I have had my Hitachi LCD unit for over 2years. I am beginning to notice the gradual presence of a red spot growing and becoming visible on the screen. It is more noticeable when the picture light level and content is low. When the picture has alot of color and light content the problem is not as apparent. So what is behind this gradual degradation?
Solution:
- We took in a 60v500a with the same problem, Customer bought a new set. We took hers apart. Here is what we found.
1 there is a squril cage blower and a small air duct that cools the lcd screens and polarizer lenses. Yes there are 3 polarizer lenses one in front of each LCD screen.
These start to overheat and discolor. Maybe the filter for the fan clogs up.
Don't really know.
You can pull the LE and vaccum the filter clean every 3-6 month.
You can remove the lenses and maybe the tv will look ok maybe not. I have read where some have had there repaired and now they see vertical lines in the screen. This seems to be a quike fix by removing the melted lens. - You have the infamous "red cloud" as they call it and no matter what you personally do to the TV, it will not resolve the problem. The problem is you have a defective light engine and Hitachi is aware of the problem. We started noticing the red cloud in the middle of our TV (we have the 60v500) about 2 months ago and it got worse. After LOTS of online research, we were convinced it was the light engine. When we called Hitachi, they claimed to know nothing about it but THEY DO! They did give us the names of two certified Hitachi dealers in our area and when the tech came out, he could tell within one minute that we had a bad light engine.
I then called Hitachi back and told them that the tech confirmed that we had a bad light engine and all of a sudden, they knew about the problem...imagine that! They told us that they would call the dealer we used and confirm this with them. They did call the dealer and within 2 days, the dealer had a brand new light engine, sent to themby Hitachi, and they came out and installed it...TV is like brand new.
Here's the kicker...there's always a kicker. If your TV is not still under warranty (ours is 3+ years old so ours is not) Hitachi will cover the part...around $1500 but they ask you to cover the install by the dealer. Our install was $400 and they did the install in our home...they did not have to take the TV into their shop. We felt like paying $400 for a $3600 TV (price we paid when we bought it) was worth it!
One last thing, deal only with the Hitachi Customer Relations Department...NOT CUSTOMER SERVICE. Their regular customer service folks will have you chasing your tail...so to speak. The Customer Relations Number is 800-654-7013. If you're TV is not under warranty and you're willing to spring for the install, it's well worth it. Don't let any dealer tell you that you will have to buy this $1500 part. Hitachi will send it directly to them and you should only pay for the install. Good Luck!