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YOU'RE SURROUNDED!
INTRO
If you haven't yet plucked up the courage to join the home
cinema revolution the latest Hitachi Opus TVs might just help you to make up
your mind
COPY
If your idea of a home cinema system is a
stack of complicated-looking boxes and loads of extra speakers, connected
together by a rat's nest of cables, think again. That was certainly true of the
early days when only committed and well-off enthusiasts strayed into what used
to be dangerous territory. The home cinema revolution has been a lot like the
development of satellite TV and the days when you needed specialist knowledge,
not to mention a healthy bank balance, are long gone.
Hitachi are the latest manufacturer to
market what's become known as a 'one-box' system, and before you ask, the box
in question is the packing carton, not the contents. The box system contains
literally everything you will need to set up your own home cinema, including of
course the TV, which in this case is one of Hitachi's Opus sets, the C2574TN which
has a 59cm (25-inch screen). This model, and its two stablemates (C2874TN,
C2984TN, 66 & 68cm screens) all have on-board Dolby Pro-Logic decoders, and
come supplied with all the necessary additional speakers and cables. The set
we're looking at costs around £900, and now is a good time to buy as you will
also get six-months worth of free movies from Blockbuster and Ritz video rental
shops.
First the TV, it's a stylish stereo set
with the main speakers set into narrow panels either side of the screen,
there's a built-in sub-woofer around the back so all things considered, even
without the surround sound feature, it looks and sounds quite good. In addition
to a NICAM decoder, for receiving terrestrial TV broadcasts in crisp digital
stereo, it has a fastext teletext system for rapid page access, comprehensive
on-screen menus for initial set-up, picture and sound adjustment. There's a
convenient front-mounted AV terminal (S-Video in, composite video in and stereo
audio in), for temporary hook-ups with other items of video equipment,
including of course, camcorders. Around the back there's two SCART sockets, so
you can connect a VCR and satellite tuner (both preferably stereo models)
without any problems, in addition there's a set of sockets for outboard
speakers.
The TV comes with two pairs of outboard
speakers, two for the main stereo channels and two for the rear surround-sound
channel, these should be placed behind the viewing position; this is the
minimum configuration for a Dolby Pro-Logic system, but anyone buying this set
would be well-advised to obtain an additional speaker, to carry the
front-centre dialogue channel (the speaker should be a shielded type, to avoid
colour 'staining' on the screen). Without it the set will generate what's known
as a 'phantom' image, using its own stereo speakers, which is simply not as
good; it's rather like buying a car with an eight-cylinder engine, and only
using six of them. Considering the relatively low cost of speakers for this
application Hitachi are being a bit mean not supplying one as standard.
Pro-Logic systems need to be carefully
set up to get the best results, the 2574 has the obligatory white noise
sequencer (common to all Pro Logic systems) and the aim is to balance the
speaker levels, using the controls on the remote handset, so they sound equally
loud. The 2574 has a number of additional audio features including 'hall'
effect, which generates a spatial sound by introducing a short delay into the
audio coming from the rear speakers, and 'matrix', a pseudo surround effect
which can be used to beef up ordinary stereo material.
Initial set-up procedures couldn't be
simpler, if you use the set's 'easitune' system which automatically scans
through the broadcast bands, tuning in and storing each channel that it comes
across. Manual tuning involves a little more effort but anyone who has tuned a
VCR or reasonably recent TV shouldn't have any problems. Names or idents can be
allocated to each channel, these will appear every time the channel is changed.
The on-screen displays and menus are very clear, and fairly easy to follow,
once you've got used to the symbols and graphics. Setting and storing picture
and sound parameters is also fairly
straightforward, though it's advisable to keep the instruction book handy at
all times. We have only one operational criticism; there's no front-panel
channel indicator. Now, it may not sound like much of a problem, but there are
times when it is useful just to look up and see what channel you're on. It's
one of those facilities that you only miss when it's not there...
PERFORMANCE
There's absolutely no problems with the
picture performance, it is crisp, well-defined, colours look natural and
lifelike and the image is correctly aligned. NICAM stereo is sharp and
background noise levels so low as to be of no consequence. The on-board
speakers have a reasonably broad range but the stereo soundstage is fairly
narrow, fine if the viewing position is no more than two or three metres from
the screen but the external stereo speakers make all the difference.
The Dolby decoder works well, a little
too well in fact and the system really needs some form of manual input level
control as non-Dolby material leaks through onto the rear speaker. Much of the
time it's not a problem and on occasions it sounds quite good but it can be
irritating as on poor or noisy signals loud buzzes and clicks can be heard
coming from the rear speakers.
Dolby performance from off-tape or
off-air material is generally very good, though of course much depends on the
nature of the source, and not all films shown on TV or satellite are broadcast
with their original Dolby-encoded soundtrack, moreover hardly any broadcaster
'flags' their programmes at the beginning, to show it has a surround-sound soundtrack. The Pro Logic decoder works best on
heavily-engineered blockbuster material, where there's plenty of ear-catching
effects, and we definitely recommend the use of a centre-channel speaker. It's
not, perhaps, as good as some component decoders at deciphering more subtle
sounds, though that could be a consequence of not being able to set the input
level. If you've not heard Dolby Surround before you should be very impressed
with the 2574, and some programmes, like The Simpsons, or Start Trek TNG, will
never seem the same again, in boring old stereo...
VERDICT
An effortless way into the home cinema
for anyone confused and confounded by the jargon, and troubled by the apparent
complexity of alternative methods. The results are very good indeed; purists
might quibble over the absolute precision of this particular decoder, but
anyone wanting to get the most from their satellite system and stereo VCR would
be well-advised to get down to their nearest Hitachi dealers and hear one in
action.
FACT FILE
Make/model: Hitachi
C2574TN
System price:
£900
Address: HITACHI SALES (UK) LTD, Hitachi
House, Station Road, Middlesex UB3 4DR.
Telephone 081-849 2000
VERDICT
Sound ****
Picture *****
Ease of use ****
Features ****
Value for money ****
Outstanding
one-box solution for home cinema
Buying Satellite Rating:
90%
System: PAL, 625-line
single standard, Screen
size:
59cm (25-inches) FST Audio:
NICAM
stereo; 10watts centre, 2 x 5w surround, 2 x 10w main stereo, 1 x 15w sub
woofer (RMS) Sockets: RF/aerial in, 2x
SCART AV, 5 x 2-pin DIN speaker; front: headphone, S-Video (mini DIN), AV in
(phono), Power
consumption: 90 watts Dimensions
701(w)
x 520(h) x 464(d)
---end---
R.Maybury 1993 0610
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