Mitsubishi LVP-XD400U; VLT-XD400LP Projector Lamp

If you are looking for a great “home use� projector that is under the radar and is very affordable, check out Mitsubishi’s LVP-XD400U. It may not have true HD resolution, or many options available, but it does have a wonderful balance of contrast, brightness and overall picture quality to justify the purchase.

Down from its original price tag of nearly $5000 USD, you can now buy the XD400U at the low price of $995 USD, although keep in mind they are very sought after and supplies may be limited. The price is quite exceptional considering that the XD400U has 2100 ANSI Lumens and displays a bright enough image to watch movies and television without necessarily turning off the lights. The second prong balancing this equation is the 2200:1 contrast ratio, which keeps the deep colors and blacks quite dark and fully saturated while avoiding that “washed out� and faded look. Compare this to attempting to watch an LCD monitor while the sun is shining, which is almost impossible; you may never want to watch anything else other than your XD400U.

One reason why the projector is so bright is the 250W P-VIP projector lamp inside. If you are in need of this lamp you can purchase one by clicking the link here here. Another component that is coupled with the lamp to achieve great picture quality is the standard Mitsubishi projector lens. The upside is that the stock lens is excellent quality and produces crisp images; the downside is that it is not interchangeable leaving it good for home use only. If you are wondering why the XD400U has such a great combination of lumens and contrast levels, it is because of the iris size that co-functions with the lens. The Iris is not variable, which prevents you from increasing your contrast; however this is not such a bad thing as Mitsubishi has already chosen an optimal iris size to give you a balanced image. If you were to have an adjustable iris, this is one of the few ways to increase the brightness of image. However, as you open the iris to let in more light, you lose contrast and therefore the sharpness of your image.

The native resolution is 1024x768p, and is ultimately the best it is going to get, but it will manage to compress an image up to 1280x1024p so that you can fool your mind into thinking that it is watching something closer to HD than it really is. There is a picture-in-picture option that is also available; however this feature is becoming more and more useless in the age of the digital recorder.

Try looking for one if you are in the market, and treat it with care, as the LVP-XD400U will give you many good years of performance.