Hey all.

I just got my HC1500 and set it up on the floor while my old 4805 (800 hours on bulb and professionally calibrated 1 month ago) was still mounted on the ceiling. The HC1500 will be replacing the 4805 this weekend but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to compare the two units. Besides, my 4805 is professionally calibrated so I used it to do a quick and dirty calibration on the Mits.

Here are my impressions in order of how they 'hit me':

1) holy light canon! The Mits can really pump it out and made the 4805 look very dim indeed. My screen (96" BOC) jumped to life when I switched to the Mits. This was after I set brightness to get better black levels. It's clear that a properly calibrated image on the Mits will be much brighter ('punchier'/more 3D) than it is on the 4805.

2) Sharpness - The 4805 had a noticably soft image and it's one of the things that 'bugged' me about it ('bugged' being a relative term as I really like the 4805). The Mits was very sharp. Text on the screen had 'hard' lines and looked much 'crisper' than on the 4805.

3) Colors - This is probably the biggest difference between the two units. Colors seem far richer on the Mits and it seemed capable of producing more of them. On several scenes in SW Episode 2 there were colors that appeared that simply weren't there (or noticable) on the 4805. Due to the added brightness of the Mits, things like explosions had a far more 3D effect than on the 4805. Also, deep colors (e.g. dark reds, greens and blues) were much 'richer' on the Mits. In other words, they stood out more and made the image appear more 3D.

4) Detail - This one was entirely expected - details in HD were far more pronounced with the Mits. Lines on people's faces, imperfections in make-up...virtually everything seemed sharper and crisper with the Mits. My HD-DVD's really shined (sp) on the Mits. Unfortunately, there was no HD hockey last night (I am Canadian eh!) but there was baseball (yech!). The players and field were far more detailed on the Mits than the 4805 (as they should be).

5) Upconversion - This is an oversight on my part more than anything else. I never hooked my Toshiba HD A30 to the 4805 via HDMI (only component). As such, I was only feeding it a 480p signal. Now I had my 22AWG HDMI cable from Monoprice (which really is close to the thickness of a garden hose!!!) and hooked it in to the Mits (set to 1080i). WOW! My regular DVD's look much better and come close to what I'm seeing with my HD DVD's. I didn't realize how much of a difference a good upconverting player could make until I saw it on my 96" screen!

6) SD material (cable sources) - This was the last thing that I checked out and probably my biggest surprise of the night. I fully expected the 4805 to best the Mits on SD material...it did not. I would say that they were about equal. Unfortunately, I had spent my entire night viewing HD sources or upconverted DVD's until this point so there was a serious "ugggghhhh" factor when switching over to SD cable material. Yes, it sucked but it was equally 'watchable' on both projectors. This is good because my 4 year old daughter spends most of her projector time watching Scooby Doo and Kim Possible from our PVR.

Parting thoughts -- I loved having the 4805 but it's clear that it's aging. I judge my upgrades based on whether or not it makes me want to watch my entire movie collection over again - the 4805 did that over a year ago and the Mits did it again last night. My other big benchmark is my wife's impression. She is far from a videophile and her first words were..."wow, I can really see the difference".

Consider me one happy camper!!!

you would get an even better picture outputting 720p to it and setting the overscan to 100%!
pixelmapping is always the best!

you would get an even better picture outputting 720p to it and setting the overscan to 100%!
pixelmapping is always the best!

The first thing I did was set the overscan to 100%...I'm not sure why it's set to 97% to begin with...???

I did try setting both sources to both 1080i and 720p. Something about 1080i just seemed...ever so slightly better.

I also moved up to a HC1500 after enjoying the 4805. Same impression on the relative performance of the devices and the upconversion capability of my Toshiba A3. I'm a happy camper too.

you would get an even better picture outputting 720p to it and setting the overscan to 100%!
pixelmapping is always the best!

Good to know!

You've made my day. Being new to projectors, I spent weeks on this forum perusing different threads about different PJs. I finally decided on an HC1500 (which should be delivered by UPS sometime today). Reading threads like this confirms that (hopefully) I've made a wise buy.

The first thing I did was set the overscan to 100%...I'm not sure why it's set to 97% to begin with...???

I did try setting both sources to both 1080i and 720p. Something about 1080i just seemed...ever so slightly better.


The scaler in the Mits is very underrated. I have a Mits HC3000 and when set to 1080i the Mits really keeps it clean and sharp down to 720P. Even does very well with fast moving compression artifacts. I have a Samsung H260F STB tuner thats is pretty nice, but the scaler inside of it is no match for my Mits. I have a Bravo D1 something you can buy really cheap right now and running 2:2 @ 48hz is just all I could hope for, the scaling is so perfect that I notice all the wear and tear bobs that appear in film. Out of the box mine is pretty close to D65 and the picture really shows it you can really see the added contrast compared to my old SP4805 that and the fact that its just flat out brighter like you mentioned, low is truly watchable with DVD's and its very quiet on high, its quieter on high than a SP4805 on low. At the current prices($795) the HC1500 is the PJ to beat imo even though I have a HC3000.

Hi, and thank you for posting this thread precisely while I'm selling my IN72 and considering buying an HC1500.

I just wanted to know how good does the HC1500 look with Widescreen DVDs over S-Video... because that's all I get from my old Panasonic HTIB.

In other words, how good does the Mitsubishi upscale and de-interlace 480i content sourced from movies?

My main use will be watching the Star Wars saga and Pixar movies.

Keep in mind that the 720p Mitsu's take 1080i down to 540p before they scale to 720p , it does not go straight from 1080i to 720p like some other PJ's on the market .

However with that said we compared an HC3000 to an IN76 ( which does direct 1080i/p -> 720p ) and nobody in the room (about 8 people) could see any difference between the two (both units via HDMI from same Toshiba HD DVD player) .

So yes the Mitsu 720p DLP PJ's handle 1080i very well even though they do it the old fashioned way ;) .

--- Jason

Hi, and thank you for posting this thread precisely while I'm selling my IN72 and considering buying an HC1500.

I just wanted to know how good does the HC1500 look with Widescreen DVDs over S-Video... because that's all I get from my old Panasonic HTIB.

In other words, how good does the Mitsubishi upscale and de-interlace 480i content sourced from movies?

My main use will be watching the Star Wars saga and Pixar movies.

While I would not suggest that anybody use S-video into a 720p PJ the Mitsu's do a reasonable job , but as a previous 4805 owner I would not expect it to be any better than the IN72 (maybe even a bit worse) . Consider that going from 480i to 480p is pretty simple while going from 480i to 720p makes things a bit tougher ;) . I still say that SD content is usually better viewed on an SD/ED display .

-- Jason

While I would not suggest that anybody use S-video into a 720p PJ the Mitsu's do a reasonable job , but as a previous 4805 owner I would not expect it to be any better than the IN72 (maybe even a bit worse) . Consider that going from 480i to 480p is pretty simple while going from 480i to 720p makes things a bit tougher ;) . I still say that SD content is usually better viewed on an SD/ED display .

-- Jason

Thank you for the info. I think I'll be getting a cheap upscaling DVD player then, until Blu-ray prices come down. Anybody has any experience with a combination of a cheap Philips upscaling DVD player and the Mitsu HC1500? The Philips units seem to be very popular, and they have HDMI output, but I want to make sure they get along with this unit.

I just bought a hc1500 and bought a cheap
Philips Upconvert DVD Player DVP3960/37
It was only $47 at walmart and I was not expecting much at all just something to hold me over for a little while. I was really surprised by how good it looks. I had a friends Oppo upscale dvd player hooked up as well and I could not see a difference between the two. Up untill then I thought the Oppo was the only way to go but I guess the upscaling thing has come a long ways for this cheap player to look so good. It also has all the functions that I wanted that the Oppo has. Like color, contrast,saturation controls. easy hdmi upscaling setup. as well as some nice preset sound enhancments. It really is an outstanding player and I am thinking about buying another one for our living room tv. You can't go wrong with it especially at $47.

Keep in mind that the 720p Mitsu's take 1080i down to 540p before they scale to 720p , it does not go straight from 1080i to 720p like some other PJ's on the market .

However with that said we compared an HC3000 to an IN76 ( which does direct 1080i/p -> 720p ) and nobody in the room (about 8 people) could see any difference between the two (both units via HDMI from same Toshiba HD DVD player) .

So yes the Mitsu 720p DLP PJ's handle 1080i very well even though they do it the old fashioned way ;) .

--- Jason

I take it then that it would technically be better to set my HD box and HD A30 to output 720p and let them take care of the conversion? My HD box is set to 720p but I could have sworn the image looked 'better' on my HD DVD when I had it set to 1080i.

Thank you for the info. I think I'll be getting a cheap upscaling DVD player then, until Blu-ray prices come down. Anybody has any experience with a combination of a cheap Philips upscaling DVD player and the Mitsu HC1500? The Philips units seem to be very popular, and they have HDMI output, but I want to make sure they get along with this unit.

I would highly recommend that you find someone trying to unload a Toshiba HD DVD player for a song. I've seen A3's going for as low as $60 in my area. They are great for upconverting and I've been picking up a ton of HD DVD's for $10. If I can find another one, I'll be picking up another as a 'back-up' to the one that I own.

I take it then that it would technically be better to set my HD box and HD A30 to output 720p and let them take care of the conversion? My HD box is set to 720p but I could have sworn the image looked 'better' on my HD DVD when I had it set to 1080i.

Well that was the point I was making, the scaler in the Mits is above ave, if the source is 1080 then set your box to 1080 because the Mits will down scale it better, at least its that way on my HC3000. It all really depend on the quality of the scaler in you other devices.

This is a timely post -- the bulb just blew in my 4805, so I am considering my options.

Two questions:

1) How does the offset of the Mits compare to the 4805? I've got about a 10.5' throw right now.

2) What about rainbows, vs the 4805? I don't see 'em on the 4805 myself. Is the HC1500 any different for you in that regard?

Thanks in advance

This is a timely post -- the bulb just blew in my 4805, so I am considering my options.

Two questions:

1) How does the offset of the Mits compare to the 4805? I've got about a 10.5' throw right now.

2) What about rainbows, vs the 4805? I don't see 'em on the 4805 myself. Is the HC1500 any different for you in that regard?

Thanks in advance

Offset is slightly more on the Mits...but not much. As for placement (zoom), I have a 96" screen and the Mits is about 1/2 a foot further back to fill the same screen.

I never once saw rainbows with the 4805 but I have seen it a few times on the Mits. The openning scene from Star Wars (with the orange text) causes me to see them. However, I've never seen them during the movie itself. The added brightness of the Mits is to blame I think.

I still say that SD content is usually better viewed on an SD/ED display .

-- Jason

Yeah, that's what I always thought too. I've been doing the pixel-mapped thing with my 4805 and a Bravo D-1 for some time, and really enjoying it. I only watch SD DVD's -- have no other source (besides VHS!). So what would you say the real difference is PQ wise between a 4805/Bravo D1 and a Walmart upconverting player/HC1500 combo on SD source material? Would the Mits be a good match for the Bravo?

Thanks for the info, KfromC.

Yeah, that's what I always thought too. I've been doing the pixel-mapped thing with my 4805 and a Bravo D-1 for some time, and really enjoying it. I only watch SD DVD's -- have no other source (besides VHS!). So what would you say the real difference is PQ wise between a 4805/Bravo D1 and a Walmart upconverting player/HC1500 combo on SD source material? Would the Mits be a good match for the Bravo?


Yes, The Bravo is a great match for any PJ although I haven't heard its performance @ 1080p. But I can guarantee you it is only challenged by Oppo's at 720P and it can do so many custom settings. Its time to move to Blu-Ray though and I'm there in the next 90 days if not 30.

Quick Q, is the 1500 able to sync (color wheel and all) to 48hz and 72hz like the 4805?
Thanks

At 13' 6" lens to screen distance, the HC1500 will zoom from 94" to 113" diagonal screen size. :D

Excellent. How far below the lens center will the image start?

I am also trying to find the image offset ratio for the HC1500 and even the official brochure does not list it.

They do have a chart though that will tell you the "Hd" distance - defined as distance from lens axis to the bottom of the image. They list distances for some of the popular screen sizes on the chart.

Still, a firm % number would be better to arrive at a precise number. My ceiling height is 92" and i currently have the 4805 mounted on the ceiling projecting on a 92" screen from about 12 feet.

I want to make sure that the HC1500's screen offset is not worse that the 4805, which I believe is about 27%?

Anyone know the right numbers for the HC1500?

Thanks for posting your impressions. I'm at the earliest stages of considering a replacement for my 4805, and don't yet know the available options. I'll definitely put the HC1500 high on the list.

Can I ask what other models you considered?

Excellent. How far below the lens center will the image start?


35% offset according to this review:
http://www.projectorcentral.com/mitsubishi_hd1000u.htm

The HC1000 shares the same physical image offset as the HC1500
In the review example, From distance of 11.9-15.5' on a 16:9 100" diag. screen, means top of image will be 17.15" below(ceilng-mount)or bottom of image 17.15" above (shelf-mount) from center of lens. In my case, no Lens shift restricts celing mount for anything lower than 8feet from floor to ceiling. (Otherwise screen bottom too close to floor for my taste.) Too bad, great deal on Mit HC1500 as noted here:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1015990

Mitsubishi HC1500 projector throw distance calculator (for MS Windows) link on this page: http://www.mitsubishi-presentations.com/resources/projector_tools.html#throw

35% offset according to this review:
http://www.projectorcentral.com/mitsubishi_hd1000u.htm

The HC1000 shares the same physical image offset as the HC1500
In the review example, From distance of 11.9-15.5' on a 16:9 100" diag. screen, means top of image will be 17.15" below(ceilng-mount)or bottom of image 17.15" above (shelf-mount) from center of lens. In my case, no Lens shift restricts celing mount for anything lower than 8feet from floor to ceiling. (Otherwise screen bottom too close to floor for my taste.) Too bad, great deal on Mit HC1500 as noted here:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1015990


35%??? Oh Wow....that would rule it out for me with the low ceiling, what a bummer.

And I thought the 27% offset for the 4805 was too much!

I have the 4805 mounted on a beam in my basement that is 81" from the ground. The actual ceiling is 86" high, but the beam has the power outlet and is just perfect for a mounting spot.

My throw is 12.5 feet - I could stretch it to 13.5 feet. My screen is 106". The bulb on my 4805 has exploded (for the last time... I'm sick of replacing it!) and I'm interested in the HC1500.

Will this setup work for the HC1500?

I have the 4805 mounted on a beam in my basement that is 81" from the ground. The actual ceiling is 86" high, but the beam has the power outlet and is just perfect for a mounting spot.

My throw is 12.5 feet - I could stretch it to 13.5 feet. My screen is 106". The bulb on my 4805 has exploded (for the last time... I'm sick of replacing it!) and I'm interested in the HC1500.

Will this setup work for the HC1500?

Can you lower your screen? If yes, then it can work but it would still be a stretch and you will have your screen way close to the floor, more so than you would prefer or would be ideal.

I have 92" ceiling height and I know this is not going to work for me. As for one, I can't take the screen any lower than where it is mounted and I was barely able to make it work to begin with with the 4805. This was with my own construct of the monkey man mount for the 4805 which is hanging just 2 inches from the ceiling.

I just got my HC1500

Could you please post pictures of the box? I need to know what's written on the box before importing it to Ecuador... I hope it says somewhere that it can be connected to a PC. If not, I'll have to pay 20% extra in customs.

Could you please post pictures of the box? I need to know what's written on the box before importing it to Ecuador... I hope it says somewhere that it can be connected to a PC. If not, I'll have to pay 20% extra in customs.


Yes it can be connected to the PC..Or do you need to know if it says that on the box itself?

Yes it can be connected to the PC..Or do you need to know if it says that on the box itself?

Believe or not, yes, I would really love the box to say that it can be connected to a PC. Ecuadorian authorities charge 0% ad valorem over computer projectors, but 20% over any other kind of projector.

Ok ill check soon as I get home. I could have sworn it says PC connection but it pays to double check.

Now I remember who had also switch from a 4805 User Terrance

http://community.webshots.com/user/teehtf

Believe or not, yes, I would really love the box to say that it can be connected to a PC. Ecuadorian authorities charge 0% ad valorem over computer projectors, but 20% over any other kind of projector.

Sorry man, no where on the box does it say what type of connection it takes. Just that it's 720p.

Sorry man, no where on the box does it say what type of connection it takes. Just that is 720p.

Too bad... I'll have to devise another strategy...

Thank you a lot for the info.

Keep in mind that the 720p Mitsu's take 1080i down to 540p before they scale to 720p , it does not go straight from 1080i to 720p like some other PJ's on the market .

well ?

I've used several HD standalone players in 1080i on the HC1100/3100, they definitely show real 720p to me ?!

It looks nowhere like a HC910 :eek:

Someone said earlier that the 1500 scales to 540p then up to 720 if you feed it a 1080i signal? Is that true?

If so would it be better to send it the 1080i signal and have the projector scale it or have the Playstation 3 do the scaling to 720p and pipe that to the projector?

Z

Would think that since it's a 720P projector when you can send it a 720P signal.

It's not that simple when the SOURCE signal is not 720p. We still want to determine which device can handle the scaling better.

Dont have a playstation 3 to test. However those who do have it says the scaler is very nice but they dont have a projecter. Maybe Ztrain has both and could test it.

Would think that since it's a 720P projector when you can send it a 720P signal.

I have my HD DVD player set to output to 1080i and it looks better than the 720p feed. I set my digital box to output 1080i thinking it would be the same but NO...the picture was terrible. I've since switched my box to 720p and the picture looks amazing!

I guess the best thing to do is experiment to see which works best with your equipment.

Yeah my old dvd player was like that. 720p sucked, but 1080I rocked. Using my HTPC it almost looks the same on this projector but 720p tends to be crisper. Hopefully ill have a friend over this weekend with a Xbox 360, he wants to see how that does.

Well just to share my final decision here....after further research and a recommendation by a well known and respected member, I decided to go with the Infocus 7210...seems to be worth the extra cash. The HC3100 was his other recommendation for a good jump on quality over the 4805.
Just my .02

Cant wait to see some pic Luis!

Grats.

Yeah just got off the phone with a distributor and will be going with the 1500 given it's price is lower then my tax return amount. I have a PS3 and will post what I see when I give it a try. So far testing with my X1 I thinkn the projector does a better visual with the 1080i letting it scale. Vs having the PS3 scale to 720p and then the projector scale again to 800X450 native resolution.

Z

Cant wait to see some pic Luis!

Grats.

Thanks! :D
I will take some pics of my 4805 which is sadly leaving tomorrow to use for comparisons with the 7210 when that one comes home.
Sorry for been out of topic OP. Back to regular programming. :)

well ?

I've used several HD standalone players in 1080i on the HC1100/3100, they definitely show real 720p to me ?!

It looks nowhere like a HC910 :eek:

I did not say it was displaying 540p , it is scaling from 1080i to 540p and then to 720p . The Mitsu 720p DLP's do not do direct 1080i/p -> 720p , this is a known fact . Rest assured however that it does an excellent job . If you are seeing better results with 1080i vs 720p then it probably means that the source is not as good at scaling to 720p as the Mitsu PJ is ( generally speaking you want to feed the Mitsu 720p DLP's a 720p source for the best results , just be sure to check each source however as it can vary ) .

--- Jason

Thanks! :D
I will take some pics of my 4805 which is sadly leaving tomorrow to use for comparisons with the 7210 when that one comes home.
Sorry for been out of topic OP. Back to regular programming. :)

Hey Luis ,
Been a while since the 4805 thread my friend ;) .

I have a local friend that has the 7210 and be aware that it is louder than the 4805 (fan noise) . Other than that it throws one heck of an image and you should be impressed .

Best of Luck ,
-- Jason

The Mitsu 720p DLP's do not do direct 1080i/p -> 720p , this is a known fact .

--- Jason
Would you be able to referance a source of this known fact?

Z

Would you be able to referance a source of this known fact?

Z

Try Cine4home , they are one of the best and most trusted review sites out there but they may not have it posted on their review ( it might have been one of the reviewers from that site that stated this in one of the official Mitsu threads , sorry but I do not recall off hand where it is ) . The scaling chip that the Mitsu 720p DLP pj's use is not capable of direct 1080 to 720 conversion from what has been stated in the past ( it has been stated that they all use the same scaling chip ... other than maybe the HC3100 ) .

Here is one link that states it regarding the HC3000 : http://www.hdtvexpert.com/pages_b/mitsubishi_HC3000.html

Here is a quote from that review : "In fact, the HC3000 uses a “bob” method to process 1080i. What this means is that each 1920x1080 interlaced frame is broken into sequential 1920x540p fields with not much 3D motion interpolation. The resulting frames are then scaled to 1280x720p."

If anybody can prove different with any of the other Mitsu 720p DLP's then I would luv to hear about it :) .


-- Jason

Well just to share my final decision here....after further research and a recommendation by a well known and respected member, I decided to go with the Infocus 7210...seems to be worth the extra cash. The HC3100 was his other recommendation for a good jump on quality over the 4805.
Just my .02

I'm frankly amazed that you found a 7210! I thought they were all gone at this point. It is a very nice projector and I was very bummed that I missed out when it was going for under $1K. I hope you didn't spend too much on yours...

If anybody can prove different with any of the other Mitsu 720p DLP's then I would luv to hear about it :) .


-- Jason

Ohh it's not that I didn't believe you. It's I'm new here and I've seen a lot of what I know to be absolute BS tossed around lately on other threads.

The method you described is also how the old X1 projectors were stated they did their scaling as well. Which produces phominal looking results on a SD DLP chip. But scaling down to scale up seems well wrong some how. Given that I am now wondering how the PS3 scales. If it will be better to have itt convert the 1080p to 720p then send that to the projector.

Z

The PS3 Scales VERY well, its just something you'll have to test.

Ohh it's not that I didn't believe you. It's I'm new here and I've seen a lot of what I know to be absolute BS tossed around lately on other threads.

The method you described is also how the old X1 projectors were stated they did their scaling as well. Which produces phominal looking results on a SD DLP chip. But scaling down to scale up seems well wrong some how. Given that I am now wondering how the PS3 scales. If it will be better to have itt convert the 1080p to 720p then send that to the projector.

Z

Yeah I did not take it that you were doubting me just that you wanted to know where the info was coming from ;) .

I run my PS3 at 720p full time into my HC3000 and it does a great job with BluRay plus I get the benefit of pixel mapping which makes for an incredibly sharp image .

--- Jason

Thanks all. Well, I made the jump and replaced my burned out 4805 with the HC1500. My impressions, after a quick AVIA calibration and just a little viewing time, are as follows:

-- I was concerned going in about the offset, but in my room it really was not an issue. I had my 4805 shelf mounted upside down behind my viewing position about 11' from screen, and the HC1500 slid into the same slot with very little tweaking needed to line the image up with the screen. A very nice surprise.

-- Feeding it 720p from my Bravo D1 over HDMI, the picture is very crisp and clean. Blacks are maybe a little better than the 4805, but nothing earth shattering. The main visual improvements over the 4805 are in the reduced SDE (noticeable on the 4805, not visible at all on the 1500) and increased brightness (very bright, shockingly so, in fact, when not in low power mode). Colors are very good. What's with the sharpness control though? As mentioned in Audioholics review, you have to turn it off basically to avoid ringing. Very odd.

-- Feeding it 480i over component from my budget (but region free!) JVC player is not as nice, but then again the 4805 did not do much with the JVC either. Still, my gut says the DCDi processing in 4805 is/was a bit better than whatever is doing the processing in the Mits. I will be watching the Bravo a lot, I think. And perhaps looking for a deal on an Oppo.

-- The Mits lens is not threaded, and bigger in diameter than the 4805. The ND filter I used on the 4805 does work with the mits -- it lip of the lens housing is wide enough for the filter to sit on.

-- For me, at least, rainbows are MORE prevalent than on the 4805, but not to a distracting level.

Over all, this is a great replacement for the 4805. Given that it's about half the price of what I paid for the 4805 several years ago, and higher performance, I'm quite satisfied.

Try Cine4home , they are one of the best and most trusted review sites out there but they may not have it posted on their review ( it might have been one of the reviewers from that site that stated this in one of the official Mitsu threads , sorry but I do not recall off hand where it is ) . The scaling chip that the Mitsu 720p DLP pj's use is not capable of direct 1080 to 720 conversion from what has been stated in the past ( it has been stated that they all use the same scaling chip ... other than maybe the HC3100 ) .

Here is one link that states it regarding the HC3000 : http://www.hdtvexpert.com/pages_b/mitsubishi_HC3000.html

Here is a quote from that review : "In fact, the HC3000 uses a “bob” method to process 1080i. What this means is that each 1920x1080 interlaced frame is broken into sequential 1920x540p fields with not much 3D motion interpolation. The resulting frames are then scaled to 1280x720p."

If anybody can prove different with any of the other Mitsu 720p DLP's then I would luv to hear about it :) .


-- Jason

This is not exactly the same as converting it to 540p. 540p would be the resolution of the old 1/4HD projectors like the sanyo z1 (http://www.projectorcentral.com/Sanyo-PLV-Z1.htm): 960x540. At least using this method the horizonal resolution is not lost.

Thanks all. Well, I made the jump and replaced my burned out 4805 with the HC1500. My impressions, after a quick AVIA calibration and just a little viewing time, are as follows:

-- I was concerned going in about the offset, but in my room it really was not an issue. I had my 4805 shelf mounted upside down behind my viewing position about 11' from screen, and the HC1500 slid into the same slot with very little tweaking needed to line the image up with the screen. A very nice surprise.

-- Feeding it 720p from my Bravo D1 over HDMI, the picture is very crisp and clean. Blacks are maybe a little better than the 4805, but nothing earth shattering. The main visual improvements over the 4805 are in the reduced SDE (noticeable on the 4805, not visible at all on the 1500) and increased brightness (very bright, shockingly so, in fact, when not in low power mode). Colors are very good. What's with the sharpness control though? As mentioned in Audioholics review, you have to turn it off basically to avoid ringing. Very odd.

-- Feeding it 480i over component from my budget (but region free!) JVC player is not as nice, but then again the 4805 did not do much with the JVC either. Still, my gut says the DCDi processing in 4805 is/was a bit better than whatever is doing the processing in the Mits. I will be watching the Bravo a lot, I think. And perhaps looking for a deal on an Oppo.

-- The Mits lens is not threaded, and bigger in diameter than the 4805. The ND filter I used on the 4805 does work with the mits -- it lip of the lens housing is wide enough for the filter to sit on.

-- For me, at least, rainbows are MORE prevalent than on the 4805, but not to a distracting level.

Over all, this is a great replacement for the 4805. Given that it's about half the price of what I paid for the 4805 several years ago, and higher performance, I'm quite satisfied.


Now you need to watch some HD on it!

i just sold my hd1000u and i am thinking of replacing with an hc1500. i was very happy with the hd1000u. i have been considering getting a used marantz or sim2 for not much more than a new hc1500 as people have told me these projectors will put the mits to shame...just not sure that's entirely true though. i mean, how can a 3-4 year old projector be better than newer technology? am i just buying the name there or is there really something to this? anyone have any thoughts??? thanks

Replacing an HD1000u with an HC1500u is like trading 4 quarters for a dollar. It's practically the same machine. I would absolutely recommend against that "upgrade."

I can't comment on the marantz or sim2 so much, but I believe the big difference is in the optics block when comparing those with the mits.

My 4805 bulb pooped last Sunday. It had 2500 hrs on it after almost 4 years, so here I am waiting on UPS to deliver the HC1500 today. I couldn’t find a M1 female to HDMI adapter. I have a 25’ DVI to M1 cable that I used from my HD+ video processor to the 4805, so I guess I will use my 25’ component cables until I get a 25’ DVI – HDMI cable from Monoprice.

From what I have read, the HC1500 only will accept a 50/60 HZ input.
It also looks like it will not do the 2.35 stretch. Am I correct?

i am not "upgrading" per se from the hd1000u to the hc1500...i had 800 hours on my bulb and i sold it for $700.00 so i'm thinking of just replacing since it will only be 100.00 more for the hc1500..however, the upgrade bug is in season and i can not get over the possibility that i might be losing out not getting a 1080p projector or maybe an older but much higher priced (sim2, sharp, sanyo, runco) used projector to replace it. so if you were in my shoes...what would you do??? is it better to just stick with the hc1500? get a used sim2 ht300? or sharp plv-z2000 or 10000??? or what? or go with a new 1500-2000.00 1080p projector? any thoughts???? any help would be greatly appreciated..bare in mind i do not have a blue ray player and not sure i'll be getting one anytime soon.

Now you need to watch some HD on it!
Yes indeed. I may forego the OPPO and replace the JVC with a marked down Toshiba HD-DVD player, which have also gotten hight marks as upconvert SD players. Just as a way to get a cheap HD source to play around with.

I hung the HC1500 last night and I can tell you it is bright. This thing is as bright with all the house lights on as the 4805 was with all lights off. I have it mounted in the same spot as the 4805. With no zoom the picture is a little bit too big, but it will do until I move it to the new theater. I can confirm that this PJ will not do the 2.35 vertical stretch. I put my Prismasonic H1000 anamorphic lens up against the PJ and the light beam will make it through. Since the PJ will not do the stretch I will have to wait until I get a new cable. My iScan doesn’t have a component output. The iScan will do the correct stretch so that’s no problem. So far I am very pleased with this PJ. :D
I still need to do the basic calibrations on it.

I hung the HC1500 last night and I can tell you it is bright. This thing is as bright with all the house lights on as the 4805 was with all lights off. I have it mounted in the same spot as the 4805. With no zoom the picture is a little bit too big, but it will do until I move it to the new theater. I can confirm that this PJ will not do the 2.35 vertical stretch. I put my Prismasonic H1000 anamorphic lens up against the PJ and the light beam will make it through. Since the PJ will not do the stretch I will have to wait until I get a new cable. My iScan doesn’t have a component output. The iScan will do the correct stretch so that’s no problem. So far I am very pleased with this PJ. :D
I still need to do the basic calibrations on it.

Would you say that the HC1500 is quieter than the 4805?!

I seems to be much quieter.

I hung the HC1500 last night and I can tell you it is bright. This thing is as bright with all the house lights on as the 4805 was with all lights off. I have it mounted in the same spot as the 4805. With no zoom the picture is a little bit too big, but it will do until I move it to the new theater. I can confirm that this PJ will not do the 2.35 vertical stretch. I put my Prismasonic H1000 anamorphic lens up against the PJ and the light beam will make it through. Since the PJ will not do the stretch I will have to wait until I get a new cable. My iScan doesn’t have a component output. The iScan will do the correct stretch so that’s no problem. So far I am very pleased with this PJ. :D
I still need to do the basic calibrations on it.

WillyG ,

Yeah...the Mit HC1500 was way too bright for my taste too. Not having any pro gear for calibrating, I rely on others (and ultimately my own eyes) for
tweak tips. I found this to be very close to what I was looking for:
http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/projectors/mitsubishi-hc1500-dlp/hc1500-calibration-getting-those-blacks-right.html

BTW, outstanding job on your new dedicated Home Theater.

Regards,
sgibson

WillyG ,

Yeah...the Mit HC1500 was way too bright for my taste too. Not having any pro gear for calibrating, I rely on others (and ultimately my own eyes) for
tweak tips. I found this to be very close to what I was looking for:
http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/projectors/mitsubishi-hc1500-dlp/hc1500-calibration-getting-those-blacks-right.html

BTW, outstanding job on your new dedicated Home Theater.

Regards,
sgibson

Thanks,

I will have to try those settings. I just did a quick contrast, brightness and color from a THX DVD. I see that sharpness will go into the – numbers, I set mine to 0. I really don’t feel like trying too much because when I get my new cable I will have to readjust everything. In my setup, I need to adjust the PJ to the test patterns from the iScan HD+ then adjust the DVD port on the iScan HD+ with the test patters from the DVD. So it looks like next week before I get all this done.

Does anyone know what the mounting holes on the HC1500 are?! As far as the screw size and thread?!

Thanks

Does anyone know what the mounting holes on the HC1500 are?! As far as the screw size and thread?!

Thanks

I used the same screws that the 4805 used 16MM.

Any cable box or satelite I have tried has poor 720p output when converting 1080i sources. All toshiba HD players have average to good upconversion abilities. The real gem is the XA2 with the silicon optix reon processor.

No contest but hard to find now.

I used the same screws that the 4805 used 16MM.

Thanks!!!

Does anyone that lives at high altitude have this projector?!

Tha manual says this projector should not operate this projector above 1500 meters (about 4500 feet). The evelvation in my city is about 5600 feet (I'm in Colorado). Do you think I should avoid getting it?!

Yes I would avoid it.

I hate to be the bandwagon jumper, but its seeming that the Mitsubishi HC1500 is becoming the next step in progression from the 4805 . What does Infocus offer comparable to the Mitsubishi HC1500 at the same price point, and how does it compare? Im not one to be brand loyal, but my 4805 has been good to me up until a few days ago when she died.

Thanks!!!

pretty sure they are 4mm...

I hate to be the bandwagon jumper, but its seeming that the Mitsubishi HC1500 is becoming the next step in progression from the 4805 . What does Infocus offer comparable to the Mitsubishi HC1500 at the same price point, and how does it compare? Im not one to be brand loyal, but my 4805 has been good to me up until a few days ago when she died.

You could go a few hundred more and get the IN76. It's getting cheap enough that it might be worth the extra money.