Hitachi Service Menu Tweaks

[RNAChemist]

I accept no responsibility for anything you do to your TV. Adjustments in the service menu are dangerous and can potentially ruin your set…write down all values before you change anything.

The tweaks mentioned here are highly subjective…some you may like, some you may not. These are the ones that I like and the reasons why I like them.

To access the service menu: With the TV OFF, press and hold INPUT (EXIT on some of the newer sets including the S500) on the front of TV then press POWER and release both buttons at the same time. Service menu will be displayed. To exit: press EXIT on remote.

The service menu is a directory of sub menus on three or four pages. You can scroll through the directory by using the up/down joystick on the remote. A sub-directory with a box at the right contains another menu…the service menu parameters. These parameters control the way your TV operates. To access these push right on the joystick. To scroll through the parameters push up/down. To change a parameter value push left/right. Note that most values are in the hexadecimal system (01-FF) and other values have ON (00) or OFF (01) settings, while other values may have three or more settings. IMPORTANT: to SAVE a value after changing click down on the joystick.

Note that the service menu is redundant. For example, the ISF menu starts at the beginning of parameters, and the other menus take you into the service parameters at various points through-out the list. As you get used to it you can find short cuts (rather than scrolling) to the parameter you want. I have indicated the sub menu where these parameters can be found.

These tweaks were applied on my 57S500, obtained from a variety of sources including many Forums, calibrator advice, and reference to the T500 service manual. ENJOY!

Note: Parameter, default value (new value)

ISF Menu:

SUB-BRT 84 (80)

This value controls the sub-brightness. I felt I could adjust the user level brightness better by decreasing this value. Others have listed 7F as a good level too. 7F is the default value listed for the T500. My S500 however was set to 84. This is the only discrepancy I have found in the service menu of these two sets.

SUBCNT0 12 (10)

This value controls the sub-contrast. I felt the picture was somewhat washed out at 12, but much better at 10. I read others that set this value at 05 but I felt that made the picture way too dark.

APRTR-3 01 (00)
APRTR-G 01(00)
APRTR-I 00

Aperture setting, on/off. This parameter reduces significant ringing that is observed around letters and on edges. Note that the last number/letter 3=ANTa/b, G=480i/p, I=1080i. This is a must do tweak IMO. You can easily see the effect of this setting on the picture.

DCUBRT0 3F (?)
DCUCNT0 5A (?)

Brightness/Contrast of the DCAM grid lines. This has been reported as the way to decrease the contrast of the DCAM grid lines so that they can be accurately converged. I haven’t tried this tweak yet but include it here because of its usefulness.

COLORGO 00 (01)

Color gamma correction point. This tweak comes from Michael TLV playing for a red fix. It tames the reds a bit and definitely softens out skin tones making them appear more natural. A must in my eyes.

SRTGA-0 10 (10)

Super Real Transient Gain. This tweak has been mentioned to improve detail and sharpness. This one is really subjective. Some people advise changing this to 00 others say 12-16. I think that 00 makes the picture too soft and 16 makes the picture too edgy. I have tried many settings and prefer the default value of 10.

TA1360 Menu:

STATG10 00 (00 or 05)
STATG20 03 (00 or 03)

These two parameters control the gamma curve for the darkness/lightness levels of the picture respectively. I prefer the factory presets after trying different combinations. The effects are subtle and difficult to adjust properly. STATG10 makes the biggest difference to picture. Perhaps using DVE/AVIA and setting brightness and contrast at 50% this parameter could be tweaked, but until I try that I will stick to the factory default.

YDTL-0 07 (07-08)

Gamma color detail. This parameter adds significant sharpness. Going below 07 makes the picture look blurry. Going above 08 makes the picture look too sharp even grainy. I actually prefer the factory default setting.

GSTR-0 00

Green Stretch. This parameter is set at 01 on older Hitachi’s and is responsible for the lime green problem. Michael TLV has determined this as a fix and interestingly is set accordingly on the newer Hitachi’s. If you have an older Hitachi this is something you may consider changing to correct the greens.

Flex Menu:

VENH-3 02 (00)
VENH-G 02 (00)
VENH-I 00

Vertical enhancement. This parameter has been reported to produce artificial enhancements and can lead to edginess. 00 was chosen mainly because 1080i is set for 00 by factory default.

HENH-3 00
HENH-G 00
HENH-I 00

Horizontal enhancement. I include this parameter because on some of the older Hitachi’s this parameter is not set to 00. On the newer series (S/T) it has been set to 00 as a factory default which leads me to beleive that Hitachi tech's thought this was a good tweak too!

I haven’t touched anything regarding the color decoding. On the newer sets this is easily assessable from the user menu using color decoder and color management and is therefore not necessary from the service menu.

My final settings are ANTa/DVD:

Contrast 33/31
Brightness 48/46
Color 41/41
Tint right three clicks
Sharpness 40/40
Color Temp Standard
SVM Low/OFF
All others OFF
Movie Detection AUTO for both.

Color Management:
Magenta 35
Red 33
Yellow 45
Green 50
Cyan 48
Blue 48

Color Decoder:
Red 50
Green 50

[RNAChemist]

Update:

I fiddled around with the color on my set last week and have decided that I get better color distrubution when I control the dominating reds using the color decoder.

Therefore, my new settings are:

Color Decoder:
Red 35
Green 50

As a result the color management needed to be adjusted:
Color Management:
Magenta 48
Red 46
Yellow 50
Green 50
Cyan 48
Blue 48

I also played some more with the gamma controls, and have adopted the following settings, which so far seem superior to what I was using before:

Note again (default value first, then new value in parenthesis)
STATG10 00 (06)
STATG20 03 (00)

Changing STATG10 setting to 06 gives a more even appearance to the brightness, which allows for a better adjustment using the brightness control in the user menu. I felt that previously, that blacks were too black without any depth.
As I adjust STATG10 the picture becomes somewhat washed out with the STATG20 setting maxed at 03. But if i turn it off (00) it seems to bring out detail in the picture, when I adjust STATG20, between the lights and darks. Much better now I think.

[RNAChemist]

I have had the opportunity to try these tweaks on the new F510 series. They all apply. The F510 default value for sub-brt is 87. Enjoy.

[RNAChemist]

Update:

Another venture into the service menu. Note again (default value first, then new value in parenthesis)

To control for overly bright and potentially crushing whites:

STATG10 00 (00)
STATG20 03 (01)

The STATG20 parameter directly control how much impact white areas have. Load up I-Robot and pause on a scene of the robot's head and see for yourself. I feel that leaving STATG10 at the default value is better.

I found another parameter that may help people with overly bright and blooming whites:

In the TA1383 Sub Menu:

CONTM1 (AntA/B) 10
CONTS1 (Sub Ant A) 10
CONT-2 (NTSC) 10
CONT-K (YPBR) 10 (0C)
CONT-A (DVI) 0C

These are the Sub Contrast Control for different picture types. This parameter gives further contrast control to individual picture types beyond that of the aforementioned SUBCNT0. I changed CONT-K (Contrast for component video) to the same default setting for the DVI input. Combined with the previous adjustments seems to make the picture look better.

[myanow]

Hi, can you please let me know if these tweaks apply to the 51F500 model?

Thanks,

Marcelo

[RNAChemist]

They absolutely do.

[myanow]

Cool Thanks!

[Squidy]

Should a manual convergence and calibration with DVE or AVIA be done before or after applying the tweaks?

In what order have others done the setup?

I would think in the following order, I may be wrong, I was once before. LOL!

- Convergence
- Tweaks
- Calibration.

Please correct me if I am wrong.

Thanks

[RNAChemist]

1. Do/apply all the tweaks from the service menu.

2. Run through DVE or AVIA and fine tune the user adjustments using settings on the tv in the user menu and setting found in your DVD player user menu.

3. Then do a DCAM/convergence.

[Squidy]

Thanks for the reply. Will do!

Squidy

[Cherry101]

Any chance these will work on this model? Also, anyone know about this auto-gain type effect with this set? It's driving me crazy seeing scenes change in brightness every so often.

[ammo]

Hi...I recently acquired the f520 series and have been looking over some of your changes...was curious if you could explain how to use both color decoder and color management....I have a pretty good idea about using color decoder for color and tint,but a little confused on how to go about using the color management menu...I do own avia,video essentials and digital video essentials...could you explain the relationship between these 2 menus and how to tweak them....appreciated greatly....cheers!

[GreginNH]

Was wondering if anyone knew how to get the protective screen cover off a Hitachi 43uwx10B?
I have been reading all the posts on Manual covergence and Servvice tweaks and the TV looks great! better than when I bought it over 3 years ago, so thx for all that info.
But close up the screen seems "greasy", filmy". Not sure if the glass under that protective screen, can and should be cleaned.
Anyone use anything special on that or even the protective screen to clean it?

thanks

[RNAChemist]

You can clean the screen with a damp soft cloth. Monster sells some product called screen clean or something like that which I have no experience with. I use a microfiber cloth for general dusting.

As for screen removal try Keohi rptv dot com they may have some info there.

[hitachi stupid fool]

hey i just wanted to know if they're any standard service menu codes settings? for my daughter split her juice on my note's when i wasn't home and i lost the orignal settings numbers.
now i didn't go far into the service menu. just the part where you can change the greyscale adjustments ( i think) like, switching b/w, standard, warm. and high levels.
i have a 51F510 so is thier anyone who can help with basic settings.
i was orignaly trying to get rid of the red back ground. i was going to redo the settings when i got home tonight for the color temp really sucks now.