Mitsubishi HC7000 - Competitors-3

Posted on November 19, 2008 by Art Feierman

Mitsubishi HC7000 vs. Epson Home Cinema 6500 UB and Pro Cinema 7500 UB

More guessing time. These soon to be released Epson projectors build on the Home/Pro Cinema 1080 UB, and based on specs, should have even better black levels than the older model. If Epson delivers on the black levels, those two Epsons likey will have a small advantage over the HC7000.

The Epson Home Cinema 6500 UB and Pro Cinema 7500 UB have the creative frame interpolation for 96/120fps support (like the Panasonic), compared to the 24/48fps support on the HC7000 (and no creative frame interpolation). The Epson Home Cinema 6500 UB does not support an anamorphic lens, as it saves that feature for its more expensive, but almost identical Pro Cinema 7500 UB sibling. The Epson has the warranty advantage with a 2 year overnight replacement program warranty on the Home model a 3 years with 3 years of overnight replacement on the 7500 UB, instead of just a regular 2 year warranty like the Mitsubishi's.

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The Mitsubishi has two additional advantages. It is super quiet, and the Epsons (at least based on the older 1080 UB's performance), are likely to hold their title of noisiest of the 3LCD projectors. One caveat, Epson will have the new models in an all new casing, so, perhaps they will be quieter than the 1080 UB. Even if there is substantial improvement in this regard, the Mitsubishi will still be quieter. Just to clarify, while the Epson is noisy for a 3LCD projector, it is still a touch quieter than the typical DLP based home theater projector. The other noteworthy advantage of the Mitsubishi HC7000 is sharpness. The older Epson is just average. Epson says the new designs will be a little sharper, but, my best guess says the improvement will be slight, and the HC7000 will still be the clear winner. Of course, I've been wrong before.

I'm can't wait to shooting out these projectors. The HC7000 is likely to be price comparable to the Pro Cinema 7500 UB (or the Epson will be a little less), while the Home Cinema 6500 UB, will be significantly less (probably about $1000). For those who could care less about anamorphic lenses (at least 95% of us), the Epson Home version will likely look extremely attractive.

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HC7000 vs. InFocus IN83 and IN82

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The InFocus IN82 is an older projector, and a classic DLP projector. It's sharp, has limited placement flexibility (no lens shift, 1.2:1 zoom), is larger, but more importantly is that it is a giant step up in brightness. Its black levels though, are no match for the HC7000, and it lacks the frame interpolation and 96/120fps frame rate, as well as the anamorphic features.

Of greater interest is the IN83, which is close in price to the HC7000, but a step up from the IN82. The InFocus has a superb image, with the best skin tones around, but its black levels are not in the same league. The IN83's black levels are typical of good projectors, but not great projectors, a year or more ago. Strictly average today. If you are into picture performance first, the IN83 looks even more natural than the HC7000, but it can't begin to match the HC7000 on those really dark scenes.

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