Mitsubishi HC7900DW – Review Summary

Mitsubishi HC7900DW Projector - The Bottom Line

Nice projector!

The top two strengths of the Mitsubishi HC7900DW projector are the general 2D picture quality, and image sharpness (without fancy dynamic features attempting to “add” sharpness or “detail”).

Consider the HC7900DW to be an excellent 2D projector, especially for more of a home theater with lighting control, than a family room.  That’s due to the 700 calibrated lumens.  True, there’s roughly 1200 lumens maximum, in watchable modes, but that leaves this projector without the real muscle of some of the competitors for the family room slot, that can muster 2000 lumens. The same is true for 3D, in that, sure, you can watch 3D, but consider this a projector more fine for those not committed to 3D but do want to “play with it”.

I referred to the HC7900DW as a projector best in condos.  I say that because it goes back to the lack of lumens for a larger screen in a less than ideal room situation.  In a dedicated home theater, this projector can, and will do an excellent job in 2D, on screens up to 120″ without difficulty, when it’s producing its best picture!  Now that makes for one fine home theater projector.

So, again:  The HC7900DW is a very good choice in smaller bonus / family / living rooms, using small to medium sized screens.  In a theater or cave, though, you can really enjoy that larger screen.  Keep in mind, it’s hard to find bright DLP projectors, so, with 700 lumens calibrate, it’s got more than most of the DLP competition, making it a top choice for those who like the DLP look and feel to an image.  (Rich, without being over the top, is one way I describe the color.)

Move the projector into more of a family room / living room environment, and pair it with the right screen for the room (and, of course a reasonable room  – with no beams of sunlight pouring in…), and size really comes down to the room, and whether you are watching those movies in the daytime, or just evenings.  This is the stuff you have to sort out. Just remember, the Mitsubishi HC7900DW produces an excellent picture in terms of skin tones and other color aspects!

Pause (for lecture):  When I am talking about “smaller screens”, let me clarify for those of you never previously having owned a projector.  I’m thinking between about 82 inches diagonal to 110 inches diagonal as “smaller to medium.”  (Large starts over 110″.)

Your 65″ LCDTV by projector standards is downright “tiny”.  I was in a Best Buy over the shopping weekend, and saw 70″ LCDTV’s on display, and wow, they really looked “humongous” compared to the 50″ inchers near by.  Well, next time you’re in Best Buy, take a look. When you see a 50 and a 70 near each other, realize that the increase from 70 to 100″ is a slightly greater increase than going from 50 to 70.  Further a 110″ screen makes a 70″ seem downright small or “cute”.

More importantly, when you get to projector sized images, you enter a world where the screen is large enough to get immersed in the picture.  (If that wasn’t the case, no one would go to the movie theaters, we’d all be happy watching James Bond, or Transformers, or Hurt Locker on our 40″ LCDTVs.  OK, enough.

If you take your movies seriously, and want best color, we’d still recommend having the HC7900DW calibrated. If that’s not going to happen, definitely try our settings. They should do visibly better than the defaults, and it shouldn’t take you more than 5-10 minutes to figure out how to, and put in all our settings and save them.  (No, you don’t need to be a techie, just clever enough to use menus, and change a few numbers).