Projector Reviews

Panasonic PT-AE2000U vs Mitsubishi HC4900

There are only three projectors in the entry level price category, with the Mitsubishi HC4900 and the Sanyo PLV-Z2000 seeming to slug it out for the lowest price, depending on the promo of the month. Definitely more expensive, is the Panasonic PT-AE2000U.

In this page, we summarize the trade-offs between the Mitsubishi HC4900 and the Panasonic PT-AE2000U.

Click on these links to read more in-depth comparisons.

Both of these projectors are 3LCD types, so in some ways are very similar, in both layout, and in certain aspects of performance. There are, however also significant differences, above and beyond the pricing.

In reality, these two probably have enough differences that it will be an easy choice for most, when considering both. Some will definitely favor the Mitsubishi HC4900, while others will choose the Panasonic PT-AE2000U.

First: PT-AE2000U, Mitsubishi HC4900 (Second). The Panasonic, is a physically larger projector. Let’s look at the key differences:

Projector Sharpness

The Mitsubishi is an exceptionally sharp projector, as is its more expensive sibling, the HC6000. In fact a nice sharp image seems to be a trademark of all the Mitsubishi home theater projectors that use 3LCD technologies. How sharp is it? Well, let’s just say that it is sufficiently sharp, that I consider it to be sharper than the Best In Class winner of the $3500-$10,000 category, the JVC DLA-RS2.

By comparison the Panasonic is one of those projectors that I call a bit soft, as opposed to sharp. We are not talking a huge difference between these two, and if you saw them at different times, most people would not notice any difference, but seen side-by-side, the HC4900’s image is slightly, but visibly crisper!

Out of the Box Projector Performance

Both of these projectors are what I would describe as very good consumer projectors, appealing to most home theater projector buyers, but not the hard core enthusiasts. The enthusiast doesn’t mind, and more often, looks forward to ‘tweaking” their new projector, for color accuracy, black levels, and more, while most folks just want one that works well, “out of the box.”

Both of these projectors actually do a very good job out of the box, in terms of color accuracy, however, I would have to give the advantage to the Panasonic. Glancing back at my original reviews and commentary, I typically described the PT-AE2000U as very good, and the HC4900 as good. To provide perspective, there is, I think, only 4 projectors out of the twenty in the whole comparison, that I describe as excellent, and three are JVC projectors selling for roughly $5000 and up.

Of course, if you are “into it” both projectors can be improved upon slightly. For more on that see the calibration section of the original reviews.

Projector Brightness

In “best” mode, the PT-AE2000U is notably brighter than its predecessor, the PT-AE1000U, and can now be considered just average in brightness among all of the home theater projectors in this review. We measured it at 388 lumens.

By comparison, the Mitsubishi is significantly brighter, with a measured 688 lumens, making it by far, the brightest of all the 3LCD projectors tested, and brighter than all but a handful of “light canons” most of them between two and five times the price.

Things change though, when you need maximum lumens. In that case, these two projectors are much closer together, with the Panasonic having a slight advantage, with 1019 lumens compared to the Mitsubishi’s 962 lumens. Considering the measurement accuracy, and other points like how many hours were on the projectors when I received them. Let’s just say, that in brightest mode they are a tie.

That difference in “best” mode, though is very significant, and certainly gives the HC4900 projector a big advantage for the “family room” crowd, those without the ability to fully darken their rooms even in the evening. For that matter, also those who want a little light on, even when movie watching (that would include my wife).

Another group that will favor the HC4900 are those who are primarily movie watchers, but want very large screens – say 120″ diagonal and up, where the Panasonic simply runs out of steam. In best mode, the HC4900 can easily handle my own 128″ diagonal screen, but the Panasonic, is probably not a good choice for anything above 110″. By the same measure, the Mitsubishi is probably too bright for anything below 100″ diagonal if you want anything even remotely resembling “blacks”.

The Panasonic, as I said, is average, in “best” mode, or perhaps just below that – I normally say 400-450 lumens. Coming up 12 lumens short, is well within the margin of error.