The mid-range Mitsubishi HC4900 is a tri-LCD Full HD projector.  Little brother of the HC6000, this model has the same design but with a black body.   While the two resemble each other, performances of the new arrival are a step below.  This is only normal because the HC4900 is almost half the price.

On the back, connectivity is almost identical to the HC6000 except for the replacement of the second HDMI input with an HDCP compatible DVI.  Lens shift (positioning of the image on the wall), zoom and focus are all motorized and function at two speeds.  First, there are finer incremental adjustments and then with prolonged pressure on the button we have full speed control.  This system is very practical for focusing as we can get very close to the image and modify sharpness with the remote for optimum results.  Like on its big brother, the lens shift is very good in the vertical but weak in the horizontal axis.  Zoom from 3 meters allows varying the diagonal size of the projection zone from 1.5 to a max of 2.44.  Note that the manufacturer announces lamp life at 5000 hours in economy mode.

Inferior ergonomics.  What about image quality?

Unfortunately, the difference is a little greater in this domain.  The first weakness is in depth of black resulting in darker areas that are washed out.  It’s all the more so bothersome because this isn’t remedied by the dynamic iris.  In practice, the iris is supposed to dynamically change the position to reduce lamp brightness (see box in the test of the PT-AX200) and accentuate the depth of black in darker images.  With the HC4900, the iris suffers from a delay (in the three modes offered).  The reduction in brightness can be seen in real time and in addition it negatively affects the image.

Otherwise, we appreciated the excellent sharpness, particularly with HD 720p and 1080p sources, and an extraordinary rescaling of 576p sources even if it’s not a refined as that of the PT-AE2000E.  We can also add the qualities of uniform sharpness and good brightness of images.