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Hitachi 42PD8800TA


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I had a really good look at the Hitachi and Pana at JB's today.  Side by side running HDTV the Pana had a very slight advantage in PQ.

I asked the sales guy about the settings and he said that all sets were out of the box settings. He also agreed that a better PQ may be had with tweaking the Hitachi.

In his opinion however the Pana was the better Panel . He cited chinese parts etc ect for this opinion.

HN retailer offered me a very good price on a Pana500 bundled with a very nice stand approximated to around $3600 for the Pana, probably can't get that for the Hitachi.

I still like tha Hitachi though taking missus back on Sunday to look at stands as this is her department after all it's furniture  :blink:

cheers

Try to set the Hitachi to the cinema pre-set option, the colours are much softer then. I have not tweaked around with the settings too much, as I think this is a good setting for my liking, I do not like too much colour or contrast.

I had a similar view as you in the store about the Pana, but I couldn't be happier now, the hitachi is a nice looking piece of furniture too. If you look carefully at the Pana, dents on the side and the plastic look makes it look a bit cheap, aestetically at least. You should be able to get the Hitachi for under 4 grand, so price ought not to be decisive for you. Good luck in your choice.

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It was Auburn HN yes it was bundled with a $900 stand so reckon they wanted about $3.6/$3.7 for the TV.

But I am pretty sure I will go with the Hitachi it's a better looking unit and I really like the fact that it has a swivel. The Pana is rigid and will need a diferent base to be able to rotate it.

Hey Taido how do the BLACKS look now you have the unit home and running.

Like I said the Pana was only slightly better for PQ and I imagine when at home by itself and not next to a PIO or a PANA which this one was it should look fine.

Anyone know a good furniture joint in Syd so I can get a decent stand.

I want approx 1.8 - 2.0 metres long approx .45 high and only .45 deep knobby had a cpl nice ones but discontinued them . They only have higher and wider ones now .... I told them I though they were nuts with more slimline tv's people will want more narrower tv stands.

cheers

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It was Auburn HN yes it was bundled with a $900 stand so  reckon they wanted about $3.6/$3.7 for the TV.

But I am pretty sure I will go with the Hitachi it's a better looking unit and I really like the fact that it has a swivel. The Pana is rigid and will need a diferent base to be able to rotate it.

Hey Taido how do the BLACKS look now you have the unit home and running.

Like I said the Pana was only slightly better for PQ and I imagine when at home by itself and not next to a PIO or a PANA which this one was it should look fine.

Anyone know a good furniture joint in Syd so I can get a decent stand. 

I want approx 1.8 - 2.0 metres long approx .45 high and only .45 deep knobby had a cpl nice ones but discontinued them . They only have higher and wider ones now .... I told them I though they were nuts with more slimline tv's people will want more narrower tv stands.

cheers

Enforcer, I am no expert, but who needs to be, it is a matter of personal taste and being happy with the deal I guess.

As I said in an earlier post I took it through the ultimate test with SWIII, it was simply jaw-dropping, I did not miss any blacks as I though I would. My concern was that blacks would look a bit grey, but I can guarantee that this is not so. The setting in the shop was pretty crap, default is "Normal" but to my liking that looks like too much colour and contrast.

Tonight, I will give Batman Begins a run, I am confident the Hitachi perform with this one too.

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It was Auburn HN yes it was bundled with a $900 stand so  reckon they wanted about $3.6/$3.7 for the TV.

But I am pretty sure I will go with the Hitachi it's a better looking unit and I really like the fact that it has a swivel. The Pana is rigid and will need a diferent base to be able to rotate it.

Hey Taido how do the BLACKS look now you have the unit home and running.

Like I said the Pana was only slightly better for PQ and I imagine when at home by itself and not next to a PIO or a PANA which this one was it should look fine.

Anyone know a good furniture joint in Syd so I can get a decent stand. 

I want approx 1.8 - 2.0 metres long approx .45 high and only .45 deep knobby had a cpl nice ones but discontinued them . They only have higher and wider ones now .... I told them I though they were nuts with more slimline tv's people will want more narrower tv stands.

cheers

I paid $299 for a pine stand with 6 shelves and 3 compartments to house the amp and other stuff. its 1.7 x 50 deep x 70 high, I looked for months and found this one by luck, saved $400 bucks. I need 50w to sit the centre speaker and fit the Onkyo :blink:

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Ok finally did the deal today for the Hitachi :P

$3900 for the unit from Bing Lee's delivery should be 7-8 days can't wait.

Also got a stand from Fantastic Furniture 1.7 x .48 x .55 it looks good and will compliment our current furniture all in all a happy camper.

The Hitachi gets the nod over the Pana based on the swivel stand mainly and after another look at the 2 side by side the differences were very slight in PQ.

HN said that 3900 was cheaper than they get them for :blink:

cheers

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Ok finally did the deal today for the Hitachi  :D

$3900 for the unit from Bing Lee's delivery should be 7-8 days can't wait.

Also got a stand from Fantastic Furniture 1.7 x .48 x .55  it looks good and will compliment our current furniture all in all a happy camper.

The Hitachi gets the nod over the Pana based on the swivel stand mainly and after another look at the 2 side by side the differences were very slight in PQ.

HN said that 3900 was cheaper than they get them for :blink:

cheers

Congrats on your new Plasma. How can you stand waiting that long though? :0)

If HN says that this is below their cost they are either lying or simply poor negotiators, not being able to get a better deal from Hitachi.

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Congrats on your new Plasma. How can you stand waiting that long though? :0)

If HN says that this is below their cost they are either lying or simply poor negotiators, not being able to get a better deal from Hitachi.

I went out to look at the Hitachi 8800 and could'nt find one on display in 4 shops, might get a look next week, JB had them but were still unpacked. :blink:

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Ok finally did the deal today for the Hitachi  :P

$3900 for the unit from Bing Lee's delivery should be 7-8 days can't wait.

Also got a stand from Fantastic Furniture 1.7 x .48 x .55  it looks good and will compliment our current furniture all in all a happy camper.

The Hitachi gets the nod over the Pana based on the swivel stand mainly and after another look at the 2 side by side the differences were very slight in PQ.

HN said that 3900 was cheaper than they get them for :blink:

cheers

You won't regret your purchase. I just picked mine up this morning. Been tweeking it all afternoon to get the pic the way I like it. Got just about there.

I am very very happy with the Hitachi 8800 and like all the features I have seen sofar. Can't wait to get a HD STB with HDMI output. Currently using a cheapy ebay SD STB)

Congrats on your purchase and let us know how you are going with it and your favourite settings,

Cheers

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Hi Guys

My two year old Hitachi hasd developed and irrepairable vertical black stripe. It looks liek I can replace it under extended warranty.

One question I have about the 8800. How are you connecting it to Foxtel cable? My Foxtel has a Scart connector and it works great. I don't see any sign of Scart on the 8800 specs.

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Hi Guys

My two year old Hitachi hasd developed and irrepairable vertical black stripe. It looks liek I can replace it under extended warranty.

One question I have about the 8800. How are you connecting it to Foxtel cable? My Foxtel has a Scart connector and it works great. I don't see any sign of Scart on the 8800 specs.

There should be a scart to component converter available, I don't know if it would be possible to get a scart to HDMI.

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Hi,

There should be a scart to component converter available, I don't know if it would be possible to get a scart to HDMI.

Like Taido, I am not sure about SCART to HDMI, but you can certainly do SCART to component. One source of custom quality cables appears to be

http://www.htcustomcables.com/home.htm

who are based in Sydney. They talk about the exact SCART to component for FOXTEL and similar use on the above page.

May be worth giving them a call and discussing other option.

Cheers, Oznetman.

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Hi,

Sorry if this is a dumb question but I am sure I will get helpful answers from this forum.

I have been doing a fair bit of reading over the past few months with the view of purchasing a 42" HD Plasma panel (I was thinking LCD but I am not impressed with the contrast, brightness or viewing angles). This is primarily for my parents (both in their late 70s) to replace the aging and failing 16 year old Sony CRT.

I am tossing up between the Pana 500A and the Hitachi 8800TA both of which have got very good reviews from people here. I am leaning towards the Hitachi because it has a better range of inputs and would look more "at home" in my parents lounge room. Thoughts welcome.

I notice it has two HDMI imputs which is very nice and provides "future-proofing" but it is unclear to me if these inputs carry video and audio or just video. The specification sheets says "video". I am hoping they carry both video and audio (which the HDMI standard supports of course) as I want this to be as simple to use as possible for them. For example connect a DVD player via HDMI, select this input and you get sound and vision using the built in speakers (which I know won't be a match for a home theatre system).

Could someone who has an 8800TA let us know if these two HDMI inputs carry video AND audio? I have my fingers crossed for both!

Many thanks, Oznetman.

P.S. I searched for a PDF version of the manual but couldn't find one anywhere to check this myself. Panasonic make it very easy to download their doco!

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Hi,

Sorry if this is a dumb question but I am sure I will get helpful answers from this forum.

I have been doing a fair bit of reading over the past few months with the view of purchasing a 42" HD Plasma panel (I was thinking LCD but I am not impressed with the contrast, brightness or viewing angles).  This is primarily for my parents (both in their late 70s) to replace the aging and failing 16 year old Sony CRT.

I am tossing up between the Pana 500A and the Hitachi 8800TA both of which have got very good reviews from people here.  I am leaning towards the Hitachi because it has a better range of inputs and would look more "at home" in my parents lounge room.  Thoughts welcome.

I notice it has two HDMI imputs which is very nice and provides "future-proofing" but it is unclear to me if these inputs carry video and audio or just video.  The specification sheets says "video".  I am hoping they carry both video and audio (which the HDMI standard supports of course) as I want this to be as simple to use as possible for them.  For example connect a DVD player via HDMI, select this input and you get sound and vision using the built in speakers (which I know won't be a match for a home theatre system).

Could someone who has an 8800TA let us know if these two HDMI inputs carry video AND audio?  I have my fingers crossed for both!

Many thanks, Oznetman.

P.S. I searched for a PDF version of the manual but couldn't find one anywhere to check this myself.  Panasonic make it very easy to download their doco!

The main reason HDMI exists is that it carries sound as well as picture, the idea is to be able to run only one cable to the unit. DVI carries only picture and hence, 2 cables has to be connected to the Plasma if this option is used. The picture quality should be the same between DVI and HDMI from my understanding.

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Hi,

Sorry if this is a dumb question but I am sure I will get helpful answers from this forum.

I have been doing a fair bit of reading over the past few months with the view of purchasing a 42" HD Plasma panel (I was thinking LCD but I am not impressed with the contrast, brightness or viewing angles).  This is primarily for my parents (both in their late 70s) to replace the aging and failing 16 year old Sony CRT.

I am tossing up between the Pana 500A and the Hitachi 8800TA both of which have got very good reviews from people here.  I am leaning towards the Hitachi because it has a better range of inputs and would look more "at home" in my parents lounge room.  Thoughts welcome.

I notice it has two HDMI imputs which is very nice and provides "future-proofing" but it is unclear to me if these inputs carry video and audio or just video.  The specification sheets says "video".  I am hoping they carry both video and audio (which the HDMI standard supports of course) as I want this to be as simple to use as possible for them.  For example connect a DVD player via HDMI, select this input and you get sound and vision using the built in speakers (which I know won't be a match for a home theatre system).

Could someone who has an 8800TA let us know if these two HDMI inputs carry video AND audio?  I have my fingers crossed for both!

Many thanks, Oznetman.

P.S. I searched for a PDF version of the manual but couldn't find one anywhere to check this myself.  Panasonic make it very easy to download their doco!

The Hitachi 8800TA carries all the inputs you need.

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Hi Guys

My two year old Hitachi hasd developed and irrepairable vertical black stripe. It looks liek I can replace it under extended warranty.

One question I have about the 8800. How are you connecting it to Foxtel cable? My Foxtel has a Scart connector and it works great. I don't see any sign of Scart on the 8800 specs.

Foxtel does not yet support HD, only digital.

You are best going for scart from foxtel into component.The picture will be the same.

I wouldnt be worrying about HDMI until foxtel upgrades their STB with HDMI.

The PQ from foxtel despite them being digital can be at times very ordinary.

The only true benefit I see from foxtel digital besides the EPG and Active news and sport is the digital sound.

If you are running an amp with optical input then hook up that with the foxtel box and enjoy the SQ.

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Foxtel does not yet support HD, only digital.

You are best going for scart from foxtel into component.The picture will be the same.

I wouldnt be worrying about HDMI until foxtel upgrades their STB with HDMI.

The PQ from foxtel despite them being digital can be at times very ordinary.

The only true benefit I see from foxtel digital besides the EPG and Active news and sport is the digital sound.

If you are running an amp with optical input then hook up that with the foxtel box and enjoy the SQ.

I have been running Foxtel though my Hitachi 5000 ever since Foxtel Digital started. I was lucky that the 5000 had a Scart connector so was able to get RGB out of Foxtel. I also have the digital audio connected to my receiver.

I was hoping that the 8800 still had a Scart connector but it does not appear to have one. So I will have to get a Scart to Component cable.

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Hi,

Many thanks for the link to the datasheet.

It was the bit after the HDMI input that I was concerned about when it says:

HDMI 1 (Video)

HDMI 2 (Video)

with the second input having a stereo mini-jack which doesn't seem to make sense if the HDMI inputs are carrying audio as well.

Any advice welcome!

Thanks, Shaun.

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I would love to know that too.

Anyone knows???

Hey All,

I am new to forum but have read posts with much interest. I am interested in the Hitachi 8800. Lot of positive comments on it so far. I wish to purchase one soon and wall mount it. Everyone talks about the motorised stand but can anyone tell me if they have wall mounted one and if so what wall mount did they buy and how much was it.

Mark

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Hey All,

          I am new to forum but have read posts with much interest. I am interested in the Hitachi 8800.  Lot of positive comments on it so far.  I wish to purchase one soon and wall mount it.  Everyone talks about the motorised stand but can anyone tell me if they have wall mounted one and if so what wall mount did they buy and how much was it.

Mark

Just checked in the 8800 manual for you. Couldn't find a part number for a wall bracket assembly.

8800 seems to come with motorised swivel stand as standard.

Sorry, can't help more

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Hey All,

          I am new to forum but have read posts with much interest. I am interested in the Hitachi 8800.  Lot of positive comments on it so far.  I wish to purchase one soon and wall mount it.  Everyone talks about the motorised stand but can anyone tell me if they have wall mounted one and if so what wall mount did they buy and how much was it.

Mark

Jaycar have a wall mount bracket with tilt for $169. a lot cheaper than the 400 bucks the dep stores were quoting me.

cheers

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Hey All,

          I am new to forum but have read posts with much interest. I am interested in the Hitachi 8800.  Lot of positive comments on it so far.  I wish to purchase one soon and wall mount it.  Everyone talks about the motorised stand but can anyone tell me if they have wall mounted one and if so what wall mount did they buy and how much was it.

Mark

Jaycar have a wall mount bracket with tilt for $169. a lot cheaper than the 400 bucks the dep stores were quoting me.

cheers

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