Mitsubishi HC3 - Overview
Overview
Layout
Image Quality
General Performance
Warranty
Setup
Summary, Pros, Cons
Mitsubishi HC-3: This Widescreen, Low-Cost, Exceptionally Bright, LCD projector, is great for sports, TV/HDTV.
I like this projector. One of my complaints about most home theater projectors - at any price, is that they are not designed to handle ambient light. Now the HC-3 isn't dazzling bright - it can't handle a room with windows and no shades on a sunny day, but it can do a very respectable job on a 92" or 100" screen with a couple of lights on in the room. And that's more than other competing projectors can do. I make this point because if you have a few people around to watch a football (substitute your favorite sport) game, you probably don't want to do it in the dark.
Bottom line, most home theater projectors at any price point are focused on watching movies - "home theater". But not all of us consider movie watching to be our primary reason for buying a projector. Plenty of buyers are big on sports or regular (and HD) TV, some are into gaming (ok, you gamers so far are a small group, when it comes to buying projectors). Perhaps we should call the HC-3 a home entertainment projector rather than home theater, because, it is not the best choice for movies, but does a respectable job, but on sports, etc., this projector shines!
This is not a new projector, rather it has been around for a while, but, what makes it extremely interesting to many potential buyers, is the price. Selected dealers are now selling the Mitsubishi HC3 projector for $999 - less than half of its normal selling price when it first started shipping 16 months ago.
Ok, with that introduction, here are the basics on the HC-3 projector. It is rated 1300 lumens with a contrast ratio of 500:1. The LCD's are "1/4" HDTV" resolution: 960x540. That's a bit higher than most low cost HT projectors which are mostly WVGA (854x480). Sanyo's recently discontinued Z1 projector, a very popular machine, relied on the same resolution LCDs. This Mitsubishi projector is particularly small for a home theater projector, and it is a bit noisier than most. Again, these things make the HC-3 a better sports, video game, TV and HDTV projector than a DVD movie projector. This is a video projector for your family room.
Let's get started.
Overview
Layout
Image Quality
General Performance
Warranty
Setup
Summary, Pros, Cons
