Comments on: Mitsubishi HC3800 Home Theater Projector – Update

By: Art Feierman

Art Feierman — Sat, 01 Dec 2012 21:59:17 +0000

Greetings Ff,

Honestly, that was so long ago, so many projectors ago, that re-reading my blog doesn’t even refresh my memory as to what the outcome was. My suggestion would be to contact Mitsubishi projector support, and see what they might have for you as a solution, or work around. -a

By: Focal forge

Focal forge — Sat, 01 Dec 2012 10:31:43 +0000

Ad, I’m curious if you ever got a fix for this. You just described the issue I e been haveing today. I upgraded my old receiver to an hdmi unit, and now my projector shuts down when my computer is connected to it…

By: Art Feierman

Art Feierman — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 01:33:40 +0000

Hi Ad,

I’m not a PC guy when it comes to driving projectors. I would suggest calling Mits tech support, but you’ll definitely need some “level 2″ help, not the typical first level support people that work from the “universal playbook”…is it plugged in? etc….. Ask for level two, a supervisor, etc. Next – I assume you are a gamer? I figure you’ve got a PS3 to run movies… If you aren’t familiar with the forums, try AVSforum.com there are folks on the HC3800 and HC4000 threads, and also threads for gamers and for PC users… best of luck. -art

By: Ad

Ad — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 16:33:49 +0000

Not sure if anyone is still following this post, but my HC-3800 has just recently started shutting down. Unfortunately now I’m out of warranty.

It worked perfectly fine for a couple of years. I have it running off a onkyo receiver, with signal coming from either a PC or a PS3. Troubles started when I upgraded the video drivers on the PC. It would shut down randomly. I installed an older video driver and it went back to being fine.

I recently bought a new video card, installed that and got it up and running, but now the shutdown problem is back and no combination of video drivers/old video card seems to make a difference. It does run perfectly fine for hours on the PS3 though…

Because I’m out of warranty I’m trying to avoid taking it for a repair, (which stinks given it’s a known issue) so I’m trying to narrow down exactly what causes it, why some setups work but others don’t. I’m running Firmware 3.0

For me I’ve noticed teh following:

1. Runs fine on PS3
2. Runs fine on PC at less than maximum resolution
3. If I set it to 1080p from the PC, it shuts down constantly, usually within 5 minutes.

Any advice/ideas?

By: Sue

Sue — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 00:52:43 +0000

Update:
Mitsubishi reps visited, took the unit down and back to Mitsubishi service where the techie updated firmware and checked operation.
The unit was returned same day and operated without fault through a couple of movies and PS3 games.
Firmware now 7.0

By: Art Feierman

Art Feierman — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 04:42:33 +0000

Always a tough call. Since you don’t sound biased in favor of DLP, I’d say Go Epson. In a pinch it’s LivingRoom mode, properly adjusted does a great job of the Theater Black modes won’t cut it, and is nice and bright, and it is the more versatile of the two projectors, for sure. It also has the maximum brightness of the two, if absolutely needed. The Epson is better for mixed viewing. If, however, you are pretty much movie only, then you might givce the HC3800

By: Art Feierman

Art Feierman — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 04:01:45 +0000

I don’t have a date, or serial number, but, to my knowledge, I believe Mits was swapping out units in dealer inventory, and that many weeks ago. So, if you haven’t bought one yet, there should be no issue, but, remember, serious home theater projector dealers online move quantity, and get fresh shipments every few weeks. It’s the oddball dealer who moves very little in projectors, who buys from distributors that is more likely to have one in stock months after everyone else has new ones.

You could give Mitsubishi a call, and if they tell you something helpful, please post it here. As they say, “Inquiring minds want to know.”

By: Aaron D.

Aaron D. — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 00:20:14 +0000

Hello,

I was wondering at what manufactured date is the cut off point for the “shutdown” projectors. The new batches are fixed but when did the incorporate this fix into the projectors?

Thank you

By: nadeem

nadeem — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 21:57:54 +0000

Art, I am taking a plunge in 1080p with budget around $1800(my first pj). Being far away from USA(in middle east), I cannot afford to buy and than return the unit(if it malfunctions). I have narrowed down my choices to epson 8100 and Mit HC3800. Placement is not really a problem but ambient light is there in my family room. Have read tons of thread on the net but could not decide. your input comes highly recommended, so what do you recommend??? I will only buy from pp or visual apex.

By: Sam Calvin

Sam Calvin — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 01:54:58 +0000

I tried to duplicate the shutdown I had last night by doing extensive freeze-framing, frame-forward, and frame-reverse on my PS3. No shutdown. I’m beginning to think that it was coincidence that it shut down when it did last night. Since this has a 2-year warranty and I’m very happy with the picture quality, I’ll hold on to this unit unless there’s a recurrence of the problem.