Hitachi L42S503 - Reviews

major flashlight effect..
by JJ from United States, 2010-06-09

Like many other reviews (from other sites) I too have the dreaded "flashlight" effect on this tv and it is noticable during dark scenes. I can turn the backlight down and it helps but then the overall picture is too dark.
Too bad because this TV has the best picture I ever saw for an LCD except for the backlight bleeding into the top
two corners. All my LCD tv's have this to some extent but this is the worst.

Great TV for the price
by S. Trifoso from Lawrenceville, GA, US, 2010-05-18

I bought this a few months ago and I think it's a great TV. I play a lot of Xbox 360 and PS3 games on it and it's great for that too. I'm still trying to get the settings optimal but even how it is now it looks great.

The only issue I have seen so far with it is some slightly "cloudy" corners where it's whiter than the rest of the screen, but you can only really tell when it's turned on with no signal.

Overall it's a great TV for the price I got it at.

Awesome TV
by Nate3340 from Peoria, IL, 2010-02-06

I shopped around awhile for a 40-42 inch TV and decided on this one. I think the picture on this is better than the Sony and Toshiba I have owned. Its 1080p, 120Hz, 4ms response time, and it has 4hdmi's, 7hd inputs all together and I got it for $599 shipped. The backlighting is a little strong but you can adjust it to your liking, there is plenty of setting options. The only thing I didn't like was they listed the dynamic contrast ratio as being high, they wouldn't give an exact number even if you checked the Hitachi website, but don't let that stop you from buying this TV, you won't be dissapointed.

Great 42" LCD HDTV
by C. Clarke from Houston, 2010-01-28

I just purchased this tv a little over a week ago, and I have no complaints whatsoever. I purchased this set based off of the Conssumer Rreports ratings, 72 out of the highest rated 75. Other sets in its scoring range were between 1,000-1,400. This hitachi has excellent high definition picture quality, and I have watched the nfl championship games, and several basketball games, and noticed no problems whatsoever with the 120hz processor.

This is the best priced tv for a 42" 120hz 1080p lcd. I highly recommend this tv to anyone looking.

Hitachi L42S503 a winner!
by Steven M. Angelini from NJ, 2010-01-05

I purchased this 42" LCD about a month or so ago after a lot of research and shopping around. I did all of my due diligence with regard to seeing all comparable sets in person to get up close and personal with the options. etc. Hitachi makes a top notch product and does have great customer service as well. In fact, I have only called them once since installing the TV and it wasn't even a question with regard to the LCD but moreso about an issue that turned out to be the interaction with my Blu-ray player and they took the time to troubleshoot the issue with success. Not to mention it was a painless wait to get to a support specialist and it wasn't outsourced but rather based in California.

This TV has a very sharp picture with true vibrant color that is spot on. I barely changed any of the factory settings with regard to the picture. The sound is decent but took some fiddling with the setups. I typically always watch this TV through the surround sound system plus I'm no audiophile so it's fine for me when running through the unit speakers. The backlight can be a little bright in the corners from time to time but it is ONLY visible when the screen is completely black. You can eliminate this if you chose to do so by setting it to a lower level. I love the picture as is and have opted to leave it be. The trade off is the best picture I feel the TV has to offer...no biggie.

I shopped around for a while to get the best deal and ended up purchasing this at Sam's Club for $747 in early December 09'. Absolutely worth the price and in my opinion it is a superior unit over comparable Vizeo's, Samsungs, etc...