[Ecuadorian]

I've spotted the Mitsubishi HC3000u for a little more than a HC1500.


Has anyone compared the two of them side by side? My main concern is image quality, and I've always felt uneasy with the fact that the HC1500 has a clear segment in the color wheel, which I guess is not good for quality (only for boosting specs).


I'd love to hear some real-world experiences with the two.


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Edit: I'd also like to know how they perform when fed SD material (via Composite or S-video).

 

[talon95]

I've owned both a 1000 (1500 replaced it, but almost identical) and 3000 and directly compared them both to my 4805, but didn't compare the 1000 and 3000 directly. Here are my observations FWIW.


1. 3000 has slightly better black levels with the iris open, but very slight. Iris closed black levels are quite a bit better, but of course the overall image is not nearly as bright either.


2. Color is very similar, 1000 actually comes better calibrated out of the box, but the 3000 can easily be equal once calibrated.


3. With the iris open, the 3000 is about as bright as the 1000. This is contrary to what you will read, but this is correct. The only color that is brighter on the 1000 is WHITE. This is due to the white segment on the color wheel. Turning up brilliant color on the 1000 does not increase the brightness of anything other than white or near white.


4. Brilliant color on the 3000 does increase the brightness of the overall image, unlike the 1000.


I still own the 1000, mainly because at the time it was $500 cheaper and I have a very large screen (130") and could not use the iris on the 3000. I also liked the fact that the 1000 was better calibrated out of the box.


If I were using a smaller screen though, where the 3000 was bright enough with the iris closed, I'd probably have a 3000 right now.

 

[FremontRich]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Ecuadorian /forum/post/14246387


I've spotted the Mitsubishi HC3000u for a little more than a HC1500.


Has anyone compared the two of them side by side? My main concern is image quality, and I've always felt uneasy with the fact that the HC1500 has a clear segment in the color wheel, which I guess is not good for quality (only for boosting specs).


I'd love to hear some real-world experiences with the two.


-----------

Edit: I'd also like to know how they perform when fed SD material (via Composite or S-video).

I have a Mitsubishi HC3000 and I love it. It was recommended to me by Jason Turk of AVS and it's an excellent 720p projector. If you decide to get one you won't be disappointed. No, I haven't seen the HC3000 comparison with the HC1500 but it's supposed to be a brighter projector. But for pure movie viewing the HC3000 is a better choice provided you don't have a large screen (>100" diagonal) and can control ambient light in your viewing room.

 

[Sinistre1]

Talon95 hit the nail right on the head. I had both the hc3000 and 1500 in my "screening room" (aka my livingroom) and preferred the HC3000 once it was calibrated. I do project onto a small screen at less than 84" probably a bit less (closer to 80 than 84). At that size the 3000 picture is still plenty bright with iris closed and low setting. The black level and detail is outstanding. I prefered the picture quality of the 3000 to the 1500. The opening scene of revenge of the sith has more shadow and dark detail than I ever thought possible on a projector (that I could afford

. I was sold. The picture on the 1500 was almost the same with the exception of the dark detail. Because it was so bright the detail wasn't there especially on my smaller screen. Now I don't know if brightness affects pixel visibility but for some reason I noticed it more on the 1500 image. Just my thoughts. Don't think you can go wrong with either but in my set up the 3000 is the better projector. If you had a much larger screen I could see the 1500 coming out on top because the 3000 might not give enough pop/ depth to the picture being the dimmer of the two. However please do not read into this and think the 3000 can't put out some light, because it surely can, and on my screen, in my fairly light controlled room, high light setting burns the retina on a white or mostly light screen image!

 

[BuffaloJim]

Talon95,


How much better were they than your 4805?


Jim

 

[talon95]



Quote:
Originally Posted by BuffaloJim /forum/post/14248880


Talon95,


How much better were they than your 4805?


Jim

In terms of picture quality (everything except resolution), the 4805 is just as good as either of the Mits units. The 3000 will have lower absolute black using the iris, but with the iris open, it's no better. The Mits units were both brighter than the 4805, but my 4805 had 300-400 hours on it while the Mitsu's had near zero hour bulbs, so I would guess there is not really a big difference with equal age bulbs.


You see a lot of people reporting the 1000/1500 being a lot brighter, but I would guess they're comparing to an old bulb in the 4805. Of course if you turn up brilliant color on the 1000/1500, white and near white will be much brighter, but as I said above other colors will not be.