Hitachi pulls the plug on RPTVs in North America
by Steven Kim 
posted Nov 8th 2007 at 10:30AM
Hitachi has announced it's stopping production and sales of its LCD- and CRT-based RPTVs in North America. The production facility in Mexico which serves the North American market was actually shut down this summer. While this might not come as much of a surprise to us, this is a sure sign that the average consumer's idea of what a "big screen, HD" TV is has shifted from a monstrous box to a slim flat panel. The torch has been passed, and recent announcements indicate that Hitachi is smitten with the "thin is in" concept as well. We expect to see similar decisions from other manufacturers in the future as LCDs and PDPs continue their roll. There's some nostalgia for the huge behemoths that were our introduction to HDTV, but you really couldn't pay us to go back.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
ryan @ Nov 8th 2007 10:39AM
I love my Hitachi Ultravision 51s500 from many years ago. I just wish I had the money to upgrade to a newer TV now.
Ron @ Nov 8th 2007 2:22PM
RIP
Mike @ Nov 8th 2007 2:55PM
I graduated from RPTV to front projection in one step. Motorized screen, ceiling mounted projector, when you're not watching TV everything goes away. Maybe someday people will graduate from flat panels to projection setups :) J/K. I think the move to flat panels is good for the consumer. A lot more friendly than either a huge HD RPTV or even a standard CRT.
JeffDM @ Nov 9th 2007 12:07AM
Front projection clearly has its place - I've done it this way for maybe five years now. But it's not for everyone.
Available brightness in a new projector is increasing over time, and brighter units are getting cheaper too, but it needs to get a lot brighter in order to compete with lighting and not wash out too much detail. A regular panel doesn't have that issue.
I still haven't gotten a real screen, I'm just biding my time because I have other things that need attention first.
Marshall @ Nov 8th 2007 3:13PM
I still enjoy my 1080i CRT RPTV. 51" for $1200 3 years ago, I don't think I did too bad. At it's size it held it's value for 3 years, more than can be said for the new technologies.
Marshall
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The Real HT Info Podcast
JeffDM @ Nov 8th 2007 2:04PM
I think it might be because it's less competitive now. In the past, the cost disparity between a panel and RPTV was greater, or you could get a lot bigger screen for the same money, it's not that much different now, so the cost / screen size trade-off is not as much in RPTV's favor.
gparris @ Nov 8th 2007 2:52PM
Oh crap, now when my LCD RPTV goes bad, I will have nothing for Circuit City to replace it with from the same brand:
Maybe they will have the replacement bulbs for this set for a few more years, if that is ALL that goes bad.
I bought a 70VS810 less than three years ago with an extended warranty and this irks me no end.
The only other thing CCity would probably offer me now, if the set became broken and unrepairable, is the 73" DLP from Mitsubishi, which to me, doesn't look as good as my LCD RPTV does at 70":
Circuit City refuses to offer the Sony 70" LCoS sets, only the 60" size (max) and that would be a better "fit" considering the seating distance.
On the other hand, if I was to buy a panel set, instead, it wouldn't be Hitachi, maybe a 65" (closer to 70") Panasonic Plasma or 65" Sharp Aquos LCD, just because of this.
Ed @ Nov 8th 2007 9:47PM
@ gparris
If CC doesn't have what you want, you might want to go online. I came very close to buying a TV from vanns.com (free shipping, too), but found what I wanted at a local H.H. Gregg's. Sony's SXRD (LCoS) is what I believe you are talking about.
http://www.vanns.com/shop/index.jsp
Shape @ Nov 8th 2007 3:02PM
Where are the sub $2000 60" flat panel TVs to replace the digital RPTV market?
wadsbrau @ Nov 8th 2007 3:26PM
CRT based displays still out-perform any digital display units. This is a shame. Digital (and flat) have nothing to do with picture quality. Consumers are dumb (or the marketing division of Hitachi). What are you going to do. They would rather have something that fits on the wall, then have the best picture quality. It's like building a crappy car with the coolest finish. I am sure many people would buy it. But, who wants a crappy car?
trained eye @ Nov 8th 2007 7:27PM
Agreed, CRT RPJ Color quality still cannot be beat. LCD & plasma is still artifact city seen by my eyes. I cringe when viewing ewwww tube!