Hitachi 51SWX20B 51-Inch 16:9 Projection HDTV-Ready Monitor/TV
Best Rear Projection Available
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 abetter quality image for the money.