Hitachi 51SWX20B 51-Inch 16:9 Projection HDTV-Ready Monitor/TV

by Hitachi

Product Details

Product Manual [975kb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 25 x 48.8 x 50 inches ; 238 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 250 pounds
• Shipping: This item can only be shipped to the 48 contiguous states. We regret it cannot be shipped to APO/FPO, Hawaii, Alaska, or Puerto Rico.
• ASIN: B00006CFM0
• Item model number: 51SWX20B
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #445,318 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Rear Projection Available, January 12, 2003

By 

E. Wisekal "OCD on my good days" (New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hitachi 51SWX20B 51-Inch 16:9 Projection HDTV-Ready Monitor/TV (Electronics)

Bought this HDTV in early December 2002. Prices have gone UP since. We are very happy with this unit.

DVD progressive-scan picture quality is flawless. I challenge anyone to see more detail in a film like "The Last of the Blonde Bombshells" (an HBO film shot with HD equipment): I can safely describe every scene as of "photographic quality". "Shrek", "Matrix", "Moulin Rouge", and "Moonstruck" are also fantastic.

UPDATED Sept 2004: The (cable box) HD picture we see from home is fantastic. "Pinch me, is this real?" HBO is best, then HD1, then NBC, then CBS, then ABC.

Lets face it, if you spend this much on a large screen TV, you will want to fill the screen edge to edge, and the six aspect-ratio settings let you do just that. We choose 16:9 (1.85:1 "widescreen") viewing most of the time. Breathtaking stuff!

When you watch 4:3 images (1.33:1 "full screen") you can expand the image to fill the screen, but the distortion bothers me. So we mostly watch those at the "Zoom1" setting, which provides an edge-to-edge viewing experience with some cropping. I prefer cropping to the grey or black bars that otherwise frame the image.

Compared this 51" to the 57" Hitachi and was surprised that the 57" picture quality was better, considering it uses the same elements. I thought that picture would be grainy or washed out, but it was also superb. However I could not justify the additional cost - and this 51" screen fits our basement viewing area well.

I am very happy with this HDTV watching 50/50 DVD and satellite TV, but I am hunting for the best HD receiver to complete our video experience.

For sound, we use an RCA 700W surround system. Despite small satellite speakers, the sound is incredible large, thanks to a large subwoofer. The Hitachi's 40W speakers provide good sound, though, and we usually set the volume at 50% while watching movies. They fill in nicely in the mid to high-range frequencies.

I strongly recommend this set and challenge anyone to find a better quality image for the money.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars seeing is believing, March 8, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Hitachi 51SWX20B 51-Inch 16:9 Projection HDTV-Ready Monitor/TV (Electronics)

this tv has the best picture of any projection tv i have ever seen, and give many a tube tv a run for the show as well. i have seen alot of them, as i deliver for a tv and appliance store. the price i paid for this item is unbelievable as well. so needless to say i am a very happy hatachi watcher. dvd quality is out of this world, i have pioneer 600 watt surround sound w/5 disc changer hooked up through red blue green on both units. just switched from cable (clear picture aint so clear) to direct tv the picture from direct is much much better. when not using the pioneer, the sound still sounds good from the hitachi. even though i got a tremendous deal it is well worth the regular price.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hitachi, December 8, 2002

By 

A. Sierra "AHS" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hitachi 51SWX20B 51-Inch 16:9 Projection HDTV-Ready Monitor/TV (Electronics)

I checked other systems and frankly this one was the clearest picture of all. Expansions capabilities are also quite diversed. One negative side is that the input ports are low (close to the floor) thus needing longer cables than otherwise needed. Asides from that, overall a 5 star.