Hitachi UT42MX70 Settings

*SamV* · 14-05-2009, 2:56 PM

Heya guys,

I've just purchased a second LCD TV (Samsung LEA656 was the first) this time round I brought a Hitachi UT42MX70. Anyways, I'm really unhappy with the image quality at the moment, on both HD and SD signals sent via HDMI via my WD HDTV. I was wondering if anyone wants to share their settings as people did with the A656 threads?

Sam

donaldson2121 · 14-05-2009, 3:13 PM

I'd love to help you out on this one but i'm still itching to get hold of my set next week! Are you comparing your Samsung to the Hitachi in terms of being unhappy with the picture? or just overall?

From briefly looking in the Hitachi menus there seems to be A LOT of settings to play with so i'm sure with some tweaks you'll manage to get a good picture from content on your WD HDTV.

Hopefully someone else can help you out in the meantime while i wait for mine to be delivered to store.

*SamV* · 14-05-2009, 4:12 PM

The picture quality on my set is unbearable, tearing edges, artefacts etc. The same result whether it's coming from WD HDTV, BD1600 or my Philips DVD player with built in upscaler. That's with SD footage. With HD it's no so bad. Having compared the two side by side the Samsung leaves it standing in every regard, DVDs look amazing, BDs are stunning.

I've had a brief play about with the MX70 menus but while it might look like it has a lot of options it's actually quite basic stuff. I'm comparing with my Samsung here.

I'm hoping that a lot of the issues can be resolved adjusting picture settings. If not I'll take it back and spend £150 extra on another Samsung.

Bibby_83 · 14-05-2009, 5:52 PM

Sam V,
I have only seen these sets on BBC HD and DVDs but I couldn't notice artefacts that well. Perhaps it is the 100hz or FRC (called Movie FRC) feature that is responsible?

I am completely unfamiliar with the WD TV device that you mentioned so perhaps you could try taking that out of the setup? If it is no good with DVD playback then I am stumped, I have only seen drawbacks with freeview so far, I don't know if the Samsung handles motion or movement any better and am unfamiliar with some of those terms you have used but this is my bet.

jojomuniandy · 15-05-2009, 6:45 AM

I've got the same TV, and I can't say I've seen any artefacts. However, I've got game mode turned on and I'm feeding it with an upscaled 1080p signal through my receiver. I primarily use it for blurays or games (mostly high def). XBMC looks pretty decent as well.

I've changed the settings quite a bit to get an image I'm happy with, I also used the test cards from AVS HD 709 - Blu-ray, HD DVD, & MP4 Calibration - AVS Forum through my PS3 as a guideline.

My settings are probably going to be quite useless to you though, as I've got the tv opposite to a large bay window, and theres a lot of light coming through during the day. FWIW, and from memory, brightness +4, contrast +20, sharpness -7, saturation -12 (?), backlight +18, also got most of the image processing settings switched off on the 2nd page. If you really want the settings send me a PM and i'll get them for you tonight when I'm back from work.

I'm gonna try and get my hands on a spyder to try and get the colour temperature set up properly, but it looks decent enough now, IMHO.

Regards,
Jojo

yoghurt · 15-05-2009, 10:25 AM

HI jojomuniandy

Out of interest how have you got your xbox1 running xbmc connected to the Hitachi-is it via an AV AMP which accepts component?

Cheers

jojomuniandy · 15-05-2009, 1:03 PM

Yes, I've got an Onkyo TXSR-876

Quote:

Originally Posted by yoghurt

HI jojomuniandy

Out of interest how have you got your xbox1 running xbmc connected to the Hitachi-is it via an AV AMP which accepts component?

Cheers

Bibby_83 · 20-05-2009, 6:13 PM

Hi, could I request that this thread be renamed to Hitachi UT series settings? I only ask because the sets have some major differences in spec such as 50/100hz. Personally I am very close to getting a 37 inch model and would like to here from anyone who has one.

A few Qs -

1) Has anybody noticed light from the backlight pooling or coming out from the edges? Is the along the horizontal or more like the Sony sets (coming from the corners at 45 degrees towards the middle).

2) Anybody worked with the backlight, can it be dimmed?

3) Is the 'Movie FRC' feature adjustable in some way (100hz only)?

Also is it really that necessary to go into colour balance or can you just reduce brightness or dynamic contrast to offset the red colour? RGB colours are a fairly new area to me.

Thanks for any help, Simon

Mcdesign · 20-05-2009, 7:46 PM

Are any of you guys running SKY HD direct into this screen? If so, how you finding the picture?

Cheers

Mike

Bibby_83 · 21-05-2009, 5:25 PM

OK, I think I have an answer to one issue with these sets and it is that the panel type tends to accentuate a violet colour which is probably the blue tone that has been noted in dark scenes.

Having said that, colours on these and the Panasonics and LGs seem less bright than others so I think if brightness is an issue it should be turned right down. Certainly red or orange tones should not be quite as visible and I think solving that will make the picture a little softer.

MattLFC · 24-05-2009, 12:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jojomuniandy

My settings are probably going to be quite useless to you though, as I've got the tv opposite to a large bay window, and theres a lot of light coming through during the day. FWIW, and from memory, brightness +4, contrast +20, sharpness -7, saturation -12 (?), backlight +18, also got most of the image processing settings switched off on the 2nd page. If you really want the settings send me a PM and i'll get them for you tonight when I'm back from work.

Been playing about with mine all day, just tried these settings and they are actually pretty darn good (if not a little energy inefficient at 250w attributing to your need of the backlight).

Anyone else have any settings to try out? These have produced the best picture I have seen so far on my TV, with a few adjustments here and there.

MattLFC · 24-05-2009, 12:38 AM

By the way, here is my current settings:

Picture Mode : Cinema (think this is just the name tbh)
Contrast: +26
Brightness: +6
Colour: -12
Sharpness: +5
Hue : +5
Colour Temperature: Cool
Backlight: +8 - 184 watts power consumption for those interested

Deep Colour: Off
Contrast Mode: Linear (seems to give a more even black level across the picture, instead of just too black on the black bits, or not black enough)
3D Colour Management: Off
Black Enhancement: Off
Digital Noise Reduction: Low (not a fan of NR but it makes a slight difference, also helps with a slight banding caused by my TUTV S-Video output - is fine on the Sky+)
MPEG NR: Low (as above)
Cross Colour NR: Low (as above)
Game Mode: Off
Film Mode: Smooth 2 (none of these settings seem to make any difference)

Colour Temps:

Amplitude
Red: -6
Green: 0
Blue: 0

Cut Off
Red: 0
Green: -8
Blue: -19

Have been tinkering for 20 mins or so after setting it to the settings posted by jojomuniandy, however my eyes are starting to get tired and I will have another look at it tomorrow.

jojomuniandy · 24-05-2009, 5:21 PM

Thanks for posting that, I hadn't realised how much of a difference there was in the power drain with the backlight at full... I've set up the 3 presets to handle different levels of ambient light now.

Stilojon · 29-05-2009, 3:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MattLFC

Deep Colour: Off
Contrast Mode: Linear (seems to give a more even black level across the picture, instead of just too black on the black bits, or not black enough)
3D Colour Management: Off
Black Enhancement: Off
Digital Noise Reduction: Low (not a fan of NR but it makes a slight difference, also helps with a slight banding caused by my TUTV S-Video output - is fine on the Sky+)
MPEG NR: Low (as above)
Cross Colour NR: Low (as above)
Game Mode: Off
Film Mode: Smooth 2 (none of these settings seem to make any difference)

Colour Temps:

Amplitude
Red: -6
Green: 0
Blue: 0

Cut Off
Red: 0
Green: -8
Blue: -19

Where do you find these settings????

jojomuniandy · 29-05-2009, 3:51 PM

keep pressing down after the last entry in the 1st page and it goes into the second and third

*SamV* · 29-05-2009, 4:23 PM

Click on menu and then picture settings

urbanshepherd · 04-06-2009, 4:19 PM

Does anyone know what setting game-mode to Yes does?

I imagine it turns off certain processing settings but I can't see what (100hz is one of these?).

Really pleased with the set, especially with the Richer Sounds price, however would be nice if there was a quick way to turn game mode on and off for switching between blu-rays and games.

jojomuniandy · 09-06-2009, 6:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by urbanshepherd

Does anyone know what setting game-mode to Yes does?

I imagine it turns off certain processing settings but I can't see what (100hz is one of these?).

Really pleased with the set, especially with the Richer Sounds price, however would be nice if there was a quick way to turn game mode on and off for switching between blu-rays and games.

The game mode option is remember per setting (dynamic, cinema, natural) so you can have it on on one and off on another

hope that helps

urbanshepherd · 09-06-2009, 7:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jojomuniandy

The game mode option is remember per setting (dynamic, cinema, natural) so you can have it on on one and off on another

hope that helps

Thanks. The evening after posted this I realised how, though I was somewhat embarrased to reply to my own comment!

Thanks for getting back.

chrisfirst · 07-08-2009, 9:17 PM

Hi guys!

Well, I have became a proud owner of this gorgeous screen. The only problem is, at the moment it's only gorgeous from the back. I don't mean the picture quality is bad or anything like that, but for my eyes, something is missing or wrong. The factory settings are rubbish and I have the one which has been posted here, but still. I have my PS3 connected and most of the times I will watch Blu-Rays. So, anybody managed to master the perfect picture setting for this screen? I would really appreciate it! Also, what are the correct video and display settings for PS3 with a Full HD screen? Thanks a lot!

chrisfirst · 21-08-2009, 8:50 PM

Bump

Bibby_83 · 11-10-2009, 8:18 PM

Hi,
Current settings are Cinema, I have only increased MPEG noise reduction to max. since I think it does make some difference. On 100Hz - I am not sure how this works at the moment but I have it on Smooth 1, Smooth 2 looks like 100Hz from what I read in the manual.

Some thoughts -

Quote:

Contrast Mode - Dynamic, seems to work well but I'm not certain.
3D Colour Management
Black Enhancement - Both low - they don't bother me really
DNR - Low - Does very little to a DVD picture
MPEG NR - High - seems to remove noise on upscaled DVDs
Film Mode - Smooth 1, might use Original for 24p

Colour Temp - I'm not touching it

Cheers,
Simon