Well, I've gotten the itch for an upgrade. I was going to try to save up for a 60" Kuro...the KRP that's going for around $3000, but reading the thread over at AVSforum I decided not to. There seems to be a lot of sets delivered cracked, and I just don't want to go through what could be a lengthy process of finally getting one intact. Besides, just seeing one broken set arrive would break my heart. I don't want to see any Kuro in ruin! I'm not sure any would be available by the time I get the money anyway. I started thinking that 50" was fine so long as I get a significant upgrade in picture quality.
After checking out the Hitachi P50X902 in Best Buy's Magnolia room next to a Panny 850u and a Pioneer Elite I walked away very impressed. The Hitachi looked much better than the Panny and very close to the Kuro. Blacks were extremely good and came as close as I've ever seen to the Kuro. It took a lot of scrutiny to tell the difference. Yes, the Kuro still has deeper blacks, but man was this set close. Where the black bars and the bezel ended was nearly undetectable.
After research I found that P50V702 was nearly identical lacking just a handful of the menu adjustments. Apparently these sets are very accurate right out of the box and the adjustments really aren't needed. TigerDirect has this for $1200 shipped so I jumped on it. At a savings of about $800 over the 5020FD I think I got an excellent deal. I can't wait to get my new set!
