Mitsubishi HC4000 Projector - Image Quality 3

Posted on July 16, 2013 by Art Feierman

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Shadow Detail Performance

Same as last year's version: The detail of the HC4000 is about as good as it gets. Most impressive. This shouldn't be surprising, previous Mitsubishi does have a history of home projectors with a particularly good shadow detail.

For the last few years I've been using a very overexposed close up of Clint Eastwood in Space Cowboys, a few frames after the image below. It's just time for a change. This image I think will prove to be a better one, but it will take a few months before we have the same image on file from a few other projectors.

Below is a heavily overexposed scene from Lord of the Rings. The overexposure lets you see all the details in the shed on the right, the structure on the left, and the plants and ground along the lower right. The HC4000 offers a great amount of dark shadow detail.

Click on left thumbnail image for the Mitsubishi HC4000, Sony VPL-HW15 in the center, and the right for the Optoma HD20

Mitsubishi HC4000

Sony VPL-HW15

Optoma HD20

Our last comparison uses the night train scene from Casino Royale. Look to the trees and shrubs on the right, especially just above the tracks. The first image is the Mitsubishi, followed by older HC3800, the BenQ W6000, then Sony VPL-HW15, the Sharp XV-Z15000.

All considered, the HC4000 reveals more of the dark shadow detail than just about any other projector we've recently worked with. Most impressive. In reality it was essentially identical to the HC3800, but our photo of the HC4000 is a little darker.

HC4000

HC3800

W6000

VPL-HW15

XV-Z15000

PLV-Z3000

PT-AE3000U

Bottom Line, regarding shadow detail and black levels. The HC4000 is most impressive on shadow detail. True, the darkest details are a touch harder to see than on the HC3800 (because they are darker), but that's the price of having blacker blacks. Blacks, I repeat, are about as good as I've seen in a entry level or even by projectors up to $3000, that do not use a dynamic iris. It bests those DLP's that cost less, and I've already described how it compares to say the Epson 8100 - depending, on the characteristics of the image. In both these areas, and the effect they have on the image you are enjoying, the HC4000 more than earns the extra price over the real entry level projectors just under $1000.