Mitsubishi HC5500 1080p Home Projector Review: Image Quality-3

Posted on August 9, 2008 by Art Feierman

Shadow Detail Performance

When it comes to shadow detail, Mitsubishi always seems to do at least as good a job as the competition. The HC5500 is no exception. The first image is a cropped scene of Gondor, at night, from Lord of the Rings. These thumbnail images are all the same, but click on them for the larger, cropped, and seriously overexposed versions so you can compare shadow detail in the buildings, and in the mountains and below them, on the far right. Also, note the subtle dark colors in some of the buildings.

Mitsubishi HC5500

Panasonic PT-AE2000U

Pro Cinema 1080 UB

BenQ W5000

Next is one of the toughest tests. This scene with Clint Eastwood, from Space Cowboys on Blu-ray, is extremely dark. The photos are heavily overexposed. Look for the blacks in the shades, and the details in those shades in the form of the white trim. (At this level of overexposure, don't even worry about the skin tones, as in these type of photos they always look terrible, and way oversaturated).