Mitsubishi HC 3000

Good value

Not pretty ; Lacking in detail

For a DLP projector for under £2,000, this is a good effort

Superior colours, Rich blacks, Low heat emissions.

Slightly overpriced, some noise in low grays.

If you are in the market for a high quality cinema projector that is light weight, compact and delivers with fervor, this is the projector for you.

Superior colours, Rich blacks, Low heat emissions

Slightly overpriced, some noise in low grays

If you are in the market for a high quality cinema projector that is light weight, compact and delivers with fervor, this is the projector for you.

Accurate colour decoding and primary colours ; Solid video processing ; Relatively inexpensive

No physical lens shift limits mounting flexibility ; Inaccurate out-of-the-box colour temperature ; Blacks not quite as rich as those of the best DLP projectors

The Mitsubishi HC3000 is yet another credible entry in the budget-priced DLP front-projector category that is increasingly filled with very competitive products. This little Mitsubishi has a lot to recommend it in terms of picture quality. Yes, the...

The HC3000 is a very good performer when compared to other similarly priced LCD and DLP projectors. It is particularly impressive as far as color accuracy is concerned. A direct comparison to the Sharp XV-Z2000U makes sense as they are exactly the same...

Excellent overall image quality (after a basic, end user color calibration) ; Extremely good black levels (best I've seen, for it's price or less) ; Fairly bright in best modes ; Very good manual (a rarity) ; Good menus, almost all functionality on...

Limited range of zoom lens (typical for DLP projectors in this price range) ; No variable lens shift (also typical of under $2500 DLP projectors) ; Remote control's backlighting is dim, and hard to see in a dark room ; Lacking a second digital input...

So, having spoiled some of the surprise, it's time to get down to the heart of the review

HD picture performance; quiet running in low lamp mode ;

Really ugly; rainbow effect; HD could look slightly sharper

The problem for DLP is that Texas Instruments has only relatively recently developed an affordable 16:9-ratio DLP chipset with the 720 lines (minimum) of resolution necessary to earn the HD Ready badge. These chipsets still demand more of a premium...

Rich, natural, and dimensional image

No vertical lens shift

I didn't maintain much of a poker face with this review, as the enthusiasm of the opening paragraphs attests. Projectors in this price range typically have to cut corners, and this one is no different. Only Sony, with its 3LCD Cineza projectors, has...