Strengths: picture quality, decibel rating, price point

Weaknesses: initial setup through computer

Summary: The initial setup with pairing the HC5000 and my Macintosh had me perplexed for a while. The setup directions in the manual just didn't make sense to me, and perhaps part of it was because I was tired. But once I had the settings correct, all I could say was "Wow." Well, I added plenty of other comments, some that you wouldn't say to youngsters who might come across this post. But the color, contrast, clarity, shadow detail and sharpness was incredible. My initial purchase decision had been the Panasonic PT-AE2000U, but for a grand more, I wanted to make certain that I would pay for what I would be happy with. Suddenly I discovered the HC5000 at less than $2,000, and really had a couple weeks of self-arguments. The Panny kept getting rave reviews, but there was the Mitsubishi, an alternative that not many people had considered (heck, I never really considered Mitsubishi either, until finding a forum post about it). Finally, my decision came down to whether I could get that much better image quality in a 12-foot room, which I'd be willing to pay an extra grand for. Mom said it best: whatever you're getting, it's better than the analog TV image that's out there. Don't get me wrong: I've been working with HD for almost 2 years now, and my profession deals with image quality, being a professional photographer for decades. I know when I'm making excuses for images that aren't great. I'm so happy with my choice, plus the fact that in this economy, I spared my account an extra $1,000 in the hole. It's better than what I see in movie theaters, when sitting at the 1-1/2 times distance to image size. I actually have my settings on low contrast, low power setting, and cut the brightness a little, without using the auto iris (it disturbs me at any setting to see the image brightness change). Shooting the image onto a Da-Lite brand Model C screen with an image of almost 6 feet wide (not diagonal, but left to right) I've watched movies from 3:10 to Yuma, 300, to the Simpsons, and Ronin, as well as other movies and Japanese anime. The 3:10/Yuma and 300 movies really work between daylight scenes filled with contrast, to night scenes that test the low light capabilities, and the HC5000 rocked. Only in a few moments did I notice some pixelation in the dark areas, but when you add them up to 2-hours watch time, I simply can't deduct pleasure points for that. Add to this, that the unit exhibits barely a whisper of fan noise... my own whispering was louder... it is an incredibly quiet projector. I'm only using the built-in speakers of my MacBook Pro, not even using any stereo to crank up sound to drown out fan noise. I'm even sitting almost directly below the projector, but it seems the ambient noise around the house is louder than the HC5000. What's even more *cool* (pardon the pun): the unit actually cranks up fan sound to cool the bulb only *after* you power it down. I hope all the detail in my review helps the average purchaser make an informed decision. One last thing: There are 2 models, the HC5000BL and HC5000U. That only reflects the color of the unit, whether black or white.