Tough Decision: Hitachi 51f510 vs. Sony KP51WS520

BrooklynZ

Hitachi 51f510 vs. Sony KP51WS520

I'm moving into my first apartment and buying my first TV so I wanna get it right. I originally only wanted to spend like $1,100 but quickly up'd that amount after shopping a little. I've always thought that Sony was the best rear-projection TV but that's just because everyone knows the name Sony. I narrowed my search down to 2 TV's today. They are both 51", both HD, and both the EXACT same price from Circuit City (that's what makes it so hard to choose). The price I can get for these models are $1614 (on sale at the store) and they are brand new of course. I'm scared of buying a "Hitachi" only because I've always thought of Philips, Sony, and Panasonic as being the leaders. Today at the store though, one of the guys in the TV department told me that Hitachi is the best at the rear projection TV. I read reviews online of both but there are good reviews for each of them. I think I'm leaning towards the Hitachi but am still very unsure. I compared the features of the 2 and the differences are below. Please, anyone with knowledge in this stuff...HELP. I don't want to make the wrong choice. Thanks in advance guys.

Here are the differences...

Comb filter:
Sony - 3D Digital Comb Filter
Hitachi - Digital 4MB 3D Y/C

Convergence type
Sony - Automatic and Manual
Hitachi - Multi-Point Digital

Audio enhancement:
Sony - TruSurround™ SRS® Audio Processing
Hitachi - BBE® Sound Enhancement

DVI (Digital Video Interface)
Sony - Yes
Hitachi - No

Picture In Picture:
Sony - Yes
Hitachi - No

First surface mirror:
Sony - Info unavailable
Hitachi - Yes

Built-in screen shield:
Sony - Info unavailable
Hitachi - Yes

Oh yeah, and the Hitachi is about 4 inches less in depth. I don't think that will matter too much because the TV will be going into the corner of the room. Thanks.

-Mark

BrooklynZ

PS. Forgot to mention. To me, the most important factor is the picture quality. I'm moving from Philly to NY and right now we have comcast digital cable here. I don't think they have it there but I will probably get some kind of direct or On Demand TV service so I can make use of the HD. The main problem I see between the 2 is that the Hitachi doesn't have PIP and I kinda think that's a cool feature.

vsma

The 51F510 HD has PIP.
The 51F510 doesn't have DVI but HDMI.
Ths 51F510 has automatic convergence (Magic Focus)
The 51F510 has manual convergence (9 and 117 points)

Sony downconverts the 720p to 480p (that's bad for XBOX)
Hitachi upconverts 720p to 1080i (like others brands)

BrooklynZ

A little late but thank you. Already going with a Sammy DLP.

maximus

Yeah the Hitachi 510 gets my humble vote

Don't be unsure either HDTV will be a kickass HT display.
If it comes down to it choose the one which you think has the better remote control.

Ooops! Delete I knew it, I had thought you were looking at something else.