Mitsubishi HC4900 projector, Pros, Cons, and Typical Capabilities

Posted on August 19, 2007 By Art Feierman

Mitsubishi HC4900 Projector: Pros

Superb sharpness
Quietest home theater projector we have ever seen (or heard)
Better than average brightness in “best” mode (Cinema)
Average brightness in “brightest” mode
After minor “tweaking” produces an extremely watchable image, overall, and in terms of skin tones
Out of the box color balance is good, better than many
Excellent gamma, in part responsible for suprisingly good shadow detail
Good menu system
Good warranty
Very good manual, with good levels of explanation for most items
Two digital inputs (one DVI, one HDMI)
Focus, zoom, and lens shift are all powered, and controlled by the remote
Easy to use, full featured
Overall, good price performance

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Black levels are very so-so, better than a typical DLP with Darkchip2, but not up to the HC5000, or most of the other 1080p competition
HDMI 1.2, not 1.3 (only a couple of projectors with 1.3 are currently shipping as of this writing)
Pixel visibility is worst of the 1080p projectors, but it still isn’t an issue at normal seating distances. If you like to sit very close, though, you may notice it
Remote Control’s backlight is dim, which I found annoying in a dark room
Small “main” menu stays on screen until you close it.
Although good placement flexibility, not as good as other LCD 1080p models