Which is better - Hitachi UT42MX70 or Panasonic TX-P42X10 / TX-P42C10?

[kissmeraas]

As the Ultra Thin Hitachi LCD monitor can now be had for less than the above-mentioned Panasonic and equivalent LCD or Plasma 5 star models, is it worth considering on picture performance alone (for upscaled SD Freeview via HDMI & DVD, poss HD & Blu-ray later?)

I know you only gave it 3 stars, but what would WHF's opinion be if the screen was reviewed today at £500?

 

[Anonymous]

I'm glad you've asked this question although it's a pity there haven't been any responses yet from the WHF team or other parties 'in the know'. The WHF review of the Hitachi states:

"The elephant in the room is the price."

This was when the set was £1,700. Richer Sounds currently have it at £499 so it would appear that the elephant has been shot stone cold dead. As someone who will be investing in a decent AV receiver, and who already has Sky HD, the solitary HDMI input and absence of a TV tuner are total non-issues so I would also be intrigued to know whether this is a decent 42" set? I may have not done sufficient scouting around various sites but it strikes me that <£500 for a 42" LCD is an absolute steal, provided the set in question isn't a complete dog.

 

[Anonymous]

It's a pity that no one from the WHF team picked up on this thread as I think that the question regarding the Hitachi is one that needs answering, particularly as I came across the following in a WHF review of a cheap cd player:

"You should know by now that our star ratings are given on a performance-per-pound basis. So, in many ways, the cheaper product has a better chance of picking up a higher rating than its pricier rivals."

This would strongly suggest to me that the Hitachi should be picking up at least an extra star on the basis of a 70% price reduction. Thoughts anyone?

 

[Anonymous]

I have bought one of the Hitachi's from RS with the 5 year warranty for £549 in total and I am extremely happy with it.

At the end of the day it's a 42" full HD lcd tv which looks fabulous as a unit and although the picture clearly isn't in the kuro league it's good enough to be sat here with a ruddy big smug smile on my face in the knowledge that it cost me £700-£1000 less than anything else similar.

I read one post from a guy who owned a kuro AND a pani G10 having a pop at it but come on some of us out here can't afford to spend 4 grand on TV's. Anyway if truth be told having seen most of what's out there the differences in quality that gets argued over between 'philes is often slight and to most of us certainly not worth the £1500 extra for something that really is noticably better.

My advice is if you can still get one go for it and if for any reason that I can't think of you're not happy with it then there'll be plenty of people willing to take it off your hands for what you paid for it.

 

[Anonymous]

i looked at a review of this hitachie yday on TR , they rated it very highly , even though it was listing at £2k at the time , if someone had sky or a freesat box already , and didnt mind swapping hdmis now and again for bluray , gaming etc its surely worth £500 ?? it even has 100hz ....