Industry News

Parasound's Zcustom Line Now Features Dedicated HDMI Switcher
The more things change, the more things stay the same. Several years ago as component video began to appear on more and more sources and displays, those living on the bleeding edge quickly accrued more component sources than their displays and/or surround processors and AVRs could effectively switch. Flash forward and the same thing is happening with HDMI sources now. Many users have a DVD player and an HD set-top box of some kind, and yet it's still shockingly rare to find a display with even two HDMI inputs. Well, Parasound has an answer for you.

206parasoundfront.jpg

Parasound's Zhd HDMI switcher will handle as many as five HDMI input sources at one time, switching them out to a single HDMI output. The Zhd features a signal booster for extra long cable runs, is certified to the latest HDMI spec, and is fully HDCP compliant. The unit ships with a remote handset, but also includes an IR repeater loop, and an RS-232 interface for integration into automated control systems.

206parasoundback.jpg

The Parasound Zhd is available now at a suggested retail price of $600.

JVC's latest 1080p D-ILA Offers Increased Contrast Ratio And Lens Shift
JVC has introduced the DLA-HD10K, its latest three-chip, 1080p D-ILA front projector. The new model offers some enhanced functionality, including a vertical lens shift, motorized zoom and focus, and a wider variety of accommodated throw distances (a short throw option is offered). Contrast ratio for this model is spec'd at 2500:1, which is a 25% increase over its predecessor's 2000:1 spec.

Like its predecessors, the DLA-HD10K is a two-box design in which input sources are connected to a separate processor box. This simplifies installation as only a single cable is run between the processor and projector. JVC is currently working with Faroudja, Silicon Optix, and Anchor Bay Technologies and will offer a separate processor package from each company with the projector.

206projector.jpg

The HD10K is much prettier than its predecessors, making a striking aesthetic statement that we've not seen from JVC's previous projectors. In addition to its stylish good looks, the case is said by JVC to quench light leakage, and offer more airflow cooling for quieter operation. If this is true, the cottage industry of custom "hush boxes" for JVC projectors might well be finished!

Another item of interest is the lamp- this projector's lamp is spec'd to last 2000 hours, but costs only $500 to replace. This is actually cheap compared to the LCoS-based 1080p competition. The replacement lamp for Sony's Qualia-004 is $2000, and Sony's VPL-VW100 sports a lamp replacement cost of $1000.

The DLA-HD10K is available now at a retail price of $26,995 with the external processor.

X