Mitsubishi HC3800 Projector - Physical Tour

Posted on September 29, 2009 by Art Feierman

Mitsubishi HC3800 Projector - Appearance

In a shiny black case, the HC3800 is a bit cute, but nothing spectacular to look at. Size wise, it's fairly small, although larger than the smallest DLP projectors like the Optoma HD20. On the other hand, it's definitely a size smaller than the Epson or Panasonic LCD projectors. Let's call it a larger, small projector.

The recessed manual zoom lens is offset to the right (if you are facing the front of the projector). The lens is focused from the lens ring, at the top, and the zoom adjustment is just behind the focus on the top of the projector. There's nothing else on the front, but for the front infra-red sensor for the remote control. Two screw thread adjustable feet are found on the bottom, almost all the way to the outside, by the front. For those placing on a table, the rear foot is fixed and in the center, for a sturdy 3 point stance.

The control panel is located on the top, by the back, and the inputs run across the back of the projector. The venting is on the sides.

HC3800 Control Panel

Click to Enlarge.So close

The Mitsubishi HC3800 control panel is a pretty straightforward affair. Navigation buttons for the up/down/left/right arrows are on the left side, in a diamond layout, with the Enter button further to the right. Further two the right are the Menu and Power buttons, along with a pair of indicator lights. Three of the four arrow keys, take on a different use, when not in the menus. The up arrow handles the Mitsubishi's Auto Position (primarily for computer), the left arrow toggles between computer and HDMI sources, and the right arrow toggles between the three video sources.

Click Image to Enlarge

Input/Output

Click to Enlarge.So close

Strangely, while otherwise well equipped, the HC3800 has only one HDMI input. In this day and age, 2 HDMI inputs is pretty much standard (or maybe an HDMI and a DVI or M connector, but ultimately we're talking two digital inputs as the current standard practice. If you don't have an AV receiver with HDMI switching, you'll probably need to spend $40 or more for an HDMI switcher, if you have two or more HDMI sources (who doesn't)

The HC3800 has an RS232 port for "command and control" by computers, room control systems, etc. There's also a 12 volt screen trigger. Then we get to the actual inputs, which consist of a composite video, S-video, and component video (the usual 3 color coded RCA jacks for component video). In addition there's a standard analog computer input (the usual HD15 connector). That input can be used for an analog computer signal, or as a second component video inputs. Finally, on the far right, is the single HDMI 1.3 input.