Thin has been the new black in consumer electronics since Steve Jobs slipped the MacBook Air out of a manila envelope at Macworld in San Francisco back in January, so it’s no surprise that the latest buzz on the local flat panel scene is Hitachi’s super-slender 42-inch LCD at a meagre 39mm thick, minus stand.

This blade-thin, full-HD Hitachi sure puts the “flat” back into flatscreen. Not only is it thin, it’s minimalist, with a black less-is-less surround, no TV tuner, a cut-back selection of inputs and outputs and a clever remote with only 15 buttons and a cursor wheel that does everything else.

As far as inputs go, you’ll find only an HDMI port to connect to your Blu-ray player, an RGB port and a stereo audio minijack. Without a tuner on-board, that’s all you’ll need. Hitachi offers a matched HD Multimedia Station, a separate box with two HDMI ports, component inputs, a USB port and digital audio out. This box also has digital and analogue tuners.

The panel presents very well; it’s a good-looking unit from any angle, even the back, so feel free to set it up right in the middle of the room. Common set controls are hidden under the bottom panel and are little rocker-type switches.

Hitachi reckons the monitor is one-third the depth of conventional LCD panels and it certainly was the visual standout among a group of four similarly sized TVs assembled for review in Tone’s top secret test chamber.
How did they do it? High-density circuit board technology and a compact power supply were key, along with the company’s thin external electrode fluorescent lamp (EEFL) in place of conventional cold cathode fluorescent lighting (CCFL).

Why did they do it? Early this year, a Hitachi exec said: “Our research shows a new trend among consumers who want access to information and entertainment throughout the home. This is the promise behind the networked home and what’s behind the emergence of these displays which can elegantly be placed in any room.”

Despite a wide range of functions in the screen setup menu, I was not entirely happy with the picture from our reference Blu-ray discs. This was to do with colour rendition rather than any shortcomings in sharpness or its ability to handle fast action sequences — that aspect is well under control with 100Hz conversion technology and proprietary anti-judder circuitry. However, we’re into a very subjective area here and what didn’t seem quite right to one person may be another’s eye candy.

Super-thin sets will be widespread and common before long, but right now Hitachi is bathing not only in the glory of being first out of the local envelope but in a string of important international awards for design and engineering — even though it cheats a little by requiring you to have the separate box if you want to use it as a conventional TV.

Phil Hanson
Specifications
Hitachi UT42MH700A 42-inch LCD Panel TV
$4299

Display: 1920 x 1080p resolution with 100Hz conversion, 16:9 aspect ratio
Contrast ratio: 10,000:1
Response time: 6ms
Audio power: 2 x 6W RMS
Dimensions: 1036 x 678 x 390mm (W/H/D excl stand)
Weight: 18kg (excl stand)

CONTACT: 
www.easternhifi.co.nz

PROS
    *     Super stylish
    *     A good talking point
    *     Quality engineering and design

CONS
    *      Needs a separate tuner to watch regular TV

VERDICT
Like a supermodel it looks great, but would it make a good partner? Audition one and see if it fits