Hitachi 37LD9700 review

Hitachi 37LD9700 Review

Reviewed by: Rob Gillman

Reviewed on: 28 March 2007

One last feature worth noting is the seven-day electronic programme guide, which works with the Freeview tuner and provides you with information of the next week's worth of programmes.

The unremarkable remote control is fairly well laid out and easy to use

Performance
Colours are brilliantly vibrant and well saturated on this screen, and at the same time transitions from light to dark are handled smoothly and gradually, rather than in off-putting, eye-catching contours. There's a little of this colour-banding in evidence, but we've yet to see a flat screen that can completely eliminate it.

Watching a high-definition version of the Bill Murray movie Broken Flowers on Sky HD, we did notice the screen wasn't able to kill off all the noise caused by Sky's compression techniques, and there was some blockiness in the backgrounds. Cranking up the noise reduction didn't help much, as it softened the picture too much and seemed to create odd lingering trails behind moving objects. A shame, but to be honest we didn't find the noise too annoying anyway.

The response time of the screen is fast enough for it to be used with games too. Even the fastest moving content, such as Pro Evolution Soccer 6 on Xbox 360, zips along without the slightest hint of a blur, and the powerful colour reproduction tends to suit games well too.

Sound quality is of the level you'd expect from a TV in this price range. The under-mounted speakers produce reasonably crisp, clear audio and a satisfactory level of bass when required, but are still no match for a half-decent external sound system. You can actually hook a subwoofer straight up to solve the bass deficiency, as there's a dedicated output at the back.

Conclusion
Both audio and visual performance is strong and this level of performance, along with neat touches like the ultra-wide viewing angle, remotely controlled motorised stand and elegant design, places the 37LD9700 in the top tier of mid-sized flat-panel TVs. You can't go far wrong for the money.

Edited by Jason Jenkins
Additional editing by Nick Hide