JVC DLA HD1 Impressions

[Dave777]

WOW...

First thanks to the guys at PJ Hifi and JVC for getting this event arranged. I only had a short time there so I am sure cleverer people than me can post more informed opinions later (especially Viruskiller...hope you can share some of your technical questions with us).

I had a full demo of the Pearl a while ago and was blown away. Now I am double blown away. Incredible blacks and much sharper are the two things that spring to mind. It is big and quiet and very bright.

Hopefully warranty will be increased to 2 or 3 years.

Definitely no 12v trigger.

Hugely impressive.....I bought one there and then.

Cheers

Dave

[The_Munter]

When are they available?

[Isco 3]

Sometime in February, maybe?

[UrbanT]

I can only post quickly as I'm working, but will post a more detailed opinion later. Having spent an hour watching Elliot comparing the Pearl to the JVC, the JVC is just a stunning machine. I had to rush off at 5, so will be popping back tomorrow to place my order.

As for warranty, I'm 99.9% sure I heard Elliot confirm orders this week would be receiving a 3 year warranty. I would still have bought it with a 1 year on performance alone, but 3 years is perfect.

Shame they didn't have a pile in the back room for us to take away tonight!

[Dave777]

I chatted to the JVC guys and they said they are looking at the warranty and that information should be available within the week.

Cheers

Dave

[Mkm]

Hi there,
Been a lurker for a while(!), but I've been following this with interest as I've been looking at upgrading my aging Sim2 HT200DM for some time.
Just got back from the demo and well...that was quite an expensive afternoon trip out to town
I had a demo with the Pearl last week, but any niggling doubts I had about whether the extra cash was justified were totally blown away. The detail was simply stunning.
I can also confirm that the JVC does come with a 3 year warranty. Just hope the guys at PJ's are able to get enough stock in. Speaking of which, I'd just like to thank all the guys there for the great demo!
I brought a PS3 from work, but alas, the opportunity to check out the Gran Turismo demo running in 1080p didn't come up. Hopefully, it won't be long before I get to try it out at home
Now I've just got to look at what to do regarding my motorised screen. I've currently got it rigged to the 12v port on my Sim2. Any suggestions are welcome. Elliot mentioned that some amps have them? As my amp also needs an upgrade, this is probably my preferred route as I don't have anything setup remote or RF wise (at the mo).

Cheers again for the demo and all the discussion here guys
Mkm

[Adrenochrome]

Originally Posted by UrbanT

I can only post quickly as I'm working, but will post a more detailed opinion later.

Looking forward to it.

Originally Posted by UrbanT

Having spent an hour watching Elliot comparing the Pearl to the JVC, the JVC is just a stunning machine. I had to rush off at 5, so will be popping back tomorrow to place my order.

Is it really that much better than the Pearl?

Originally Posted by UrbanT

As for warranty, I'm 99.9% sure I heard Elliot confirm orders this week would be receiving a 3 year warranty. I would still have bought it with a 1 year on performance alone, but 3 years is perfect.

3 Year warranty could well be the clincher for me.

Originally Posted by UrbanT

Shame they didn't have a pile in the back room for us to take away tonight!

Patience young man patience.

[recruit]

Originally Posted by UrbanT

I can only post quickly as I'm working, but will post a more detailed opinion later. Having spent an hour watching Elliot comparing the Pearl to the JVC, the JVC is just a stunning machine. I had to rush off at 5, so will be popping back tomorrow to place my order.

Come on Chris...were waiting !!

[UrbanT]

Right, finally had time to write a few words following my hour in the demo room.

I’ll state upfront that I’m not a technical guru, and don’t really have a deep interest in the tech involved, a basic knowledge is good enough for me. I just know what I like when I see it.

I’ve been looking for a new projector for some time, and have bought several LCD’s, including Sanyo, Hitachi, Sony (HS50 and 60) and lately the Panasonic AX100 to keep me going. To be fair, they have all offered excellent performance for the modest cost. Unfortunately, I suffer rainbows badly, so DLP has always been out of the question. The C3X is a stunning unit, but simply outside of my budget….by some margin!

I have been considering the Pearl for some time, and almost pulled the trigger twice on a purchase. The two things that held me back are the DI, even as discrete as the Pearls is, and potential convergence problems.

After all the hype of the JVC, the opportunity to compare directly to the Pearl was too good to be missed. So onto the observations.

Black Screen

The first thing that struck me was the screen when no image was being projected. The Pearl was lighter around the edge, and darker in the middle. The JVC was even over the screen.

Black Level

Through all the material we saw, both HD-DVD and SD, the JVC showed deeper black levels than the Pearl. However, whilst the black levels were blacker, the brighter whites of the JVC shone out, and simply gave the JVC picture the real punch. Elliot fed both projectors simultaneously, so could simply switch the picture by blocking the lens of either one. This made it very clear of the differences involved, although in most cases wasn’t really necessary as just watching one clip after another was clear enough.

The best example I can give is watching the opening scene to Sahara on HD-DVD. The picture looked spectacular on the JVC, with the explosions really jumping from the screen. In comparison, in this difficult dark scene, the Pearl looked a little flat. It also appeared to me that the explosions had a really vibrant orange glow, but on the Pearl the explosions seemed muted. Could this be because the scene is very dark, and the DI at work. I’m not sure.

Sharpness

Again the JVC was the winner to me. Two comparisons spring to mind. The opening scene of Harry Potter on HD-DVD. The detail in the houses and rocks was more obvious. Also, in Sin City, when the camera panned out the detail in the buildings was more obvious to me.

Moire

I’ve seen this on all the projectors I’ve owned. A clip of MI3 was played through the Pearl, where moiré was very obvious in a brick wall. Yet, on the JVC, there was no moiré at all. The Gennum processing clearly at work here.

Upscaling

Both projectors seemed to upscale SD very well.

Summary

I want to be clear, in isolation, the Pearl produces a very nice picture, and I can’t imagine too many owners being unhappy with their purchase. But in every clip I saw tonight, the JVC just produced a fantastic picture that popped from the screen, and in comparison the Pearl just seemed rather flat.

Tomorrow I’ll be popping into to PJ’s with my credit card in hand, which is the best recommendation I could ever make!

[robfitzp]

Sounds excellent. Not going to be able to take advantage of this introductory offer and had better get saving.....

How loud was it? Main gripe with my HS10 is the noise level. Any louder than the Pearl or a Optoma H79?

Cheers
Rob

[Adrenochrome]

Thanks Chris

Looks like I'll be buying this on your thoughts, so it'd better be good

[dealmaker]

If the 3 year warranty is confirmed then the case for the JVC becomes much more compelling.

[Adrenochrome]

Originally Posted by dealmaker

If the 3 year warranty is confirmed then the case for the JVC becomes much more compelling.

Agreed

[UrbanT]

Originally Posted by coldmachine

Having posted earlier that I was not impressed with the soft image this machine produced I now find

1. No motorised zoom
2. No motorised focus
3. No CIH stretch
4. No screen trigger
5. No curtain/Maskin trigger
6.No seperate RGB gain and offset

I wanted to buy 2 of these, but despite an impressive claimed CR This has got to be one of the most severely limited PJs going. Who is it aimed at? What a waste of an opertunity. These features have been standard on some makes for years. The limitations are too great to allow a purchase.

None of your buying factors even appeared on my list, so I suppose the answer to your question is 'me'. I'm interested in noise, sharpness and overall image quality. And in these respects, its going to be incredibly easy to hand over the cash.

[recruit]

If it's better than the Pearl then the JVC must be a cracking peice of kit Dam this hobby !!