*Unofficial* Mitsubishi HC3800 Thread - Page 194

I heard there were motion judder issues on the Samsung BD players. I bought an LG and thats fine.

thanks for your info about Samsung BR player... I buyed an LG for the same reason because, as you, I rode not so good words about samsung player..

I'd just like to know if also your VPR give you those numbers when projecting..

I'm not sure, but I don't think this asynchrony is normal...

I had an opportunity to see EPSON 8350 at my friends place few days back. This was my fourth chance to see EPSON PJ in person (all of my friends chose EPSON, not sure where they got their info). I have to admit they are all bright and gave LCD look. Still none of them can beat my Mits HC3800 in sharpness.

I've had an odd problem with my HC3800 recently. It has about 200 hours on it spanning roughly five months of use. It's ceiling-mounted.

When it's projecting white, I see subtle waves, like ripples in the pond, flowing from left to right. They don't happen at any consistent frequency. Sometimes they'll stop for a 30 seconds or a minute. The problem seems to be getting worse, such that a friend asked if I saw them lest he was going nuts. For the most part, they don't affect movie-viewing, but they're definitely a distraction in the Windows interface of my HTPC.

Have any of you seen this issue?

Have you done the typical troubleshooting---ruling out obvious things like ground loops, sources, etc?

I'd start by disconnecting your HTPC (actually disconnecting the hdmi cable if that's how you've got it hooked up), try a different source (blu ray or dvd player?), projecting a white field from a test disc. Then also the white field from the HC3800's own white test screen.

And if waves still persist, lift the ground pin of the HC3800's AC cord (with one of those hardware store adapters). If the waves go away after that, then you have a ground loop.

If not, and you still have waves on white fields from test discs on different sources (HTPC, DVD/Blu players, etc) and the HC3800's own white test screen, then I think it's time to call Mits Support

(also make sure to rule out hdmi switchers, AV receivers that might be in the path by connecting your blu/dvd players direct to the PJ)

I haven't changed the electronics in the room in any way. The projector is wired solely to the HTPC through a direct cable, though the phenomena occurs even when it isn't connected to anything. I've got a cheater plug, I'll give that a go, but I'd be very surprised if it helped. Thanks for the suggestion, though.

Yeah, might as well try it so that you'll already have that answer before you call tech support.

Hi KnightRT,

am (from Germany and) new in the forum and was looking around as I see the same or a similar problem with my HC3800. It has a little more than 1100 hrs on the clock.

Looks like there is a "pumping" in very light (white) areas. It even seems to stay when displaying the blue background (nothing connected).

My thought is, that there is some dust somewhere inside the box, which gets somewhat into the light channel influenced by the air flow.

Already tried a vacuum cleaner get the external dust away. Opened the light-bulb box and removed the light bulb to remove dirt to the degree possible from there.

Will see tonight how far that helped.

Tried to open the whole body but failed (removed 8 screws). There seems to be a trick to open it. Was already successfull in doing the same thing with my old HC3000. Does someone know, how to open the whole projector body, or know where there is a service manual available?

Regards,

Juergen

When using the cinemascope/2.35:1 option I can see some scaling or processing artifacts, they do not noticeably degrade image quality in movies or games but PC text looks a little softer in places and it has ringing in others so something is going on but I'm wondering why this is happening when all it does is crop the top and bottom of the image?

Apart from that I find it really handy for my CIH setup, rescaling 16:9 material dosen't look half as bad as I was expecting, so much so I've stopped zooming out.

So after many months, I finally shipped my projector in to Mitsubishi for repair. They did something to it but would not tell me what they did. The lamp hours are unchanged so I don't think they replaced the lamp. It must have been a firmware update. If so, why would they not tell me? I even went as far as writing a note and including it in the box asking them to put a small note explaining the problem after they fixed it.

At any rate, it is back, they cleaned it up nicely and I could almost swear the picture looks even sharper, however, that may be just because my back up TV was a 41" rear projection unit .

After setting it up again, I know I didn't make a mistake buying this projector.

*sigh*

Had to send back my 3800 last week. It would shut down infrequently, and almost overnight started shutting down daily. Plus it would never sync properly with my PS3 (cost me a fortune in cables and man hours to finally point the finger squarely at the PJ)

I was barely within the 1st year of the warranty so I opted for a refurbished unit to get a newer lamp. The unit I recieved was a 23XX serial number, so Im sure it was an early problem unit that was recycled (arent they all?) Got it mounted, powered up, the lamp struck, but did not light, and 3 seconds later the light went from green back ti red, the fan never came on either. Hmmm. waited 5 minutes, then it started up normally. Ran it through some switching, no issues with the PS3 where the previous unit would lose sync every time, no shut downs, 265hrs on the lamp, so far so good. shut it down after about 1.5 hours, turned it back on, the lamp attempted to strike, then went to an alternating red/green on power, and 4 green blinks then one red (repeat) on the status. Manual said unplug and call CS. Called and was put through to level 2 support, "sorry Bob, we are going to need to send you another from to replace the unit." At which time I proceeded to air my grievences and long and short tell them I have 0 confidence in another 3800 and want a 4000 instead. I was told "fat chance" in a nice way, and offered an email adress where I can put my frustrations in writing.

Anyone have any luck wrangling a 4000 out of them after repeated problems? Im pretty flustered about the whole deal. and im not crazy about a third unit with one year of repairs left on the warranty, in what is obviousy a problematic short run product.

I hadnt been on the forum in a while, and just reviewed some of the problems others have experienced and since Mits never recalled this projector, two words come to mind "class action"

Get the ball rolling. I think Johnny Cochran's available.

I think OJ's lawyer is dead.

Wow my sarcasm detector is registering off the charts!

There will be many trying to get a 'free upgrade' to the HC4000, whether they are truthful or not.

Most companies won't upgrade you unless they happen to run out of the model you have, and no choice but to send you the current model.

So I can understand the 'fat chance' outcome.

My LG BD390 has a better image than my Samsung c6900, and a better scaler.

However, that said, my BD 390 can no longer play blu-rays because of the darned DEFECTIVE DRIVE issue which so many people have had trouble with on the LG's.

So long story short, maybe get an LG and just hope the drive don't break, I do think the LG's produce the best picture for the money in combination with a decent featureset.

I was just sitting there and the pj turned off with 2 solid red lights and refused to turn on. I replaced the bulb with the new promotional bulb that came with it (thanks Mits) and reset it and and it's now as good as new. I had only 3200 low hours on the old one so I'm a little miffed that I didn't get the full 5000 out of it but that's just the luck of the draw, I guess. I looked at the bulb and didn't notice anything out of the ordinary...not black, blown up, shattered...looked exactly like the new one.

Now, I just need to find a factory sealed replacement bulb as a back up as the pj is still a great product and I don't see any need to look for a newer model until some time in the future.

Not a rant, just wanted to share my bulb story.

It's rare to get the stated bulb hours when the manufacturers make claims over 3000 hours, but it's possible. Depends on operating conditions, temperatures in the room, what elevation you live at, humidty changes, and on and on, as well of course as if you run lamp in high or not high mode.

All very true and after reading the manual another factor comes into play...consecutive hours per day. Having retired about a year ago, I'm putting 8-10 hours a day on it and that's a heavy load according to Mits. So, all things considered, this might be about average for the way I use it.

WOW!! 8-10 hours a day? Don't you have a TV for BS stuff?

You could have added; "or a life".

I did have a 65 inch Mits HD RPTV in there that I used for most tv watching and I would put up my DIY 100 inch screen in front of it for really important stuff like 'The Masters' golf, Daytona 500 and 'ta da', Packers football (World Champs, don't 'ya know). I then decided to devote the whole room to the pj and was also able set the speakers up optimally for only one placement.

Even at the rate of bulb life that I got (3200 hours in 13 months) and the cost of a replacement ($300) it seems a relative bargain to be able to always enjoy watching, the 'big screen'.

Yah watching TV on a TV doesn't seem to make sense anymore.

I think I just messed up my projector. I thought it was smart of me to do some dust removal "spring cleaning" on my projector. NOT! I carefully removed the lamp housing and carefully put my vacuum cleaner inside to remove as much dust as possible. I made sure I didn't contact any glass material inside the projector. Once I turn on my projector low and behold I get this rainbow streaks on the screen. Each time I remove the lamp and re-insert I get more streaks! That's it, I feel like a complete idiot and I will not open this projector anymore. Does anyone have a clue how to fix the problem? Did I introduce dusts into the lens?

Does any one here shop at ProjectorPlace? Are they legit?

I'd be wary.

It seems they had good reviews on projector central. Anyone?

'THEprojectorplace' is perfectly legit.

There were are few (or a bunch, can't remember exactly) posters early in this thread that bought HC3800's from them with excellent CS results.

I myself contacted them but found their price for me was slightly more $$ than Amazon at the time, so I passed.

I'd be more wary based on their web site design, it looks like they took the cheapest quote and went with it. That said, it's not a pure indicator or anything, but it's just one of several.

Reviews are a good indicator (sometimes), and you might have no issues dealing with such small mom&pop places, but I always prefer to spend the extra $100 or whatever and have peace of mind.

They have been around for a while and are more 'old skool' in their sales philosophy, meaning, you sometimes have to actually call them for a quote. But they are more 'hands-on' than the larger sellers, so they can probably tell you the serial number range of the PJ model they stock, while another place can't or won't.

And considering the many nice looking scam websites based out of Brooklyn, I myself don't judge legitimacy on website design.

And in this specific case, posters here had no problems with returns/warranties.