Mitsubishi HC3800 Projector Calibration and Settings

Posted on October 11, 2013 by Art Feierman

We calibrate each home theater that is reviewed. The Mitsubishi HC3800 is no exception, except that the unit we had is an early engineering sample. The full production projectors, recently started shipping (Nov '09), and we received one and recalibrated. As of November 30, all the settings info has been updated to reflect the proper numbers for a normal, full production, Mitsubishi HC3800 projector.

t is a pretty standard calibration, there's always more that can be done by some of the "hi-end" calibrators. Our calibrations, including the Mitsubishi HC3800, are normally limited to a grayscale calibration, along with brightness, contrast, color saturation, etc.

Mitsubishi HC3800 Color Temperature


30 IRE	6513
50 IRE	6652
80 IRE	6649
100 IRE	6556

Mike notes: For not being calibrated, RGB balance is quite good throughout IRE range

Because the HC3800 doesn't have presets that work the same as most other projectors - with different gammas and color temps, as separate controls, here are two more charts that should provide some clarity (or confusion). You can see how the Gamma affects different color temp settings, and vice versa:

Header Content
Auto	948 @ 6611
Cinema	968 @ 6590, 726 @ 6238 w/BC off
Video	953 @ 6617
Sports	1142 @ 6352, 880 @ 6154 w/BC off

Lumen Output at various Color Temps at 100 IRE, Gamma on Auto:


Medium	948 @ 6611
High Brightness	1091 @ 6143, 1142 @ 6148 on Sports gamma
Cool	655 @ 8942
Warm	843 @ 5342

Mitsubishi HC3800 Basic Settings


Contrast	(0), 0 for all except Sports, which is -4
Brightness	(0) 13 for all
Gamma	Auto
Color Temp	Medium (default for Auto gamma)
Lamp Mode	Standard (unless noted otherwise)
Brilliant Color (BC)	On (unless noted otherwise)

In addition to calibrating Red Green and Blue for a correct grayscale balance (6500K), there are a number of other settings that come into play. Typically Contrast and Brightness (white balance and black balance), need to be done first. Color saturation and gamma also need adjustment.