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 New for 2007 is the Hitachi P50H401 Ultravision® HD1080 (1080i) Plasma HDTV. Also new is the black design with titanium trim which, according to Hitachi, emphases the picture and de-emphasizes the frame. In January, Hitachi announced a price of $2500.00. This price has already dropped below $1500.00 which is a very good price for a 50-inch flat panel plasma. Considering the picture quality, this is one of the best Hitachi HDTVs for the price.
This Hitachi Plasma TV features a 16:9 Standard2 aspect ratio setting
which avoids cropping of pixels from the edges of the screen, allowing
you to see more of the image than other non-1080p panels. Three
SimplayHD™ HDMI input ports accept full 1080p signals from your HD DVD
and Blue-ray players. It is important to note that, despite the HD1080
naming convention, this Hitachi has a 1280 X 1080 resolution which is
not full 1080p. However, it does display a full vertical resolution of
1080-line signals. Another important feature is the three picture setting memories for
each HDMI input. Set-top tuners and high definition players work
differently, and lighting conditions change throughout the day. The
three presets allow to program different settings for each input -
designated as "day," "day dynamic" and "night".
Quick Start Seamless HDTV (ATSC) and NTSC tuner allows for standard
TV and high-definition without a set-top tuner box, and the QAM allows
for digital cable without a cable box.
Connections.
- 3 HDMI SimplayHD™ 1080p Compatible Inputs (Rear/Front)¹: 2/1
- 2 Wideband Component Video Inputs
- S-Video Input
- AV Inputs (Rear/Front): 3/1
- RF Input
- Centre Channel Input
- Optical Digital Audio Output
- Fixed/Variable Audio Output
- MMC Software Update Slot
More features.
- Natural Colour Anti-Reflective Glass Screen
- High-Aperture Pixel Design
- Pure HDTV Blue and Red
- 4-Step Black Enhancement
- Energy Star compliant
- 10-Bit Digital 4MB 3D Y/C Comb Filter
- Fixed table top stand
- Prental locks (Downloadable V-chip)
- On/sleep times
- Closed caption decoder
- Auto link input sensor
- Discrete IR (Infrared Remote) codes
- Multiple picture orbiting options
- PictureMater HD IV video processor (click the image below for more information)
Remote.
Universal remote controls up to four devices other than the TV.
Unfortunately, it does not have a backlight, but it is well organized
with no multi-function buttons. The single input button opens a menu of
input choices instead of being a dedicated input-selection.
Warranty.
One year parts and labor, with in-home service. This is very important. You don't want to ship a 50-inch plasma off for repair.
Weight is 103 lbs. without the stand and 117 lbs. with the stand. Check out the latest user opinions and prices at Amazon.com
Hitachi HDTV reviews and ratings.
Reviewers on Amazon.com gave the P50H401 flat panel plasma a rating of
4 out of 5 stars citing overall great picture and a vast improvement
over Hitachi 720p models.
Cnet reviewers gave it a 7.7 out of 10 rating.
With 5 positive reviews out of 6 total, the Hitachi
P50H401 has an excellent rating among plasmas. In terms of familiarity
with this product, some people commented that they have "used it about
a year", while others have "upgraded to it". When talking about this
plasma TV, people most wanted to discuss its display technology and
picture. The bulk of the user opinions for this product were submitted
one or more months ago. This plasma TV has been compared to those of
Panasonic in some user opinions. With numerous positive opinions and
few negative ones, this product is clearly a winner among our readers.
The Perfect Vision wasn't so kind stating that the menu system is
slow, taking about two seconds for each menu to appear. That may not
sound like much, but it could get very annoying for some of us
impatient channel surfers and gamers. Problems with dark colors have
plagued HDTV televisions for some time. While most new models have
incorporated new technology to solve the problem, this Hitachi HDTV
falls short. This TV does not achieve deep, rich blacks, and outer
space was washed out and flat. Letterbox bars stuck out instead of
disappearing as they do on better performing TVs. Greens and reds also
appeared exaggerated.
On the other hand, whites are very good and TPV magazine saw excellent detail and shadow detail.
The overall quality of this HDTV television is very acceptable. If
you want a big 50-inch plasma for less money, you can't beat a price of
less than $1500.00. Download the full spec sheet here .
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