Hitachi Tries To Redeem Itself After Full HD Debacle

Hitachi which was this week forced by Australia’s largest retailer Harvey Norman to offer consumers refunds for selling itsr flat panels TVs as full HD when they were only 1080i models has shown off its new slim TV which will not be available in Australia till late next year.

The Japanese company which is desperate to redeem its reputation following a billion dollars in losses from competing in the flat screen TV market has revealed further details of its Slim TV offering which by late next year will have to compete with offerings from the likes of Sony, Samsung and LG.

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However the company has refused requests from several media organisations including SmartHouse and Sound and Image Magazine to allow its 50″ 1080i plasma to be reviewed alongside a 50″ 1080p plasma TV. 

Available in black, red, white and blue, the UT series of LCD TVs was first unveiled three weeks ago in Japan. It consists of two components. There’s the monitor which measures just 35mm thick, then the separate media station which houses the TV tuner, connectors and S-iVDR slot. The S-iVDR slot allows recording of TV programs on SD/MMC cards. The media station can be connected to the monitor via HDMI or an optional wireless transmitter.

Three sizes are offered in the UT series. The 37-inch and 42-inch models are full-HD panels that will be available only next year. The 32-inch HD-ready offerings are expected before end of year. Hitachi could not confirm the prices or availability of the LCD TVs for Asia at press time.

Hitachi has also announced that it will be introducing two new plasma TVs in the region. The 60-inch P60X01A full-HD panel will be available in January 2008 in Asia Pacific, while the 50-inch P50A01A HD-ready model has not been given a launch date.