Review: JVC DLA-X90R 3D HD Projector Page 3

Bottom Line

Every year for the past few, JVC has released a new line of projectors that subtly but meaningfully improves upon its predecessor. I think you could make a reasonable analogy to Porsche: a little expensive, extremely high-performing, and always improving. You’re not paying extra here for Faux4, so whether its benefits are real isn’t really a concern. Its benefits concerning potential screen size or seating distance are cool, but that isn’t what brings the boys to the yard. Add whatever icing you want, but JVC projectors like the DLA-X90R have the best contrast ratio of any projector you can buy, and as such, they create some of the best-quality images possible in your home.

Extended Test Bench

Color temperature (THX setting before/ User 1 setting after calibration)

20-IRE: 6,408 K/6,496 K

30-IRE: 6,598 K/6,499 K

40-IRE: 6,697 K/6,508 K

50-IRE: 6,832 K/6,521 K

60-IRE: 6,909 K/6,539 K

70-IRE: 6,948 K/6,525 K

80-IRE: 6,964 K/6,536 K

90-IRE: 6,920 K/6,500 K

100-IRE: 6,893 K/6,499 K

Primary Color Point Accuracy vs. SMPTE HD Standard

Color

Target X

Measured X

Target Y

Measured Y

Red

0.64

0.63

0.33

0.33

Green

0.30

0.31

0.60

0.59

Blue

0.15

0.15

0.06

0.06

In the THX picture setting (and the forced THX color profile and 6500 K color temperature), the DLA-X90R measures slightly warm with dark images, and gets progressively cooler with brighter images. It averages 297 kelvins off the D6500 standard. After calibration (in the User 1 picture setting), the JVC tracked near-perfectly, averaging only 14 kelvins from D6500 across the grayscale range.

Though the JVC has an advanced color management menu with settings that indeed change its color points, it didn’t actually allow for improving them. As such, the colors were slightly inaccurate, and slightly worse than on the DLA-X7 model I tested last year, with undersaturated green and red.

Contrast ratio was excellent. In the High lamp mode on a 1.0-gain, 102-inch 16:9 screen, the JVC produced 21.07 ftL with a 100 IRE full-screen white and 0.0015 with 0 IRE, for a contrast ratio of 14,047:1. In the Normal lamp mode, the numbers were 13.61 and 0.0009, for a contrast ratio of 15,122:1.

A 16-step iris control is available to constrict light output, but as it merely limits absolute brightness, I’m not sure why you would use it.

There’s no overscan, and the projector can resolve a 1-pixel on/off pattern at 1080p. There was minimal fan noise. —G.M.

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