JVC DLA-RS1U Projector Review
Dear Greg,
Thank you for the excellent review of the JVC DLA-RS1U. Obviously, it looks like a great projector.
Yet, I noted your concern on its relatively low intra-image contrast of 305:1 versus the best DLP projector at 845:1 (we all recognized the Sharp XV-Z20000). As a result, I decided to do an A/B comparison of these two projectors in my home theatre, to figure out for myself the trade-off between lumens output, full-field contrast, and intra-image contrast (your modified ANSI contrast).
The outcome was quite revealing and demonstrates that one must take into account the size of the screen when evaluating a projector.
Mine is a Screen Research ClearPix 2, about 130 inches wide. It turns out that up to 100 inches, the Sharp is ahead of the JVC in terms of dimensionality, depth, and overall impact of the picture in medium-to-bright scenes. When using the zoom lens to project a picture between 100 to 110 inches on my screen, both projectors’ performances look very similar, although I slightly prefer the Sharp (maybe my DLP-bias). But above 110 inches, the JVC combination of high lumens and high contrast makes a huge difference against the dim picture delivered by the Sharp, which made its higher intra-image contrast almost irrelevant.
With the advent of 1080p front projection, it seems to me that these projectors need also to be evaluated in the context of larger screens, as they use long-throw lens.
Finally, I have seen the enthusiasm created by this new JVC projector here in Europe. It is in every specialized newspaper and is being pushed by most of the installers, at the expense of 1080p DLP projectors. I hope this will be a big wake-up call for Texas Instruments to work harder on making three-chip DLP affordable for home-use front projectors. We do not need three-chip DLP to deliver 2,000+ lumens in a private home situation, just true 700 to 1,000 lumens delivered to large screens—while at the same time, full-field and intra-image contrasts are at their best. Unfortunately, the contrast and intra-image contrast achieved by current three-chip DLP projectors are significantly below this new generation of LCoS projectors.
Mono-DMD with a new illumination path or with an LED engine may also be the solution. But is TI working with the required “urgency”?
Hervé Girsault
Video Technical Editor Greg Rogers Comments:
I think your comparison of these two projectors versus screen size is very perceptive. With adequate brightness, a projector with a significantly higher-modified ANSI contrast ratio should provide greater image depth in moderate-to-bright scenes, if other factors such as the sharpness and resolution of the projectors are fairly equivalent. But as the screen size increases, and the resulting brightness decreases, the perceived impact of the picture is eventually going to dissipate, despite any advantage in intra-image contrast. That perception is particularly true when doing direct A/B comparisons. Brightness differences become less of a factor when you allow more time to adapt to lower brightness levels, but eventually dim becomes just too dim.
There is no question that the JVC RS1 has set a high mark for its native full-field (on-off) contrast ratio, which is extremely important in darker scenes, and hopefully, JVC will now place its emphasis on increasing the modified ANSI contrast ratio. Conversely, Texas Instruments faces the challenge of improving its native full-field contrast ratio, while providing higher brightness for its price-competitive single-chip DLP technology. The continuing competition between LCoS and DLP technology has resulted in rather spectacular improvements in front-projection image performance for home theatre enthusiasts in the last few years, and hopefully, that will continue for several more product generations.
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