Nice bright picture/ detail for a RPTV, easy OS menu/set ups, decent off angle viewing, very slim cabinet design.

Fair factory speakers, shuts down after 3~4 hrs(powers back up fine), progressive scan off DVD blinks in/out after warm up.

My first Digital RPTV. The picture is great, and only gets better as your source gets better. Forget the 5.25" factory speakers and hook up to your surrond sound. Nice slim silver cabinet, get the stand to have good elevated viewing with storage.
CC is looking into my problems re; shut down and progressive scan blink outs. See what that extended warrenty is make of!! I got the service order fix on the scan blink thing, would appreciate any help on the shut down thing.
All in all a good set with good features, even better when the probs. are fixed.

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none

many picture remote HDTV

none sound is not a concern due to the fact I would much rather watch a movie in surround sound than TV speaker sound.

I am very happy with this TV and not to mention this was an Item that was brought back to the store so they could get a bigger TV. For those of you having problems I am sorry to hear that, but there are bad TV's out there. If you had gotten a good one, you would have loved it. The 16:9 is just lovely with this TV. I am using a Pioneer Elite dvc-36 DVD player and its just awesome. The progressive scan is just um all that. I also got my DVD player for $480 list price was $700.

The only bad thing is sound, but thats a good thing because who pays for a huge sound system in your TV? Most everyone is going into home theatre anyways, so by gettin a TV that costs way more just for that is not worth it, when you could hook it up to a Yamaha or Integra Stereo system with your speaker of choice. The Picture is awesome and clear, from close range and afar. The 53" is also a great model from hitachi.

The remote is nice just wished the light stayed on just a tad bit longer, but other than that, just a very nice TV.

If you want sound in a TV do your research before you by this TV and write a bad review, because this TV was not built for sound, plus its HDTV ready.

Great picture quality, brightness, sound quality

problem with electronics....had 3 different TVs do the same thing

Bought the first one from Circuit City and loved it...for about one day. It started making a loud snapping noise and shutting off. CC brought me another unit (also new in box) and it did the same thing after a few days. The third unit also made loud noises and would shut off. They admitted that they have had every one they sold come back for this problem. Went to another store and bought the Toshiba 43 HD projection. WOW! didn't think the Hitachi could be beat, but it does...hands down!

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Toshiba 43 HD projection

picture, Size, price

not enough inputs

I like this set a lot. For the money, I like it even better. nice, bright picture, good off axis brightness. Remote very easy to use, TV displays easy to navigate.

Down sides - only 2 sets of composite/Component/Svideo inputs (also 2 coax, and a set of composite on the front for video games). Also, use of GOOD cables improved pciture dramatically. Convergence is only single point (other usually have minimal 9 point!!), but you can get 100 point by using service mode (which is a bit tricky).

It has a bit of a hot spot, but this is minimally annoying and may be a by-product of the fact that it is only 19 -20 inches deep - not invasive to my room like most RPTVs. Toshiba 43" set is the same basic set, better convergence features. i have not viewed the toshiba.

Bottom line - I like the set.

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sony kenwood toshiba direct view TVs

Bright, beautiful picture with no scan lines. Easy to set up and adjust ( minimal adjustment was necessary with my TV )

My only complaint is that the light that comes on to let you know the TV is on is a very bright red and can be distracting when watching in low illumination.

I have had this TV for a month now and I am very pleased with it so far. I tend to be picky when it comes to video quality and did extensive research before purchasing this TV. The price listed is in Canadian dollars and was the best for any of the HDTV ready TVs in the 43 to 53 inch range. The picture from DVD is unbelievable as is the picture from my express vue dish. I would not hesitate to recommend this product!!

Picture quality, clarity,user friendly

takes 1 to2 seconds to change to the next channel. your just sitting there anyway!

Just picked this TV up a few days ago, and have had my eye on it for some time!
I couldn't be happier so far. I got a little nervous after reading some of you reveiws,
but I figure your taking a chance with about anything you buy or do.Plus, with the
4yr. warranty I purchased, I feel a little better,as long as they don't jack me
around if I need it! DVD is a premium, and watching live sports is totally fantastic,
especially with surround sound. Unless you plan to spend $2600.00 plus the stand,
warranty, tax, and $100.00 on monster cables for a 16.9 widescrean format,
go for it!!!

Brightness, Color, Clarity, Sharpness, Price

Built In Speakers

Great TV, with a reasonable price for what you get. From what I've seen so far, the only big weakness it has is a somewhat lacking audio performance, (but isn't that what a nice A/V system is for? Least that's what I keep telling my wife! hehe).

The brightness and color clarity is pretty comparible to any Tube HDTV ready tv. In fact, I was all geared up to buy a wide screen 36" Wega, but I fell in love as soon as I saw the Hitachi. Nearly the same brightness and clarity, it's bigger, and about 300 bucks less! Can't beat it!

I haven't seen any of the technical problems people have experienced, and I've left it on at least 5-7 hours a day since I got it, just to be sure though.

Unless you want to do the 53" version, I'd say this is one of the best you can get for the price range.

Similar Products Used:

Sony Wega 36"

Delay when changing channels, lack of inputs, convergence misalignment.

The Hitachi 43FDX01b is a mixed bag of tricks. With good sources (dvd, Satellite tv) it looks great,but with cable or VCR (including Svhs) the picture is fair to good at best.
I initially had a problem with a progressive scan dvd player
After some searching newsgroups I discovered that there is a cure for this problem (the screen goes blank then returns)
Hitachi service was no help, so I found the service bulliten
# that addresses this issue, luckily my local service center found the bulliten and I am on his list to have the set repaired (as soon as the parts come in).
I recently purchased the Dishnetwork Model 6000 with the optional tuner cartridge to pickup the off-air HDTV channels
Philadelphia has all majors and Pbs up and running.
The picture is fantastic!! I used the video essentials to fine tune the set. When the Progressive scan issue is resolved i will have a certified tech come out and calibrate it. Its major flaws are the lack of inputs,slow channel change time and the cheap convergence circuits I don't know why Hitachi didn't use the same as there other lines!
Overall I am happy with this set but for the next purchase I will be sure to check those flaws.
My sources:

Pioneer elite DV-37,
Dishnetwork 6000
Jvc Svhs 9600.

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First HDTV ready set.

Sometimes, there are flashes of green in the picture.

This is by far, the nicest TV I've ever owned. I was going to buy the VEGA, but that's way too big and heavy to move around. Furthermore, the VEGA still has apparent scan lines.

By far, the best feature of this television is that it does not have the weakness of most projection televisions. Because of the pixel doubling feature, those annoying scan lines that you see on the most big screens are filled in automatically. If you don't know what I'm talking about, look at some of the larger non-HD ready televisions at your local electronics store.

True, the speakers aren't that impressive, but if you're willing to blow 2000 on a TV, 500 bucks for a basic surround sound system is nothing.

Perhaps someone can help me on this. Sometimes, while I'm watching TV, and I move my head, I can see flashes of green on the screen. Perraps my lenses are not aligned, or there is something else wrong with the TV. Email me if you know why this is.

When you stack this up to other TVs of it's size and price range, there is absolutely no comparison.

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None

picture quality, mult. inputs, matching tv stand, easy to navigate menus

sound (who cares), each input uses same settings- can't get each input to have own settings

i really like this set. i did have a problem with the first set that CC delivered, the picture quality sucked and i was really nervous about it because the model in the store looked so much better. Then the sound cut out completely the next day so i had a great excuse for CC to replace it. The second unit worked great, fantastic picture quality and the sound worked fine. i hooked up my dvd player (non-progressive) and noticed a significant amount of "red-push". i borrowed a friends video essentials dvd and calibrated the colors as best i could. this made a HUGE difference in the quality. definately use video essentials or the Avia dvd to do color calibration. it makes a big difference. i shut off all the automatic color and sound enhancements when i calibrated it myself. i have talked to several IF technicians and they all recommend getting any big screen tv professionally calibrated. it costs around $250 to do it, i haven't done it yet but i am going to. i have digital cable hooked up and honestly, most channels don't look very good, some of the "digital" channels come closer to dvd but there is still a huge difference between dvd and the best digital cable channel. i am going to switch to satellite later this year. i would highly recommend this set with one caveat. i find i mostly watch movies on the set and because it is a 4:3 display, it obviously cuts some of the screen. i do watch some tv but when i eventually get a new set i will definately get a widescreen model. if you watch mostly tv, this is a great set to get. if you watch mostly movies, definately spend the extra money and get a widescreen.
Since i don't have progressive scan, i can't comment on that but with my toshiba sd1600 player, i definately notice a little pixelation on the edges of objects (shirt collars, landscape edges) and it is pretty noticeable on titles that are the color red. the opening credits of the dvd "the warriors". it is not glaring but definately noticeable. would be interested if people with progressive scan see the same thing? on smaller things, i don't use the remote because i have a sony all in one, so i can't really comment. the sound is okay, i have piped out to a system.

all in all, a great set for my introduction to home theater. the only thing is i wish i would have bought a wide screen model. happy watching.

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none, but have seen non-hdtv ready big screens and they cannot compare