Tom Norton

Joseph also demonstrated its RM7xl speaker ($2299-$2499/pair, depending on finish), but in a very unusual way. The source was a laptop computer feeding uncompressed files into a new Bel Canto integrated amp via a <I>USB</I> connection.

JVC's new, $6299 DLA-HD1 projector is due to ship in February. This time around, their demo compared it to the new Sony Pearl, with both projectors firing HD source material onto 120" (diagonal) Stewart StudioTek 130 screens. Yes, the JVC did look better, with crisper contrast, darker blacks, and a richer-looking image. JVC claims that their D-ILA imaging chip offers a peak native contrast ratio of 20,000:1, which is why the in-projector contrast is so good. No iris of any sort is used. We don't know how well the Pearl was set up, of course (though the JVC rep did say that the auto iris was engaged). But it was an impressive demo nonetheless.

JVC demonstrated a new 1080p/D-ILA video projector that is expected to sell for around $7000 when it becomes available next year. it looked outstanding, even outperforming the Sony VPL-VW100 ("Ruby") set up side-by-side with it. I saw no significant shortcomings, at least under show conditions. It even had the best contrast I've yet seen on a JVC projector, by far.