Hitachi 42PD8800TA

[BoDGie1503559874]

Hey Peoples,

Well I put a deposit down on my 8800TA today at Clive Peters at Aspley... Got the panel for $2,900 + $460 for 5 yr warranty, bringing the total to $3,360...

That was the cheapest price I could get! JB Hi-Fi, Videopro, Harvey Normal were all around the $3,500 mark still....

Can't wait to get the thing home and setup, though that will be a couple of weeks away as I'm still awaiting other goodies to be put into our new home!

Now, can anbody point me in the right direction for a good STB and also DVD player to utilise the awesome 8800? Any help appreciated...

I only just recently bought my 8800 from Clive Peters at Aspley.. took me a bit to get them down to 3060(+470 for warranty) and then they wouldn't budge (and well no other store was able to beat that price on the spot. HN said they would do it for 3050 but would have to wait for stock)

[betty boop]

guys took delivery of one of these beauties this afternoon and with a bit of help from the wife in the unpacking and lifting in the position, we're now just sitting here looking at it in awe! . Just how well is this thing build.

and Gorgeous ! Gorgeous looks !

the features !, a very nice remote and the power swivel ! hehehe the wife couldnt believe that one ! hehehe

love it !

just bung'd in the picture settings I had from my previos hitachi and straight away very natural lookign pictures, good sound from the speakers and everythign works like it should.

[Struggo]

guys took delivery of one of these beauties this afternoon and with a bit of help from the wife in the unpacking and lifting in the position, we're now just sitting here looking at it in awe! . Just how well is this thing build.

and Gorgeous ! Gorgeous looks !

the features !, a very nice remote and the power swivel ! hehehe the wife couldnt believe that one ! hehehe

love it !

just bung'd in the picture settings I had from my previos hitachi and straight away very natural lookign pictures, good sound from the speakers and everythign works like it should.

Great news Alebonau,

When your ready could you please pass on your picture settings so that I can compare to what I have achieved. I have just followed other forum members at the moment as the kids just can't wait for Dad to fiddle with is new toy.

Also many others have said that is best to run to settings flat until the set has at a 100-200 hours on it.

Is this really important?

How to access the hours menu?

This set is sexy!!!

Cheers

Struggo

[betty boop]

Great news Alebonau,

When your ready could you please pass on your picture settings so that I can compare to what I have achieved. I have just followed other forum members at the moment as the kids just can't wait for Dad to fiddle with is new toy.

Also many others have said that is best to run to settings flat until the set has at a 100-200 hours on it.

Is this really important?

How to access the hours menu?

This set is sexy!!!

Cheers

Struggo

hi struggo,

as mentioned jsut using the basic settings from my previous hitachi.

for DVD - denon 2900

pict mode : Natural

Contrast : 0

Brightness : +2

Colour :-15

Sharpness : 0

Tint : 0

Colour Temp : Normal

for the stb - teac dvb 820 via dvi-hdmi

pict mode : Natural

Contrast : 0

Brightness : +5

Colour :-16

Sharpness : 0

Tint : 0

Colour Temp : Normal

this is jsut for starters and based on my last plasmas experience I'm not going to bother much with setup till after the first 100 hrs or so to give the phosphors a chance to settled down. I'll do a setup with the thx optimiser after that plus with a bit of reference material DVDs and photos to get to my liking.

My picture settings are more to get a natural lookign picture rather than the punchy dynamic factory settings that I find a bit garish.

[Ivalice.]

hi struggo,

as mentioned jsut using the basic settings from my previous hitachi.

for DVD - denon 2900

pict mode : Natural

Contrast : 0

Brightness : +2

Colour :-15

Sharpness : 0

Tint : 0

Colour Temp : Normal

for the stb - teac dvb 820 via dvi-hdmi

pict mode : Natural

Contrast : 0

Brightness : +5

Colour :-16

Sharpness : 0

Tint : 0

Colour Temp : Normal

this is jsut for starters and based on my last plasmas experience I'm not going to bother much with setup till after the first 100 hrs or so to give the phosphors a chance to settled down. I'll do a setup with the thx optimiser after that plus with a bit of reference material DVDs and photos to get to my liking.

My picture settings are more to get a natural lookign picture rather than the punchy dynamic factory settings that I find a bit garish.

Hey alebonau! congratulations on your long anticipated 8800's, it sure was an awe inspiring experience when

I received mine last week, good to hear you have everything organised and the only thing left for you is to

enjoy your new 8800 in its full glory in addition the convenience of swival stand definitely helps the family!

post more details in the future!

cheers Iva

[betty boop]

Hey alebonau! congratulations on your long anticipated 8800's, it sure was an awe inspiring experience when

I received mine last week, good to hear you have everything organised and the only thing left for you is to

enjoy your new 8800 in its full glory in addition the convenience of swival stand definitely helps the family!

post more details in the future!

cheers Iva

thanks Iva, yes really enjoying it. A real quality panel this one and quite a step up from the one before.

[schmick1503560689]

Hey Peoples, is anybody using the new Topfield 7000 HD STB with this Panel? What are the results like?

[Struggo]

Hey Peoples, is anybody using the new Topfield 7000 HD STB with this Panel? What are the results like?

No not me.

But I'm in the same boat as you Schmick. I have looked at a few HD set top boxes and believe the Topfield 7000 HD STB will be great additionas it will automatically adjust the picture output (576p, 576i,720p,1080i) to suit the the TV and/or the broadcast. This should marry will will with the 8800 IMHO.

Cheers

Struggo

PS Read below,

Topfield's First High Definition Product 10/3/2006

Topfield TF7000HT HD Set Top Box available from Early April

Topfield is excited to announce the release of the first of its long awaited and much anticipated High Definition products the TF7000HT HD Set Top Box.

The TF7000HT has a stylish full component style chassis that is sure to be the talking point of you Home Entertainment System and comes in both Black and Silver to fit in with your colour theme, the onboard control buttons and VFD display are concealed behind the front tinted pull down cover giving the Topfield STB a real feel of class and sophistication.

The Topfield TF7000HT incorporates High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI™) technology carrying both Crystal clear pictures and high quality Audio through the one cable*, other outputs include Component (Y,Pb,Pr), RGB (15pin), S-Video, Composite and both Optical and Coaxial Audio outputs. With the Topfield HD STB you can also output HD and SD simultaneously allowing you to connect direct to a VCR or DVD recorder for easy recording, you can even use 2 HD outputs at the same time^ (e.g. HDMI to your LCD and RGB to the projector) with no switching required.

The TF7000HT has an automatic setting for resolution where by the STB will automatically switch to match the transmission resolution (i.e. 1080i, 576p, 576i), alternatively you can set it to match your display and the STB will up convert accordingly.

Topfield Australia are confident that the TF7000HT will ad value to your Home Entertainment experience and will back up Topfield’s ongoing goal of providing seamless and reliable technology.

The TF7000HT will be available in store from the first week of April.

* HDMI Cable sold separately.

^ Y,Pb,Pr and RGB can not be used simultaneously.

http://www.topfield-australia.com.au/news.asp?newsID=29

[Guest clay_tone]

You'll get burn in if you pause a game screen and go to bed for the night, but in reality it's not a problem. I've got the 360 running into my 8800 over component and its simply fantastic. There's an inbuilt screen saver timer in the menu and the xbox 360 itself will dim the screen after a while, so you'll be safe.

I've played countless hours of PGR3 and no sign of speedo/kudos images burning in.

This screen is awesome with the 360, I assure you. Much more 'natural' looking than any LCD.

Hey Samps,

I just purchased the 8800 and have been playing about with the 360 and how it is connected to the plasma. I have tried the VGA connection, but can't seem to settle on a resolution setting from the dashboard. I thought the VGA might be the way to go, as I felt the DVD playback may be improved through the native resolution. However, when playing back true 16:9 video through VGA on the 360, I get a black border of around 1" surrounding the picture.

I would be interested to hear your connection method, and your settings on the Hitachi.

[schmick1503560689]

No not me.

But I'm in the same boat as you Schmick. I have looked at a few HD set top boxes and believe the Topfield 7000 HD STB will be great additionas it will automatically adjust the picture output (576p, 576i,720p,1080i) to suit the the TV and/or the broadcast. This should marry will will with the 8800 IMHO.

Cheers

Struggo

Struggo, this box has been of particular interest to me... Are you anticipating buying one in the near future? What are box are you currently using? I did a bit of shopping over the weekend and noticed that there are several HD boxes available, all at different price points...

Apart from the automatic picture adjustment, is there anything else you particularly favour this box for in lieu of a cheaper option (ie. Teac, etc)?

[Struggo]

Struggo, this box has been of particular interest to me... Are you anticipating buying one in the near future? What are box are you currently using? I did a bit of shopping over the weekend and noticed that there are several HD boxes available, all at different price points...

Apart from the automatic picture adjustment, is there anything else you particularly favour this box for in lieu of a cheaper option (ie. Teac, etc)?

Schmick,

I think this will be the best box for our 8800. It was $469 at Bing Lee the other day.

I'm currently running a Supernet 8000t SD PVR thru s-video. It's alright but nothing special.

I was looking at the Samsung below on ebay. Some forum members have said it is ok.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/SAMSUNG-HIGH-DEFINI...1QQcmdZViewItem

I think I will hold out for the Toppy. Then again I think we should be patient and wait for TF7000PVRt. This will also push the 7000t down in price.

HD PVR Release Delayed…

We regret to inform our current and potential customers that due to some Lengthy delays forecasted by one of our Chipset suppliers Topfield have no option but to put the TF7000PVRt HD PVR production on hold until further notice. We are now considering a plan of attack and will endeavor to keep everyone fully informed on developments as they come to hand. In the mean time please keep an eye on our web site for special announcements on some new an exciting products soon to be added to our award winning range of Digital PVR’s and STB’s.

We would like to thank you for your patience and understanding; we look forward to releasing the Worlds Best and most Advanced Digital PVR as soon as possible

Cheers

Struggo

[sunnyboy]

Guys,

I want to thank everyone for all the info on this thread.....

I bought one of these beauties on the weekend after following this thread closely....

Had a Samsung SD Plasma previously but was bitterly dissapointed with the woeful picture quality....

Luckily was able to convince the wife that we needed a HD set.

Compared it to the latest Panasonic HD set and clearly the Hitachi is a much better looking set as well as I think it has better picture quality when compared side by side.

Got it from Bing Lee at Crossraods, Sydney....

Ask for Troy if anyone is interested....

$3100 including 5 year warranty and delivery....

They price matched to a printed price I had from this forum....

Getting delivery this week...

Cant wait to get it.....

Have had a look at the running in settings posted on this thread....

So will be setting it up hopefully on thursday...

Thanks Again

Sunil.

[drkrac]

hi struggo,

as mentioned jsut using the basic settings from my previous hitachi.

for DVD - denon 2900

pict mode : Natural

Contrast : 0

Brightness : +2

Colour :-15

Sharpness : 0

Tint : 0

Colour Temp : Normal

for the stb - teac dvb 820 via dvi-hdmi

pict mode : Natural

Contrast : 0

Brightness : +5

Colour :-16

Sharpness : 0

Tint : 0

Colour Temp : Normal

this is jsut for starters and based on my last plasmas experience I'm not going to bother much with setup till after the first 100 hrs or so to give the phosphors a chance to settled down. I'll do a setup with the thx optimiser after that plus with a bit of reference material DVDs and photos to get to my liking.

My picture settings are more to get a natural lookign picture rather than the punchy dynamic factory settings that I find a bit garish.

Alebonau I have the same set-top box as you however when i connect it via DVI to my 8800 i find the whites to be really over saturated (news readers wearing white shirts almost hurt my eyes) and black details lacking (shadows in jackets etc). My settings are similar to yours so I was just wondering if you see the same. I don't have that issue when i connect via component at all. I've settled for component to my AVR and then HDMI to the screen.

[betty boop]

Alebonau I have the same set-top box as you however when i connect it via DVI to my 8800 i find the whites to be really over saturated (news readers wearing white shirts almost hurt my eyes) and black details lacking (shadows in jackets etc). My settings are similar to yours so I was just wondering if you see the same. I don't have that issue when i connect via component at all. I've settled for component to my AVR and then HDMI to the screen.

thats intersting dkrac, did you find this with my settings ?. My panel is pretty much fresh out of the box, and with my last panel noticed the phosphors can take a fair old while 100-200 hrs to settle down so dependign where the phophors on yoru panel are you might get different results. the thx optimiser I foudn was a pretty quick and easy was to setup brightness and contrast with cooee anyway. Can then tweak by eye from there.

[samps]

Hey Samps,

I have tried the VGA connection, but can't seem to settle on a resolution setting from the dashboard. I thought the VGA might be the way to go, as I felt the DVD playback may be improved through the native resolution. However, when playing back true 16:9 video through VGA on the 360, I get a black border of around 1" surrounding the picture.

I would be interested to hear your connection method, and your settings on the Hitachi.

I have my xbox 360 running via component/optical into an Onkyo 603 receiver and back out to the Hitachi via component. I believe that the receiver will perform some signal processing of its own to smooth out levels, etc, so it's hard to say whether the settings on my plasma are accurate (since its not receiving a raw signal from the xbox). Regardless, I've got no idea what VGA looks like and I've read that component provides a better picture anyway. I'm running 1080i in the dashboard and I think it looks smoother than 720p.

Hope this helps.

[drkrac]

thats intersting dkrac, did you find this with my settings ?. My panel is pretty much fresh out of the box, and with my last panel noticed the phosphors can take a fair old while 100-200 hrs to settle down so dependign where the phophors on yoru panel are you might get different results. the thx optimiser I foudn was a pretty quick and easy was to setup brightness and contrast with cooee anyway. Can then tweak by eye from there.

Yeah, I've tried all of that AL. Just find that DVI out of the 820 seems to over-saturate. I found that turning the colour way down helps (as you also have) but doesn't change the fact that whites are very bright. I guess turning on the luminance manager might help, but effectively thats the same as adjusting the brightness really. THX optimiser won't help as that's via DVD and I have my DVD player hooked up through component cables. Also I'm surprised you have your brightness up so high, do you not notice bright red dots on your screen whenever there is a black background? (See original post below). I have to have my brightness on no higher than +1 otherwise it bugs the hell out of me.

Red dots on black screen

[betty boop]

Yeah, I've tried all of that AL. Just find that DVI out of the 820 seems to over-saturate. I found that turning the colour way down helps (as you also have) but doesn't change the fact that whites are very bright. I guess turning on the luminance manager might help, but effectively thats the same as adjusting the brightness really. THX optimiser won't help as that's via DVD and I have my DVD player hooked up through component cables. Also I'm surprised you have your brightness up so high, do you not notice bright red dots on your screen whenever there is a black background? (See original post below). I have to have my brightness on no higher than +1 otherwise it bugs the hell out of me.

Red dots on black screen

hi dkrac,

a lot of it depends how many hours you have up on the screen and mine is still pretty fresh. Also some things are personal preference. you might like it one way someone else another. best for you to tweak to get it as you like it.

I was actualyl suprised how close the thx optimiser got me with my dvd player to what I liked and sjut needed a touch of tweaking for the stb to get that sorted as well. ofcourse the dvd player I have is probably different to yours. Also for stb to finalise the stb setup I also did use a professionally taken digital photo that I have and put that onscreen. and compare with a printout in the hand to check. Again jsut to check against ome sort of reference as to how well its setup for naturalness.

Ofcourse if you want ot take things further you can always buy a spider thingy($350?) as some have done to self calibrate. Or get a professional calibration done $300-$400 from the likes of avical lukevdc etc. All depends how important all this kind of stuff is to you.

One other thing not sure off. I remember teac with the dvb400 havign some luminance issues where news readers white shirts etc would be too bright hope this isnt an issue your havign with yoru box. It was a factory fix and the dvb400 interestingly never had the same troubles via scart and hence not somethign ever bothered me.

[drkrac]

Thanks Al. Not sure you're getting my point though. When I hook up my STB via component eveything is beautiful (and callibration via DVD is good enough to use for the STB as well), it's only when I switch the STB to DVI-HDMI out that I notice any difference. The other thing is once you are using HDMI, a great number of the callibration options on the Panel (contrast, sharpness etc) make little or no difference to the image (makes sense cause it's a digital signal, right?).

Interesting to see a history of overly bright whites from the TEAC STB's, might look to see if this is an on-going problem with anyone else.

Not that much of this is really an issue because I think I prefer the ouptut from component cable.

BTW has anyone else noticed that "The Office" on 10 on Sunday nights has a GREAT HD picture, possibly the best I've seen on free to air.

[betty boop]

Thanks Al. Not sure you're getting my point though. When I hook up my STB via component eveything is beautiful (and callibration via DVD is good enough to use for the STB as well), it's only when I switch the STB to DVI-HDMI out that I notice any difference. The other thing is once you are using HDMI, a great number of the callibration options on the Panel (contrast, sharpness etc) make little or no difference to the image (makes sense cause it's a digital signal, right?).

Interesting to see a history of overly bright whites from the TEAC STB's, might look to see if this is an on-going problem with anyone else.

Not that much of this is really an issue because I think I prefer the ouptut from component cable.

BTW has anyone else noticed that "The Office" on 10 on Sunday nights has a GREAT HD picture, possibly the best I've seen on free to air.

Hi dkrac,

No didn’t realise you were saying that the colour settings via component seem fine and its only via dvi/hdmi that your having the white out issue. How have you got the output of the teac stb set. Rgb( dvi digital) and format to auto ? I find on mine turning down the contrast made quite a big difference. not noticed the white-out or red dots either to be honest - maybe somethign I need to look a bit closer at ?

Also wonder if this is a dvi/hdmi converter issue – some have integrated into the cble connectors, remember someone saying that there can be colour space issues with going from dvi to hdmi. I’m just using a standard dvi-d cable from jaycar with the monster dvi/hdmi converter which I bought off a friend a couple of years? Ago.

How old is the dvb820 you have ? if still pretty new might be worth taking back instore where you got it from and checking out with another Hitachi display and maybe worth trying with another box/cable to see if any differences.

And also how old is your panel ? you never know once I clock up some hours on mine it might start doing the same as yours ?

[andym]

Can someone please comment on how well this plasma handles SD material, say in comparison to the panasonic plasma PV60A. I'm seriously looking at this panel, but initially I will be feeding it with my toppy SD PVR. That is until the HD PVR market hopefully sorts itself out.

Most shops I have seen have it connected to an HD box or animated DVD so hard to get a feel. It would be good to get an idea from you guys in the real world how it handles.

[samps]

Can someone please comment on how well this plasma handles SD material, say in comparison to the panasonic plasma PV60A. I'm seriously looking at this panel, but initially I will be feeding it with my toppy SD PVR. That is until the HD PVR market hopefully sorts itself out.

Most shops I have seen have it connected to an HD box or animated DVD so hard to get a feel. It would be good to get an idea from you guys in the real world how it handles.

I can't compare against the Pana, but as others have noticed, these ALiS panels "dither" the SD material to smooth out the artifacts. This is normally not a problem unless you're closer than about 1.5m and in fact it doesn't always use this method. Perhaps someone else can explain it better, but as far as I'm concerned SD material looks fine.

[drkrac]

Good to know we are on the same page now Al .

My STB is about 6 months old so chances of new for old swap not so good. I don't think it is cable related as there is still an issue when i use component from the STB into my AVR and then HDMI from the AVR to the screen. My panel is also about 6 months old, but I noticed the issue pretty much straight away. Might play with a few more settings on the screen and see what happens. Like i said, it's not a huge issue, but most noticeable on news presenters and the like.

[pjc]

Can someone please comment on how well this plasma handles SD material, say in comparison to the panasonic plasma PV60A. I'm seriously looking at this panel, but initially I will be feeding it with my toppy SD PVR. That is until the HD PVR market hopefully sorts itself out.

Most shops I have seen have it connected to an HD box or animated DVD so hard to get a feel. It would be good to get an idea from you guys in the real world how it handles.

I watched "Planet Earth" in SD becaused I misssed thre start so had to watch it on the PVR. It still looked amazing!!. I watch a fair bit of stuff in SD as I too only have SD PVR and it is still a lovely picture.

Philip

[andym]

I watched "Planet Earth" in SD becaused I misssed thre start so had to watch it on the PVR. It still looked amazing!!. I watch a fair bit of stuff in SD as I too only have SD PVR and it is still a lovely picture.

Philip

Thanks for that

and you too samps

[Struggo]

Guys,

I'm after a wall mounting kit. What is a decent after market brand?

Hitachi have one for my 8800 going for $399.

http://aus.hitachi.com.au/hitachi/preview/...cts.asp?ID=1805

Cheers

Struggo