Mitsubishi HC7900D – Projector Screen Guidance Posted on July 16, 2013 By Art Feierman 1. Mitsubishi HC7900DW Home Theater Projector Review - Mitsubishi HC7900DW Projector Highlights - Mitsubishi HC7900DW Projector Overview2. Mitsubishi HC7900DW Projector – Physical Tour - Mitsubishi HC7900DW Projector - Appearance - HC7900DW Control Panel - HC7900DW Projector - Input/Output3. Mitsubishi HC7900DW Projector – Physical Tour 2 - HC7900DW Menus - Mitsubishi HC7900DW Remote - Mitsubishi HC7900DW Lens Throw - Mitsubishi HC7900 Lens Shift - Anamorphic Lens - Wide Screen4. Mitsubishi HC7900DW Projector – Image Quality - Mitsubishi HC7900DW Out of the Box Picture Quality - Mitsubishi HC7900DW Projector - Flesh Tones5. Mitsubishi HC7900DW Projector – Image Quality 2 - Mitsubishi HC7900DW Black Levels & Shadow Detail - Black Levels Comparison - Shadow Detail Performance - Shadow Detail Comparison - Black Level and Shadow Detail Performance: HC7900 Projector - Bottom Line6. Mitsubishi HC7900DW Projector – Image Quality 3 - Mitsubishi HC7900DW - Overall Color & Picture Quality7. Mitsubishi HC7900DW Projector – Image Quality 4 - Mitsubishi HC7900DW Projector: Performance, HDTV and Sports, including 3D - Mitsubishi HC7900DW Projector: Bottom Line on HDTV Sports, and also 3D HDTV content8. Mitsubishi HC7900DW Projector – Performance - Mitsubishi HC7900DW Brightness - Post Calibration: User "best" mode (placed in User AV Memory 1) = 701 lumens - HC7900DW Brightest Mode (that you would never want to watch) - HC7900DW Brightest "Watchable" mode Game (or Cinema), Brilliant Color on, Contrast at +10: 1112 lumens9. Mitsubishi HC7900DW Projector – Performance 2 - HC7900 in Eco-mode vs. Full power: - Mitsubishi HC7900DW Pre-Calibration Color temp, Cinema Mode10. Mitsubishi HC7900DW Projector – Performance 3 - Mitsubishi HC7900DW Sharpness - Mitsubishi HC7900DW: Bottom Line Sharpness - Light Leakage - Image Noise - Audible Noise11. Mitsubishi HC7900DW Projector Calibration and Settings - Mitsubishi HC7900DW Color Temperature - Mitsubishi HC7900DW Basic Settings12. Mitsubishi HC7900DW Projector Calibration and Settings 2 - Mitsubishi HC7900DW Post Calibration Grayscale: User Mode - HC7900DW RGB Settings13. Mitsubishi HC7900DW Projector – Advanced Calibration Information - Color Management Settings (CMS) - Notes - Calibration Charts (Before and After)14. Mitsubishi HC7900D – Projector Screen Guidance - Acer H9500BD Projector Screen Recommendations15. Mitsubishi HC7900DW – Competitors - Mitsubishi HC7900DW vs. Epson Pro Cinema 6020 UB and Home Cinema 5020 UB - Mitsubishi HC7900DW vs. Sony VPL-HW50ES16. Mitsubishi HC7900DW – Competitors 2 - HC7900DW vs. Sharp XV-Z30000 - Mitsubishi HC7900DW vs. Viewsonic Pro 9000 - Mitsubishi HC7900DW vs. PT-AE800017. Mitsubishi HC7900DW Projector – Warranty - Mitsubishi HC7900DW Projector - Warranty18. Mitsubishi HC7900DW – Review Summary - Mitsubishi HC7900DW Projector - The Bottom Line19. Mitsubishi HC7900DW – Review Summary 2 - HC7900DW Color and Overall Picture Quality - HC7900 DW Projector - Brightness for 2D viewing - HC7900 Projector - 3D Brightness20. Mitsubishi HC7900DW – Review Summary 3 - The Very Bottom Line on the HC7900DW projector21. Mitsubishi HC7900DW – Review Summary 4 - Mitsubishi HC7900DW Projector: Pros and Cons - Mitsubishi HC7900DW Projector: Pros - Mitsubishi HC7900DW Projector: Cons22. Mitsubishi HC7900DW – Full Specifications Acer H9500BD Projector Screen RecommendationsThe HC7900DW fills my 124″ Studiotek 130 screen (1.3 gain, 2.35:1), even with lamp on ECO, without even trying, when lights are down for movie viewing, and in best mode (calibrated) 700 lumens will do that. Or, if you want some lights on, try to have the ambient lights coming from the sides, look for a screen that’s high contrast and gray, for rejecting a lot of side ambient light. Most manufacturers have them. If your room has ambient light but not from the sides, rather straight back, those HC gray projection screens aren’t going to help that much, so you might be better off with a nice “plus gain” screen – say 1.3 to 1.6, to brighten the image. That won’t help though, if your ambient light is coming from the same area of the projector. Some HC gray screens are better at rejecting light coming from above, than others. I find the Stewart Firehawk to be very good, and the newer Black Diamond screens perhaps even better, although the older ones allowed too much color from side lighting to come through. Assuming your room isn’t a home theater (afterall, the DW is white – the color of projectors for all “the other” rooms, I offer this advice relating to improving the room itself: Should you be able to pull it off, darken your walls and ceiling, and if possible, also the floor of your room, to dramatically improve your experience. Keep in mind with a bright projector like this Epson, however, you can cut through quite a bit of ambient light when you want to watch sports, regardless of walls… 2000 lumens can go a long way. If you can’t really redo the room, do what you can. But, if you can do nothing else, and can manage to darken the wall your screen is on, that alone will make a real difference. If you have the usual off white ceilings, you can, as I did, darken them several shades – They will likely still seem as bright to everyone, since the ceiling will likely still be the brightest surface. That worked in my old great room. I darkened the ceiling several shades, and the result – well less than half the reflected light getting back to the screen. – And no one noticed the ceiling change. 3D is another matter. I’d say with a typical screen (gain 1.3), you really can’t push this projector much above 100″ diagonal and have any decent brightness for 3D viewing. Remember, this projector has about 1100 usable lumens with good color. True, you can punch out over 1300 lumens, but the image is so green shifted that the movie The Matrix almost seems normal. In a more family room environment, the HC7900DW with those 1100 lumens can tackle more than minimal ambient light when paired with an HC gray surface. 1. Mitsubishi HC7900DW Home Theater Projector Review - Mitsubishi HC7900DW Projector Highlights - Mitsubishi HC7900DW Projector Overview2. Mitsubishi HC7900DW Projector – Physical Tour - Mitsubishi HC7900DW Projector - Appearance - HC7900DW Control Panel - HC7900DW Projector - Input/Output3. Mitsubishi HC7900DW Projector – Physical Tour 2 - HC7900DW Menus - Mitsubishi HC7900DW Remote - Mitsubishi HC7900DW Lens Throw - Mitsubishi HC7900 Lens Shift - Anamorphic Lens - Wide Screen4. Mitsubishi HC7900DW Projector – Image Quality - Mitsubishi HC7900DW Out of the Box Picture Quality - Mitsubishi HC7900DW Projector - Flesh Tones5. Mitsubishi HC7900DW Projector – Image Quality 2 - Mitsubishi HC7900DW Black Levels & Shadow Detail - Black Levels Comparison - Shadow Detail Performance - Shadow Detail Comparison - Black Level and Shadow Detail Performance: HC7900 Projector - Bottom Line6. Mitsubishi HC7900DW Projector – Image Quality 3 - Mitsubishi HC7900DW - Overall Color & Picture Quality7. Mitsubishi HC7900DW Projector – Image Quality 4 - Mitsubishi HC7900DW Projector: Performance, HDTV and Sports, including 3D - Mitsubishi HC7900DW Projector: Bottom Line on HDTV Sports, and also 3D HDTV content8. Mitsubishi HC7900DW Projector – Performance - Mitsubishi HC7900DW Brightness - Post Calibration: User "best" mode (placed in User AV Memory 1) = 701 lumens - HC7900DW Brightest Mode (that you would never want to watch) - HC7900DW Brightest "Watchable" mode Game (or Cinema), Brilliant Color on, Contrast at +10: 1112 lumens9. Mitsubishi HC7900DW Projector – Performance 2 - HC7900 in Eco-mode vs. Full power: - Mitsubishi HC7900DW Pre-Calibration Color temp, Cinema Mode10. Mitsubishi HC7900DW Projector – Performance 3 - Mitsubishi HC7900DW Sharpness - Mitsubishi HC7900DW: Bottom Line Sharpness - Light Leakage - Image Noise - Audible Noise11. Mitsubishi HC7900DW Projector Calibration and Settings - Mitsubishi HC7900DW Color Temperature - Mitsubishi HC7900DW Basic Settings12. Mitsubishi HC7900DW Projector Calibration and Settings 2 - Mitsubishi HC7900DW Post Calibration Grayscale: User Mode - HC7900DW RGB Settings13. Mitsubishi HC7900DW Projector – Advanced Calibration Information - Color Management Settings (CMS) - Notes - Calibration Charts (Before and After)14. Mitsubishi HC7900D – Projector Screen Guidance - Acer H9500BD Projector Screen Recommendations15. Mitsubishi HC7900DW – Competitors - Mitsubishi HC7900DW vs. Epson Pro Cinema 6020 UB and Home Cinema 5020 UB - Mitsubishi HC7900DW vs. Sony VPL-HW50ES16. Mitsubishi HC7900DW – Competitors 2 - HC7900DW vs. Sharp XV-Z30000 - Mitsubishi HC7900DW vs. Viewsonic Pro 9000 - Mitsubishi HC7900DW vs. PT-AE800017. Mitsubishi HC7900DW Projector – Warranty - Mitsubishi HC7900DW Projector - Warranty18. Mitsubishi HC7900DW – Review Summary - Mitsubishi HC7900DW Projector - The Bottom Line19. Mitsubishi HC7900DW – Review Summary 2 - HC7900DW Color and Overall Picture Quality - HC7900 DW Projector - Brightness for 2D viewing - HC7900 Projector - 3D Brightness20. Mitsubishi HC7900DW – Review Summary 3 - The Very Bottom Line on the HC7900DW projector21. Mitsubishi HC7900DW – Review Summary 4 - Mitsubishi HC7900DW Projector: Pros and Cons - Mitsubishi HC7900DW Projector: Pros - Mitsubishi HC7900DW Projector: Cons22. Mitsubishi HC7900DW – Full Specifications Mitsubishi HC7900DW Projector – Advanced Calibration Information Mitsubishi HC7900DW – Competitors