Hitachi Ultravision 55HDS69 55-Inch Plasma HDTV
Great TV
After searching for the past year, I deceided to go with a Sharp 45\\" LCD. Then I saw C/C had dropped the Hitachi 55\\" to $3149.00, much lower than I could get even online. Went to look and was blown away by the pic. It was a no brainer, the Sharp for $3,000.00 (Costco) was good, but couldn't pass up the Hitachi for less. Only gripe was no stand. While Hitachi may not sell the stand with the TV, retailers should keep one or two in stock. Found one at a local Hi Def TV store for $399.00. High price, but wife didn't like the idea of a wall mount.<br /><br />  Now to the TV. Great Hi-def pic. Standard cable fair to good when streached to fit screen. I usually don't run any 4:3 programming to avoid burn in. Sound from built in speakers better than I expected, but also have a 500w kenwood surround sound systen for backup. I like that you can plug a sub-woofer into the TV, but had to turn mine down as bass was overboosted. Standard DVD and VCR very good using high quality cables, but plan to upgrade the DVD in near future. The remote is actually very easy to use for TV, but lacks functions when controlling my digital cable box or stereo. I decided to use the cable remote instead. If using over the air or basic cable, TV remote works fine. Right now, all cable boxes and accessories are hooked up with monster cable, but have an HDMI cable on order, cheaped on-line than in store. I expect even better pic quality with this setup. The only bad experience with this purchase was a pushy salesman, who was pushing any TV but the Hitachi, and an expensive warranty.<br /><br />  I would recommend any who like large plasma units to take a look at this, or the other 55\\" Hitachi units. A great TV, that even my wife likes.