Thinking about the Hitachi 57XWX20B...

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  • Greg Stone
    Senior Member
    • Aug 2000
    • 895

    Thinking about the Hitachi 57XWX20B...

    After we move in a couple weeks to the new house, I almost have the wife convinced we need this:

    57" Digital 16:9 HDTV Projection Television 57XWX20B

    The premiere offering from Hitachi, the Director's Series makes a definitive statement in any room, from the elegant black high-gloss finish to the artfully sculpted profile. Hitachi's new Hybrid Wide-Neck CRTs, Super Contrast Lenses, proprietary VirtualHD digital video processor and Deep Black Anti-Reflective screen work in concert to deliver an unparalleled Home Theater experience. The integrated HDTV tuner enables reception of terrestrial and unscrambled cable HDTV signals, eliminating an outboard HDTV tuner. There are digital interfaces for both DVI and IEEE 1394 for use with the latest generation of HDTV set-top boxes.

    Anyone heard anything good or bad about this set? Looks like I can get it with warranty, taxes and delivered for around $3500 to $3600. Just starting to look at buying a bigger set, and this one the wife likes the look of. I liked the picture, even though it was not calibrated perfectly.

    Pros/Cons of getting one with an integrated tuner? Other sets under $3500 I should be looking at?

    Thanks,
    Greg
  • JonMarsh
    Mad Max Moderator
    • Aug 2000
    • 15261

    #2
    It looks like a fine set based on the specs, and it seems quite "future proof" with DVI and Firewire inputs.

    I recall one of the better AV magazines highly praising this or a similar Hitachi model, to the extent that the reviewer bought the review set, (sorry I can't remember which) so the performance, especially after calibration (expect a somewhat bluish picture with red-push in the color decoder) it should be pretty fabulous...

    Good luck with your purchase!

    Regards,

    Jon




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    Comment

    • Uncle Clive
      Former Moderator
      • Jan 2002
      • 919

      #3
      The Set comes Highly recomended, we carry it in our store. Hitachi has done a great job with the SWX, XWX and TWX models. You may find them a bit pricey compared to a Toshiba for instance but the quality of the components used are just great. One thing though, don't rely on the auto Convergence, if you have the time, do it manually or at least by an ISF professional. GOOD LUCK!! Great Pick!!




      CLIVE




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      Comment

      • Kevin P
        Member
        • Aug 2000
        • 10809

        #4
        Hitachi makes nice sets, they tweak up really nice, especially if you take the plunge into service mode to get the convergence and color decoder "just right".

        One quirk I noticed with these sets though, if you use the Avia pattern to adjust sharpness, you'll find that turning it down all the way looks best on the test pattern but it results in an overly soft image when viewing standard material. You may have to kick the sharpness up to about 1/3rd to get the best picture. I think it has to do with the fact that the set upconverts everything (480i/480p) to 1080i. HD should look awesome on this set.

        KJP




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        Comment

        • KS
          Member
          • Jun 2002
          • 43

          #5
          Greg,
          I own an Hitachi 65xwx20b and it really is a good performer. I looked hard and long before I purchased this one but it has allot going for it.

          Now the bad news! If you really want to enjoy the set you need to get an ISF calibration. This is true of all sets but this one even more so. Grey scale will be all over the place and all of the Hitachi's exhibit red push.

          Gregg Lowen did mine, it took over five hours and even my wife was impressed with the results.

          That said Hitachi is one of the very very few manufacturers that makes it's own lenses and most other crucial components. Cabinet construction is so so but that's true of all the sets except maybe the Pioneer Elites.

          If you check back issues, both Stereophile Guide to Home Theater and The Perfect Vision had great reviews on both the 57 & 65 inch sets. If fact in two of the three reviews the reviewer purchased the set.

          Good luck with your new home as I'm sure you will be happy with your new set!

          Ken

          Comment

          • Alan
            Junior Member
            • Nov 2000
            • 2

            #6
            I got my Hitachi 57TWX20B yesterday, which I believe is the same set without the HD tuner. I had a Toshiba TN55X81 which was OK for a 4:3 set, but had some convergence problems on the right corners. The Hitachi is much better out of the box than the Toshiba ever was, and the HD pictures are terrific. At $2280 delivered with a 3 year warranty it was a great deal, especially since the folks at GE service who had the extended warranty on the old Toshiba paid for it. But that's a whole other story of luck...

            I've seen some comments about the Hitachi sets having ghosting and "pastel" colors over on keohi.com but mine seems to be just great. And while there is a fair bit of red push - which I will have fixed after I've had it a month or so - the sharpness and overall clarity are exceptional. Also the anti-reflective coatings on the protector screen are way better than the Toshiba - which matters a lot in my room as during the day I have a window behind the viewing couch.

            Anyway, I recommend it highly, though I think the SVX or TVX are a better deal as good STB boxes are more flexible than the tuner in the XVX and cheaper too.

            Comment

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