Official Mitsubishi HC4900 Owners Thread - Page 3

New to Home theater and new to AVS. I just bought the HC4900 from projectorpeople. It will be a few days before I have it hooked up.

In this thread several people have mentioned calibrating their projector. I don't see anything in the owner's manual about calibration. Does calibration just mean adjusting the settings manually or is there something else I need to calibrate after I get my screen?

Thanks in advance.

Most people here will want to adjust all the settings to achieve optimum brightness, contrast, color, sharpness etc. ProjectorPeople should have shipped you an Avia calibration DVD (holiday special) which should explain what this is all albout. If not you might want to lay your hands on one, if only to have this explained in detail to you.

The only DVD I got was in the box and appears to be only a User manual in pdf. I'll try giving projectorpeople a call.

Thanks for the reply.

Where is the fan exhaust on this unit?

There are vents on both sides of the unit but the filter is on the right side (facing the lens and unit upright)

I just bought an Optoma HD80 but have not opened the box.
I have been reading today about a couple of newer 1080p projectors that are getting great reviews, namely, the Mitsubishi HC4900 and the Panasonic AE200.
Does anyone here have any experience with the AE200 or the Optoma projectors? How do they compare to the 4900?
Thanks!

I didn't notice that! Still unpacking my own PJ today.

If your Packing Slip doesn't show the Avia disc, then either you didn't enter HOLIDAY on your Web order, or didn't ask for it when you called. I called & asked and as it turns out the disc is listed as backordered for me, so maybe they've run out. Regardless, it might be worth a call to them to see if they'll send one to you.

If you're one of those guys who plugs-in a TV and only changes channels from there on, maybe you won't want to bother with anything beyond getting the geometry right. Most folks here tho are big-time tweakers!

I currently have the Optoma HD70....DC2 technology. Makes me wonder how much of an Upgrade this would be.....I'm really tempted because most reviews show a great lumen output compared to the HD70....

The mits...has almost as bright a picture as my optoma in bright mode...with the mits set to low lamp mode.

Sometimes with ambient light, my hd70 is a little washed out 108 inch diagonal screen. Just thinking that the mits would be at least as good of a picture but a lot brighter.


Any thoughts?

I hate my Mitsubishi 4900, and I'm trading it tomorrow for an Optoma HD 80.

Wow, you haven't opened it?! Not even a little temptation ! Why not just fire it up and see if it fills your needs? It's also a great projector. Can't take back an open box where you got it from?

I have heard that there is a THX picture calibration section on the "Cars" DVD movie. If so, does anyone know how close you can dial in a good picture in comparison to an actual calibration disk like the Avia? Thanks.

I am curious if anyone has seen this PJ and either the Marantz VP4001/Sharp XVZ3K/DT-500. Wondering how the black levels compare and any other comparisons.

Thanks in advance.

I guess there are lots of us HD1000u owners who'd love to know how great/in what way it's an upgrade. Especially worrying for many of us long-term DLP fans is the notion of going to LCD and giving up DLP's main plus point (other than SDE which is far less of an issue with 1080p).

Any early upgraders, do post a full comparison (perhaps a different thread? I dunno).

And to give my input on the question of if it'll get cheaper - I can't believe it's already this cheap. I do think we'll see 1080p units break the $1k barrier in 2008, this is presently the cheapest (and seemingly best value) so who knows...

I like the THX screens a lot. They are clear & simple/easy-to-use, especially by comparison to Video Essentials that I have struggled with in the past. Dunno about the Avia.

I don't have a screen yet for my 4900, and I'm a rank amateur when it comes to front projection, so have no idea how easy or difficult it will be to get (especially) black level calibrated right.

I can tell tho just projecting onto a sheet that the 4900's sharpness is outstanding!

EXACTLY...you've got to think that the 4900 will be a substantial upgrade though. The contrast is 7500 for it and 2500 for the hd1000u. More & more I am unsatisfied with the 1000u's black levels. There are times when watching Blade Runner on HD DVD that left me feeling inferior.

The 4900 is a GREAT price and from reviews a solid 1080p pj. After the rebate, the next step up in terms of performance is $1000 more for the Panny 2000. That's alot of cash.

I'm a diehard DLP man for the contrast and color.....I may be making a leap towards the Mits.....I'm glad I found this thread dedicated to this product. Happy Holidays fellow projector nerds.

I think the question boils down to for this pj is black level. How does it stand against a DLP like the HC3000 with DC2? lStep forward, lateral move or step backwards? From what I read color accuracy and sharpness are area's this pj stands out in.

Yea, I've read most of the available reviews. Projectorreviews.com projectcentral.com and an online magazine publication. For me, it seems wise because I like to preserve the lamp life and currently have a DC2 projector HD70. I use it in low lamp mode putting mid to upper 300 lumens on a 108 inch screen. Sometimes, I have ambient light issues as I have many windows in the room and the curtains drawn doesn't always cut it. From what I've read, the Mits allows for 600+ lumens on Low Lamp mode. Plus allowing "5,000" lamp hours. This seems like an obvious upgrade in the brightness category and if it's even close to the hd 70 in terms of PQ then I think it's a wise move for me.


Just my rambling thoughts.

exactly. Contrast ratios for DLP's vs LCD's are difficult to take at a pure number value. I've seen LCD's with a larger contrast number that had black levels inferior to DLP's with "lower" contrast ratios.

If the 4900 can indeed compete with (or is in the same ballpark) as the HC3000 then I think I'm going to jump in. I would think it would at least be between the 1000/1500 and the 3000, so it'll be an upgrade over those, but if the contrast isn't as good as the 3000's I just don't want/need 1080p that much and I'll wait while using the 3000.

Here is its contrast ratio as per sound and vision magazine

I'm not sure what the test results are for my HD70 in terms of ACTUAL contrast ratio output.

http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/hdt...projector.html

I also had the HC1500 for 2 nights and back it went! Blacks where too high for my tastes. I then settled for the DT500. Much better blacks at a cost. The cost I've learned is that some DLP's in order to give good blacks, brightness is sacrificed because of their static irises, and "native" contrast can only go so far by itself. If I can have good brightness w/ good blacks, the better and that's where automatic irises come in when well implemented.

Here are contrast ratios. (scroll down)
Mis 3100 and 1100
Mits 5000 (should give approximation, not exact of 4900 w/ improved iris)

In fact, there is a review in Ultimate AV stating that the HD80's backs/contrast is a bit worse than the best DLP's from 3 years ago. So they are not perfect either.

At $1500 give or take after rebates is a no brainer.

Having run this thing for maybe 10 hours, I put in the suggested settings logged in the first or second post of the thread. The first complaint I would make is that you can see the iris do its thing. Not the most fluid when scenes change. It is something like a snapshot to darker levels.

A question- when viewing SD content on my SA8300HD there is invariably a bit of fuzz and something that looks like a small gel coating on the screen around the characters closest to screen. It appears to vibrate slightly. I'm not sure what the technical term for this is but it can be very distracting. It's like the etching around actors is a bit off.

Dino

That's what I thought too. Mine arrived yesterday and even shooting onto an unironed cream-colored sheet it looked pretty darn good!

I'm seriously considering a Draper Multiview E which is a 2.35 screen with 16:9 motorized side curtains, and the High Contrast Grey which is 0.8 gain. I'm probably playing with fire here but would rather have good blacks than bright whites. Anyone think I'm in for disappointment?

Man that stinks. It's interesting how many people on this thread aren't really addressing many of the negative concerns about this unit.....I for one, am beginning to get nervous ....between this post and the prior one where the gentleman had to return TWO of this model to bestbuy!!!!!!!!


I don't know for sure why you'd be having issues with the sharpness or border clarity around actors....but I think I remember reading that some of the 480 stuff wasn't exactly a PLUS on this particular model.


J

There are pro and cons with every projector, but in this price range I don't see the blacks as an issue. The backs are better than most emerying out there in this price range and this projector is significantly better in other areas. I think?

Projectorreviews:
Even on my Firehawk, at 128" diagonal, I find the blacks coming out a bit to bright a gray for my taste. Remember, I'm spoiled, my JVC RS1 - at about twice the price of the HC4900, does the best job on black levels of any fixed pixel (LCD, DLP, LCOS) projector I have tested.

I would think Stewart's Grayhawk would be a great matchup, and for less money, alternates would include Da-Lite's HC Da-Mat, and Carada's affordable HC gray surface. Carada's is one I've never worked with, but from my understanding it is a dark gray, that should match very well. If you want to go larger screen sizes, the Firehawk, and Elite's HC gray surface, would be reasonable options. I'd avoid, in general, white surfaces, unless your primary purpose is non-movie content, such as sports viewing.

Mind you, the blacks, while not extremely dark, are at least comparable to most DLP projectors using the Darkchip 2, and it does a better job, than, say almost any 720p LCD projector. That said, of the LCD 1080p projectors, the HC4900's black levels are lighter than the Panasonic PT-AE1000U, the Epson Home and Pro Cinema 1080, and, of course the Mitsubishi HC5000.

Projectorcentral:
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.

Still Projector acknowledges the Z2000 has better blacks and each has areas they excel over the other. Isn't the Z2000 about a thousand dollars more even after the rebate? Thanks, but I think I'll get a gray or silver screen as suggested by Projectorreviews above.

I am comparing this model to my old AE900, which has about the same (I think less) usable movie watching ANSI relative to picture quality compared to the HC4900. AND higher contrast/blacks. MHO and disclaimer, I am a newbie and have a lot to learn and am appreciative of this forum. With that I would like to offer an opinion the more I read this thread I am not sure all the concerns about contrast and blacks are warranted? Isn't the selection of a projector all relative to the other options you are actually considering and how they meet your needs? Can you use a gray screen or would I even notice the difference unless they were side-by-side? I went through this same process and someone on this forum said that he bet I when get this projector I will just love it (AE900). He was right and ignorance can be bliss. Just make sure you are in the right ballpark and use Projectorcentral's screen calculator and I think you'll do just fine. There are a lot of good choices I just don't see any others within $1,000 right now, do you?

In a week I'll let you know my impressions.

Right now I am back to reading about screens. I am going through the same mind numbing process as I did with my projector decision until the price drop hit this projector. Now when the Firehawk makes a similar drop I'll just by the Firehawk. The Firehawk looks like and excellent screen and I am considering (darn you Tryg) a DIY. I am about four hours into this now and there are some exciting choices.. To build or not to build. http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=240074

Tryg recommended reading this link for screens very interesting!

I may even use two screens. I bought the cheapest pull down white I could find to start with and I will likely build a DIY Firehawk gray/silver one for movies (70% of our viewing). I will have the option of keeping both, the white one for the sports and the DIY Firehawk for movies any comments?

I have some reading to do, but I am leaning toward the DIY Firehawk as the permanent screen with an inexpensive white pull down over it. I need to do a search for people that have used two screens. Then again if the Firehawk performs like the reviews I'll just sell my cheap white one.

I think for first time buyers it's probably an excellent option. For those upgrading from projectors 3-4 years old it's probably a good buy.

For those of us who have good options in place (such as the 1000u and 3000 owners in this thread), the question is whether or not it's a big enough improvement over what we have that we won't be second guessing ourselves in a year when the Panasonic, Epson, and Sanyo can all be had in a similar price range and a whole new crop of improved 1080p projectors are out.

I have a decent amount of ambient light and was leaning towards the Panny AX200 b/c of its brightness. How would the HC4900 compare on that front?

Do you agree that the Optoma HD70 would be a good enough cause to upgrade to this model ? I'm still debating and this thread is clearly full of mitsu owners......ironic seeing that's a mitsu thread....hmm