Mitsubishi HC5000BL Projector Review 2

After much viewing of the HC5000BL, we are pleased to grant it our Hot Product Award. For those of you not familiar, instead of giving out a 4 or 5 star rating (try to find a review of a projector anywhere, that ever got an overall rating below 4), we specify what it is about the projector that rates it a Hot Product. Thus, a projector may not be a great choice for 75% of the buyers out there shopping in its price range, but it may perform in such a way, that it is the best choice for 10% and one of the "A" list choices for 15 percent, therefore, it would qualify for the award. As a result, many projectors receive our Hot Product Award, so pay attention to why we awarded it, and see if it matches well with your requirements.

I may not be able to tell you for a couple more months - until a number of other 1080p home theater projectors arrive and are reviewed, whether the HC5000BL is particularly bright compared to its competition, nor, if it has better than average black levels and shadow detail, etc. What we were able to conclude, however, is that its overall performance is impressive, it delivers the benefits you would expect from the move to 1080p, and overall very good performance which will be discussed in the Image Quality and General Performance sections. When I combine that, with its $4495 MSRP (and therefore a selling price below that), the HC5000BL appears to be the lowest priced of any of the announced 1080p projectors (The Panasonic PT-AE1000U, has an MSRP of $5995, the Optoma HD81, a $6995 MSRP (or higher), the Sony LCOS home theater projector - the Pearl - VPL-VW50) at $4995)...