Mitsubishi HC1600 Home Theater Projector: Summary, Pros and Cons-2

Mitsubishi HC1600 Projector: Pros

Mitsubishi HC1600 Home Theater Projector: Summary, Pros and Cons

• Great shadow detail
• Extremely bright, especially for an entry-level priced projector, ideal for sports and TV viewing, or movies on larger screens (not the brightest, but up there)
• Reasonably good, but not great, out of the box color
• Very good post calibration color
• Single HDMI input supports HDMI 1.3, and 24fps
• Bright enough, and portable enough to double as an entry level business projector
• One of the lowest cost home theater projectors on the market
• Filter free design
• 12 volt screen trigger
• Dedicated computer input
• Good documentation
• Good menu layout

Mitsubishi HC1600 Projector: Cons

• Slow 2x speed color wheel
• Only one HDMI input
• Mediocre black level performance
• Limited placement flexibility due to lack of lens shift and short range zoom
• Remote is not backlit, and has small buttons (though layout is good)
• Needs a basic calibration for best color performance
• A bit noisy in high power lamp mode
• Only a one year warranty (like some competitors, but some others offer two, or even three years)
• Significant image offset means projector must be mounted about 1.5 feet above the top of the screen surface, a problem for those with low ceilings (under eight feet in height)

Mitsubishi HC1600 Projector: Typical Capabilities

Mitsubishi HC1600 Home Theater Projector: Summary

The HC1600 seems to be a slightly different projector, but in most ways similar to the older HC1500 it replaces. Its big improvement is in brightness. It appears that Mitsubishi was primarily concerned with keeping costs down, and appealing to those hot for a brighter projector. The five segment color wheel (the HC1500 had a seven segment wheel) and slower color wheel speed buys those extra lumens, but pays a price by making the Rainbow Effect an issue for a larger (but still small) slice of the potential users. While I favored the HC1500 over the older Optoma HD70, in this case, I find the somewhat less bright Optoma HD65 to be the better value proposition, overall. The Optoma HD71 may be a chunk more expensive, but offers most of the best of the HD65, but with slightly more brightness than the HC1600. As is usual, though, you have to consider your room, your lighting, and what type of content you watch. Its not about which is the best projector, but which is the best for you, and yours.

Mitsubishi HC1600 Projector: Bottom Line

f the budget is tight, you are planning to ceiling mount your home theater projector, and you seek an all around performer – one with the brightness to tackle some ambient light, then the HC1600 is the least expensive projector on your list, and will almost certainly provide you a rich viewing experience.

Keep in mind that we reviewers tend to make a big deal about lots of little details. More to the point, with that basic calibration, you can enjoy a very bright home theater projector, with very pleasing color performance. You’ll love it on sports, and find the Mitsubishi HC1600 to be a good, if not the best choice, for movies.