Tom Norton

Projector Reviews
JVC DLA-X790R D-ILA Projector Review
Tom Norton  |  Dec 21, 2017  |  4 comments

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $6,000

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Standard-setting blacks
Impressive HDR
Solid color and resolution
Minus
Complex setup menus
Some black crush

THE VERDICT
It may not have true native 4K imaging chips, but the JVC DLA-X790R shouldn’t be overlooked by those upgrading a projection system or looking for their first projector. It’s a knockout.

One of the key features of the Ultra HD format is 4K resolution. But to date, the catalog of true native 4K home theater projectors — those with imaging chips featuring a minimum of 3840 x 2160 pixels without relying on any pixel-shifting tricks — is pretty thin. JVC has the laser-lit DLA-RS4500K at $35,000, and Sony has its own premium models above $10,000. But if you're looking for something priced more affordably, you’re currently limited to Sony’s new VPL-VW285ES ($5,000) and VPL-VW385ES ($8,000).

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A/V Veteran
Hi-Fi in La La Land
Tom Norton  |  Jun 06, 2017  |  2 comments
Live (well, almost) from the Los Angeles Audio Show…
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A/V Veteran
Why 2012’s ‘Battleship’ Is My Latest Guilty Pleasure
Tom Norton  |  Mar 08, 2017  |  0 comments
The glory days of the battleship USS Missouri (the actual ship is shown above) began in World War II, peaking on her deck in Tokyo Bay as the Japanese signed the surrender documents. It’s now a museum piece, but (according to this film, but far from reality) still fueled, armed, and ready to go with a skeleton crew at a moment’s notice.
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CES 2017A/V Veteran
CES 2017: Audio/Video Dreamin'
Tom Norton  |  Dec 27, 2016  |  3 comments
In just a bit over a week Sound & Vision contributors will be traveling en masse to sleepy, laid-back Las Vegas for CES 2017, hoping to be wowed by all the new audio and video products headed our way in the coming year. Our show blogs will begin on Wednesday January 4th, the most significant (for us) of two days of formal press conferences before the show floor opens on January 5th.
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CEDIA 2016
JVC Launches True 4K Flagship Projector with HDR
Tom Norton  |  Sep 16, 2016  |  2 comments
BLUEscent. That’s the moniker for JVC Kenwood’s newest LCOS projector, the DLA-RS4500. Larger than it looks in the photo above, and available with or without carrying handles (I’d recommend the handles!), it’s designed around three of JVC’s true 4K LCOS imaging chips.
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CEDIA 2016
LG’s New 77” Flagship OLED Impresses
Tom Norton  |  Sep 16, 2016  |  0 comments
The booths at CEDIA are invariably more modest in scale than what you’ll see at CES. But in LG’s case, that’s not for lack of trying. Outside the entrance, visible on the left side of the photo here, fifteen 55-inch OLED displays were clustered closely together, their thin bezels rendering the seams between them barely visible.
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CEDIA 2016
SI Transformer Switches Aspect Ratio Like Magic
Tom Norton  |  Sep 16, 2016  |  1 comments
Screen Innovations (SI) showed their Transformer screen last year, but it’s only now being readied for full production. It can service films of varying aspect ratios, primarily 2.40:1 and 16:9.
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CEDIA 2016
SIM2 Projector Advances 4K “Wobulation”
Tom Norton  |  Sep 16, 2016  |  0 comments
At last year’s CEDIA we reported on a new DLP imagining chip from Texas Instruments that offered one-half the pixels required for full 4K resolution. To produce 4K, the digital micromirrors first display half the pixels in the image, then microseconds later shift by a fraction of a pixel to show the others. While this is similar to the pixel shifting (a.k.a. wobulation) now used by JVC in most of its projectors (the new BLUEscent excepted), and by Epson in its laser model, TI argues that its micromirrors can shift far more rapidly.
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Audio Video NewsNew Products
Sony Unveils XBR-Z9D TVs, Demos Advanced HDR Processing and Backlighting
Tom Norton  |  Jul 22, 2016  |  9 comments
Late this summer, or shortly thereafter, Sony will attempt to upend the way we look at UHD and high dynamic range (HDR) with its new Z9D series of premier Ultra HD. Don’t look for them at Joe’s Video down the street, however, but rather in premier outlets such as Magnolia (located in or adjacent to selected Best Buy stores) and custom installers. They’re also likely to find their way into more than a few professional facilities.
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Surround Sound System ReviewsTower Speaker Reviews
DALI Rubicon 8 Speaker System Review
Tom Norton  |  Apr 08, 2016  |  1 comments

Performance
Build Quality
Value
PRICE $13,080 as reviewed

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Open, airy highs
Clean, tight bass
Big, generous soundstage
Minus
Setup takes patience for best results
Treble can be unforgiving

THE VERDICT
Careful trial and error with placement, and perhaps the addition of a good subwoofer for movies with crushing bass will be needed for getting the best out of the DALI Rubicons. But the best this system offers is compelling.

DALI (Danish Audiophile Loudspeaker Industries) isn’t new to this country, but it’s relatively new as overseas loudspeaker manufacturers go. The somewhat new Rubicon range sits near the top of the company’s U.S. product offerings, topped only by the Epicon series, which it is said to most closely share technology.

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