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User reviews2
accvio 23 August 2008
Good: Decent HD picture
Bad: Unreliable
Comment: Not a bad TV when it works, but the first one I had was replaced after a month due to various problems, and its replacement has now failed after 13 months. Problem appears to be the power supply. Hitachi not interested, of course.
1080pete 22 August 2008
Good: The best thing about this product is you get full 1080p at such good value.
Bad: The frame is probably half an inch too thick but it does not make the screen appear any smaller.
Comment: I have owned a Hitachi L42VP01U now for over six months. I bought it at a high street store for £800 which is astonishing considering the price is still over the £700 mark today.
This LCD TV was chosen by me for use with a PS3 system and I could not be happier with my choice. One thing that does slighty bother me from time to time is the lack of hue or tint adjusment but I feel Hitachi would have given the option to do so if it was necessary. The menu is extremley easy to use and very responsive.
As mentioned in the negative section of the first review any standard definition source does not look as good as it could do but coupled with the PS3 system standard dvds look fine and as good as one would expect.
There are many other ful 1080p LCD's that are better but from what I have found are quite a bit more expensive.
As far as I know there is no picture enhancement feature or engine of any kind but to be honest it delivers on all fronts without such technology thus allowing for its very competetive price.
If you want to see every pixel of your 1080p Ps3 games this will fulfill that request with no trouble at all.
Don't get carried away with the sharpness setting when set on picture option 'Dynamic' I had it all the way up for months then found it looked just as crisp at half way but without the edgeyness (if thats a real word) (which I'm pretty sure it is'nt).
My recommended distance for optimal viewing would be around 10-12 feet but I have been viewing from just over 8 feet and I'am still very impressed with how good it looks close up for such a large screen.
Overall this product offers great value for such quality and proportion. It's design with speakers across the bottom gives a much more stylised look than other LCD's and it's features while not being all that impressive are nothing to dissapoint you either. The performance is very responsive on all counts and very impressive given its relatively low price tag.