reviews

HCC Review - Mitsubishi HC 7000 HC 6500 HC5500

November 2008

Review the HC7000 LCD Projector

Engineered and manufactured in Japan, this stylish, curvy and glossy black projector comes with full HD 1080p resolution and an amazing contrast ratio of up to 72,000:1 thanks to the new Diamond Black Iris and optical compensation panel. At just 17db, the fan noise is the quietest in the market thanks to an innovative cooling system, ensuring a distraction free home theatre experience.

The amazing image is achieved as a result of the inclusion of several new technological advances. The HC7000 comes with the latest high performance Reon-VXTM video processor with HQV (Hollywood Quality Video) technology.

This processor provides high performance video scaling, which guarantees superior pixel conversion when images are being converted from 720x480p to 1920x1080p, as well as 14-bit digital gamma correction, which enables the projector to reproduce subtleties in dark images. The HC7000 also features an inorganic full high definition LCD panel, for the reproduction of vivid 1080P images with rich, deep blacks.

Other features of the HC7000 include a 1.6x power focus and zoom, and motorised lens shift for easy horizontal and vertical adjustment. The projector has two HDMI v1.3 input terminals, and anamorphic lens compatibility for widening the range of cinema-scope images.

It also comes with a lamp life of up to 5000 hours, a 3D micro surface air filter, trigger terminal and illuminated remote control.

Specification Overview

Review Counter Points
..HC7000 has lowest ANSI lumens, shortest warranty (Epson/Sanyo 3 years on projector & lamp, there is a $500+ saving if you blow a lamp within 3 years), it also has the least lens shift & zoom 1.6:1.

The HC7000 is not suited to a general purpose room, you'd need a dedicated home theatre room due to the low light output. (in our opinion) The bonus of having a lower light output means less heat and fan noise to cool the projector, this helps explain the very low noise db.

72000:1 CR on/off (long story but they all sex it up we've seen different ratings from this manufacturer..) The HC 7000 is about 8000:1 native CR in our opinion, so the ANSI CR will be way less again but how would it look putting 500:1 REAL ANSI Contrast Ratio on the box of ANY projector?

All manufacturers have painted themselves into a corner with higher & higher CR on the box (Yes the REAL CR has improved with most every new model but you need to at least knock of a zero) now it's just a matter of time till we see 100,000:1 contrast ratio which is the ultimate marketing fiction number.

D6 vs. D7

This model range uses older D6 version 3-LCD panels whereas Epson & Sanyo's competitive projectors use D7.

D6 has a native CR of 1500:1 D6 and 10 bit LCD processing wheras D7 uses 12 bit LCD processing.

While the D6’s 10-bit driver could control 1.1 billion colors, the new 12-bit capability boosts performance by 64 times to 68.7 billion colors. Gradation levels jump from a possible 1,024 to 4,096. These performance boosts make it possible for D7 to support the new xvYCC (called x.v.Color) color standard.

Note too the Sanyo Z3000 for example has more features including Predictive Frame Interpolation and x.v.Color taking advantage of the new D7 LCD engine |more|

Our thanks to AIM Digital for the loan projector.

Note on 5000 hour lamp life.

This is what Mitsubishi say:

*Maximum of 5000 hours at low mode and 2000 hours at standard mode. Lamp life is defined as the average time until brightness is reduced by half; it is not a guaranteed life for all lamps. Lamp life will vary considerably depending on the usage environment and conditions, and whether regular maintenance such as cleaning is performed.

Review the HC6500 LCD Projector

Mitsubishi Electric has just released the latest model in its range of home theatre projectors. Fully manufactured in Japan, the HC6500 offers beautiful colour reproduction as a result of the newly improved auto-iris algorithm and optimised contrast control, with recent advances allowing contrast ratio levels to reach a stunning 15,000:1. The result is superior image reproduction and vivid clarity to deliver an unforgettable home theatre experience, all contained in a functional but elegant black chassis design.

Superb image reproduction performance is complimented by several cutting edge features usually found with more expensive home theatre projector models. Adopting extra low dispersion glass lenses, for example, allows full high definition resolution to exceed the performance of conventional glass lenses. The new auto-iris delivers the deepest blacks, brightest whites and vivid colours. A powered 1.6x zoom and focus lens allows for impressive cinema style screenings in even the smallest of rooms.

The HC6500 incorporates the new Reon-VX chip manufactured by the renowned pioneers of Hollywood Quality Video (HQV) technology, Silicon Optics Inc. Combined with a high-quality next-generation LCD panel, this high-performance chip actively reduces chromatic up-sampling errors, ensuring crisp high definition images without colour blur or loss.

The HC6500‘s reputation for smooth functionality is enhanced by its compatibility with most media, including the next generation Blue-ray 24P disk. High precision interlace/progressive (I/P) conversion image processing technology allows various source signals to be detected and processed with maximum precision, even those from mixed video/film media.

With all these features and more, the elegant black HC6500 truly is the perfect blend of sophisticated functionality and style.

Review Counter Points
..HC6500 has shortest warranty (Epson/Sanyo 3 years on projector & lamp, there is a $500+ saving if you blow a lamp within 3 years), the HC6500 is 1 year/500 Hrs on lamp, 2 years on projector.

2000HR lamp life on normal mode, least lens shift & zoom.

D6 vs. D7

This model range uses older D6 version 3-LCD panels whereas Epson & Sanyo's competitive projectors use D7.

D6 has a native CR of 1500:1 D6 and 10 bit LCD processing wheras D7 uses 12 bit LCD processing.

While the D6’s 10-bit driver could control 1.1 billion colors, the new 12-bit capability boosts performance by 64 times to 68.7 billion colors. Gradation levels jump from a possible 1,024 to 4,096. These performance boosts make it possible for D7 to support the new xvYCC (called x.v.Color) color standard.

Epson/Sanyo may offer better value if you consider the warranty.

Our thanks to AIM Digital for the loan projector.

Review the HC5500 LCD Projector

Black reproduction is the key to stunning home theater and the HC5500 LCD projector brings more life to your screen with faster transitions between light and dark scenes and sharper overall details in dark areas. This portable home theater projector projects at a full HD(1920 x 1080) 1080p resolution. Digital video output gives you seamless performance with the Blu-ray 24P next generation optical disk. And a 1.2x powered zoom and focus lens lets you enjoy the big screen even in smaller spaces.

New LCD Projector Technology

The HC5500 HD projector is built with an advanced inorganic LCD panel and improved liquid crystal panel cooling efficiency. The result is an LCD panel that not only projects the sharpest images, but is rated to last ten times as long as conventional organic LCD panels.

"Hollywood Quality" Home Theater

Silicon Optix Reon-VX HQV (Hollywood Quality Video) processing delivers detailed HD projector images with 1080i-to-1080p projector de-interlacing and a sophisticated multidirectional diagonal filter that helps ensure video free from jagged edges. HQV also makes standard media approach HD quality through advanced scaling, per-pixel detail enhancement, and noise reduction.

So Quiet, and Easy To Maintain

The portable home theater projector design includes a low-noise fan that slashes the overall noise level to only 19dBA. With up to 5000 hours of lamp-life (in low mode) you won’t have to change lamps often.

Review Counter Points
..HC5500 has shortest warranty (Epson/Sanyo 3 years on projector & lamp, there is a $500+ saving if you blow a lamp within 3 years), the HC5500 is 1 year/500 Hrs on lamp, 2 years on projector.

2000HR lamp life on normal mode, least lens shift (50%) & zoom (only 1.2).

D6 vs. D7

This model range uses older D6 version 3-LCD panels whereas Epson & Sanyo's competitive projectors use D7.

D6 has a native CR of 1500:1 D6 and 10 bit LCD processing wheras D7 uses 12 bit LCD processing.

While the D6’s 10-bit driver could control 1.1 billion colors, the new 12-bit capability boosts performance by 64 times to 68.7 billion colors. Gradation levels jump from a possible 1,024 to 4,096. These performance boosts make it possible for D7 to support the new xvYCC (called x.v.Color) color standard.

Epson/Sanyo may offer better value if you consider the warranty and indeed features.

HCC

Love LCD! The models on this page are all impressive projectors but it seems a shame that the HC7000 did not take advantage of the latest D7 panels. To say they can more out of the old D6 makes us wonder what Mitsubishi could have squeezed out of the latest D7.

Most 1080 HD LCD projectors use the similar LCD engines so the decision in our opinion comes down to the features they've bundled in the case and the deal being offered with the sale (such as warranty, price).

We've been championing the benefits of 3LCD over single chip DLP for years and it's good to see so many die hard DLP brands changing over to LCD. |See AIM Digital for overview|

Our thanks to AIM Digital for the loan projector.

New Sanyo Z700 Z3000 reviews

HCC © December 2008
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Specifications Subject to change without notice