HItachi 49" LED LCD 1080P - $379

[Lean L]

I found this a few days ago and placed an order for this TV.

http://www.sears.com/hitachi-49inch-...p-05707158000P

I wasn't sure what to expect since there were no reviews for it and it generally is not well marketed.

I got it today and was able to play around with it for a bit. It's definitely a bargain at this price. My impressions so far:

Picture:
Excellent. I am not sure what panel it uses, but there is speculation that it is an LG. Tons of adjustments available to the user. 120Hz support. Unfortunately the viewing angles are a bit limited. If you sit at the center, it is beautiful, from an angle it doesn't do as well. I assume this is a sidelit model, but I have no way to verify apart from ripping the panel out.

Features:
Scarce. It has 3 HDMI ports (1 with ARC), digital tuner, very basic menu, no smart options. That is what makes it cheap though. I'll get a roku to match it up with this so this won't bother me.

Build:
Budget. You won't be able to tell from looking at it, but feeling the back materials, you can tell the casing is cheap. The whole thing weighs 26lbs though, so that can also be a benefit of the cheap casing. So long as it looks good from the front, I don't see why this would be an issue however.

Sound:
Mediocre. Not quite tinny sound, but I would definitely opt for external speakers with this. Gone are the days of tv set speakers. It does sound better than many new TVs that I have heard however.

Overall, not bad for the price at all.

Misc:
I plugged this into a killawatt. The power usage came out to just shy of 100W on standard picture settings.

 

[alaricljs]

QQ - Time from power-on to first image on an HDMI input?

 

[Lean L]

Not immediate, there is a small loading box on the top right but it's less than 5 seconds if I remember right. No giant company logo if that's what you're asking.

 

[alaricljs]

Still better than the 10-15 of the Vizio I've got... Really wish there was a simple way to get monitor like response when you're using the thing like a monitor.

 

[alyarb]

There is a 48" Vizio at Costco for the same price and it is not edge-lit. It claims to have local dimming... nice to see "ok" TV's coming below $400.

 

[Lean L]

I only see the smart 48 at costco.

 

[alyarb]

*facepalm* that's right, it was 479 not 379.

 

[videopho]

I bit on this deal.
So far so good.
Decent picture with ton of adjustments.
Playing with audio setup a bit which makes it sound better than right of the box.
I also got 23k worth of points or 23 bucks worth of coupon on my next Sears purchase.
Great deal!
Thanks OP.

 

[videopho]

Having owned it a few days now everything seems working fine but the tiny sound from this TV (as expected) needs some immediate upgrade.
That being said. Can someone recommend a cheapo external pair of speakers that have some low end but won't break the bank account?

 

[BurnItDwn]

Having owned it a few days now everything seems working fine but the tiny sound from this TV (as expected) needs some immediate upgrade.
That being said. Can someone recommend a cheapo external pair of speakers that have some low end but won't break the bank account?

You can get BIC RTR EV 15 speakers for under $200 a piece.
http://www.bicamerica.com/showpage.php?brand=3&type=15&spkrID=120

For under $100 a piece, you can get the RTR15 ...

They are not as bassy as a sub, but, they have decent amount of low end response...