Looking glass

GIZMO GALLERY

The Hitachi Ultra Thin 1.5 Series comprises 32”, 37” & 42” LCD televisions. They are just 35mm deep, and incredibly sleek. Hitachi has set about creating a set that is not only impossibly svelte, but also looks as good from the back as from the front. It’s a 360° stunner.

The company has taken an economical approach in the socket roster, which has the necessary HDMI, an RGB computer port and a stereo audio minijack inputs. The remote control is dissapointing with ugly rubbery buttons. The simple menu system makes the Hitachi screens much easier to control, as there’s no real set-up procedure to speak of.

The colour hues it managed to deliver from a standard-definition test disc takes an unconvincing film to a new visual dimension. One of the chief problems most flatscreens have with audio derives from the fact that they lack a big, boomy cabinet to give the sound that little bit of extra strength. The Ultra Thin series is also a trifle weak here.

We also reviewed the 42-inch LG Scarlet stunner, While the other Scarlets in 32”, 37”, 47” have a depth of 81mm, the 42-inch design takes it down to a 45 mm. The 42-inch model has both analogue and Freeview TV tuners as well as plenty of other features. A total of four HDMI inputs to pump high-def action from Blu-ray players or games consoles into its 1920 x 1080 Full HD panel, makes it more special as you won’t find that on many flatscreen TVs, even high-end models.

The Scarlet series is equippped with Intelligent Sensors: The TV gauges the brightness of the room it’s in, then tweaks the picture to achieve the best trade-off in terms of brightness, black levels, colour and detail. It also saves some power, though occasional rapid changes in the brightness of the picture can be distracting.

The front of the TV is gloss black and the frame extends below the actual screen to hide speakers tuned by hi-fi specialist Mark Levinson. LG Scarlet delivers better sound as compared to Hitachi Ultra Thin Series, thanks to the invisible speakers’ Clear Voice or TruSurroundXT modes.