Price Paid:  $1499.00 from Circuit City

Summary:
Dependable service, with Satellite hookup the picture is adequate but not outstanding in clarity and sharpness.

Strengths:
Sound Quality

Weaknesses:
Has no screen protective cover - this would not be such a problem except for the terrible fact that I cannot locate a cover to install for this size screen. No manufacturer including Hitachi makes one. It is not understandable why a manufacturer would not allow for this provision as there is no one I know who watches TV in a sterile environment.

Price Paid:  $1420.00 from Circuit City

Summary:
Replaced the Hitachi TV within a week with 43' Sony. I thought it was competitive to Sony in the sense of video quality and was entirely in plastic enclousure (no mesh in hte front). Also, $200 cheaper made me buy that TV. Thank God and Circuit City for 30 days satisfaction gurantee.

Strengths:
1. video seems close to Sony but even at home I could not get clear picture. Maybe becuase Sony has the extra screen (?) 2. audio - I think it is better than Sony 3. plastic front bottom - my dog seems to jump on TV at times, so I really liked that.

Weaknesses:
1. KILLER - it takes ~3seconds for the tuner to re-sync on a new channel. Channel surfing is no fun on this TV. Circuit City had DVD playing with no antenna so I never "test drove" the remote. Mainly for this reason I decided to return the TV. My 12 Zenith does it under 0.5 seconds and so does the new 43' Sony. 2. glarring red "eye" light - try watching movie in darkness on this TV. The red pilot ("power is up") lamp about 1/4 diameter large, becomes about an inch large when it is dark. Made my eyes hurt and had to put some electric tape over it. 3. had problems with remote. Keep pressing the wrong buttons but had it only for ~week. 4. When composite input is used, the TV vide output is scrambled. Not sure if Sony does it as well. The Sony's manual does not state that.

Similar Products Used:
Sony 43 (HT20)?

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
Garbage. Muddy picture. Image drift. I thought it was AT&T Cable. Then I switched to Dish TV. Just as bad if not worse. Save your money. You''d get a better picture with a $200 25-incher and a coathanger for an antenna.

Strengths:
Sound is excellent.

Weaknesses:
Picture. PIP: You can''t swap pictures from A-B or B-A. It turns out B was programmed not to swap-- ever. Idiotic in this day and age.

Price Paid:  $1350.00 from Sir-Cut Sittee

Summary:
Don't do it. Don't buy a TV by any other name brand because it's bigger. I Tried both the Panasonic Pan 51hd??? something or other along with this Hitachi. The Bigger Pan had bad white color temp, worse detail, less veiwing angle, less contrast. Less everything, really. Hitachi really makes good TVs. I don't know about the best, but definitely better than Sony and Panasonic. The hitachi has a really nice scratch resistant finish and the screen looks like it could rub your skin clean off, which is also scratch resistant, sort of.

Strengths:
Good Convergence pattern, good sharpness, color accuracy.

Weaknesses:
Grainy background, like all digital Proj TVs

Similar Products Used:
Panasonic 51" HDTV