Irvine, Calif. — Mitsubishi Electric’s presentation products division is now shipping a pair of 1080p 3LCD projectors through its newly added Diamond series distribution program.
Each will target either Diamond series A/V specialty dealers or custom installers.
“Dealers who now sell our [MDEA] Diamond series TVs will now be able to sell these Diamond series
projectors as well,” said James Chan, Mitsubishi presentation products division projector marketing director. “We have basically adopted their channel strategy and will follow their rules. The key is that we don’t want our Diamond series products to be sold on the Internet.”
Of the new Diamond series projectors, model HC-7000 ($3,995 minimum advertised price), is positioned as an aggressively priced 1080p projector for higher-end accounts. The company said it will target the model primarily at custom installers, although both will be available to all Diamond series accounts.
The HC-7000 will offer a 72,000:1 contrast ratio and 1,000 ANSI lumens of brightness.
To assist with contrast performance, the HC-7000 uses a new Diamond Black Iris that concentrates light to produce deeper black levels; it also offers reduced fan noise, producing 17dBa of sound (22dBa in standard mode).
The HC-6500 ($2,495) 1080p 3LCD projector is targeted at higher-end A/V specialty dealers. It will produce 1,200 ANSI lumens of brightness and a 15,000:1 contrast ratio.
Among the new features offered in both models are dual anamorphic lens modes. In the past, users needed an expensive lens railing or tracking apparatus to install or remove an anamorphic lens, to properly present the desired 2:35:1 or 16:9 film aspect ratios. The new models will enable positioning an anamorphic lens permanently in front of the projector lens. Users may select the appropriate anamorphic mode (1 or 2) to switch back and forth between the two aspect ratios.]
Both models also include Silicon Optix’s Reon HQV video processing for SD to HDTV and interlace to progressive (1080i to 1080p) up-conversion with significant artifact reduction.
Other common features include: dual HDMI v1.3 inputs, a set of component and composite video inputs, and an RS-232 system integration port.
Other features include vertical and horizontal lens shift, digital keystone correction, side-panel access, 160watt UHP bulbs (in low mode) and a remote control.
Warranties are two years on parts and labor, and one year or 500 hours on the lamp life.
The HC-6500 will see distribution through such Diamond series retail accounts as Best Buy/Magnolia stores and Sixth Avenue Electronics.
Wayne Kozuki, Mitsubishi projector product manager, said the difference between the two models is primarily “speeds and feeds.”
Regarding Mitsubishi’s projector technology strategy, Chan said the company is marketing 720p projectors through more traditional CE accounts using DLP technology and jumps to 3LCD inorganic chips for 1080p models.
“We are technology agnostic,” Chan said. “Primarily we want to deliver the best value for the category, and we find we can deliver a very good level of performance at a good value for 720p using DLP and for 1080p using 3LCD.”
The company plans to one of the participating video projector brands in Best Buy’s 1080p video projector system merchandising end-cap program slated to begin later this fall, Chan said.
