Digital Trends

Hitachi 60VX915 December 12th, 2004 | by Dennis Barker

Of course in the evaluation of any next-generation television, you need to attach a progressive scan DVD player to display the best possible visual images from a video source component.  For this evaluation, I used the Marantz DV-8400 (using DVI to HDMI connections with Tributaries HDMIDVI-20B cables) with various types of program material from animation to action special effects-laden films.  The images reproduced on the 60VX915 were quite spectacular as well, especially with recent “blockbuster” movies like Shrek 2, Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - Special Edition, or I, Robot.  Animated classics like Beauty & the Beast - Special Edition, or Mary Poppins - 40^th Anniversary Ed. looked simply stunning; and musicals like the That's Entertainment Collection are also very telling.  Other films like Van Helsing and The Chronicles of Riddick for example, are perfect films to not put on a Micro-Display HDTV because these types of displays have trouble with black and dark scenes, unlike the 60VX915. The images were very, very film-like in their presentation looking almost as good as those films broadcast on either HBO-HD or Showtime-HD channels from DirecTV.  The bottom line was that the displayed DVD images were especially compelling and life-like with dark areas of the screen not washed out or looking gray.

I've become fond of the Aquaria disk (from Pioneer Digital World) recently that offers different views of aquariums plus offers Gray Scale, Color Bar charts and Test Patterns as a change of pace.  It more clearly showed me, and reinforced my “gut” feeling that all of the colors (as displayed on the Color Bar chart) were true with no bleeding from one color to another. Here again, with the 60VX915 the charts were right on target without any jittery motion, artifacts, or herringbone effect that can sometimes be present in static images.   On the Color Bar chart, for example, the separation line between colors sometimes can be jagged on many interlaced sets, or ones with inferior comb filters.  This was not the case with the 60VX915 thanks to its 4MB 3D-Y/C comb filter. 

As well, I put on the new Silicon Optix's HQV Benchmark Ver.1.2 test disc, which adds various tests including those for “jaggies.”  Essentially, “jaggies” are produced if a display cannot properly lock onto an image, and the image blurs slightly.  Good examples are how the viewing stands look as a speeding race car drives by or the American flag blows in the breeze.  I am happy to report that the Hitachi 60VX915 performed much better than average here also.

Conclusion

Lastly, I have to say that the images were amazing.  Going into this review, I had not been a fan of rear projection LCD.  In fact, I think that for the most part it is inferior to other Micro-Display technologies.  The examples from other manufacturers are dim at best with poor contrast and terrible brightness levels.  So, to say that I was pleasantly surprised by Hitachi's achievement is an understatement.  Clearly, Hitachi knows how to exploit this technology to its utmost, and I applaud them for it.  I am happy to report that the images displayed were among the best presently available from any HDTV manufacturer. 

So, if you want to experience true High Definition television and watch DVD movies featuring sharp and crisp color images, look no further than the Hitachi 60VX915.  Hitachi's HDTV sets offer the consumer “state-of-the-art” technology with a terrific feature package in a very stylish and handsome cabinetry giving the look and feel of plasma, but without any of its detractors.  It's a set for today and tomorrow featuring an integrated HDTV tuner, QAM HD cable tuner, and CableCARD.  By including both HDMI and 1394, this set won't become obsolete for many years to come.   If a 60-in. wide HDTV is not right for you, the 60VX915 has two siblings in the 915 Director's CineForm series.  There's a larger 70-in. wide model (70VX915), and a smaller 50-in. wide sibling (50VX915) with identical features and performance characteristics.