Customer Reviews
Don 't Buy This Lemon! 
2008-03-18
I've bought this TV about two years ago and after less than one year it began to have video problems. The problem was intermittent at first but now it is almost constant. The black scenes are blotchy green and other colors are over saturated to the point where the picture becomes a blob of pixels. The TV screen is so hot that watching it in my bedroom during the summertime was not an option, so it really has been lightly used (I have two other bigger TVs.) The response to the remote control is so slow that you often wonder if you hit the right button. Even if I had purchased an extended warranty, I'd still have to cart the thing more than 60 miles to an authorized Hitachi repair center although I live less than 10 miles from a nice size metropolitan area. If I had to say anything nice, I'd say that when it works, the picture is great...but it stopped working after less than 500 hours of actual use...and that's a bit more important.
Satisfied but puzzled 
2007-01-19
I am totally pleased with the Plasma HDTV. I am electronically challenged so I did not set it up at all, the TV deliever people and the Cable company. But I have a question for the owners: I get a 1080i display on the screen that wants a response yes or no when I turn it on or change from HD to digital. If I ignore it it goes away, but there should be a way to answer only once. Anyone know what I should do?
Buyer Beware!! 
2006-05-27
The monitor out jacks on this TV do not output audio signals when the video inputs are high quality (HDMI or component video). Therefore you must buy an additional audio receiver to use external speakers with this TV, if you want HDTV. This is not explained in their product literature, nor is it well known by their distributors. This info appears near the end of their trouble shooting guide, so beware this will be a shock if you're used to hooking up standard TVs.
Uncompromising, as long as the features suit you 2006-04-21
If you are buying HD for a single quality -- i.e., picture quality -- then I'm not sure why you'd go any further after you see the picture on this unit. Unless, of course, you are one of those rare consumers who can see beyond what everyone else sees into some other realm of discernment. Then you might continue your quest for happiness elsewhere.
The look is sleek, high-end no-frills brushed metal deep blue-black. No built in strobe lights, no dashing/slashing/curing chrome strips, no gun ports. Just a discrete reference to the brand.
This TV operates essentially like other TVs. I've installed it as part of a wall-mounted home theater arrangement, with all cabling and external speakers concealed in the walls. So the hookup features of the 42HDS52 were particularly appealing. Everything (a full complement of antenna, set-top-boxes, audio, and video inputs, as well as outputs for external speaker systems) is concealed behind the unit except for a limited set of side inputs -- Input 5 (i.e., one for a USB device like a still camera and another for a composite video/S-video/audio input like a video cam or an iPod) on the left side recessed panel. On the right side is a set of external button switches for operating on/off, volume, channel external to the included remote.
At the time I bought, I really wanted simply a monitor -- no speakers, no tuner(s). I bought the HDS because it had an HDMI input, which I thought was mandatory. Therefore, I've never used the tuner or speakers in this device.
I also haven't used the remote control except for initial setup, so I won't comment on it. I spent some extra dough on a third-party programmable remote. BTW, if you're thinking about an A/V receiver-driven home theater setup for the first time, seriously consider a highly-featured third-party remote. All of the so-called universal remotes that come with your electronic devices will leave you ultimately disappointed. Compounding your frustration will be the inevitable flotilla of remotes on the coffee table. This caution is especially valid if you have someone in your household or extended family of casual users who is in any way daunted by change or technology. If you're technology oriented yourself, you'll end up using your computer to customize the crap out of the programmable remote. Even if you don't take this self-customizing step, you won't regret the purchase of the remote and you'll never go back. End of digression.
The rear panel of the Hitachi is replete with inputs that bring the total to five, including an HDMI hole. My hookup uses only the HDMI input that comes from a big honkin' Denon A/V receiver.
The Hitachi has a number of nice features, including a great picture-in-picture, powered side speakers (I haven't heard them in action), 1080i screen, screen saver, on-screen display, and a slick remotely controlled rotating stand (removable for on-wall installation) that rotates + or - 30 degrees.
However, its main draw is the picture, provided by a gazillion teeny-tiny pixels that help ensure that Hitachi's stellar reputation in plasma screens does not go down in flames with this unit. After five months of living with the Hitachi, my wife and I still marvel aloud when something designed for HD flashes to breathtakingly brilliant life on the screen.
When I took delivery of the device (early January), the street price was about $3K. I've seen it now about 5 months later at less than $2.2K. By the time this review goes online, they could be giving them away. Who knows.
For my money, the best test isn't whether you'd recommend it to a friend. It's whether you'd buy it again. I would.
