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Mitsubishi HC8000D Home Theater Projector Review

Posted on February 1, 2013 by Art Feierman
Mitsubishi's new HC8000D home theater projector (first shown at the CEDIA show last fall), has a manufacturer-suggested list price of $2,999 and it's sold by local installing authorized dealers.   It is a 2D and 3D capable projector, but, please note, the $2999 price does not include the necessary 3D emitter, nor any 3D glasses.  Figure an extra almost $500 to add 3D with two pair of glasses. That puts it in line, pricewise, with several direct competitors. This Mitsubishi projector itself is DLP based, a single chip design. It is 2D and 3D. The HC8000D projector, replaces last year's HC7800, (which is also replaced by the similar HC7900DW which we already reviewed).  The D in HC8000D, I presume reminds us that this is a DLP projector.

Specs Preview

Mitsubishi HC8000D Specs
Price 2999
Technology DLP
Native Resolution 1920x1080
Brightness (Manufacturer Claim) 1300
Contrast 330,000:1
Zoom Lens Ratio 1.5:1 Manual zoom and focus
Lens Shift No
Lamp Life 5000 hours in eco mode, 2000 hours at full power
Weight 12.6 lbs
Warranty 3-Years of Parts/Labor, 3-Years of Express Replacement Assistance (ERA), 1-year or 500 hours lamp warranty (whichever comes first)

Mitsubishi HC8000D Projector Highlights

  • 3D capable, supports both 720 and 1080i/1080p 3D, including Blu-ray 3D and all DirecTV 3D content I have tried
  • 3D glasses, and required 3D emitter are not included in the price
  • You can buy lower cost "universal" glasses, or Mitsubishi's brighter proprietary glasses ($199 each.). Emitter is $99.
  • Physically small for a home theater/entertainment projector, shiny black case works best in the home theater environment it's designed for
  • Very good, comprehensive color controls - calibrates very nicely
  • Great lamp life in eco-mode: up to 5000 hours
  • Excellent warranty!
  • Creative Frame Interpolation for smooth motion
  • Sold through local authorized local dealers
  • A really fine projector for small to medium screens!

Mitsubishi HC8000D Projector Overview

The Mitsubishi HC8000D is intended for the proverbial cave, or dedicated home theater.  It comes finished in a black shiny case, which blends in nicely with the dark surfaces usually found in a home theater. For those more interested in putting this projector in a family room, living room, etc., the HC8000D has the $500 less expensive, similar HC7900DW.  That projector is finished in white (as is appropriate for those types of rooms). Contrast for the HC8000D is upped to 330,000, that's more than double the HC7900DW's 150,000:1 and in its own right, an extremely impressive number for on/off contrast. From a performance standpoint, the emphasis of the HC8000D projector is in delivering that higher contrast, "blacker blacks" - better black levels.  The trade-off, is that this HC8000D projector is almost a third less bright than the family room projector, in terms of both calibrated lumens and maximum usable lumens.  Of course being in a really dark room compared to a "family room environment", should balance things out a good deal. We'll discuss how that plays out in terms of black level performance, as usual, on the Image Quality page of this review. In the Mitsubishi projector line-up,consider these two projectors to otherwise be identical.  Mitsubishi is still offering the more expensive HC9000D, an LCoS projector (using Sony panels), that is a couple of thousand dollars more.  The HC9000 launched just about a year and a half before this review, but is approaching end of life.  That will soon make the HC8000D the flagship of Mitsubishi home theater projectors.  I have no indication that Mitsubishi will bring out a new projector above the HC8000D. The 1.5:1 manual zoom lens, has a better than typical zoom range for a home DLP projector. That provides about as much placement flexibility as almost any other DLP projectors for the home. It allows the HC8000D projector to compete with most LCD and LCoS projectors in terms of placement flexibility.  Of course that statement is only true because it has vertical lens shift, as do all the competing 3LCD projectors anywhere near its price, including the Epson Home Cinema 5020 ($2599) and the Panasonic PT-AE8000 ($2799), which are likely the two best selling over $2500 home theater projectors. This is a fairly well equipped projector.  The Mitsubishi HC8000 has creative frame interpolation for smooth motion.  It also offers a full CMS (color management system) for calibrating the projector. The HC8000D comes with a remote control, which I think is rather dated, but it will be discussed in the Remote section of the Tour page (the next page).  When it comes to audible noise, DLPs tend to be a bit noisy.  The HC8000D, like the 7900, is not a real exception to that tendency, but it is a bit quieter than most of the DLPs, especially compared to the less expensive ones.  The HC8000D does get fairly quiet in its low power setting.  I find it to be slightly quieter (more of a different pitch and a db or two, nothing dramatic) when compered to the Epson HC5020.  I'm talking with both running at full  power, which I confirmed when doing some side by side photos.    Considering the big lamp life difference between full and eco-mode, if the bucks are tight, you'll want to run in eco-mode, assuming you still have enough brightness. When it comes to the HC8000D projector, image quality is the key.  Of course, we will discuss that a great deal, in the following pages.

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