Hitachi’s 2004/2005 Director’s Series TV’s Take Center Stage at CEDIA

September 10, 2004 - The Home Electronics Division of Hitachi America, Ltd., a subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE: HIT), www.hitachi.us/tv, today announced that it will showcase its newest products designed for the growing numbers of home theater enthusiasts at the CEDIA EXPO 2004 in Indianapolis, IN (Indianapolis Convention Center, September 10-12, 2004). The Hitachi Director's Series CineForm rear-projection Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) and plasma high definition televisions, as well as its Director's Series CRT rear-projection TVs and 16:9 LCD front projector will be on display at the Hitachi booth #408. A number of additional products will be showcased at CEDIA EXPO 2004, including Hitachi's award-winning DVD camcorders.

"The home theater enthusiast market is increasingly more sophisticated, and Hitachi actively works to ensure that our product line meets their distinct needs each year," said Leo Delaney, vice president, marketing, Hitachi America, Ltd., Home Electronics Division. "Our latest products, notably the CineForm LCD and plasma televisions, set a new standard in home theater in terms of image quality and design aesthetic, and we're looking forward to presenting them to the CEDIA audience."

ULTRAVISION LCD CINEFORM DIRECTOR'S SERIES VX915
An exclusive Hitachi innovation, the CineForm design is new for the 2004/2005 product lines and gives the Hitachi LCD microdisplay line a uniquely recognizable look. Featuring 50-inch, 60-inch and 70-inch screen sizes, Hitachi's UltraVision LCD CineForm Director's Series VX915 series (50VX915, 60VX915 and 70VX915) delivers top of the line picture quality with a sleek design. At the core of the dramatic design is Hitachi's exclusive high-contrast 2-stage lens system with 7:1 Fresnel lens and an ultra-compact 720p 3-panel light engine. The new lens system enables Hitachi to reduce the cabinet volume by 21 percent from the company's previous generation of LCD televisions, minimizing non-picture area and closely matching the form factor of Hitachi's new plasma television line.

The VX915 models are equipped with Hitachi's proprietary VirtualHD(tm) 1080p video processor that de-interlaces 1080i content and up-converts all non-720p signals to match the set's 720p high-definition display resolution, and are digital cable-ready and CableCARD compatible with an integrated HDTV tuner. Additional features include a photo USB input, Day and Night Memory by Input with Timer, Hitachi's new Roll and Click* remote, Learning AV NET III system, simple remote, Deep-Black Anti-Reflective Shield and dual IEEE 1394 and HDMI interfaces. The Director's Series VX915 CineForm sets also feature a High Gloss Black with Black Trim cabinet.

Shipping in Q3, the 50VX915 and 60VX915 will retail for $4,899.99 and $5,699.99 respectively. The 70VX915 ships in Q4, retailing for $8,199.99.

ULTRAVISION PLASMA CINEFORM DIRECTOR'S SERIES HDX61
The Hitachi 2004/2005 Director's Series plasma line features 55-inch (55HDX61) and 42-inch (42HDX61) models. The 55HDX61 features the company's new WXGA high definition, high aperture design and delivers a brighter and more energy efficient picture at a screen resolution of 1366 x 768. The 42HDX61 utilizes Hitachi's ALiS (Alternate Lighting of Surfaces) technology for a smoother and more precise picture.

Hitachi's UltraVision Director's Series HDX61 plasma TVs incorporate all of the advanced features built into the entire line of Director's Series televisions, and also feature an enhanced industrial design with a high gloss black trim screen frame, a high contrast deep black shield, Hitachi's simple remote and a two-year warranty.

Both the 55HDX61 and 42HDX61 will ship in Q3 and retail for $11,999.99 and $7,999.99, respectively.

ULTRAVISION CRT REAR-PROJECTION DIRECTOR'S SERIES X500
The 2004/2005 Hitachi CRT rear-projection UltraVision Director's Series X500 series features 57-inch (57X500) and 65-inch (65X500) HDTV monitors. Each set features a high gloss industrial design, Hitachi's VirtualHD 1080p digital video processor, Hybrid Wide Neck II CRTs, 5-element Super Contrast lens systems, high-contrast fine-pitch screen, deep black anti-reflective shield and first surface mirror. The Director's Series sets also include a photo memory PCMCIA slot for digital photo display, two DVI-HDTV inputs, two wideband component video inputs, three S-video inputs, four A/V inputs, center channel input, AV output and variable audio output.

Now shipping, the 57X500 and 65X500 retail for $2,999.99 and $3,499.99, respectively.

PJTX100 LCD FRONT PROJECTOR
The PJTX100 UltraVision 16:9 LCD front projector is equally at home in darker home theater environments as in living rooms with relatively bright ambient light and is designed for home theater aficionados looking for a crisp picture that can scale between 30- to 300-inch screen sizes. The PJTX100 offers a brightness of 1,200 ANSI lumens, 1200:1 contrast ratio and 720p resolution (1280x720).

The PJTX100 is equipped with Hitachi's proprietary Super-Focus Quattro ELD Lens which combines four extra-low dispersion lenses and two aspherical lenses to reproduce 720p high definition images with exceptional focus quality. The projector has extensive features, including a 1.6x optical zoom, vertical and horizontal optical lens shifting, Whisper Mode quiet operation to reduce noise output to an industry low of 25db, DVI-HDTV inputs and an exclusive Eight-Step Gamma Curve adjustment. The PJTX100 currently retails for $3,999.99.

For more information, visit www.hitachi.us

SOURCE Hitachi