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Resolved Question

How Reliable are the current Hitachi Smart TVs?

Nov 19, 2018 4:55PM PST

I am about to buy a 65" Hitachi 4K HDR Roku Model 65R80. We own 2 smaller (22 and 49) Hitachis that are about a year old now and never had a problem.

When I reviewed Hitachi lately I have seen a LOT of negative reviews due to a blank screen (sound but no picture) posted. The saidTVs were from 12-18 months old and in all sizes

Does anyone own this 65" model and/or any others that are 1-2 years old? What are your experiences with them?

A Samsung would have probably been my first choice as we have those as well but the 65" Samsung is MUCH more costly than this Hitachi which I feel has just as good a picture. Should I go for it, or save more money and get a Samsung?

Also, by the way...who makes Hitachi now days? I read that they are just re badged tvs from another manufacturer...any help/advice/experience would be welcomed...Thanks In Advance!

Discussion is locked

lilsnotnosedtommy has chosen the best answer to their question. View answer

Best Answer

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Here's the awful issue.
Nov 20, 2018 7:41AM PST

All makers are still subject to the "Bath Tub Curve." You will, no matter the maker get some initial failures and depending on the design (not so much the maker) then a lower failure rate (not zero) till old age and then the failures go up. Samsung sells a lot of sets and they get blasted more often than others just because they sell so many. It's hard for most to get past this area since many will equate number of complaints to be a sign the maker is just making junk.

Ready for an awful bit of news? All these sets look to be 5 year or less designs. So if you find complaints past 5 years old, well the sets did well. This can really upset those with many thousand buck sets.

My view is to never over invest in such things.

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Less of a gamble?
Nov 20, 2018 8:05AM PST
My view is to never over invest in such things.



That's kind of what I am thinking as well. I have the Hitachi (Vesla...Turkey mfg) 65" set
coming with a 30 day free return. (vipoutlet...$396 plus tax free ship) My plan is to see what the picture looks like, give it a couple weeks, then either keep it or return it.

If the picture is good and the set lasts only 18 months I'm out $400 plus tax
If I get a different brand (vizio sharp tcl etc sets that are made by someone else) and pay up to $700 I'm risking $300 more.

If I get one of the 3 remaining mfgs who still make their own sets (Samsung, Sony, LG) I'll be paying in the $800 range up better piece of mind but still no guarantee.

So I'm hoping the 65" Hitachi has a good picture. Better to risk $400 than $800+ is mt thinking which you've pretty much echoed. Thanks
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More info.
Nov 20, 2018 8:29AM PST

You mention "make their own sets." Hitachi, does make the PCB, put chips, capacitors, connectors, and more parts together rather than re-label but I don't think this affects the life span as much as the design. I catch flack for my comments on Visio but all that make did die inside 3 to 4 years in the circles and people I know. So we don't buy that brand since they are great deals but seem to have suffered in longevity. It that had made it to 5 I would not have written that.

Under 1 thousand dollar sets are extremely competitive.

As to how good the picture is, I would worry that a 400 dollar 65 inch would have to give up panel quality (as in picture quality) so we might see some clouding and definitely banding in the cheap seats.

The Toshiba 50 and 55 inch models at https://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-55LF621U19-55-inch-Ultra-Smart/dp/B07D4DW9BN were on sale and I picked up the 50" to replace a Sharp that worked fine but had image issues in some conditions. The Sharp worked fine but for the price (312USD to my door) it was not a big decision. That was in July and all is well.

That said, not a single set since the Visio days has failed. That's over 5 years ago so part of the aging is how much the set is moved about. I find owners the move a lot (change apartments, etc.) seem to have more failures.