Official Mitsubishi HC4900 Owners Thread - Page 2

Can someone who owns the A35 and this pj check and see what the pj does when fed a 1080p24 setting? With the 720p Mits HD1000u I own, the only setting the A-35 seems to allow is 1080i or lower. With my Blu-ray player set at 1080p, the Mits displays 1080p60. Looks glorious. For some reason the Toshiba's seem to feel that my pj can't accept a 1080p image.

So...this new 4900 has my eye but not if the A35 won't give it the gusto. thanks in advance.

I'd go for the XA2 for the HQV chip (Since the HC4900 lacks it)...

So again, just to get confirmation - how lame/weak/washed out are the blacks. While Evan seems to not be too bothered by them, things don't look quite as rosy in the other posted review - especially in the screen caps, and all of the lost black detail.

Only asking since I had a low end lcd in my 2nd theater - liked it initially, after a month I had to sell it. When I got the blacks BLACK, there was no shadow detail; when I bumped it for detail, I had gray blacks.

So now that you folks have lived with this pj for a while, are you still happy with shadow detail? Thanks - would love to pull the trigger; obviously, price is the big point here, so I'm just trying to decide if I'll be happy later.

I ended up ordering an A35 on a whim since it was 312 with overnight shipping. Couldn't seem to find the XA2 for under 600 and I've seeing a lot of posts that the machine can be buggy. That said, maybe I'll part with the A35 if I can find an XA2 for under 500 in the coming few weeks. I doubt I'd lose a whole lot on the sale but the XA2price point seems to have gone back up since it flirted with under 500.

I'll keep you posted on this baby since the PJ literally just got to my door and the player will be here tomorrow.

Dino

I second this. If any owners came from 720P LCD or DLP, how do the blacks compare.

Me too, I own the A35 and the my projector should be here nxt wk... I'll post what I see. Oh! I need a screen... Any comments?

Does anyone here know if this pj will do Vertical Stretch of HD for a CIH/Anamorphic lens setup? I see in looking at the manuals that between the 6000, 5000, and 4900 only the 4900 doesn't have a "Cinemascope screen" selection under the Advanced menu.

Like the above poster says, "nothing touches the HC4900 for overall value right now." I can't agree more. Mine arrived today and I only had time to watch TWC over the SA8300HD box. SD looked better than the Epson 400 and 800. The sharpness is also apparent and I have to say Time Warner as a source really sucks. SD looked like **** on my old plasma as well as on the PJs. It became almost unwatchable to me but I sucked it up when I started following the Ultimate Fighter series. Without a pj for a month or so there were a couple of shows saved in the dvr.

Having watched more than half a season in a sitting a month or so back, I remember conitnuously fiddling with the Epson 400 remote trying to make it more watchable but nothing seemed to put Johnny's eye back.

The Mits is a notable improvement- Blacks are definitely blacker without the crush and the sharpness makes a big difference to me. The Epson 720, which I liked quite a bit actually, always begged to be focused just a bit more but could never quite turn the trick.

Overall, SD still kind of sucks but on close ups in particular, the image is quite good. Get something panning or any distance, there always seem to be some slight noise, smear and blur. I say all this in comparison to what you get with better sources which can be oustanding.

Flipping through the HD movie channels I had to watch a few minutes of Idlewild as the image grabbed me. The pic was 3-D and the projector isn't even mounted properly. I need to tweak the mount so the pj is leaning to the left. Without even projecting a straight image, I could have easily watched a movie that looked this good without being bothered by a more than slightly tilted image.

Comparing this to the Pearl, I would lean towards the Mits without question. Of course this is mere opinion but I really dig the sharpness. That's what surprised me the most. It has always been difficult for me to quantify anything without seeing it- By this I mean, when I have HD material in front of me, it looks good regardless of the PJ. To some degree, I can't imagine it looking much better until I see something better. In this case, there was available reference to see an improvement and I definitely did.

By the way, thanks for the posters with the suggestions on the DVD player. I ended up with a Tosh A35 which will be here tomorrow. In some sense it may be overkill.

I do have a question- If you took say an HD DVD player that can only ouput to 1080i but run into a 1080p projector, how would this be inferior to an HD DVD player that outputs 1080p running into same PJ?

Dino

I'd like to use the 4900 with a 2.35 screen, but it looks like it's missing the Cinemascope option and perhaps too doesn't do Vertical Stretch? Anyone?

Thanks - I read the reviews. Bearing in mind that Evan rarely complains about anything, I also read the second review (in the links in the first post - projectorreviews.

Quoting that review,

The HC4900 looks exactly like the HC5000, and shares virtually all of its features. There are differences, however. Most notably the image processing is different, and the HC4900 has a lower contrast ratio (7500:1 instead of 10,000:1). The most obvious result of this, is that the HC4900 cannot match the black level and shadow detail performance of its more expensive sibling.

end quote

Which is what prompted my question, to other AVS'rs who have the puppy in their hands. I'm sold/convinced, re the color fidelity, sharpness, and I can sure live without the onboard processing of the 5000. What I don't want to do is drop 1400 bucks and discover that the blacks are so crushed and/or washed out that I end up hating the projector. Local Mits dealer won't stock it - already asked. He has a 5000, has a 6000 on order, but has no intention or desire to stock or show the 4900. Since that could be due to two reasons (either so good as to hurt the sales of the high end models, or so bad that no one would want it) - that's why I'm soliciting opinions.

Thanks. - I've really done the homework, and read the printed (and sometimes paid for) reviews.

This is where I fall, as well. I've been close to ordering a few times, but the reviews complaining about the black level always make me pull back. I'm sold on the other features, but at this point I'm upgrading from my HD1000U because I want better blacks; if the 4900 doesn't improve on that (and I'm talking clear improvement, not fancy iris tricks that would yield deeper blacks and "higher" CR at the expense of the pic) then I'm just going to wait on 1080p.

I've already picked up a HC3000 off ebay that'll take the place of the 1000U. I can still flip it if I feel the black levels are up to snuff on the 4900 after more people have a chance to get it in home.

I currently have a 4 year-old Sony GWII 60" LCD RPTV, which doesn't actually HAVE black (!!! grey at best) so I'm wondering, as a would-be PJ owner, if this one would be a great improvement over that??

Side-by-side comparisons are going to show-up differences though that by themselves we'd never see in these projectors I think.

So far the problem I see with this PJ is that it does not APPEAR to do 2.35 screens very well, ie. it does not have the Cinemascope screen mode that would allow one, when zoomed-out to a 2.35 screen, to see all the OSD. I haven't decided if that is a big enough deal to turn me off or not. Any opinions?

Given the price drop, I am considering this projector, but I'm not sure if this will suit my needs. I was originally gunning for the Panny AX200U, but 1080p is something that I want.

Setup: non-light controlled living room, although I have shutters to get the room relatively dark, see pic below shot with flash
I will have an HDMI switch to switch from my Panny Plasma and the projector.
Sources: Verizion FiOS HD, PS3 (blu-ray & games), and my Wii.
Main uses: in no particular order: Movies (at night) Games (20% day and 80% night), Football (mostly day games) and sometimes I will just want to put something on the big screen! Eventually I'd like to hookup a media center.
Originally I wanted the light canon in the AX200U since it has great reviews in ambient light, but I have the 1080p itch!

Any recommendations??

Well I couldn't stand it--having expected to wait many months to afford a HC6000 I've popped instead for the 4900. ProjectorPeople (Carmen) is offering free overnight shipping today, so I will have it tomorrow already--FedEx Saturday service! Just got her confirmation!

I'll be thrilled to finally join the Front Projection club, but I don't have a screen so don't expect any reviews from me anytime soon!

I think for anyone on the fence this thing is a no-brainer though--having studied the build quality of the 5000 and the 6000 it appears the 4900 is (at least physically) identical in most every way. Very excited here!

I can't see how the blacks could possibly be worse than the PT-AX200U. And if that's true, what if any benefit would it have over the Mits?

Also, how would the blacks compare to a DC3 DLP with sub-par blacks, like the InFocus 7210? Again, outside that, would would be the 7210's advantage over the Mits?

Let's put this in perspective...

If you are moving from a 720p, from professional reviews we know the black levels will probably be better than what you currently have now. We also know you would be moving up to the sharpest 1080p picture available, and among the best color saturation projectors on the market for under $10,000. Add in the features such as long-life LCD panels, powered lens shift/zoom cabability, and the quietest fan on the market, it's a pretty good step up.

I just received an e-mail from projectorusa.com that my HC4900 is shipping out today. I took the UPS ground free shipping option, so maybe it will be here by the end of next week. I am hoping that my current ceiling mount that I am using with my Sanyo Z3 will work with the HC4900, or there will be an even longer wait before I can get it installed. Hopefully I should have some comments on it by next Saturday.

It's going to be a long week!

Mine shipped out too, need a screen...

I'm about ready (finally) to bite the bullet also. This thing is to darn physically large for my mounting location but I don't think I can resist. I went through these two HC4900 threads and the 5000 and 6000 threads in the >$3K forum searching for ceiling mount experience. I don't think anyone is ceiling mounting these honkers. I did find one gent with either a 5000 or 6000 that complained of the three far apart 4MM mounting holes and it made his mount hang weird.

I just bought a mountdirect NPL five months ago and it works great with my Optoma. But it's white and hangs to low for the HC4900- it'll hit my head. I wanted to order a black mountdirect PMS mount as they're lower profile but the compatability guides for those mounts don't list this series of cases as being compatible. I really don't want to add a ~$150+ chief mount or something like that to this bill. I'm already over budget

I've heard that this projector can not do aspect conversions on HD content - can someone who has one confirm or deny if it can compress stretched content, or zoom in on pillar boxed wide screen content?

A third technical difference between the two models is that the HC5000 (now discontinued) was rated at 10,000:1 contrast, whereas the HC4900 is rated at 7500:1. However, we don't see a significant difference between the two in actual contrast performance. Moreover, the HC4900 does not fall too far short of the Sanyo Z2000 where contrast is concerned, and the Z2000 is rated at 15,000:1. It strikes us that Mitsubishi was exceptionally conservative in the rating of this particular model.

That was taken from the projectorcentral review. Anyone concerned about the black levels should read the review.

Or - read the one from projector reviews that does take issue with contrast and blacks. Or find one myself, I guess - since right now we have 3 dueling reviews, with Evan seeing no difference and Art Feierman seeing a noticeable lack of black detail.

Obviously, the 4900 is better than anyone's 3 year old xga box - but so what? That isn't the real point. What I want to know is if the blacks will start to annoy me after the initial honeymoon is over....without spending the money to find out, in case they do.

Several observations/comments:
1. ProjectorUSA is now $1409 with rebate. Was it priced less a few days ago?
2. Based on the rapidly falling prices, does anyone here think we'll see the HC4900 or any 1080p projector at the$1000 mark within the next 12 months?
I can buy now but I'm not in any hurry and this time price is everything to me. I am tired of being one of those 'early adopters' and paying for it.
Thanks for any response.

I'm with you, though as a first-time fpj buyer, and owner of a LCD rear projector with BRIGHT GREY blacks, I hope/expect that the 4900 will be much better provided I get the right screen for it. Don't want to spend for the 6000 right now, the 5000 has older tech & a few problems AFAICT, and the 4900 has the same construction as the 6000 w/a few downgrades of course, but I will live with them for $3K+ less!


Sound & Vision said it does not compress. I think the only HD modes are those in the manual, since the 4900 does not have the 2.35 SCREEN SIZE option.

I'd hoped to get a pj that I could do a CIH/anamorphic lens with in the future if I wanted to, but I don't think the 4900 is capable. I'll do the Zoom method instead w/my 2.35 screen and invest the $3K I've saved in some future super-duper pj upgrade...

I bought the HC 4900 projector and am disgusted with it. Yes the picture is fine, but for some reason it won't turn on.

Here's the long story...
I built a new house and have a dedicated theater room 24x16' with theater seating, black lights, high end sound system, the whole deal. My projector is the Mitsubishi HC4900 and it has extremely irratic behavior. Sometimes it won't turn on. I have a Harmont 890 remote and when you want to watch a BRD or Dish, all of the sound components come on, but the projector's bulb won't turn on.

There are 2 green lights and when I turn it on, the lights both come on, then the bulb doesn't turn on then the power light power light is steady green and the status light is blinikng red, the book says there is a circuit error, or the bulb needs to be changed. So I took it back to Best Buy, they sent me a brand new one, and the same thing happened.

I want to know if anyone else has this problem, and if you are looking at the 4900, beware of this weird power issue I'm having...thanks

Two in a row? Sounds more like you have a power issue in your home.

I'm looking at the manual now and your light scenario is not really listed the way you described it. I see two possible slightly different listings:

1. Power light is steady green and status light is blinking orange
- room is too hot or ventilation is blocked
2. Power light is steady green and status light is blinking green/red
- means that the lamp reached 3750 hours while on

Test your PJ on another circuit and in another house if possible.

Yes, I typed it wrong... I have Power=Steady red and Status = blinking green. Page EN-41 of the manual says "the protection circuit is working or the lamp is in an abnormal condition" the possible solution is " wait until the Status indicator goes out, then press the power button. If the above solution is not effective replace the lamp." This is a brand new projector with less than 5 hours of use.

And it's a brand new house (less than 2 months old) with new wiring. And the internal circuit board of the 4900 is working, but it doesn't work. And this is the second projector that is doing this to me...any ideas?

@KingKorn since you started a thread about this, please post there rather than here (or worse, both places!!!).