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Review NaN of
Price Paid:
$1350.00
from Circuit City Summary:
I have the 2005-6 model of this series, called 60VG825. It is out of date in the sense that most rear projection TVs over 50" are now offered with 1080p maximum resolution, but a couple of years ago this was the state of the art for LCD rear projection. OTOH, Hitachi seems to have given up on its rear projection lineup, so mine is the best that they offer.
My purchase was motivated by price, and by a few good reviews online. At the time, our local Circuit City had the 55" and 60" models on clearance. I was actual in the store to look at the 50" model since that was - and is - a pretty good value. However the 50" was actaully several hundred $ more than the clearence price for the larger sets, so I figured, "what the heck". We had just moved into a house with a 26X20 great room that is perfect for home theater, so I thought we had room. I would have purchased the 55" and saved $80, but by the time I made my choice that one was sold out. I am very glad I got this model at this price.
I would rate the picture quality as dead average for a modern HDTV. It all depends on the source. 720P television (e.g. ESPN HD) is dead perfect through an HDMI input. 1080i is very good, except that there are motion artifacts due to the interlacing. 480P from DVDs is usually good, but not great. Colors are a little different for component imputs relative to HDMI (more green, less vibrant.) The TV has independant settings for each input ,which is, unfortunately, quite necessary. The presets include a "day" and "night' setting for each input that is spot on for HDMI and composite inputs in natural or incandescent light. The only truly dissapointing video is analog TV captured from broadcast sources (our local affiliates) by our cable company. In the words of Nick Backai, it looks like, "somebody smeared peanut butter on my screen." Anything captured from satalite (e.g. national cable channels) is very good whether it gets to our set digitally, or as analog cable, and whether the decoding is done by the TV our our cable box. We do not have a "cable card" so I can't tell you how that works and I also havn't tried anythign with an S-video cable. As noted above I am not sure I see great results from component inputs, but the composite inputs are fine.
What makes this TV special (besides the large screen and the price I paid) is its sound handling capability, its input versatility, and its aesthetics - all part of what Hitachi calls "cine-form" . The lack of a pedistle makes this look like a flat screen from the front and the flat black finish really helps reduce distraction. The side controls and inputs are very convinient and also out of the line of view. The screen is non-reflective and offers about 45 degree viewing angle to each side. Note that the lack of a pedistal does require you find the tallest stand you can if you want optimal viewing height.
I have an analog pro-logic receiver (not pro-logic II). I send all of my audio sources through the TV becasue it processes sound so well and the output is exactly the coded 2-channel input that the receiver wants. This is a big change from my last TV that tended to output stereo devoid of the pro-logic coding. There are two DSP sound enhancements that I find usefull with the receiver, but essential without. One enhances stereo separation (and moves some of the main channel to the rear speaker for a wider surround experience. The other enhances overtones providing a brighter and more live effect. I find that each level and combination of these enhancements provides a different experience ranging from clean but bland without processing to slightly grating and overprocesses with both on full. Using one or the other at a medium setting or using both at the lowest setting provides the best resutls. The analog output level is switchable for fixed vs variable (variable is much more practical) and the built-in speakers can be set on, off, or as a true center channel, which is great. I get the best resuts using the TV as center and setting my receiver in "normal" pro-logic mode, even if I don't actually connect a center speaker. If I set the TV spekers to "on" and use the receiver on "phantom" mode I get nice sound quality, but don't get a true center channel. Neither the TV nor my receiver has a subwoofer output. I run the sub off my main from speker output. Acutually, my front spekers are good enough that the sub is redundant except for sound effects, so YMMV, but this certainly works for us.
If you are in the market now, I would recommend purchasing a 1080p HDTV for a screen this large, but we are pretty happy that we were able to get a comlete home theater setup for $2000 total that has no compromises in sound quality or screen size. (Lots of credit goes to buying fill sized Sony Speakers from Etronics. I paid more for my TV Stand than I did for my speakers and sub!!) Strengths:
Outstanding sound handling for analog output. Built in spekers that are better then most Sats and can be used as a true center channel.
Outsanding appearance and visual aesthetics for a Home Theater.
Big screen, small price.
Outstanding "day" and "night" presets for HDMI and composite inputs. 2 HDMI inputs.
Nice on set controls and input location.
Weaknesses:
Colors a bit off with component inputs.
Screen door and other artifacts would be less noticable if this were 1080p rather than 720p. (But very good for 720p)
Remote is average at best. Similar Products Used:
This is our first HDTV and first big screen. Previously we had a direct-view 25" Magnovox SDTV.
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