XD300U ColorView DLP™ Home Theater Projector
Today's
home theater projectors are smaller and more powerful than ever. The new
DLP designs have added to the mix of already popular LCD projectors for
general purpose presentation use. As performance of these new projectors
improves, many of them are finding their way into home theater applications.
The new Mitsubishi XD300U is one such product that incorporates some attractive
features including the highly regarded Faroudja Directional Correlational
Deinterlacing (DCDi™) video processing circuitry for removing interlacing
artifacts and jagged edges from NTSC sources. While viewgraph engineers
could care less about the inclusion of such processing, home theater
enthusiasts will demand it. Since so much legacy video is often derived
from analog sources that are interlaced, this processing greatly improves
the picture quality by removing artifacts associated with the de-interlacing
process. All incoming video, including the deinterlaced video, must be
scaled to the native resolution of the display.
The XD300U is based on the double data rate (DDR) 0.7" single DLP (4:3 aspect ratio) chip with a native resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels. The 2x speed, four-segment (RGBW) color wheel time-slices the images into primary colors creating useable video from a single DLP chip. The result is a projector claimed to produce 2100 ANSI lumens with a 2000:1 contrast ratio, all in a package that weighs only 6.6 pounds. In addition, the XD300U includes a user-replaceable 200 watt long-life lamp (up to 4000 hours), which has twice the life of most other models. All these features allow this projector to be used for both home theater and professional presentation purposes.
Construction
The XD300U is a fairly compact design with the menu and navigation buttons
easily accessible on the top of the unit. A power and lamp temperature
indicator shows the status of the unit. Cool air is drawn from the front
of the unit and exits the rear. The fan is audible, but relatively quiet
and claimed to be a surprisingly low 30dBA. While watching movies, we
could hear the faint sound of the projector overhead, but it was quieter
than many we have heard. The lens assembly is somewhat hidden within the
body of the projector which helps reduce the risk of accidentally bumping
and damaging the assembly. There is no handle built into the chassis,
but it does come with a nice carrying case and strap for portability.
The
XD300U offers several different types of inputs. The multiple video inputs
offered on the XD300U made video switching simple without the need for
an extra switcher. The two composite and two s-video inputs are fully
compatible with NTSC, NTSC 4.43, PAL, PAL-M, PAL-N, PAL-60 and SECAM.
These interlaced inputs benefit from the Faroudja DCDi processing. Dual
VGA inputs are also provided, one of which can be used with component
video signals. A VGA output is also provided for loop-thru capability.
There is no DVI interface on this projector which we consider to be somewhat
of a limitation in today's market. Audio input/output jacks are also available
making it convenient for presentations connected to a desktop or laptop
computer. A built-in speaker with a 2 watt amplifier works seamlessly
with any laptop audio connection. An RS232C port allows for full remote
control of the unit. VESA video scan rates up to UXGA (1600x1200) are
also supported. Of course, the best video quality is the native rate of
1024x768 for presentations. This eliminates the common aliasing that can
occur during the scaling process. The
PS/2-style computer interface allows the unit to be mapped to a unique
IP address for control over a network.
Setup
The projector is very easy to set up. We mounted the unit from the ceiling
which requires it to be upside-down. The angle of projection is quite
steep on this unit and required a height of about 15" above the top
of our 100" Stewart FireHawk Filmscreen. The manual 1.15x Zoom and
Focus lens is similar to other projectors we've seen and set us back about
15 feet from the screen.
While the horizontal and vertical digital keystone adjustments worked surprisingly well, we recommend not using them whenever possible. The reason is the image resolution is compromised to some degree depending on the amount of keystone adjustment needed. We preferred positioning the projector for the best image geometry.
Performance
We fed a variety of different source material to the XD300U including
480i, 480p, 720p and 1080i. This projector deinterlaces (when necessary)
and scales the different formats to the native resolution of 1024x768
with excellent quality. Interlaced video benefited from Faroudja's high
performance DCDi processing, which worked extremely well in this unit
and got rid of the interlacing artifacts we so often see. Jagged edges
were removed with the motion-adaptive algorithms and per pixel processing
Faroudja is renowned for. We were also very pleased with the performance
of the 1080i material scaled to the projector's native resolution. We
viewed the D-Theater release of Kiss of the Dragon using our JVC
D-VHS unit as well as DirecTV's HDNet and HBO's high definition channels
from our RCA DTC100. Both sources sent 1080i video to the XD300U with
excellent results. There were no objectionable artifacts from down-scaling
the 1080i that we could see. In fact, the resolution was amazingly good,
especially for a projector that falls a little short of true high definition.
We would recommend taking a good look at this projector for many home
theater enthusiasts who want a high resolution display, but don't want
to pay the $10K+ price for the current high performance HD DLP displays.
The image quality produced by the XD300U far exceeds the resolution of
DVD. High definition material gets scaled down, but still looks excellent
at the appropriate seating distance. Video fed into the s-video inputs
also performed very well.
The
IR remote included with the XD300U is well designed with good sized buttons,
spaced far enough apart to avoid problems. Mitsubishi has a comprehensive
set of user menus for adjusting the image. Standard image controls of
contrast, brightness, color, tint, and sharpness are available including
an sRGB option and extensive color calibration controls. Three preprogrammed
gamma settings are available (dynamic, standard, and theater). The color
temperature can also be adjusted with contrast and brightness controls
on red and blue. User programmable memory with independent controls of
red, yellow, green, cyan, blue, magenta, saturation, and RGB-tint are
possible with sRGB turned off. A built-in laser pointer is part of the
remote control and is bound to be handy during presentations. Also included
is a nice carrying case along with a shoulder strap.
In
the lab
We calibrated the projector using a Sencore VP300 Video Generator along
with a Sencore CP5000 Color Analyzer. This projector offers a wide range
of adjustments for tweaking the picture quality. We set the Gamma setting
to Standard, Color Temp setting to Low, and Color Matrix
setting to Video. As you can see the color temperature tracking
was pretty good right out of the box just dropping about 500 degrees below
the optimal 6500 °K at the high IRE levels. Once we adjusted the settings,
the unit tracked color very well and produced an excellent image. Image
contrast was impressive as was the high light output, creating a rich
looking picture.
The light output on this projector is higher than most projectors in this class coming in around 2000 ANSI lumens. This appeared to affect the black level to some degree and while not perfectly black, we were quite happy with the black level when using the Stewart FireHawk filmscreen. Today's DLPs are high performance in many respects, but often lack the ability to produce deep blacks. Stewart's FireHawk screens compliment current DLP technology with the ability to improve overall picture quality on any of these projectors and in my opinion is well worth the investment.
The XD300U has an MSRP of $6995
and includes an impressive three-year warranty on parts and labor along
with a 90-day warranty on the lamp. The ERA (Express Replacement Assistance)
program keeps you up and running in the event the projector fails during
the 3 year warranty period. They ensure a replacement unit will be shipped
to you within a 24 hour period for overnight delivery during business
days. The advantages of these new DLP projectors are making them more
popular than ever. The ability to project a large image onto a screen
without the high maintenance associated with CRT-based projectors makes
them particularly attractive to today's home theater enthusiasts. The
Mitsubishi XD300U has both the price and performance any serious home
theater designer should consider.
-
Kevin Nakano