Digital Trends

Hitachi 57S700

August 30th, 2004 | by Dennis Barker

Hitachi has long been considered a progressive and innovative television company.  It now looks to embrace the future of television by offering a complete line of widescreen high definition televisions designed to take full advantage of the burgeoning HD signals.  All of their new sets — both rear projection and plasma -- fall into the categories of HDTV Monitors (requiring a separate stand-alone ASTC tuner in the form of a set-top box [STB]) or fully integrated High Definition TVs.  It was also the first manufacturer to integrate Cable HD QAM tuners into their integrated HDTV sets allowing for the reception of “in-the-clear” high definition signals.  The set reviewed below is a fully integrated HDTV.

Introduction

Hitachi‘s UltraVision Digital 57S700 television is a 57-in. widescreen integrated HDTV model.  While including twin NTSC tuners and an integrated ATSC tuner (for over-the-air HD broadcasts), this model also includes a QAM cable tuner that allows it to receive unscrambled HD signals from your local cable provider (without using a set-top box).  This impressive HDTV set utilizes three 7-in. wide neck HD Hybrid CRTs w/5-element super contrast lenses, and a first surface mirror for better image clarity and resolution.  The set features a new high-contrast 0.52mm fine pitch screen and a deep black anti-reflective shield (tinted plastic screen), which combined together helps image contrast greatly making blacks blacker and whites whiter.  As well, the set includes an ambient light sensor (called Perfect Picture) that automatically adjusts brightness and contrast depending on room light.  Of course, you can turn it off, if you like, or use one of the set's pre-set viewing modes.  To improve overall picture clarity, red and green color purity filters are employed with the HD wide-neck hybrid CRTs for better color resolution.

Unlike other brands, Hitachi includes a Dolby Digital 5.1 surround decoder and Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo down mix solution built-in for aural processing.  Other aural processing includes SRS Surround Sound, BBE Sound Enhancement, and BBE Mach3 Bass Enhancement.  The 57S700 features an internal 24-watt 2-way Bass Reflex speaker system.  Convenience features include dual tuner Picture-in-Picture called ‘Picture Window.'   As well, there is simple to use and intuitive on-screen menus and displays in three languages (English, French & Spanish).

Hitachi's 57S700 HDTV Rear Projection Television