Hitachi 42PD8800TA

[beanbag]

got mine from jb hi fi mac square in campbelltown,went in there asked him for the best price on the set then as he said ill go check said i can get it for $3900 elsewhere,came backsaid yes he could do that,then went onto cables he told me they wouldnt take anymore than 30% off came back witha figure of 4150 or some thing i said ill take it for 4100 come back he said he couldnt go any lower but i was happy with the price so i said ok and by the way i want interest free.the companys get charge for interest free so depending on how long you do it for is how much they charge you, 3 months is nothing, 6 m is like 4% ,12months 8%,24is about 10%,i got 6 months interest free but they only charge the 4% on the set not the whole purchase ,which worked out fine for me. jb i found to be the cheapest and easiest to get down HN does nothing soon as IF comes up max price

[belman]

Thats a good deal. Very close to going with the 8800. Just wondering if anyone has any views on likelihood of prices coming down post xmas and if so will supply of units be an issue? Have been quoted $4300 for one incl extended warranty and delivery. Also 12mnths interest free from Bing Lee. Also what would be a good STB for the 8800?

[BigBuddha1503560335]

Hi to everybody in this Forum and especially ppl in this Topic.

I have been looking at upgrading from my 68 CM CRT to a plasma for some time now, and after having come across this topic in the forum and reading through all of the posts, I have today gone and purchased one for myself.

I am running a HTPC so I will probably use the VGA input on the screen or get a DVI to HDMI cable as my video card (ATI X800 PRO 256MB) has a DVI output. Audio is handled separately so is not relevant.

I was wondering if anybody else is running a HTPC with this screen and if so, what res do you set your video card at to get a good widescreen resolution? I am using MediaPortal on top of XP Home SP2 and would really like to hear from anybody with a similar setup to get any suggestions etc.

Thanks,

[StarDrifter]

Does anyone know why the quoted contrast ratio of the Hitachi 55 is so low - 1000:1 compared to 3000:1 of other manufacturers.

What I don't get is that the 42" model is quoted at 3000:1 .... so why is the 55" 3 times lower in contrast ratio???

Also, I have noticed on the specs of the 42" it says "ALIS PANEL" but on the 55" it doesn't say it.

This probably means that the 55" has 1366x768 physical pixels rather than 2 being addressed together like the 1024x1024 of the 42" - can someone comment?

[helldiver]

G'day folks.

Just bought the Hitachi 42PD8800TA today (29/12/2005).

Excellent price - $3500, including free delivery, no conditions, and payed with Credit Card. No STB - I intend to use HTPC.

Bought it from Homezone Digital (a.k.a. Retravision) at the Moore Park SupaCentre in Sydney.

The staff were great, and that was one of the attractions (did I mention the price! ). They let me audition DVDs , SD and HDTV, adjust any setting I wanted to and do side-by-side comparison with the other main contender, the Panasonic TH-42PV500A.

In the end, though there were trade-offs for both models, I settled on the Hitachi for it's overall cinema-like rendition of picture, particularly colours both in terms of richness and natural tones. It's the one that looked, overall, the most like a 70mm film at the cinema, and that was my main method of comparison as it suits my watching habits.

IMHO, the Panasonic had better blacks and a more dynamic, 'sharper' picture giving it great spacial depth, but it looked more cold and clinical (like a computer monitor, or when an amateur video has been directly shot to digital tape) and couldn't quite display skin tones (in films) as I believed the film maker had intended - e.g., in scenes when characters were obviously warm, and all other colours in the scenery were right, the skin tones looked a bit palid, as though the characters were cold. Conversely, watching the cricket in bright sunlight, the shadow contrast under a player's helmet compared to the sunlit portions of the face and shirt is better on the Pana. Not that the Hitachi looses detail - it just doesn't quite have as strong a black.

The Hitachi has technically superior resolution, and in some scenes with rapid movement, the Hitachi does seem to have a slight performance edge in terms of the smoothness of rendition. I was sure I noticed more jagged edges on the Pana. I also was very impressed with the range of inputs on the Hitachi - it meets all my current and planned future needs.

The clinching factor was that after I'd set up both as best I could, the Hitachi looked most like the PQ at the cinema and the screen most likely to satisfy my movie-watching habit.

Happy shopping.

HDfan

[Billy Two Hats]

Good post HDfan, and I hope you will be very happy with it.

Also sounds like the best price so far and matches the price of the panna.

[JandG]

G'day folks.

Just bought the Hitachi 42PD8800TA today (29/12/2005).

Excellent price - $3500, including free delivery, no conditions, and payed with Credit Card. No STB - I intend to use HTPC.

Bought it from Homezone Digital (a.k.a. Retravision) at the Moore Park SupaCentre in Sydney.

The staff were great, and that was one of the attractions (did I mention the price! ). They let me audition DVDs , SD and HDTV, adjust any setting I wanted to and do side-by-side comparison with the other main contender, the Panasonic TH-42PV500A.

In the end, though there were trade-offs for both models, I settled on the Hitachi for it's overall cinema-like rendition of picture, particularly colours both in terms of richness and natural tones. It's the one that looked, overall, the most like a 70mm film at the cinema, and that was my main method of comparison as it suits my watching habits.

IMHO, the Panasonic had better blacks and a more dynamic, 'sharper' picture giving it great spacial depth, but it looked more cold and clinical (like a computer monitor, or when an amateur video has been directly shot to digital tape) and couldn't quite display skin tones (in films) as I believed the film maker had intended - e.g., in scenes when characters were obviously warm, and all other colours in the scenery were right, the skin tones looked a bit palid, as though the characters were cold. Conversely, watching the cricket in bright sunlight, the shadow contrast under a player's helmet compared to the sunlit portions of the face and shirt is better on the Pana. Not that the Hitachi looses detail - it just doesn't quite have as strong a black.

The Hitachi has technically superior resolution, and in some scenes with rapid movement, the Hitachi does seem to have a slight performance edge in terms of the smoothness of rendition. I was sure I noticed more jagged edges on the Pana. I also was very impressed with the range of inputs on the Hitachi - it meets all my current and planned future needs.

The clinching factor was that after I'd set up both as best I could, the Hitachi looked most like the PQ at the cinema and the screen most likely to satisfy my movie-watching habit.

Happy shopping.

HDfan

That is a great price for a great Plasma. I got the same model now for 7 weeks almost and I hope you may enjoy yours as much as we have. Don't hesitate to tweak colours etc to your liking.

It's a great plasma for us so far and a game of cricket shows up fantastic.

Hope you may enjoy

Cheers

[msbc]

After reading this forum for a while I decided to go for the 8800. Purchased today at HN at QV in Melbourne with 4 year ext warranty on 24 months intrest free for $3900.

[BlackMagic]

I'm also looking at getting one of these plasmas in the next week or so, the price drops have made it even more appealing if it needed to be.

Just a question regarding the HD STB's people are using with these panels, are most people using HDMI STB's for these TV's and if you are not is that wasteful? I ask as there doesnt appear to be much choice with HDMI STB's either the sony and the toshiba, sony is around 500-600$ do they really make a big difference compared to normal component STB's ~$300, would be interested in other peoples thoughts.

[Peter D]

Functionally, there is no difference between HDMI and DVI plus digital audio. I have a Teac STB and use my receiver for sound. So, I have DVI to HDMI cable to the plasma, and a digital audio connection to my receiver.

[Billy Two Hats]

Functionally, there is no difference between HDMI and DVI plus digital audio. I have a Teac STB and use my receiver for sound. So, I have DVI to HDMI cable to the plasma, and a digital audio connection to my receiver.

I always seem to get someone shoot me down in flames whenever I suggest DVI is not the same as HDMI.

But here goes. DVI is the only connection I know of that restricts the signal to 8 bits. If you have a 10 bit display and a 10 bit dvd player, (not sure if you can get a 10 bit stb) you would be made to use dvi, hd component would even be better.

IMHO

[BigBuddha1503560335]

It's a great plasma for us so far and a game of cricket shows up fantastic.

Speaking of the cricket .... I was reading in my manual when I purchased an 8800 a couple of weeks ago about plasma screen burn in from stationary images displayed on the screen. I was concerned about watching the cricket because of the green score rectangle located in the upper left hand corner of the screen, and was worried that something like this might burn a permanent image into the screen.

Now there's not much that I like more than watching the cricket so if people could give me their opinion on the issue I would appreciate it.

Thanks

[yoink]

Speaking of the cricket .... I was reading in my manual when I purchased an 8800 a couple of weeks ago about plasma screen burn in from stationary images displayed on the screen. I was concerned about watching the cricket because of the green score rectangle located in the upper left hand corner of the screen, and was worried that something like this might burn a permanent image into the screen.

Now there's not much that I like more than watching the cricket so if people could give me their opinion on the issue I would appreciate it.

Thanks

Good question. I got my 8800 delivered today and spent all day (well, until the Aussies won) watching the excellent HD broadcast. Took a bit of fiddling to get the green of the ground to look reasonable, but once that was sorted, was very happy with the PQ.

But as to your question....no ideas here...

[SJM_1519]

Good question. I got my 8800 delivered today and spent all day (well, until the Aussies won) watching the excellent HD broadcast. Took a bit of fiddling to get the green of the ground to look reasonable, but once that was sorted, was very happy with the PQ.

But as to your question....no ideas here...

Good question . . . I am also the very happy owner of an 8800 - I guess there is enough interruption in the cricket - i.e. ads, special graphics etc. for it not to be too much of a problem. I would be surprised if burn-in was an issue, considering the advancements in plasma technology

BTW, I am using a DSE HD STB with component connections (saving up for a HDMI STB) and am very impressed with PQ . . . don't see how HDMI could get that much better . . .

[StarDrifter]

Good question . . . I am also the very happy owner of an 8800 - I guess there is enough interruption in the cricket - i.e. ads, special graphics etc. for it not to be too much of a problem. I would be surprised if burn-in was an issue, considering the advancements in plasma technology

BTW, I am using a DSE HD STB with component connections (saving up for a HDMI STB) and am very impressed with PQ . . . don't see how HDMI could get that much better . . .

If you've already got a HD STB and it's working well and you're happy with the PQ - I really don't think it is worth spending $600 on one with HDMI - currently there's 2 I think - the Sony and the Toshiba.

The improvement in PQ won't be a great deal from your HD STB thru component and a lot of people probably can't even tell.

I would suggest putting your money towards maybe a dvd recorder or surround system if you don't have one yet.

As HDMI becomes the norm these things will only get cheaper.

I remember buying my first dvd player from hong kong 5 years ago which cost me $650 (they were retailing for $1000 in Australia). Now a good brand name one with all the features of mp3/divx etc can be had for under $200

At the end of the day, a STB is basically just a tuner and not worth $600 IMHO

[JandG]

Speaking of the cricket .... I was reading in my manual when I purchased an 8800 a couple of weeks ago about plasma screen burn in from stationary images displayed on the screen. I was concerned about watching the cricket because of the green score rectangle located in the upper left hand corner of the screen, and was worried that something like this might burn a permanent image into the screen.

Now there's not much that I like more than watching the cricket so if people could give me their opinion on the issue I would appreciate it.

Thanks

I have watched heaps of cricket on my Hitachi 8800 over the last 8 weeks and have had no problems at all.

I got a shock one day though when I had the STB tuned to chan 9 and pressed the button for teletext. You get the black square because chan 9 does not transmit teletext. But in the black square you can see images of what was there previously. Nothing to worry about though, it all disappears very rapidly or you can use the white wash thingy to clean as well.

Also set the 8800 up for screensaver=on, screenwipe, black side panels=off, Luminance manager=on, video saver mode=on

Also when the set is new use lower settings for say 100hrs of initial usage of the plasma.

Cheers

[BlackMagic]

Ok given you werent going to purchase the Sony HDMI HDSTB, what other HD STB's work well with this panel. Alot of people have mentioned the Strong 5400, any others people recommend? and what kind of price would you be looking at.

[BlackMagic]

*Bump*

Just interested on some more thoughts about the best HDSTB to get with this panel, seems harder then choosing the actual panel!

Cheers.

[Thudd1503560234]

Rick Hart O'Conner in Perth had the 8800 ticketed for $3450; that was Dec 31. I believe the sale goes for a couple for weeks yet but don't take my word for that

[ozjod]

I picked the 8800 up on the 31st from Domayne for $3495.

Now it's home, I like it even better than I did when I was looking at it in the shops.

[BlackMagic]

Finaly got around to buying one of these puppies today from Bing Lee ticketed at $3450, got it for ~3300. Ended up getting the LG5100 HDSTB hope it all works well looking forward to getting it all setup, deliver at end of the week.

[Ohboy]

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.

Hi Shaun,

If your question has not been answered to date, then the reason for the mini jack for audio next to the HMDI socket is (and it's been well thought out too) If you only have DVI out of your STB or whatever, you can get a DVI to HDMI cable, and use that for the VIDEO and run a mini jack to RCA from your STB FOR THE AUDIO.

Works well for me as I have DVI only on my STB

Cheers

[pbwhi0]

Finaly got around to buying one of these puppies today from Bing Lee ticketed at $3450, got it for ~3300. Ended up getting the LG5100 HDSTB hope it all works well looking forward to getting it all setup, deliver at end of the week.

BlackMagic - I have also finally taken the plunge and purchased the 8800 with the LG5100 HDSTD from a local Brisbane store. They also included a 1.0 metre HDMI cable (with HDMI/DVI adapter), a 1.5 metre Component cable (for my DVD player) and a screen cleaning kit. All for $4,000. Should be here early next week at the latest. Can't wait as the current display device is a 68cm CRT bought from BigW for $299 a year or so ago.

Cheers, Paul

[RXV3000]

Hey Guys,

Well after realising that I will be unable to install a projector in my new HT I've decided to bight the bullet and get a plasma I've been travelling all over the country side the last 2 days and have narrowed it down to 3! The Fuji 42" HD, Pana 42" 500A or the Hitachi 42" 8800TA.

So currently in a bidding war between two of the big stores at the moment, can get the Hitachi for $ 3770 on 2 years interest free, or the Pana for $ 3800, the Fuji looks like it is going to be out my price range , best I can do for it is $5100 no interest free. I'm leaning towards the hitachi, so after your thoughts on the prices, and opinions on the Hitachi from those who have them.

Cheers,

Jas.

[BlackMagic]

As stated above i got mine for ~3300 Bing Lee sydney. Bing Lee seems to have good prices on these should be able to get it for between 3300-3450 easily, this was not 24mths interest free, but was able to use amex gold which doubles the 12mnth warranty to make it 2 yrs. otherwise you are up for about ~480 extended 5 yr warranty.