Hitachi P50H401 user reviews

Pros Inexpensive, 1080 native resolution, great design, simple to setup and use

Cons Should have gone all the way to 1080p

Summary Got this unit on sale for under $2200 at Circuit City after looking at several plasma and LCD models. Very impressive picture clarity due to the higher native resolution. Great sound quality and image control. Although i would have been willing to pay a little extra if they were willing to up the 1080 resolution to 1080p, but oh well. Setup took less than 15 minutes. Remote control looks a little cheap but it is extremely easy to use. Definitely a recommended plasma.

Pros Pixel Shift burn protection, Awesome Picture Great Price Easy Set Up

Cons Need two people kinda heavy

Summary !st off if you have a Video Only around i got this puppy for $1799 a great buy compared to all others.
Introducing the world’s first 50” Plasma with 1.3 megapixels of resolution. 3 HDMI inputs satisfy all your HD connection needs, including a unique front input HDMI for HD cameras and gaming systems.

The Basics
Display type: Plasma
Screen resolution: 1080i (1280 x 1080)
Aspect ratio: 16:9
Tuner type: NTSC, ATSC, QAM
Connection options
HDMI inputs: 3 (2 rear/1 front), Supports 480i/480p/720p/1080i/1080p
Component inputs: 2, supports 480i/480p/720p/1080i

Dimensions
Height: 34.6" with stand
Width: 48.9"
Depth: 16.6" with stand
Features

HD1080: With higher resolution than conventional plasma designs, Hitachi HD1080 models match the number of lines of incoming 1080i video. This match means no vertical scaling of the video needs to be done. The result is a higher resolution image with lifelike detail. Backed by a groundbreaking invention, the proprietary ALiS (Alternate Lighting of Surfaces) technology, it presents a sensory experience unique only to Hitachi.

3 HDMI inputs: 2 HDMI inputs on the back panel provide highest quality connection for permanent AV devices such as a cable box or upconverting DVD player. 1 side HDMI input provides easy connection for high quality portable devices such as camcorders or game systems.

Day and night picture memory settings: Hitachi's exclusive separate day and night picture settings deliver superior image quality for any lighting condition. By simply pressing a button on the remote, or by using the automatic timer, you can toggle between bright daytime settings and high fidelity nighttime settings for each source.

ClearWindow plasma technology: Hitachi plasma TVs are brighter and sharper than conventional plasma displays. Hitachi's patented panel design strips off the unwanted grid pattern that standard plasma TVs have. Visible grid structure on the panel is eliminated by using a unique shared electrode design. The benefit is a clearer and more detailed image.

Pure HDTV color: A special phosphor and gas formulation allows Hitachi plasma TVs to reproduce the full range of HDTV colors. Hitachi strives to deliver the most lifelike images.

Quick Start Seamless Tuner: Tune in to high definition HDTV and standard defintion NTSC channels, as well as QAM digital cable channels. A unique channel management system allows channels to be edited/added/deleted easily.

Optical digital audio output: Many digital TV programs have 5.1 or 7.1-channel surround sound audio. This high quality output allows the passthrough of that digital audio stream to a home theater audio system.

I agree with everything the 1st guy posted except i don't have the grainey problem on normal non-hd channels it always looks pretty great. Xbox 360 is amazing on it playing in 1080i and i also got a upscale dvd player with HDMI that runs in 1080i which is a huge difference then my dvd's i was running on my JVC 36" with Conmonent hook up which looked great then now the picture and sound with hDMI is 4x's as good. This is my first Plasma HD TV and did alot of looking and reseaching other Plasma's and LCD most all other plasmas are more $ and only 720p. This also has the burn in protection pixel shift that happens every 2 minutes and the above reviewer is correct you never notice also nice features is the 3HDMI one in front and the Day Dynamic setting, Day Normal, and Day Night depending on time of day. I found this the overall best deal and has the hard screen unlike the soft ones found on lCD's which can also give you some lag on fast paced action because of the refresh which plasma's do not have. Also this is extremley easy for anyone to set up i am very happy with this set and also going by hitachi great reputation for long lasting quality tv's also for HDTV today's HDTV shows are shown in either 720p or 1080i format: nobody broadcasts in 1080p because of bandwidth issues. But this set does have 1080P HDMI ports Today, vendors rate the life expectancy of high-quality plasma TVs at 60,000 hours. That works out to more than 20 years of use if you watch 8 hours a day, 365 days a year; it's also about the same lifetime claimed for LCDs and CRTs

Pros Great picture, perfect for videogames, unbeatable price

Cons nothing really

Summary I've had this TV since Christmas and my experience with it has been nothing short of spectacular. For the first week and a half I used it mostly to play my Xbox 360 on. It's perfect for videogames, and it was a major step up from my old Samsung 30" HDTV monitor. I don't watch too much TV and I never intended to watch TV programs with this TV. I was just going to use it to play movies on. Until one day, for no real reason as I was just experimenting with the on-screen menu, I tried the "channel scan" feature, which in essence "programmed" the HD channels onto the TV, and I was blown away when I saw for the first time, HD quality broadcast on my screen! I never understood the difference between an HDTV with a built in tuner such as this one and an "HD ready" one. I thought that both types of TV required satellite or cable TV in order to experience HD, except that the "HD ready" TV would still require an external HD tuner on top of the cable box. I was completely wrong. This built in tuner means you can watch HD broadcasts over the air and you'll be treated to an amazing picture.

At any rate, after reading the CNET review, I couldn't believe they were talking about the same TV that's sitting in my living room. The review sounds impressive with all the technical jargon, but if you can understand even half the stuff the reviewer was talking about, you're probably smart enough to have a high paying job that can afford you an HDTV in the $5,000 range. But if you're the average joe like myself on a limited budget, I doubt that you'd find a better 50" plasma than this. I also doubt that you'd have the luxury of being able to compare several HDTV's side by side in a dark theater the way the reviewer was able to, to really verify what he was talking about. All I know for sure is that I've been 100% pleased with the picture quality both for HD broadcasts and for videogames. I don't have the reviewer's technical credentials, but I do have a good pair of eyes that have observed and drooled over several HDTV's in the past and I can attest that this HDTV is great and nowhere near as horrible as CNET's review would have you believe.

Pros great picture on the HD shows

Cons First tv had to be replaced because a vertical row of pixels went out the first week we owned it.

Summary This HD plasma is a beauty to watch, especially on the HD channels. It was one of the more competitively priced over 50 inch models. Circuit City took immediate care of the problem with the first TV, which is what they are supposed to do. I'm keeping my fingers priced that the pixel situation isn't a problem on this one.

Updated
I meant "fingers crossed," not "priced." Sheesh.