains at page 49, I did not get that extra screen. All it took was to go to Memory Init, click the right arrow ( pressed 2 seconds to the right ) and the check mark apeared next to Memory Init.

Then the TV went wako on me ( I was expecting to see that submenu... it did not apear ). I had the volume all the down to zero ( 10:41 PM and the wifey and the kid are sleeping ). As soon as the check mark apeared, the volume went up and I thought I have to re-do the damn thing all over again.

Not so, I switched to hdtv cable, channel 175 (INHD channel) and the image is BETTER than before.

I LOVE THIS ! It saved me $ 170 for a service tech to come in and do it.

Ehman, you posted right in time :-)

As far as I know the service menu works only if the TV is set to both antena A and B, but read the service manual, I scrolled too fast through it, but I think it mentioned in there how to have it on with VID1, etc.

What is DVE on line ?

Good luck to all.
 

Bronze Member
Username: Hd_fanatic

Boise, ID

Post Number: 26
Registered: May-05
DVE is Digital Video Essentials. It's a calibration disc to fine tune the settings on your TV.
Here's some more info about it...
http://dvd.ign.com/articles/453/453816p1.html
 

Bronze Member
Username: Jedimaster

Los Angeles

Post Number: 40
Registered: Jun-04
$ 18.71 at amazon.com

It's mine :-)

Thank you for the info.
 

JesseN
Unregistered guest
Many thanks to cigamd instructions posted December 23rd, 2004 on curing the "pink hue" issue! Worked like a charm.


 

Unregistered guest
Need help!!

I thought I have no prob with the set, but since testing using DVE, i see vertical lines, similar to what Hooman mentioned, but these are thin gray bars across the screen that alternate between a darker and lighter gray. I see it especially at 20% flat gray reference shot(DVE), on medium dark scenes. They are not visible in very dark or very light scenes, only near the darker end of gray scale, and it does get annoying.

Is this similar to the Trinitron idea with sony screens, or is this the "screen door effect" that everyone's talking about? or is this just a sign that I need a tech? i tried to reset to factory settings, but still the same...colours are fine though!.

Can anyone help, please??

Nice set nevertheless!
 

Unregistered guest
I think I fixed my problem.
The problem was vertical banding across the whole screen.

I went to the service menu, said a little prayer, and started fiddling with the LCD adjust parameters.

The ghost settings did not make the vertical banding disappear, but the V.COM (flicker) settings did. The idea is to decrease the flicker to the weakest flicker for all 3 colours. and hey the vertical bands do not appear anymore!

THANKS EA for the manual...
 

New member
Username: Tdvbaja

Post Number: 1
Registered: Jul-05
Has anyone seen this before -- I have blue around the top of the screen - BAD!! I bought this set 10.06.03..

[img]http://photobucket.com/albums/v239/Hdvsheba/?action=view&current=IMAGE_002.jpg[/img]

 

New member
Username: Hired_gun

North Bend, Oregon USA

Post Number: 7
Registered: Apr-05
I believe that may be normal............................When you need a new light engine! Man, that looks bad. Only good news is the cost of light engines is down to around 500 bucks and about 200 to have it installed. That's what mine cost.
 

New member
Username: Tdvbaja

Post Number: 2
Registered: Jul-05
Is that what yours did Hired Gun? 700 bucks to fix it arggg. I have never had problems with any of the Hitachi TV's I had before - but Ihave already changed the bulb in this one... Reason I bought LCD was because I heard they were reliable.
 

New member
Username: Hired_gun

North Bend, Oregon USA

Post Number: 8
Registered: Apr-05
Mine just had a couple locked pixes that made a bright red spot in the corner of my screen. Light engines used to cost over $1500. How many hours do you have on your unit? How many hours did the first bulb last.

You can also bet I'm buying an extended warranty before my factory warranty goes out.
 

New member
Username: Tdvbaja

Post Number: 3
Registered: Jul-05
How do I check my hours? In the service menu?

Was your Light Engine covered under your warranty? I have no extend warranty on mine.. I also have Blue coming thru on the lower left which you can see in that pic. Is this something that is going to happen every other year??
 

jfodb
Unregistered guest
Just bought the 50v500 floor model from CC with only 300 hours. Picture's great. Just got the HDTV cable box and it has an HDMI interface. I keep reading that using the DVI-HDMI connection is optimal for video. Is this true or should I just leave it as is ie. using the YPbPr inputs? If the HDMI is better, how do I set it up? Do I just buy a DVI-HDMI adapter and disconnect the YPbPr connections?
Also, since it's a floor model, it didn't come with a remote control. Slightly annoying but my cable remote controls everything but the menu function. Any suggestions on what to do or anyone looking to sell theirs for cheap?
 

New member
Username: Hired_gun

North Bend, Oregon USA

Post Number: 9
Registered: Apr-05
The hours are in the service menu. Mine was covered on warranty since it was less than a year old. The DVI-HDMI connection only gives better video if you have a true HD feed going into it. You get the cord with you HD tuner or cable box. They have that crazy connection not for quality but to keep us from recording HD shows.
 

FresnoCA
Unregistered guest
Greetings all, I've had my 50v500 for a year and a half now, and I am generally happy with it. I've had to correct the ghosting and pink screen phenomenon via the service menu, so I consider my self fairly familiar with the general functioning of this set. My question has to do with the Blacks. I believe I am experiencing the same blue/grey color that AlbuquerqueFX mentioned ealier in this thread. With brightness and contrast set to 0 on a blank input screen the dark blue/grey still prevails. So I would like to politely ask AlbuquerqueFX, or any other knowledable 50v500 owner, to kindly disclose any changes to the service menu that may bring me back to true black.
 

Silver Member
Username: John_s

Columbus, Ohio US

Post Number: 363
Registered: Feb-04
In the currant issue of The Perfect Vision magazine (July/August) there's a review of the Hitachi 50VX915. The reviewer had the new Sony LCDRP KDF-55XS955 lying around to compare the Hitachi to. That review is not on line yet so I can't provide a link to it yet. Let me quote from the conclusion of that review:

"For my own typical viewing (brighter, more vivid programs--sports, news, often with the lights on), I usually preferred the Sony, and that preference held on darker programs from regular cable or satellite as well. Some of this undoubtedly was because of my personal dislike for Hitachi's purplish color of 'black.' (This may not annoy you.)"

Of course, the Hit was professionally calibrated before the review.....
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