Mitsubishi rolls out 1080p HC3800 projector for $1,395
By Donald Melanson 
posted Sep 9th 2009 6:05PM
posted Sep 9th 2009 6:05PM
It's not always easy for a projector to stand out from the pack these days, but it looks like Mitsubishi has turned to one of the most tried and true tricks in the book for its new HC3800 model: offer a ton of features for a great price. That starts, naturally, with a full 1080p resolution, and things stay more than respectable all along down the line with 1,300 lumens of brightness, a 4,000:1 contrast ratio, a promised 5,000 hour lamp life (in conservation mode) and, get this, full support for anamorphic lenses in case you're really looking to top off your home theater. Best of all, the projector is set to run just $1,395, and should be available sometime in the third quarter of this year.
[Via About Projectors]
[Via About Projectors]
There is probably some event going on that I missed, but what is up with all of the projector news? There are almost as many articles about projectors as posts about iPod updates.
That's what she said!
You're right!
There are 14 Apple stories to 2 projector stories!
CEDIA EXPO
Started today.
http://www.cedia.net/expo/index2009.php
Not a bad price, and I've always wanted a nice theatre setup. Too bad I don't have the space for one yet, but one can wish... :)
I'd love to see how sharp the picture on this looks in comparison to a nice sized LCD TV... I never really got the chance to play with one of these. Anyone with a 1080p projector care to inform? :)
I had a older 720p projector for a long while and can say first hand they are amazing. We had a 80-90 inch screen right on my white wall and you can't compare it to a 1300$ tv it's more like a 5000-6000$ tv. Movie nights have never been the same since I got rid of it. I used it as a pc monitor as well and the image was razor crisp even at 80-90 inches. Once I move I'll be getting another.
I'm sure this projector is going to be amazing. I have the Mitsu HC1500, it's just a 720p projector but it blows most regular (LCD/Plasma) HDTV's away. I have it on a 90" screen and its awesome. My friend has a 60" 1080p Mitsu DLP RPTV and that looks great as well. If I shrink my size down to 60" I would be hard pressed to see much of a difference between mine and his at normal viewing distances. He, of course, has the benefit of not needing to have a theater room though.
I have a HC4900 that I got last year for the same price. higher contrast rating but lower lumen rating than this one. I have it at about 17feet and I run it in the 5000 hour bulb mode on a motorized 125" elite screen($280 from buy.com).
It is in the basement with some light coming in but you can still play 4-person Halo with all the basement lights on it's just washed out a bit. With half of the ceiling lights off it's like watching a regular LCD but with higher contrast. With the lights off it have very good contrast and excellent color. It is also very quiet with a 19db rating. The 60GB PS3 is by far the loudest device I use with it. I can't hear the projector at all. I also have a elite 360, hd-dvd player, and home made HTPC about 5' from the viewing seats.
In case you don't like math, that is 4 people playing Halo each with a 62.5" screen. Tasty.
I was wondering the exact same thing. I have an LCD on the way, but for some reason I've always wanted to try a projector.
Anyone at all have a comparison for us? Maybe 1,300 dollar projector vs 1,300 lcd?
Depends on what you are viewing, and how you are viewing it.
ie: in a dark room with controlled lighting or in a well lit living room with sun light pouring in
You also have to factor in a screen.
For $2,000 you could get a passable video system (screen and projector) with significant WOW factor (100"+ screen), but you would be looking at having to have a light controlled room and a fixed screen to get the most out of it at that budget. For $1300 you may be able to swing a low budget system, but you would have to use a 720P projector and/or a CHEAP screen. Hopefully you already have audio taken care of otherwise you would need at least a cheap HTiB setup.
I have a older panasonic 1080p projector. To get an idea of pixel size, with a 100" screen you have about 1/16" pixels. I would choose a projector over a tv any day.
I have the audio set up, and ready to go. Lighting would be easy to control. One window in the room I would use. I however would only be looking at about 80 inches for the screen.
How are the black levels on these beasts? They have me anxious. I wonder if I could rent one around here...
Or if you really want to save money, DIY a screen. I built a 100" screen out of blackout cloth and 1x4s for about $40. Complete with my $600 720p projector and a bat cave of a basement, it made for incredible movie nights and gaming.
Seriously, once you play Fallout 3 on a projector, TVs of any size just feel inadequate.
That's a good idea. I bet it looks great too.
You're living the dream : )
I could only imagine 100" of Gears of War action...
CEDIA...it's the custom electronics tradeshow, mainly meant for custom home installer types, and it's where all of the major projector announcements happen every fall.
I think the specs are good but I wonder how loud it is?
We just purchased 2 entry level Optoma Brand projectors that are 1080P for about $2500. The quality of picture is truely great, but man those suckers are LOUD!
If it's like my HC4900, 19db. super quiet.
It appears to be a DLP and not a 3LCD like mine so I guess it is louder. :( On another note I got mine early last year for $1400 so I assume you can pick this one up for less in the real world.
I have had an HC1500 for a couple of years and love it... decided to take the plunge because of the $800 price tag. This looks like a nice step up.
That is a great projector. Easily outperforms it's price tag.
looks good, but I have seen better and at a lower price!
"Anamorphic lens compatibility widens range of cinema-scope images (support for mode 1 and mode 2) "
what does this mean? can i buy anamorphic lenses and just screw them on? (like DSLR lenses)
also, what are mode 1 and mode 2?
thanks!
looks not to bad
first "preview" of a engineering sample:
http://www.projectorreviews.com/blog/2009/09/06/mitsubishi-hc3800-home-theater-projector-first-look/
Mo, I'm guessing that anamorphic lens capability only means that the projector will do a vertical stretch mode so that it "pre-compensates" for the horizontal stretching that an anamorphic lens would do. There's almost zero chance that it means you can screw on an anamorphic lens - at least partly since I don't think anyone sells screw on lenses. And even if you could screw on, it's going to create problems for 16:9 material if the anamorphic lens is attached all the time. (Yes, it's possible that the projector does some further fancy squeezing to get 16:9 material to display, er, the way it would look without the lens. But I doubt it.)
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i own an epson 6100(1080p) and its easily the best purchase i can recall making. but like some other posters have mentioned you really need to be able to control the lighting at a bare minimum, i currently am just using a white wall to project on and it looks fantastic, watching blu-rays is unreal at 100" and sitting about 10 feet away. im saving up for a nice screen which is going to make it look even better. all i can say is do your homework because a projector takes a lot more thought to setup than any normal tv, you have to think about there your going to put it and how far of a throw distance you need for the size of screen you would like, also like RPTV's they do have a bulb which will eventually need replacing after 2000 to 4000 hours depending on your projector and what lamp mode it runs in( high or low power). one of the main reasons i bought my epson was for the 4000 hour bulb in high or low power mode, that and its considered by many to be the best projector for less than 2 grand, although thats all going to change once the new 8100 comes out in a month or two. www.prejectorreviews.com was by far the best website to read reviews of different projectors art really knows his stuff.
im always telling my friends to get a projector.watching blurays and playing gears of war or cod4,killzone on 106" is just ...whoa.(with buttkicker setup)
i have the infocus x1 but its still have a great picture.still 3000hr to go.
if u can afford a projector get one,ur not gonna regret it.
Now, if they would only reduce the prices of the anamorphic lens!