Hitachi not quite done with plasmas?

[lojack1976]

Well, it seems that Hitachi is releasing three new plasmas next month in the Japanese market. You can check out THIS article for more info. No word on whether or not they will offer them in the US market.

[lojack1976]

No one interested in the possibility of Hitachi staying in the plasma business?

[CasualKiller]

I am, some of the best plasma HDTV's on the market and not many people even give them a second thought.

Was a post months ago about Hitachi packing it in, glad to see it was just more interwebz nonsense.

[lojack1976]

Actually, Hitachi announced earlier this year that they were exiting the plasma market, so when I saw this announcement I was totally surprised. If I'm not mistaken Panasonic even took over one of Hitachi's plasma factories. I remember reading something about that not too long ago.

I do know that Hitachi is very popular over in Japan, so maybe the demand for their plasmas over there was too great to ignore. It seems to me that they did a horrible job advertising and pushing their sets in the US market.

Part of the problem also seems to be that they didn't drop prices nearly as fast as the other manufacturers, and they suffered the same fate as Pioneer. Hitachi was attempting to command some pretty high prices in a very tough US market.

Hopefully the continued Japanese presence signifies that they have decided not give up in this market. If they can just get their pricing in line with the other three makers they should have a shot. Judging from last year's sets they can definitely give the other three companies a good run for the money.

[intimidator32]

yep, i like my hitachi mostly for sports the blacks are not the best for blu's

[Blu3]

Been lovin my set since day 1, one of the best deals around at the time and a great PQ even today, all things considered (1080i). Blacks are great, the only issue it has is some flicker on some dark scenes.

[neos_peace]

I have a newer Plasma form them. just a little over a year old. Full HD and I love it power swivle and everything. Very nice TV. Only be wiling to upgrade to the newer LED tv but that won't be for a LOOONNNNNG time.

[lojack1976]

Originally Posted by intimidator32

yep, i like my hitachi mostly for sports the blacks are not the best for blu's

If you see the Hitachi's that came out last year you would be very impressed with the black level. They made a huge leap with their new black filters. Not quite Kuro black but very close...at least as good as the new Panny's.