Hitachi 50 V 715 review, also...help needed for novice viewers!
Anonymous
Posted on
We just purchased a new Hitachi 50V715 and here is our summary after just a few days: Sharpness, colors, quality with antenna or satellite HD feed is GREAT. For local channels we are using just a regular cheap rabbit ear antenna and the HD quality is awesome. Remote control has cool scrolling button for volume and channel. Picture quality is poor/blurry with regular(non-HD) satellite programs, and the Hitachi person said this is normal ("if you buy a Corvette, you need to drive it like one"). It is so blurry with the non-HD broadcasts that we got a headache trying to watch a basketball game (movement makes the blurry problem worse). The fan is pretty loud and can be heard if the volume is turned low. Help please from any of you experienced home theater owners out there!(we are new to this arena): 1) Our viewing distance (screen to eye) is 11 feet. We got a headache last night watching a car chase scene in an action movie. Is this too short a viewing distance for 50" screen? (We are thinking of trading down to a 42" of same model, but our kids want the 50" and the store salesperson says we'll get used to watching the bigger screen after a while). 2) We are using component cables for the satellite receiver to HDTV input...would HDMI connection help at all with the blurry problem with non-HD satellite broadcast? The Hitachi person says it likely won't help. Thanks in advance!
Dude you must have gotten a bad set because I have regular cable hooked to mine and the picture is far more superb than any regular tube tv. Granted if your signal is a lil fuzzy such as when not viewing high def channels then when your viewing on a 50" screen you just get bigger fuzz and I can see where that would mess with you. The best solution to getting the most HD channels right now that I know of is Voom satelite, they offer 28 HD channels where as the other idiots such as direct and dish and your local cable providers only offer about 5 to 8 channels at this time. Downside it cost about $800.00 to get set up and the monthly is about $40.00 for basic, so theres your corvette. Now anytime you hook a better cable you will get a better reception, so yes they do make a difference but how much a difference depends on where your getting your sinal from. I noticed a difference when I took off the RCA jacks and put an S-Vidieo cable between my DVD and LCD and if I get out and buy myself a progressive scan DVD player with an HDMI connection on the back it will be even better. And as far as your viewing distance is concerned you are in the right amount of range as long as you are watching a DVD or HD signal the distance for a 50" HDTV-capable tv with 4:3 or 16:9 aspect ratio is 10'4" recomendation, no less and 8'3" for a 42" screen, if the picture is not hd quality you need to be 12'5" minimum on your 50" screen. I have yet to hear my fan on my 50v715 but im sure I will notice it now that you pointed it out- hell ill just turn up the sound. Hope I helped because I just got mine to and may need some advice from you later down the road. Kevin
Thanks Kevin, we have HDMI cables ordered and I appreciate your comments. We are finding it nauseating to watch basketball or action films, so I am going today to return the set for a 42 inch version of the same (42V715). We will post our experience with that model. Enjoy!