Setup, Installation, User Menus, and Test Results

The Mitsubishi HD4000 has a good selection of inputs. On the back of the projector you will find one HDMI input, one component video input, one S-video input, one composite input, one RGB D-SUB 15 pin computer input, one RS-232 serial port, and a single 12 volt trigger.

The USB port located on the back of the projector is for service only.

Installation Consideration

Throw distance is the amount of distance you will need between the screen and the projector's front lens to fill the screen with the projected image. The HD4000 has a zoom factor of about 1.26x, meaning that on a 100-inch diagonal screen the projector would need to be installed at a minimum of about 12 feet and a maximum of about 14.5 feet. If you don't feel like doing the math, Mitsubishi provides a distance calculator for download on their website, but unfortunately the HD4000 is not listed in the calculator.

Another very important consideration when contemplating a front projection installation is the projector offset. The HD4000 is a fixed lens projector, which means it has no mechanical lens shift and it must be installed at a predetermined height for proper installation geometry. This is somewhat disappointing as other models sold at this price now include this feature. The Mitsubishi HD4000 does include vertical image shift that moves the image up and down within the panel, but this should not be confused with a mechanical lens shift function. The marketing brochure that is distributed from Mitsubishi is very confusing because it states that the projector has vertical lens shift, as does the website specification PDF.

The fixed projector offset for this projector would be 49-inches for a 100-inch screen, meaning the center of the lens needs to be placed approximately 49-inches above or below the center of the screen.

User Menus

The HD4000 user menu is fairly easy to operate and comprehend. The user controls are expansive and should enable the user to get good calibration results in the menus. The user menu contains four headings labeled: Image, Installation, Feature, and Signal.

Under the Image menu you will find: Gamma Mode, Contrast, Brightness, Color Temp, Color, Tint, Sharpness and Brilliant Color when using the interlaced input.

The menu heading Installation contains: Screen Size with the selections of aspect ratios of 15:9, 16:9,4:3, and 2:35:1; Vertical Location moves the image up or down on the screen within the panel; and Lamp Mode allows the user to select either standard or low, Low should be the correct setting for home theater applications. Additional settings are: Auto On, Auto Off, Splash Screen, Back Color, Image Reverse, Trigger Out On/Off and Cross Hatch Pattern.

The next menu heading is labeled Feature and contains: Aspect with selections of Auto, 4:3, 16:9, Zoom 1, Zoom 2, Stretch and Real. The next setting found under Feature are: Password Function, Menu Position, Cinema Mode (Auto or Off), Video Signal, and WXGA. The next setting in this menu needs some explaining: Set Up (Auto, Off, 3.75% and 7.5%). This is an important setting for correct calibration and in our opinion is placed in the wrong section of the user menu system. This setting changes the IRE level of the projector and we would think this setting would be placed in the Image section instead of its obscure location. The next settings are: Scart, Language, and Reset (this resets the projector back to factory default settings).

The last Menu heading is Signal and contains: Horizontal Position, Vertical Position, Fine Sync, Tracking, Computer Input, Hold, and User.

Audioholics/HQV Bench Testing Summary of Test Results

480i Component Video Connection
Perfect Score is 130: the HD4000 scored an 85

Comments on HQV Testing

This is the second projector we have evaluated that incorporates the new Texas Instruments DDP-3020 processor. Once again we were very surprised to see such a capable video processor in this projector.