HC5000BL Physical Tour

Posted on October 25, 2006 by Art Feierman

Mitsubishi HC5000BL Physical Tour

The first thing I better mention is the color of this Mitsubishi projector. The unit I received is finished all in black, which is, I'm told, the standard finish. Mitsubishi however, is also offering, in more limited quantities (special order), a white version, for the same price. The white version still has black trim around the lens. . I believe that is why this projector is sometimes referred to as the HC5000, but more often as the HC5000BL (the BL standing for black).

Starting from the front, the 1.6:1 motorized zoom lens is offset to the right (if you are facing the projector). To fill a 100" diagaonal 16:9 screen, you may place the front of the projector as close as 10 feet 3 inches and as far back as 16 feet 5 inches, providing plenty of placement flexibility.There are two drop down feet, at the left and right bottom of the projector. There is also an infrared sensor, near the left foot

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There, you will find a larger button for power, and to its right eight buttons some doing double duty. In the middle of the cluster is the Enter button surrounded by the four arrow key buttons. The left arrow button doubles to select between HDMI and DVI inputs, the right arrow button toggles between video sources. There is also a Menu button (bottom left). On the top right is a button to adjust lens shift, and bottom right one for zoom and focus.

On the left side of the projector (looking from the rear) you will find the air filter (the manual suggests cleaning about once a month), and on the right side, the door for the lamp system. As a result, those ceiling mounting, will not need to unmount the projector to change the lamp, unlike many home theater projectors with the lamp door on the bottom of the projector.

On the back of the projector is the input panel. The HC5000BL offers two digital inputs; one DVI-D and one HDMI. In addition there are three RCA jacks for one component video input. An HD15 connector for a computer is also available. That can alternately be used as a second component video input if you don't need to hook up a computer. Of course, you'll find the standard composite video and S-video connections as well. The HC5000BL also has a 12 volt trigger allowing a properly equipped motorized screen to be controlled from the remote. Lastly there is the power connector, and a rear infrared sensor for the remote.

Overall the HC5000BL is a fairly attractive projector. The black finish should work for most people placing the projector in their theaters (which hopefully have dark ceilings). For those with white ceilings, remember a white version of the HC5000BL is available.

Of course image quality, is what interests most of you, and it's time to consider how the Mitsubishi HC5000BL home theater projector looks, doing its thing.