Mitsubishi HC7900DW – Review Summary 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 Time to summarize many of the discussions on the previous pages. For those of you who have read the entire review, no surprises. For the rest of you, this page should give you a pretty darn good idea of how the HC7900 projector performs, its greatest strengths, its most noticeable limitations, and hopefully, a good understanding as to whether this projector is for you. Enjoy! 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). 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 – Warranty Mitsubishi HC7900DW – Review Summary 2