Mitsubishi HC3000 review

What was the offset like of the HC3000 ? I've heard it's 30% of screen height - is that right ? I've not really got much flexibility when it comes to PJ position so it's got to sit pretty much at the base of the screen on the opposite wall (just above the couch). I know LCD is generally far more flexable in this regard, I just fancy a DLP this time (no screendoor, no colour uniformity, less dust on panels, no alignment issues etc).
 
mattr said:
What was the offset like of the HC3000 ? I've heard it's 30% of screen height - is that right ? I've not really got much flexibility when it comes to PJ position so it's got to sit pretty much at the base of the screen on the opposite wall (just above the couch). I know LCD is generally far more flexable in this regard, I just fancy a DLP this time (no screendoor, no colour uniformity, less dust on panels, no alignment issues etc).
I have the demo unit on a rear shelf just above my sofa which sounds just like where you want to position it. I have had to angle it down slightly (it has rear feet to do this) to position the image on the screen. I have not had to use the keystone adjustment, but if I measured the image, it may need a small amount of keystone but not enough to bother me. The image does project above the lens by 30% as you said so a 60 inch high image would start 20 inches above the lens so the lower you can position it the better or of course, inverted on the ceiling is the best option.
 
If you can tilt the screen out at the bottom a bit, that can correct any keystone you may have if you ever felt the urge to do it. Much better than having to use digital keystone.

Gary
 
theritz said:
everyone knows that DLP can do better absolute blacks than LCD - it's a function of the technology

Without trying to stir things up again, In general I agree with the above comment.

However I thought absolute blacks on the HS60 to be better than on the HC3000 in certain scenes. For example the classic castaway plane crash scene.

The HS60 nailed this, whereas I thought the HC3000 struggled a bit with it. Absolute black level (function of the HS60s DI assisted large On-Off contrast ratio) really helped the HS60 resolve all the fine detail in this ultra dark scene.
 
big Lee said:
Hi Oakleyspatz, Great review but any chance of some PICS.

Here you go Lee,
These are taken off a JVC High Def D-VHS tape recorded in 1080i resolution. The first one was taken during the day which was actually very sunny. I just pulled the curtains. The contrast has obviously dropped, but it is still watchable which is pretty good going!
 

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Gary Lightfoot said:
If you can tilt the screen out at the bottom a bit, that can correct any keystone you may have if you ever felt the urge to do it. Much better than having to use digital keystone.

Gary

Totally agree with Gary here. Using Keystone adjustment will compromise the image quality. maybe not a massive amount, but if you are after the best quality you can get, it is best to avoid using this digital manipulation where possible.
 
Isn't this projector the same as the Yamaha DPX530? I think they have the same spec and look almost identical! Pricewise, I think the Yam is generally about £1900.:confused:
 
Oakleyspatz said:
I have the demo unit on a rear shelf just above my sofa which sounds just like where you want to position it. I have had to angle it down slightly (it has rear feet to do this) to position the image on the screen. I have not had to use the keystone adjustment, but if I measured the image, it may need a small amount of keystone but not enough to bother me. The image does project above the lens by 30% as you said so a 60 inch high image would start 20 inches above the lens so the lower you can position it the better or of course, inverted on the ceiling is the best option.

Thanks for that - I'm wondering if I'll notice the skew image from angling it - after all it's not like you're square on to the screen at the cinema, it's usually some ugly distorted rectangle when you're off to the side.
 
Thanks for the pics Danny. The first one in the daylight dose seem much brighter than a similar one you showed taken from your sharp z200 also in the daylight. Also pictures do seem much sharper than the HD one you posted from the transporter film that was taken on the sharp. Is there really that much difference.
 
mattr said:
Thanks for that - I'm wondering if I'll notice the skew image from angling it - after all it's not like you're square on to the screen at the cinema, it's usually some ugly distorted rectangle when you're off to the side.

How high is your shelf that it will sit on?
 
ChrisEdu said:
Isn't this projector the same as the Yamaha DPX530? I think they have the same spec and look almost identical! Pricewise, I think the Yam is generally about £1900.:confused:
They look a little similar but are not the same model. The Yamaha DPX530 is only a native 576p res projector. The Mitsubishi HC3000 is a 720p res unit. I have a feeling there may be some relation though as the remote is almost identical and the zoom/focus arrangement is very similar.
 
big Lee said:
Thanks for the pics Danny. The first one in the daylight dose seem much brighter than a similar one you showed taken from your sharp z200 also in the daylight. Also pictures do seem much sharper than the HD one you posted from the transporter film that was taken on the sharp. Is there really that much difference.
I would say with standard def material, i.e. DVD there is a noticeable difference between the 576p Sharp and the 720p Mitsubishi especially with smaller and distant objects but with the High Def stuff, the difference is suprisingly small. I have yet to try High Def 720p material as all D-theater movies are in 1080i I believe but the Sharp holds its own very well with regards to detail retrieval. But brightness is definitely better on the Mitsubishi whilst still having very impressive blacks which gives the image a more 3D effect than the Sharp.
It just goes to show what a bargain that Sharp really is!
 
Enjoyed your review as I have been considering this PJ for a while and will be mainly watching 1080i stuff on it.

My problem is that the BenQ PE7700 is now cheaper - so which one to go for!

Have you had a chance of viewing this PJ and if so how would you compare the two?
Are the BenQs till notorious for 'popping' bulbs early on?

The HC costs 1,065quid with a bulb being 126 quid and
the PE costs 972 quid with the bulb costing 198 quid.

Any help would be much appreciated as hope to buy something before the end of this month.

:)
 
Drew2 said:
Enjoyed your review as I have been considering this PJ for a while and will be mainly watching 1080i stuff on it.

My problem is that the BenQ PE7700 is now cheaper - so which one to go for!

Have you had a chance of viewing this PJ and if so how would you compare the two?
Are the BenQs till notorious for 'popping' bulbs early on?

The HC costs 1,065quid with a bulb being 126 quid and
the PE costs 972 quid with the bulb costing 198 quid.

Any help would be much appreciated as hope to buy something before the end of this month.

:)

Tricky one this! Not seen the BenQ PE7700 in action so cannot give a definitive answer. Best to try and demo both before buying or ask owners of both for their comments.
 
Oakleyspatz said:
How high is your shelf that it will sit on?

It's not high, but I've found out the pj would need to be angled down about 6 degrees which doesn't sound much. Now to work out how many inches difference the top and bottom of the image would be.
 
mattr said:
It's not high, but I've found out the pj would need to be angled down about 6 degrees which doesn't sound much. Now to work out how many inches difference the top and bottom of the image would be.
I think you're talking cms not inches at that incline
 
Drew2 said:
Enjoyed your review as I have been considering this PJ for a while and will be mainly watching 1080i stuff on it.

My problem is that the BenQ PE7700 is now cheaper - so which one to go for!

Have you had a chance of viewing this PJ and if so how would you compare the two?
Are the BenQs till notorious for 'popping' bulbs early on?

The HC costs 1,065quid with a bulb being 126 quid and
the PE costs 972 quid with the bulb costing 198 quid.

Any help would be much appreciated as hope to buy something before the end of this month.

:)

I was going to get the 7700 or the 8700 and opted for the HC3000 in the end because t 8700 is now an old projector the 7700 aparently has bulb issues.
I previoulsy had an infocus 4805 which I found to be fantastic value for money and now I have the HC3000 after a long debate of waiting for the 1080p projectors etc
Will to put it brief the HC3000 is very good at upscaling DVD's when watching through XBMC and out of this world for HD movies andHDTV divx so if you are like me and watch mostly HD footage then get one its fantastic vlaue for money and IMO best 720p projector on the market pound for pound if you cant notice RBE like me that is :) and thats not from my own experience its reading pages and page
 
First post here. I have just switched form the BenQ PE7700 to the HC3000 and I am surprised that nobody has not mentioned the near "dithering free" picture you get from the HC3000 :thumbsup:. My biggest complaint against the DLPs has for a long time been the dithering noise in the picture. HC3000 with the DDP3020 chipset and the faster memory has improved that a lot.

I have seen a lot and owned some of the most popular home PJs the last years and it is my opinion that with the HC3000, Mitsu has made a good step forward with this unit. I shall not compare it to the LCDs I have seen. - But I do not think, due to technological reasons that they cannot do much better CR than 800: without the aid of irises or other gadgets.
 
Hi There,

Couldn't agree more, I have the HC3000 and deliberated for ages before taking the plunge. Having looked at all the 720 DLP models in this class I opted for the HC3000 for the same reasons.

I replaced an old CRT projector with the HC3000 and while I agree the it's no match for the CR on the CRT projector, as I mainly watch DVDs with my PJ I find the upscaling excellent and I'm really pleased with it.

I've also noticed the price seems to have come down since I got mine, I think it's nothing short of a bargain now.
 

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