Inego1503560167 Posted March 2, 2007 Posted March 2, 2007 Before anyone hits me, yes I've searched and yes I've found a couple of refs in the 8900 thread. But they don't really help me..... I'd finally decided on the Pana PV600 (but really wanted a Fuji) - built in tuner for the "babysitter factor" (will get a Toppy 7000PVR when the price is more sensible) and an ever improving price point. But I've always found it cheap looking, although not as bad as the PV60 and would prefer 1080 rather than 768 vertical. I was in Bing Lee this PM and saw the Hitachi PD960DTA - PQ seemed better than Pana (although I didn't play and it was only a SD source) and the thing itself look so much classier, pretty important given its pride of place in the new loungeroom. So, does anyone have any perspectives/PQ of this model yet - especially any potential problems - or am I likely to be the guinea pig? Thanks Kent
GP11 Posted March 2, 2007 Posted March 2, 2007 I found this small thread around page 20 .. not a lot of info but I'm sure there are some owners around here. 960 When I got my 8900 in late Dec 06 the 960 had not long been out... Only for the great sell out price for the 8900 I would have purchased a 960. I saw one the other day and yes... the PQ is right up there with the better Plasmas around, plus it carries all the neat Hitachi features..... pure quality..
Inego1503560167 Posted March 2, 2007 Author Posted March 2, 2007 You're a legend - have to admit that I was also getting an overtired pre-schooler ready for bed last night so not totally focussed on what I was doing. There is a ref. to the Good Gear Guide review, which doesn't seem overall positive, but the Guide doesn't have a pana (60 or 600) review for comparison. Saw it for $2999 sticker but didn't have time for haggling yesterday. I'd still be open to other peoples' views. Regards Kent
woospy Posted April 10, 2007 Posted April 10, 2007 After about 4 months of research and getting prices from different stores, I finally settled on the Hitachi 42PD960DTA. I was initially going to get a Panasonic 42-THPX600A but was impressed late in the game by the image quality, features and overall looks of the 960. I was initially concerned that the unorthodox resolution (1024X1080) was compressing the image (ie making round objects oval) but it was because the display TV was set on a different image mode (you would think that stores would adjust TV's properly for customers to make good decisions. LOL). A friend brought his laptop with him and we managed to connect it very easily to the plasma. We were both amazed that the desktop icons were displayed very clearly (read in another thread that there seemed to be a problem with this). My mate also ran AutoCad to display a drawing and even fired up Hitman BloodMoney and both looked fantastic on-screen. I got it from JB HiFi in Kedron for 2600 including 5yrs warranty, which isnt bad at all (still it is 300$ more expensive than the "soon-to-be runout" PX600A incl 3yrs ext warranty). JB gave me the wrong stand (one for a 50in instead of a 42) so I had to drive back to get the stand from the display TV (they will deliver me a brand new one when they receive their next shipment) and only delaying our excitement to finally set-up the bloody thing! The TV itself was very easy to set up, and even with the factory settings, the image looks very good with FTA and DVDs. Can anyone recommend settings to improve image quality? Speaking of DVD, I also bought a Hitachi HDD/DVD recorder. Tried to connect it to the plasma via HDMI but both ports were returning the "No Sync" message on the screen. But when I connect the unit via component, it worked fine. Is there something I'm doing wrong? Also I've been trying to only use the TV remote control to control the DVD player/recorder but was unable to do so with the instructions provided in the manual. Anyone had similar problems? Cheers W
Inego1503560167 Posted April 10, 2007 Author Posted April 10, 2007 W I did end up getting this unit ($2523, but no extended warranty), and couldn't get HDMI working either. I'm using my Denon 2307 to switch - yes, I know it's not perfect, but a "single cable" was part of the selling point to the finincial controller. Ended up calling someone out from Apollo HiFi. Must have been a rattled brain due to moving house and assembling too much flat pack furniture, but it turned out that I'd plugged into HDMI2 and not the HDMI1 I thought, so little wonder I couldn't get HDMI1 to display. $80 flushed away..... Could be worth double checking your connections, as well as (yes, I know this sounds like suck eggs) your output assignment on the DVDR to ensure you're trying to output HDMI to the correct port...... Anyway, all working well now, got one of Rob's little boxes to fix the Toppy. Only minor fiddling to date with settings, but will probably start with the recs for the 8900 when I get a chance. Kent PS. HD is really good - pity there is only one show I regularly watch being shown in HD.....SD looks great too, except when you do a comparison with HD. PPS was anyone else in Sydney having reception problems, especially on ABC over the weekend? Occasional pixelation, which I assumed was due to the high winds
woospy Posted April 10, 2007 Posted April 10, 2007 Kent, Would it be possible to send out HDMI signal from the DVDR to the TV as well as component? All I would need to do is connect the HMDI cable from the DVDR to the TV and switch between the modes until either of the HDMI ports pick up something. Do I also need to set anything on my DVDR to send out HDMI as opposed to component? Cheers W
Inego1503560167 Posted April 10, 2007 Author Posted April 10, 2007 W I can only assign one full type of output at a time, although some carry a garbled signal if another is selected eg. s-video will get something, even if component is selected. At least it let me access the menus to send what should have been going out. I understand that composite will somtimes work even if a different output is selected. However, my experience was that HDMI showed nothing unless it was correctly selected as the output (and input). My suggestion would be to connect HDMI and something else (perhaps composite) up to the Hitachi, double check the output setting, select HDMI as the output, double check which input you've used (HDMI1 or 2), then select that input and see how you go with the picture. Kent
woospy Posted April 10, 2007 Posted April 10, 2007 I'll give it a go tonight (that is, only if my wife lets me as I'm sure she'll be watching one of her shows!!! )
woospy Posted April 11, 2007 Posted April 11, 2007 I've tried every permutation possible and I still cant get my DVDR to connect to the plasma by HDMI. Help!
Inego1503560167 Posted April 11, 2007 Author Posted April 11, 2007 No further ideas from me - as I admitted above, I paid $80 for someone else to come and discovered my stuff-up..... Kent PS. Waiting on my new Harmony remote to be delovered, let's see what can go wrong there....
Struggo Posted April 11, 2007 Posted April 11, 2007 I've tried every permutation possible and I still cant get my DVDR to connect to the plasma by HDMI. Help! Check in your Hitachi TV menu. You can select each HDMI input to run as AUTO, STB OR DVD. Worth double checking. Good luck
woospy Posted April 11, 2007 Posted April 11, 2007 Check in your Hitachi TV menu. You can select each HDMI input to run as AUTO, STB OR DVD.Worth double checking. Good luck I finally got HDMI to work. I left the component connections between the TV and DVDR and also plugged the HDMI cable. I was able to switch between the two inputs. The image quality difference to my untrained eyes was imperceptible. The only thing I can think of (and I know this sounds silly!!) is that the cheapo JB HDMI cable they threw in as part of the deal could be "directional"... anyway, it works now... Now I have to find a way to be able to control the DVDR with the TV remote... the instructions in the manual didnt help one bit... Thanks guys for your help!
ozanthony Posted April 15, 2007 Posted April 15, 2007 Hi, I recently purchased an Hitachi 42PD960DTA. The first one that came had a dead HD tuner. It was replaced after a couple of weeks. I find that I am having problems with picture in that the light and white colours are way too bright. I have attempted to adjust the various picture settings with no success. 1) Is anyone else having a similar problem? 2) Can anyone recommend a solution or a set of picture settings. Any help is much appreciated.
glee88 Posted April 20, 2007 Posted April 20, 2007 (edited) I've noticed that when turning it on, it takes 20 seconds before the image appears.....and when switching channels, it takes 4 seconds before the image appears....I used my watch to time these figures.. wondering if you guys are also getting this long delay (would be good if some of you could give some timings so I can tell if it's just my screen or across the board) the only other issue I have with this is when I set up my favourites (only to view 7,9,10,abc,sbs) I can't seem to change to each of these channels easily.....I have to: * click on favourites button * scroll to the channel * select the channel * ....wait 4 seconds for the image to appear Is there a way to easily scroll between each channel....if I click on the up/down channel button, it will just scroll through all of the channels that were picked up in my scan. But other than that, the picture quailty is quite good....we've got this in our bedroom and a 50" pioneer in our living room and eventhough the PQ is not as good as the pioneer, it's still quite good..... Edited April 20, 2007 by glee88
Inego1503560167 Posted April 20, 2007 Author Posted April 20, 2007 I still use the toppy most of the time, but I have noticed channel changes take a long time on the internal tuner - what you're saying seems about right. Haven't bothered with the favourites here..... Kent
woospy Posted April 20, 2007 Posted April 20, 2007 it takes about 2 seconds for me to switch between channels.
Struggo Posted April 21, 2007 Posted April 21, 2007 I found this small thread around page 20 .. not a lot of info but I'm sure there are some owners around here.960 When I got my 8900 in late Dec 06 the 960 had not long been out... Only for the great sell out price for the 8900 I would have purchased a 960. I saw one the other day and yes... the PQ is right up there with the better Plasmas around, plus it carries all the neat Hitachi features..... pure quality.. Hey GP11, What did you pick up the 8900 for back then? My local Bing Lee has a display left and the sticker price is $2300. I would have thought $1800 was a fair deal. I haven't haggled with them yet. Cheers Struggo
GP11 Posted May 2, 2007 Posted May 2, 2007 Hey GP11,What did you pick up the 8900 for back then? My local Bing Lee has a display left and the sticker price is $2300. I would have thought $1800 was a fair deal. I haven't haggled with them yet. Cheers Struggo Hey Struggo I've been off line for 3 weeks upgrading to adsl2+ (man what a saga ) and I found this thread on page 9. I paid 2500 incl 5yr warr at JB's Canberra City.. was the last one in a box.. and the 960 had come out that week.. BTW.. I have around 1400 hrs up now.. and this baby (8900) is magic.. Apart from Pio.. it shats on anything in its class.. IMHO.. but I'm biased.. Yeah.. around 2 grand would be about right..
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