Audio Video News

Hitachi's TV lineup for the coming year will be one of the first with "plug-and-play" compatibility for high-definition programming delivered over cable systems.

Two of the company's HDTVs for the 2003-2004 season will be rear-projection CRT units with slots for "smart cards" to be provided by cable companies. Use of the cards, known as "Point of Deployment" (POD) security devices, will enable authorized viewing of encrypted high-def programming.

Target date for delivery of the cable-ready HDTVs is October, making Hitachi the first major manufacturer to come to the table with such products. That date could be pushed back if the Federal Communications Commission continues to stall on approval of a plug-and-play agreement inked by equipment makers and cable providers back in December. A delay on POD cards could cause a glitch in Hitachi's timeline, too. The POD feature adds approximately $700 to the cost of an HDTV; non-compatible HD monitors require external set-top boxes to receive high-def broadcasts.

Hitachi's new TVs will include IEEE-1394 ("FireWire") jacks with DTCP (content protection), DVI connectors with HDCP interfaces, and two HD component video inputs. A performance upgrade this year is Hitachi's new "VirtualHD," a 1080p digital video processor said to upconvert all incoming non-1080i signals to 1080p and output user-selectable 1080i or 540p for CRT screens. VirtualHD, includes 3:2 pull-down circuit for film-originated material, and is claimed to reduce video artifacts. VirtualHD is included in many new Hitachi monitors and integrated receivers for the coming season.

Projected for October delivery are two new POD-equipped models in Hitachi's Ultravision Digital line – the 65"-diagonal 65T750 and the 57" 57T750. Estimated prices will be in the $4000-$5000 range.