Mitsubishi HC-5000BL Projector Review – General Performance-4 Posted on October 25, 2006 By Art Feierman 1. Mitsubishi HC5000BL Projector Review - Mitsubishi HC5000BL Projector Review - Overview2. Mitsubishi HC5000BL Projector Review 23. HC5000BL Physical Tour - Mitsubishi HC5000BL Physical Tour4. HC5000BL Home Theater Projector Review – Image Quality - HC5000BL Home Theater Projector Review - Image Quality - Sharpness Comparision5. HC5000BL Home Theater Projector Review – Image Quality-2 - comparision6. HC5000BL Home Theater Projector Review – Image Quality-37. HC5000BL Home Theater Projector Review – Image Quality-4 - Mitsubishi HC5000BL home theater projector - Handling of Flesh tones - HC5000BL Black Levels, Contrast and Shadow Detail8. HC5000BL Home Theater Projector Review – Image Quality-59. HC5000BL Home Theater Projector Review – Image Quality-6 - HC5000BL Color Handling10. Mitsubishi HC-5000BL Projector Review – General Performance - Mitsubishi HC5000BL Projector Menus 11. Mitsubishi HC-5000BL Projector Review – General Performance-2 - The Mitsubishi HC5000BL Remote Control - Mitsubishi HC5000 Lens Throw and Lens Shift12. Mitsubishi HC-5000BL Projector Review – General Performance-3 - Screen Door Effect and Rainbow Effect - Mitsubishi HC5000BL Light Leakage - Audible Noise Levels - Mitsubishi HC5000BL Projector Brightness13. Mitsubishi HC-5000BL Projector Review – General Performance-4 - HC5000BL Lamp Life and Replacement - Projector Screen Recommendations14. Mitsubishi HC-5000BL Projector Review – General Performance-5 - Mitsubishi HC5000BL Calibration - Mitsubishi HC5000BL Image noise - HC5000BL and HDTV in my theater 15. HC5000 Projector Review – Warranty16. Mitsubishi HC5000 Projector Reviews: Summary, Pros, Cons17. Mitsubishi HC5000 Projector Reviews: Summary, Pros, Cons-218. Mitsubishi HC5000 Projector Reviews: Summary, Pros, Cons-3 - HC5000BL Pros19. Mitsubishi HC5000 Projector Reviews: Summary, Pros, Cons-4 - HC5000BL Cons - HC5000BL - Typical Performance - Review continues below this advertisement. - Mitsubishi HC5000 Projector - The Bottom Line 20. Mitsubishi HC5000BL Projector Specifications HC5000BL Lamp Life and ReplacementMitsubishi rates the HC5000BL at 2000 hours in full power, and an impressive 5000 hours in low power. That is an unusually large percentage difference. For that reason, I was expecting that the HC5000BL’s low power mode would be more like 30-35% less than Standard (full) power. Thus, I was very surprised to see a less than 25% drop. I suspect therefore, they are really working the lamp hard, in full power mode. As mentioned in our Physical Tour, the Mitsubishi lamp door for replacement is on the side, so, no need to unmount the projector to change out the lamp. A real plus for those ceiling mounting! Projector Screen RecommendationsNot overly large, for sure! I was never happy in Cinema (best) mode, watching movies with the projector set to fill my entire 128″ diagonal, light gray high contrast surface Firehawk screen. By reducing the image size to 110″ diagonal, though I found watching movies to work out just fine. Dynamic Iris and AI, notwithstanding, the HC5000BL does a very good job in terms of black levels. As a result, for those wanting as large a screen as possible, I would recommend a screen with positive gain, like my other screen, the Carada Brilliant white – with it’s 1.4 gain. My own Carada is 106″ diagonal, and I found the image to be more than bright enough! Please note, if your walls are pretty dark, you can get away with a bigger screen than with off white walls. For those, most critical, and really wanting to knock the black levels down as far as possible, a light gray surface, with or without high contrast should do the trick. But for a typical user, after the high resolution and more of a mixed media type (sports, HDTV, gaming, as well as movies), I think most will appreciate the extra brightness of a positive gain, white surface. Please note, screens like the Carada Brilliant White, and the StudioTek 130 (1.3 gain), are by no means the brightest screens out there. Note, though, the more gain, the narrower the viable viewing angle (the more you lose sitting off to the side). Still, someone seeking max brightness, and whose critical seats are near the middle might even opt for a screen with a 1.8 or 2.0 gain. If the room has some light coming in from the sides near the screen, the extra gain also translates into rejecting more of the side ambient light. All that said, at the 100″ diagonal size, I think the Firehawk is a killer solution, and although it is a more expensive and (by most accounts) a “better” screen, less expensive products like Da-lite’s Cinema Vision (with or without High Contrast) surface or Elite’s light gray surface (purportedly high contrast, but only barely), should make good alternatives for those on a budget. Of course, when you are looking at a $4000+ projector, spending an extra $500 or so on a fixed wall screen to get the best, makes sense to me. But if you are going motorized, etc., the differences in price can go well beyond $1000! 1. Mitsubishi HC5000BL Projector Review - Mitsubishi HC5000BL Projector Review - Overview2. Mitsubishi HC5000BL Projector Review 23. HC5000BL Physical Tour - Mitsubishi HC5000BL Physical Tour4. HC5000BL Home Theater Projector Review – Image Quality - HC5000BL Home Theater Projector Review - Image Quality - Sharpness Comparision5. HC5000BL Home Theater Projector Review – Image Quality-2 - comparision6. HC5000BL Home Theater Projector Review – Image Quality-37. HC5000BL Home Theater Projector Review – Image Quality-4 - Mitsubishi HC5000BL home theater projector - Handling of Flesh tones - HC5000BL Black Levels, Contrast and Shadow Detail8. HC5000BL Home Theater Projector Review – Image Quality-59. HC5000BL Home Theater Projector Review – Image Quality-6 - HC5000BL Color Handling10. Mitsubishi HC-5000BL Projector Review – General Performance - Mitsubishi HC5000BL Projector Menus 11. Mitsubishi HC-5000BL Projector Review – General Performance-2 - The Mitsubishi HC5000BL Remote Control - Mitsubishi HC5000 Lens Throw and Lens Shift12. Mitsubishi HC-5000BL Projector Review – General Performance-3 - Screen Door Effect and Rainbow Effect - Mitsubishi HC5000BL Light Leakage - Audible Noise Levels - Mitsubishi HC5000BL Projector Brightness13. Mitsubishi HC-5000BL Projector Review – General Performance-4 - HC5000BL Lamp Life and Replacement - Projector Screen Recommendations14. Mitsubishi HC-5000BL Projector Review – General Performance-5 - Mitsubishi HC5000BL Calibration - Mitsubishi HC5000BL Image noise - HC5000BL and HDTV in my theater 15. HC5000 Projector Review – Warranty16. Mitsubishi HC5000 Projector Reviews: Summary, Pros, Cons17. Mitsubishi HC5000 Projector Reviews: Summary, Pros, Cons-218. Mitsubishi HC5000 Projector Reviews: Summary, Pros, Cons-3 - HC5000BL Pros19. Mitsubishi HC5000 Projector Reviews: Summary, Pros, Cons-4 - HC5000BL Cons - HC5000BL - Typical Performance - Review continues below this advertisement. - Mitsubishi HC5000 Projector - The Bottom Line 20. Mitsubishi HC5000BL Projector Specifications Mitsubishi HC-5000BL Projector Review – General Performance-3 Mitsubishi HC-5000BL Projector Review – General Performance-5