JVC DLA-HD950 D-ILA Projector Page 3

Surprisingly, the DLA-HD950 didn’t exceed the best black levels we’ve measured on earlier JVCs. When I calibrated it for the most accurate picture, it didn’t reach the company’s claimed but highly optimistic contrast ratio. In fact, some previous JVCs that have passed through our doors have measured better than the DLA-HD950, but not by much.

This is still an impressive beast. Its black level and shadow detail are subjectively equal to or better than any other projector I’ve reviewed—or seen. Some earlier JVCs had slightly lighter corners that mildly detracted from their pristine blacks at the center of the screen. But the DLA-HD950 looks uniformly dark everywhere when an image fades to black. When black bars show up, they don’t disappear as they often do on a Pioneer KURO plasma in a darkened room, but I can’t name a projector that can do better. Like earlier JVCs, the DLA-HD950 also does all of this without the aid of a dynamic iris or dynamic contrast control.

The projector’s adjustable but fixed lens aperture (iris) lets you find the right brightness level for your screen and taste. My screen is relatively small (a 78-inch-wide, Stewart Studiotek 130 with a gain of 1.3). At an iris setting of –6 and 160 hours on the projector and lamp, I measured a peak white level that was comparable to my older DLA-RS1’s output on the same screen with 625 hours on its original lamp. While I did most of my viewing of the DLA-HD950 at that –6 iris setting (the DLA-RS1 has spoiled me for a dimmer picture), you can easily reduce the iris setting and gain marginally darker blacks in the bargain. (The control ranges from 0 at peak output to –15.) This ample brightness also makes the JVC suitable for a considerably larger screen. You’ll also get an added punch if you switch to the High lamp setting. More on that in HT Labs Measures.

The JVC isn’t as jaw-droppingly crisp as many single-chip DLP projectors, but it’s as sharp as any LCD or LCOS projector we’ve tested. It’s as sharp and detailed as I could want. I would call it more filmlike than DLPs, or more like analog video than digital. However, those descriptions might give you the impression that the projector is soft, even in a subtle way. It most certainly is not. The details are all there, from craggy facial textures to the finest pixel strokes in your favorite computer-animated film.

Trek-in with JVC
Star Trek (2009) is a spectacular Blu-ray transfer, and the JVC didn’t fail it in any way. The colors in the source material are only a little stylized, and the projector got them right. In fact, it got them as close as it’s possible to determine without sitting next to the colorist in the mastering studio. It has plenty of detail as well, but the capper is the effortless way the JVC handled this very dark movie. For me, the opening sequence is the most compelling and moving scene in the film. The JVC’s presentation of the inkiness of space behind the dark Romulan ship made the scene real in a way that lesser projectors can’t match.

Braveheart is a very different animal. The JVC performed beautifully in its dark scenes, but the thrilling detail in this movie’s brighter sequences really pulled me in. The long and medium shots of the English and Scottish armies, massed for the Stirling and Falkirk battles, are brilliantly resolved on this Blu-ray Disc, and there wasn’t a trace of softness in the way the JVC handled it all.

In a way, 9 (the post-apocalyptic, zippered sock-puppet movie, not the recent misguided musical) has a little of everything. Yes, it’s computer-animated Blu-ray, and computer animation has a way of looking impressive on most displays. But the animation is very different and far darker than usual. So is the movie, which is not for young children, who will find parts of it terrifying. However, the animation is exceptional, and the rich details, subdued but clear color, and dark shades and shadows all looked spectacular.

Conclusions
A few similarly priced designs can approach but not improve upon JVC’s current line of projectors. What can JVC’s intrepid projection design team do to move the bar upward? I would add a blue-only mode, full gray-scale control for the THX mode (even if it’s in a service menu), and gamma options in THX. These would be obvious baby steps that don’t require a major redesign. Finer adjustment of panel convergence would also be a welcome step up.

But 3D appears to be the top banana this year, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it in JVC’s future plans. LED lighting and perhaps higher resolution (JVC does have a 4k chip in its inventory, after all) may be in there somewhere as well, but 3D will be a more marketable commodity in the near future.

There’s always something new over the hill. Whatever the next year may bring, any changes will likely be in new features and in the performance margins. The fundamental performance of JVC’s current DLA projectors and the value they offer are unlikely to be significantly better any time soon, by anyone. The DLA-HD950 gets our highest recommendation.

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