Hitachi 42PD8900TA

[jefbut]

Al, getting my 8900 tomorrow. Was it a difficult process to connect the plasma to the stand ? I am getting someone to help me put it together but i was wondering can you do it yourself ?

Cheers Simon

Its easy to do but you will need anotehr person as the damn thing is heavy! I just got an 8800 today and the picture is great!

[betty boop]

Al, getting my 8900 tomorrow. Was it a difficult process to connect the plasma to the stand ? I am getting someone to help me put it together but i was wondering can you do it yourself ?

Cheers Simon

Hi simon my wife helped me, attached the stand and then got plasma up and in position. its best someone helps you. its heavy and large so someone giving you a hand is really needed.

[fattchoi1503559854]

hehe its only the second one because the first went poop !

Ale, you better come clean. Did it go poop??? or did you 'poop' it???... And yes, you certainly earned the bragging rights for being one of the earlier member of the Hit Squad. AND for being so loyal as well by renewing your membership with the 8800...

Cheers.

[Struggo]

Hi simon my wife helped me, attached the stand and then got plasma up and in position. its best someone helps you. its heavy and large so someone giving you a hand is really needed.

Hi AL,

Any info on the popping noise over HDMI on my 8800.

It happens only when you change between the two HDMI (1 or 2) inputs either it be DVD or DTV.

I have a Philips DTR7200 and a Panasonic DVDS97. They both do it.

Cheers

Struggo

[betty boop]

Ale, you better come clean. Did it go poop??? or did you 'poop' it???... And yes, you certainly earned the bragging rights for being one of the earlier member of the Hit Squad. AND for being so loyal as well by renewing your membership with the 8800...

Cheers.

hehe fattchoi, no mate it went poop alright as per the pics.

http://www.dtvforum.info/index.php?showtopic=37312

Just one of those things the hitachi rep said.

Anyway one forum member suggested I give it a dip in a bucket if they just fixed it rather than replace it fortunately they gave me the replacement option hehe

hopefulyl I'm thinkign the 8800 should get me through 3-5 years and I'll be happy enough with that who knows what will be aroudn by that time.

Hi AL,

Any info on the popping noise over HDMI on my 8800.

It happens only when you change between the two HDMI (1 or 2) inputs either it be DVD or DTV.

I have a Philips DTR7200 and a Panasonic DVDS97. They both do it.

Cheers

Struggo

sorry struggo not getting any pop noises so not sure what that is. Though I'm not using both HDMI inputs so somethign someone else will need to check out.

[simonactive]

Hi simon my wife helped me, attached the stand and then got plasma up and in position. its best someone helps you. its heavy and large so someone giving you a hand is really needed.

Al, i am going to use component video cables to my progressive scan dvd player, for the audio should i use the audio out (left & right -red/white) or optical. I do not have an amplifier/receiver or surround sound i will use just the speakers in the 8900 for now.

Cheers Simon

[fattchoi1503559854]

Ale, I have been away for quite a while and missed out on your exciting adventure. I am really glad to learn that it is such a successful experience. I sure am glad I have extended warranty as well.

Cheers.

[simonactive]

Ale, I have been away for quite a while and missed out on your exciting adventure. I am really glad to learn that it is such a successful experience. I sure am glad I have extended warranty as well.

Cheers.

Set up my 8900 today. This set is unbelievable. Running 1080i through the Lg HD PVR using HDMI and what a picture. DVD's through component using progressive scan Pioneer picture is great. Won't be able to sleep tonight i will be playing around for hours. Just a question with the screen wipe do you just leave the factory settings or adjust them

Cheers Simon

[andyl]

Set up my 8900 today. This set is unbelievable. Running 1080i through the Lg HD PVR using HDMI and what a picture. DVD's through component using progressive scan Pioneer picture is great. Won't be able to sleep tonight i will be playing around for hours. Just a question with the screen wipe do you just leave the factory settings or adjust them

Cheers Simon

Congrats Simon!

im not to sure about the screen wip, i left it as is. Is it supposed to do it in the background??

Let me know once you've had a fiddle, what your ideal settign are.

Again, congrats, and enjoy!

Andy

ps... id recommend running from your set top as AUTO. with the high resoloution this screen has, it will pick up a lot of the poor quality broadcast (as well as poor quality dvd). Since ive left it on AUTO, things look much better. I dont mind the borders ever now and again during advertisments!

[fattchoi1503559854]

Set up my 8900 today. This set is unbelievable. Running 1080i through the Lg HD PVR using HDMI and what a picture. DVD's through component using progressive scan Pioneer picture is great. Won't be able to sleep tonight i will be playing around for hours. Just a question with the screen wipe do you just leave the factory settings or adjust them

Cheers Simon

I own the 7800 model so don't know if the screen wipe function is the same. With mine, you would need to activate the screen wipe function. It would then give you a white screen for 60 minutes. The purpose is to help get rid of any image retention. So far, I don't find the need to use it at all as the Hitachi is very good against image retention. And I do watch lots of live cricket with its score card and that Foxtel LIVE logo there all the time. I very much doubt you would need to use it as well. Just make sure you tone down the settings a bit for the first hundred or so hours of use. There is however one useful purpose with the screen wipe. Turn it on and check your screen carefully. If there is any dead/stuck pixel, they will show up clearly. So check at your own peril... And welcome to the Hit Squad...

Cheers.

[simonactive]

I own the 7800 model so don't know if the screen wipe function is the same. With mine, you would need to activate the screen wipe function. It would then give you a white screen for 60 minutes. The purpose is to help get rid of any image retention. So far, I don't find the need to use it at all as the Hitachi is very good against image retention. And I do watch lots of live cricket with its score card and that Foxtel LIVE logo there all the time. I very much doubt you would need to use it as well. Just make sure you tone down the settings a bit for the first hundred or so hours of use. There is however one useful purpose with the screen wipe. Turn it on and check your screen carefully. If there is any dead/stuck pixel, they will show up clearly. So check at your own peril... And welcome to the Hit Squad...

Cheers.

Guys i am just in heaven watching HD 1080i on my new 8900. My girlfriend has never seen such a smile on my face. For anyone thinking of a new plasma this is THE ONE. Can't wait for the weekend there is going to be some serious watching and recording. I have the new HD 1080i LG 160gb PVR hooked up via HDMI and it is unbelievable.

[spacetank]

Do you guys think it would be fair to say that the Hitachis would have the best speakers of any plasma on the market?

I do know that I thoroughly enjoy the sound produced by my Hitachi 7800. Whether watching tv shows or playing dvd, it produce very rich sound with good bass. Sometimes I just didn't bother to use my home theatre system.

[jpcam160581]

Can anyone tell me the number of different inputs available in the 8800 and 8900. Eg. 2 seperate HDMI, 3 AV including 1 S-video etc.

Also if there is an equivalent in the 50" to 55" range?

[Shifta]

Guys i am just in heaven watching HD 1080i on my new 8900. My girlfriend has never seen such a smile on my face. For anyone thinking of a new plasma this is THE ONE. Can't wait for the weekend there is going to be some serious watching and recording. I have the new HD 1080i LG 160gb PVR hooked up via HDMI and it is unbelievable.

Great to hear simonactive......happy for you indeed....

I can't wait to be in your shoes....

Tell us a little bit about the picture, sound etc....is there anything you don't like....

[pjc]

Can anyone tell me the number of different inputs available in the 8800 and 8900. Eg. 2 seperate HDMI, 3 AV including 1 S-video etc.

Also if there is an equivalent in the 50" to 55" range?

Hitachi do a 55" but it is not an ALIS panel. As for the inputs - as you said plus a composite, VGA and side inputs not to mention USB and SD card. Try looking at the manual from this link

Philip

[simonactive]

Great to hear simonactive......happy for you indeed....

I can't wait to be in your shoes....

Tell us a little bit about the picture, sound etc....is there anything you don't like....

The HD picture using HDMI is the best i have ever seen. The sound through the speakers in the plasma are quite remarkable, very impressive as i do not have surround sound. I live in an appartment so the 8900's speakers are fine. All in all i am yet to find a fault and don't think i will. Can't wait to record the footy tonight on my LG HD PVR. Only wish i bought one years ago, but then they wouldn't have been as good as the new 1080i Alis 8900 panel.

Cheers Simon

[betty boop]

The HD picture using HDMI is the best i have ever seen. The sound through the speakers in the plasma are quite remarkable, very impressive as i do not have surround sound. I live in an appartment so the 8900's speakers are fine. All in all i am yet to find a fault and don't think i will. Can't wait to record the footy tonight on my LG HD PVR. Only wish i bought one years ago, but then they wouldn't have been as good as the new 1080i Alis 8900 panel.

Cheers Simon

great to hear simon. sensational the hitachi's indeed

[simonactive]

great to hear simon. sensational the hitachi's indeed

There are so many picture quality settings and adjustments you can make to the 8800/8900 i have fiddled around for days trying to get my favourite look. I find the colours through the HD STB whilst watching a TV broadcast alot brighter than watching a dvd. Does anyone else find this ? What are your favourite picture quality settings Al ?

Enjoying the Hitachi experience

Cheers Simon

[betty boop]

There are so many picture quality settings and adjustments you can make to the 8800/8900 i have fiddled around for days trying to get my favourite look. I find the colours through the HD STB whilst watching a TV broadcast alot brighter than watching a dvd. Does anyone else find this ? What are your favourite picture quality settings Al ?

Enjoying the Hitachi experience

Cheers Simon

depends on your stb and other gear your using with it. I have the teac dvb820 stb and this is what I have

andyl as an option try putting picture mode to natural ?

anyway you'll find as your panel runs in you'll need to keep tweaking.

I'm currently (2 or so weeks old panel)off the top of my head :

pict mode natural

Contrast 0

Brightness +1

Colour -20

Sharpness 0

Tint 0

Colour Temperature : Normal

Contrast Mode : normal

keeping in mind you need to do picture settings for each input and theres no right or wrong, how you like it is a pers pref thing. and settings will change as the phosphors settle down.

prior to that had the colour up a bit higher and same with brightness, with run in as mentioned below adjusted both down. the thx optimiser is good for brightness contrast and colour did by eye.

~

have owned it a few weeks now and with run in noticed had to back colour back from -16 to -20 for natural skin tones and brightness back that back from +5 to 0. still got contrast on zero. very nice !

[BRD]

Im interested in this panel but I'm a little concerned as I want only perfect/stunning PQ. My shortlist includes the new Philips 9831 LCD which appears absolutely perfect, but more expensive.

Can any 8900 owners verify the review comments:

"The 42PD8900TA also performed admirably with Avia test patterns, exhibiting perfect black levels and geometry. This was, however, marred by a skewed out-of-the-box color decoding which favored reds and blues hues. We also picked up flickering during our run of the resolution pattern, which turned out to be an issue for static images rather than moving pictures. "

(from http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/home_av/tvs/0...9900p-3,00.htm)

Is there any problem with flickering on static images? I would appreciate feedback form those with the panel who can test this on a suitable image, perhaps from a HTPC or SD Card?

Thanks

[betty boop]

Im interested in this panel but I'm a little concerned as I want only perfect/stunning PQ. My shortlist includes the new Philips 9831 LCD which appears absolutely perfect, but more expensive.

Can any 8900 owners verify the review comments:

"The 42PD8900TA also performed admirably with Avia test patterns, exhibiting perfect black levels and geometry. This was, however, marred by a skewed out-of-the-box color decoding which favored reds and blues hues. We also picked up flickering during our run of the resolution pattern, which turned out to be an issue for static images rather than moving pictures. "

(from http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/home_av/tvs/0...9900p-3,00.htm)

Is there any problem with flickering on static images? I would appreciate feedback form those with the panel who can test this on a suitable image, perhaps from a HTPC or SD Card?

Thanks

out of box ? ah man thats easily adjusted ! first thign you do when you get the set is get its picture settings off the factory default, goes from garish to very natural. If you want to go more indepth there si every imaginable picture adjsut under the sun. I seem to be getting very natural pics with jsut some simple adjustment. As far as stattic pics. put some 1024x768 or larger professionally taken dig pics on screen via the pic card viewer. I've never seen anythign more stunning. not sure what theyre talkign abotu re flickering.

the philips you mention is seriously overpriced for what it is. its nto even a 1920x1080 panel which is what youd' expect for what it costs. It doesnt even have as much vertical res as the hitachi which I thougth was very suprising. I was a bit put off in the overal llook of the philips too. plus theres been a few mentiones of the pixel plus mumbo doign a few funny things with picture in certain conditions. Anyway spend as much time with the both if you can and pick the one you think is best for your money.

[skin]

From personal experience I have found that Philips TVs look much better on paper than in the flesh so to speak. Don't let the specs fool you, make sure you check out the Philips and Hitachi side-by-side for a propper comparison.

[andyl]

There are so many picture quality settings and adjustments you can make to the 8800/8900 i have fiddled around for days trying to get my favourite look. I find the colours through the HD STB whilst watching a TV broadcast alot brighter than watching a dvd. Does anyone else find this ? What are your favourite picture quality settings Al ?

Enjoying the Hitachi experience

Cheers Simon

Hi Simon, mine is only a week or so older then yours, and i keep getting told PQ will improve once the phosphorous settle down. Ive never been a patient guy so here are the setting thats i use:

Picture Mode : Natural

Contrast: -9

Brightness: +3

Colour: -8

Sharpness: -6

Tint: 0

Colour Temp: Normal

Contrast Mode: Normal

Let me know if you come across anything you prefer.

cheers

Andy

[Felix..]

Im interested in this panel but I'm a little concerned as I want only perfect/stunning PQ. My shortlist includes the new Philips 9831 LCD which appears absolutely perfect, but more expensive.

So much of PQ has also to do with the quality of the underlying source you are viewing. A bit of it has to do with your expectations. The rest of it to do with the display itself, other equipment, your vision and viewing environment.

There is no display device I yet know of that is going to give you perfect/stunning PQ all the time, even most of the time depending on your expectations. In fact once you've seen top notch HDTV it can be hard to accept regular SDTV or watch Foxtel channels which can look fairly ordinary in comparison. One area that the Hitachi 8800/8900 does excel is in displaying native 1080i broadcasts which are indeed stunning but sadly are relatively few and between for now but on the up. How it performs with lower quality source material is probably subject to more debate.

Overall most owners seem to feel the Hitachi is a pretty good all round performer, FTA DTV, DVDs, Xbox 360 etc and they appear to be well pleased with their purchase.

[BRD]

So much of PQ has also to do with the quality of the underlying source you are viewing. A bit of it has to do with your expectations. The rest of it to do with the display itself, other equipment, your vision and viewing environment.

Overall most owners seem to feel the Hitachi is a pretty good all round performer, FTA DTV, DVDs, Xbox 360 etc and they appear to be well pleased with their purchase.

Thanks Felix, thats exactly why this panel is on my shortlist! It would have been the Panasonic but the 60A series cases look crap compared to the last 500A Vieras. I have felt the Pana blacks are noticably blacker, but I cant live with that case.

Re prices, Im struggling to find this panel for a start. So far only at Domayne Penrith, $4100 (down from ticketed $4300) and say they are walking out the door! Yea right. So did I.

So what is the best price I'm likely to buy the 8900 for in Sydney?

Thanks