Mitsubishi HC7000 - Image Quality-2

Posted on November 19, 2008 by Art Feierman

The JVC RS2 still reigns supreme, but by comparison, the HC7000 isn't bad at all.

OK here's what many of you have been waiting for, side by side images for comparing black levels. I had the opportunity to shoot the HC7000 against the PT-AE3000, and that image is shown below. For further comparisons, try the PT-AE3000 review, same section, for side by sides between the Panasonic and other projectors.

HC7000

PT-AE3000U

HC6500

DLA-RS2

Click to Enlarge. So close. The image on right side is intentionally overexposed. The HC7000 is on the left, and the PT-AE3000 on the right.

Click Image to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge. So close. Panasonic on the right, Mitsubishi HC7000 on the left.

Next is a side by side shot, again, HC7000 left, and PT-AE3000U right. This was a fully dark screen, and the HC7000 looks dramatically better. In a case like this, however, the HC7000 is closing the iris more than the Panasonic.

Click Image to Enlarge

Since normal dark scenes don't allow for a drastic shut down of the iris, I would say that under normal viewing of dark scenes, the difference isn't this great. Further, the Panasonic, as reported at the time, was a pre-production unit and does exhibit a bit of hot spotting in the lower left and upper right corners. Another reason why a production PT-AE3000 is likely to be closer to the Mitsubishi in black level performance. Anyway that you figure it, though, the HC7000 comes out ahead, though slightly. Confirming my comments about the iris on a black scene, look at those pause icons in the lower left. Under bright scenes they look the same. Here, the Panasonic is far more overexposed, indicating that it's iris can't, or won't close down as far, on a fully black screen.