Love it or hate it, 3D was inescapable at CEDIA Expo 2010, and alongside their premium and high end projector competitors, JVC has announced three new Reference Series 3D Home Cinema Projectors.  The entry-level "3D-ready" DLA-RS40U uses JVC's D-ILA imagine technology and features a single lamp rated to 1300 ANSI Lumens to achieve a native resolution of 50,000:1.Native contrast ratio refers to the intrinsic ability of the projector to show the complete range of image contrast simultaneously in every frame.  JVC avoids implementing a dynamic iris to artificially inflate contrast specifications, but rather uses a wire-grid polarizer to reduce stray light.  This means deep blacks and bright whites living together in harmony.In JVC's attempts to find the most film-like images in 2D and 3D, the DLA-RS40U uses an upgraded version of its Clear Motion Drive to reduce motion blurring, and ...

Introduction JVC’s new DLA-RS-2 is the company’s new flagship 1080p-resolution front projector. It is a three-panel LCoS, or what JVC calls DLA (Digital Light Amplifier), which is a reflective variant of LCD display technology. The DLA-RS2 is the step-up from last year’s DLA-RS1, which remains in the company’s projector line-up at a lower price point. However, it improves in only one area of picture performance over the RS-1 with a higher contrast ratio, due mainly to better blacks. While the new projector adds some cool new features, it actually goes backwards in two key areas of performance. Higher contrast ratio on the RS-2 translates into a net loss of nearly 20 percent in light output from the RS-1, which was already marginal in this area. The new projector is conservatively rated at 600 ANSI lumens of light output, which means it ...

Introduction If you cruise the A/V forums, it seems that JVC’s latest DLA-RS1 D-ILA (LCoS) projector is the hottest 1080p front projector on the market at this time. At under $7,000 the RS1 competes neck and neck with the Sony VPL-VW100 also nicknamed the Ruby. The feature package on the RS1 is comprehensive, and there are some unique set-up features that will aid in the ease of set-up and optimization of the picture. Rated at a very conservative 700 ANSI lumens, the RS1’s 200-watt UHP lamp has enough light output to drive screen sizes up to about 100 inches wide, depending on the screen material used. Sleek and elegant-looking, the RS1 will easily integrate into family rooms, living rooms, and of course will easily disappear on the ceiling of a dedicated home theater. While not completely perfect, the RS1 does have much to recommend it in terms of picture quality. Design The RS1 is one ...

Introduction In the last year, I took on the costly and often frustrating process of adding on 850 square feet to my relatively small 1,500-square-foot 1959 “post and beam” home in Los Angeles. The process amazingly and unexpectedly included no less than $75,000 in cement to make sure a modest two-story addition wouldn’t come crumbling down if, or should I say when, the Earth starts a-rocking and rolling. The overall design of the addition features a master bedroom and master bath cantilevered over a light-controlled, purpose-built, stadium seating-based theater with a 16x9 screen from Stewart, fabric walls, acoustical treatments from RPG and beyond. While working on the design of my theater with Beverly Hills-based installation and design firm Simply Home Entertainment, I sold off my trusty JVC Professional DLA-HS2U projector, tore out my existing theater in what was always supposed to be my living room and headed toward what I would call the Dark Ages ...

Introduction Now that the market is heating up with respect to HDTV, and people’s attention is being drawn to the highest ASTC-approved HDTV resolution of 1920 x 1080p and the best way to display it, only JVC and Sony have come to market so far with commercial designs worthy of re-mortgaging your house. DLP 2K products are currently only beginning to be available at Texas Instruments-equipped movie theaters around the world, and LCD 2K products simply have not been very inspiring up to this point. JVC has, of course, been offering its LCOS (Liquid Crystal On Silicon) variation, D-ILA (Directdrive Image Light Amplifier), since 1998, but only recently have they offered a projector with a trio of 1920 x 1080p panels. JVC’s D-ILA HD2K System ($19,995 MSRP) comes with a slide projector-sized light engine (created by JVC, measuring 11-3/4 x 5-1/4 x 14-3/16 inches), which has a black plastic exterior with manual zoom and focus ...