The price difference between Hitachi 7200 and 9700, is it worth it?

Neo319

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I'm looking to buy either a 7200 or a 9700. I've read both owner-threads entirely but I'd love to hear more from 7200 owners and 9700 owners who have compared the two models and why they chose (not) to go for the 9700 over the 7200.

I've seen them side by side with an HD-feed. The most obvious difference to me were the more natural colors on the 9700. Sharpness and contrast seemed about the same.

But I haven't seen the difference with DVD playback.
Right now I'm a 6600 owner but I want a better DVD picture quality. Do you think the price difference between the two is worth it in terms of DVD PQ?

Thanks for taking the time to help me decide. :)
 
I chose the 9700 for the following reasons:

- Looks better i.m.o. (and wifey's)
- New H6 panel
- Picture Master HD
- Great reviews

If you're on a budget then the 7200 is a good choice. ;)

I too own a 6600 wich returns to Hitachi (full refund) due to faults... :smashin:
 
Woziak said:
I chose the 9700 for the following reasons:

- Looks better i.m.o. (and wifey's)
- New H6 panel
- Picture Master HD
- Great reviews

If you're on a budget then the 7200 is a good choice. ;)

I too own a 6600 wich returns to Hitachi (full refund) due to faults... :smashin:

Mine has been repaired (reset to factorysettings) by Hitachi once and since my garanty is for 1 year only and it's about the most faulty TV on this forum and the SD PQ isn't that good, I want to get rid of it. :(
But in Holland, the price of a 7200 is less than 75% of the 9700 and I'm still wondering if the 9700 is really worth that much of a pricedifference (when you're on a budget;)).
 
I think I would still go for the 7200 IMHO :thumbsup:

It's an excellent set :clap:

Cheers :hiya:
 
camorra said:
I think I would still go for the 7200 IMHO :thumbsup:

It's an excellent set :clap:

Cheers :hiya:

I know that much. ;)
Please elaborate why, have you seen them side by side?

I'm going to get one of the two this saturday! :arty:
 
Neo319 said:
Mine has been repaired (reset to factorysettings) by Hitachi once and since my garanty is for 1 year only and it's about the most faulty TV on this forum and the SD PQ isn't that good, I want to get rid of it. :(
But in Holland, the price of a 7200 is less than 75% of the 9700 and I'm still wondering if the 9700 is really worth that much of a pricedifference (when you're on a budget;)).

None can decide for you if it's worth the price difference... You will have to decide if it's worth the price diff. ;)

In real life the PQ will be more or less the same. Both models are capable of producing HQ pictures. The features and design is what you pay extra for. :)
 
Neo319 said:
I know that much. ;)
Please elaborate why, have you seen them side by side?

I'm going to get one of the two this saturday! :arty:

No, but I tested them quite well individually :rolleyes: Both are great sets mind you :smashin: but I think SD is a bit better on the 7200 and with HD you will hardly notice any difference :D

Hope this helps :hiya:
 
camorra said:
No, but I tested them quite well individually :rolleyes: Both are great sets mind you :smashin: but I think SD is a bit better on the 7200 and with HD you will hardly notice any difference :D

Hope this helps :hiya:

Haven't heard that before (so that helps ;)) and if you're right, I'll take the 7200. My only HD source is an Xbox 360 and that looked good enough with my 6600 already. ;)
 
Me got my 42pd9700 on Friday after 6 months research, and it is brilliant. SD and HD picture quality is amazing.

Reason why i bought it:

Good Reviews
Looks Modern and stylish, even won an award for it
Has a better resolution than the 42Pd7200
Built in Digital TV Tuner
Can support 1080i natively, Kinda anyway with 1024 x 1080 resolution.
Has 2 HDMI ports


In the uk, the prices have dropped by around £200 pounds in the uk in the last week, not sure what that is in Euro's, but it might be worth waiting just a bit longer, and see how prices go.

Dont think that the 42pd7200 will drop much further, they always seem to go to about £1000 ish and stay there for ages before falling further. In the past month, i've seen the 42Pd9700 fall from £1770, to £1738 to £1690 to £1520, and can now get it from dixons for about £1435 (Though only with 1 years warranty).

I would go for the 42PD9700 if you can, as you wont regret it, where as if you got the 42pd7200, it is a good TV, you might.
 
hornydragon said:
No it has a higher resolution..... and worse black level,

Any reason you have a Hitachi only shortlist? :confused: :confused: :confused:

Worse blacklevel? I thought it had the same blacklevel but better black-detailing?

About the Hitachi shortlist;

I want a 42 inch plasma with a PC-connection and direct AV-inputs, HD-ready but with great DVD-RGB picture quality as well.

- That rules out the Panny's because they are notoriously difficult at choosing the right input on your remote. And they're ugly.
- Pioneer would only qualify with the XDE-model but it's very very expensive and suffers a lot from screenburn (and I'm not willing to suffer for 1500 hours until I lose that fear) and has the worst lip-synch problems.
- That only leaves Hitachi! Right? But I admit I have no idea what a 9800 is...:confused:
 
hornydragon said:
No it has a higher resolution..... and worse black level

Are you sure you are talking about the 42PD9700?? Well set and eliminating the black level enhancement which for me resulted in a fake picture, obtains much better black level than the 42PD7200 (which I have) and quite comparable to more expensive sets too :smashin: Many here recommend to keep setting down a lot but from my fiddling around with the 9700 on both RGB from digital sat in SD and HDMI from HD digital sat I kept contrast in between 15 and 20 while brightness around the 5 - 10 mark :rolleyes: Colour at 0 was perfect and gave me unnoticeable difference on black levels when cranked up :D On the 7200 the chipset seems to give quite a difference on black levels when colour is fiddled around with ;)

Black level on the 9700 maybe not as good as on other sets, but 1080i signal is amazing and colour depth and natural tones are better than on most other panels which put this set up with the leaders IMHO :thumbsup:

Hope this helps :hiya:
 
camorra said:
Are you sure you are talking about the 42PD9700?? Well set and eliminating the black level enhancement which for me resulted in a fake picture, obtains much better black level than the 42PD7200 (which I have) and quite comparable to more expensive sets too :smashin: Many here recommend to keep setting down a lot but from my fiddling around with the 9700 on both RGB from digital sat in SD and HDMI from HD digital sat I kept contrast in between 15 and 20 while brightness around the 5 - 10 mark :rolleyes: Colour at 0 was perfect and gave me unnoticeable difference on black levels when cranked up :D On the 7200 the chipset seems to give quite a difference on black levels when colour is fiddled around with ;)

Black level on the 9700 maybe not as good as on other sets, but 1080i signal is amazing and colour depth and natural tones are better than on most other panels which put this set up with the leaders IMHO :thumbsup:

Hope this helps :hiya:

To me it (once again) does! :smashin:

But if black levels are better than the 7200 with an SD feed, why do you feel the 7200 is better with an SD feed altogether (like you said before)?
 
Neo319 said:
To me it (once again) does! :smashin:

But if black levels are better than the 7200 with an SD feed, why do you feel the 7200 is better with an SD feed altogether (like you said before)?

Picture quality overall with SD i rate it better on the 7200 than on the 9700, in my opinion :cool: Perhaps the upscaling engine of the 7200 is better, else it is the same thing and manages better on 1024 lines rather than on 1080 :eek:

Cheers :hiya:
 
camorra said:
Picture quality overall with SD i rate it better on the 7200 than on the 9700, in my opinion :cool: Perhaps the upscaling engine of the 7200 is better, else it is the same thing and manages better on 1024 lines rather than on 1080 :eek:

Cheers :hiya:

Yeah but how does it show? Or in other words, what do I have to look for this saturday? ;) Is it not as sharp, or grainier or not as smooth? What do you miss about it compared to the 7200? Or what noise does it add?

Thanks in advance, last question, I promise! :oops:
 
Definitely smoother on the 7200.....in my eyes.....could be you'll prefer the 9700 :rotfl: Watch out for the edges :D

Ask how many questions you like ;) That's why this forum mate :)

Cheers :hiya:
 
camorra said:
Definitely smoother on the 7200.....in my eyes.....could be you'll prefer the 9700 :rotfl: Watch out for the edges :D

Ask how many questions you like ;) That's why this forum mate :)

Cheers :hiya:

Thanks man, I appreciate it! :thumbsup:
 

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