Hitachi 511 / 510 Review

Overall Rating

clear pic and really nice cabinet.

reliability of colour.

I have now had three of these televisions and all of them have had the same problem. Its getting to the point where you doubt yourself as the dealer does seem to insult my intelligence.

The colour on this widescreen is not uniform. by this I mean that in the corners and in fact over the whole of the left side of the screen there are colour variations.

I have never yet seen a pure white on this make and model except in the centre of the screen. The dealer is constantly asking if i have speakers around the set which of course i have not.

Secondly, the manual states that the tv will auto select the right picture size - this does not happen. On widescreen, 4:3 16:9 or any other size the tv reverts to the menu default. all this despite the fact that I have a state of the art ariel system and sky digital and dvd transmitting widescreen format along with the appropriate signals.

DO NOT BUY ONE OF THESE TV'S! it will drive you crazy!

Members' Comments onGlyn Williams.'s Review

• Lorcan Parnell. on 2nd Dec 2001

  Thankyou Glyn. I was just about to buy one of these!

• glyn. on 4th Dec 2001

  no probs, buy a panasonic they're on offer in currys at the mo for £599

• Cooksta. on 24th Dec 2001

  I Work for an electrical company,and have been given 1 of these sets, what u say is so tru,the picture is terrible,mainly due to the poor philips CRT they use,and scanning coils,sound is also very poor,and a hum in standby,which is cause Mr Hitachi decided to put an earth strap next to the tube,where a lot of static is produced!good thinking batman..........

• turbo1. on 28th May 2003

  I have a 14 month old hitachi c32w433n-311 ,the picture has always been poor compared with other older tv sets i have ,this is now cured as the tube has failed after 14 months so no bad pictures now ,just no picture .This can be fixed i am told, the tube is £1800 +vat that is more than twice the price of the tv .Hitachi customer don't care aren't interested and neither are commet the suppliers.According to the independent repaires this is a common failure of hitachi tv's after around 14-18 months .So there you have it, a good telly if you only want it to work for 18 months max .My veiw is don't buy one they are cr@p .I have learnt this to my cost .So is there a good telly out there .

• larryb. on 27th Jun 2003

  i must agree i also brought a hitachi 32 inch c32wf532n nutra tv and within 36 months the tv is in the skip, due to the tube which is a Lg tube and not the phillips that is in most of them, has burnt out. Shame as the tv looked really nice, but then at £900 it sould be. Please do not buy one of these tvs as they are nothing but trouble, ps i think you will find most 32in tv are prone to tube faults

• u848237 on 12th Dec 2003

  There is a known fault in Philips tubes due to the ceramic used to hold the guns crumbling. Philips trying to keep this quiet. Just had a Loewe TV tube changed after 3 years.
  
  It is scandalous that Philips are not replacing these foc. Do NOT buy ANY tv with a Philips tube!
  
  Beat up your manufacturer with merchantable quality etc, got the Loewe 28" tube for £140 all in.

• chris breadon on 12th Dec 2007

  i have to disagree with you all.. i have the hitachi p50t01u and its the best tv ive had... i have had 7 previous plasmas whitch was hitachi 9700 i had nothing but problems with this. there was hi pitch whistle sounds from all 3 of them and dead pixels apon arrival. i also tried the lg 42" which i have to say offered such poor picture quality i sent it back. i also had 3 of the hyundia 42" form tesco which was a waste of money and eneded up getting a refund!
  after looking about and keeping in by budget off £1000. i ended up seeing the p50t01u and loved it! ok the black colours dont show up as good as some but its the best ive come across. i also got a good cash deal with currys who was selling it at £1299.99 which i ended up paying only £959.00 with free delievery. i have since been so happy with it and recomend it to anyone who has a set limit to spend.
  i am very sad to see some poor comments about this tv, however go and try it for yourself and im sure some will agree with me.
  with so many scarts/av/hdmi and other ports you wont be stuck for linking up all your other equiptment. i have the hi-fi, video player, dvd player, sky, playstation, sega, and other bits connected and dont have any trouble with it..
  the only thing that bothers me is the lack of menu features that this one has compaired to the 9700. for example when looking at your photos on the 9700 you was able to select a background and a background music however the p50t01u dont. along with a few other options.
  hope that helps other people to decide on weather or not to try this tv.
  
  chris