News: JVC unveils new NZ9, NZ8 and NZ7 laser projectors

@Stridsvognen it’s all personal isn’t it, I always found the LS10000 a terrific projector. My general point really is that I don’t think you need to spend anything vaguely like the amount a huge OLED would cost to get a great projector.
 
@Stridsvognen it’s all personal isn’t it, I always found the LS10000 a terrific projector. My general point really is that I don’t think you need to spend anything vaguely like the amount a huge OLED would cost to get a great projector.
Agree, you won't even have to spend as much as a LS10000 cost to get something that looks/ performs even better.
Some will for sure prefer a big TV, especially in the living room with white walls and streaming content.
It will be exciting how these new JVC models will perform, and how far they are from specs once put in a HT setup.
 
honey from france...posting on avs on nz7 and nz9 that are being demoed at the Paris show ...



"Hi, I had time to go to the Paris show today and I can report on what I saw.

JVC was exhibiting the NZ7 and the NZ9. The room was not perfectly, but properly light controlled and what we saw were a few minutes from 1917, both on the NZ7 and the NZ9, a few minutes from Awaken on the NZ7 only and, on the NZ9 only, a few minutes from a documentary shot in 8K. Projection was done on a 16/9 Elite screen with 1.0 gain and base approximately 3.3 m. The person from JVC told us the wide colour gamut filter was engaged and the lamp was on high laser. We were also told that the 8K e-shift was engaged on both projectors. Also, the panels were not aligned properly on the NZ7, but they seemed to be on the NZ9. All that being said, here are my impressions:

1. Both PJs produced vey nice and impressive presentations.

2. But the NZ7 was evidently softer. Part of that relative softness was probably coming from panel mis-alignement, but part was obviously coming from the lens and the optical path followed by the light inside the PJ.

3. The contrast on the NZ7 was also much too low to my taste. The NZ9 obviously fared better, but I think not much better than an NX9, even perhaps not as well as my NX9.

4. The NZ9 was extremely clear, sharp and precise, and produced an image which looked perhaps more digital than the pictures I am accustomed to from JVC projectors. That being said, I feel the image was sharpened quite a bit and motion control was on high, but I may be wrong. Also, I was sitting at the show farther away from the screen than I am at home, so that may change my perspective on sharpness.

5. Compared to my NX9, I'd say the NZ9 I saw is more precise or sharper, but I don't feel there was a night and day difference, especially because the screen I have at home, on which I compared what I had seen with what my NX9 makes of the same scene, is possibly not as good as the screen JVC used at the show.

6. From where I was sitting (approximately 2m from the screen), I saw no e-shift artefacts.

7. There was too much noise outside to be able to judge the noise coming form the PJs. I was told by JVC that `the only official number is 24dB for low laser' and that, in higher modes, the noise is `slightly higher'.

8. Finally, everything we saw has been originally captured digitally with a resolution superior or equal to 4K. The show did not give us any idea on how these PJs behave with 4K transfers of movies captured on film, be they in color or black and white, or with 4K UHD discs which offer an upscaling of 2K encodes.

That's pretty much it.

All in all, what we saw of the NZ9 was pretty impressive, though not `perfect' (possibly because of a not yet finalised version of the laser dimming?). And I am not sure upgrading from the NX9 to the NZ9 makes sense, at least for people who don't mind changing lamps. But I am keeping my mind (and perhaps my wallet!) open and wait for Kris' review to have a real thorough and objective evaluation of the NZ9."




"I noticed the panels were not aligned in the NZ7 but were in the NZ9 because, before and between 1917, Awaken and the 8K content, various content like menus etc. appeared on screen and they contained white objects with sharp boundaries and the boundaries had thin coloured layers around them. To be honest, the panels were so mis-aligned that I noticed it instantly from approximately 2m. I then went up to the screen to confirm. Oh well, I guess that's life!

About the difference in contrast between the NZ9 and the NX9: I can only talk about one NZ9 vs one NX9, on different screens, in different rooms, and not having them side by side. That's why I have been prudent in what I said. I still feel the image I saw at home yesterday night was at least as contracted as the image I saw at the show. But I won't venture farther.

About the image popping up: yes, the image did pop up on the NZ7 and the NZ9. But I am not sure this was not due in part to `heavy' sharpening (5 or more on JVC scale) etc. May be it was also the new 8K e-shiftX, which we were told was engaged. In any case, that's one of the reasons why I would have liked them to demo. the PJs on good 4K transfers of movies shot on film, with grain. That may also be one of the reasons why they did not.

Again, my overall feeling about these PJs is extremely positive. I am just nitpicking, because it's in my nature to do and, may be, in the nature of others around here! As for me, what I saw yesterday seems to indicate that the end result of what the NZ9 does may be better, but probably not that different from what my NX9 is capable of. I mean, as far as the picture on screen is concerned, it felt more like an incremental upgrade than a revolution. If this confirmed, I may wait a few generations before upgrading. But this certainly does not mean the new PJs are poor machines."
 
NZ8 must have been having a rest day. I’d have thought panel alignment would have been carried out as its being setup for the show.
 
I wonder how much is the comparison nz7 ...when you have a nz9 to show it up :D

the higher contrast and greater clarity of the better lens, high contrast optical block on the nz9....

also quite possible, given what jvc say about handpicked optics for nz8/nz9 that the poor nz7 has the reject lens elements that didnt make the grade for nz8 and nz9 ... jvc got to do something with those reject lenses :D
 
I wonder how much is the comparison nz7 ...when you have a nz9 to show it up :D

the higher contrast and greater clarity of the better lens, high contrast optical block on the nz9....

also quite possible, given what jvc say about handpicked optics for nz8/nz9 that the poor nz7 has the reject lens elements that didnt make the grade for nz8 and nz9 ... jvc got to do something with those reject lenses :D
NZ7 is a parts binned 8/9? Thats an interesting take 😄 That’s all good until the NZ7 demand outstrips the NZ8/9, then what?

Separately, if you didn’t have your N7, would you be tempted by any of the new 3?
 
Nex time someone go to one of those demos, please bring white paper, push the hide button on the remote, and check out the black level uniformity.
Just about everything else is impossible to evaluate in these demo setups, as they have never properly calibrated all projectors equal, guess they dont have anyone at JVC qualified to set up and calibrate JVC projectors.
 
NZ7 is a parts binned 8/9? Thats an interesting take 😄 That’s all good until the NZ7 demand outstrips the NZ8/9, then what?
:D didnt you read that jvc were wheeling out their hand picked malarky again for nz8/9 ? when you hand pick the good ones ... no one is going to chuck the rejects :)
Seperately, if you didn’t have your N7, would you be tempted by any of the new 3?

CB...if i didnt have my NX7...id be buying one now :D while they are still around...

we still ! dont have offical pricing here ... and if its anywhere near the prices leaked we are talking way beyond the kind of cash folk like me could spend on a projector...keeping in mind the N series as is was pretty close to that anyways ... so this is very much pushing the friendship :D and if pricing going that ways ... likely an Nx7 is last jvc ever be able to afford anyways :)

we watch maybe a movie or 2 a week, at most heck (with covid) only about 325 hours a year so equivalent of maybe 3 movies or so week. and thats bunging through a great slab of 4k uhd, blu-ray releases... and with that I couldn't justify tens of thousands on a projector to support a habit such as that... so likely just stay with what i have and continue to live in this land of contentment :D

some times have to draw line somewheres and just be happy with what you got :D
 
Last edited:
When you look at the math for these new Laser based models, vs The current N series with lamps, it dont look to good for the laser models.
First the lasers is less stable as Kris Dearing have explained, 2nd you can expect at least 2000 hours from the lamps, so you need 10 lamps for 20000 hours of operation, dont know anyone that kept a projector for that long.

So the NZ series have to offer something else, i dont see the laser being something to desire, im more curious about the high contrast optical block, and 240hz panel engine, and would like to see that in a lamp based machine.

All the 8K eshift gimmick can only be for people that have no clue and gets impressed by the marketing numbers.
 
Last edited:
I remember one of the best calibrators in the country, while we were talking lamp and laser projectors, that he told me he prefers lamp projectors(runs one himself) ... I took that as "hmm interesting" .. and never got the chance to ask why... but seeing what some very respected calibrators are saying with regards laser...i am slowly getting an inkling as to what that might be...
 
So much speculation….! Let’s wait for the production models to be released. Personally I’m excited by the NZ9 and what it offers. Agreed it might not be night and day better than the NX9, but as all things expect evolution rather than revolution!
 
So much speculation….! Let’s wait for the production models to be released. Personally I’m excited by the NZ9 and what it offers. Agreed it might not be night and day better than the NX9, but as all things expect evolution rather than revolution!
Laser is nothing new, so we know its a bit troublesome in some regards. Thats why we hope it will make up for the laser techs shortcomings in other areas.
 
So much speculation….! Let’s wait for the production models to be released. Personally I’m excited by the NZ9 and what it offers. Agreed it might not be night and day better than the NX9, but as all things expect evolution rather than revolution!
I think if JVC are happy to show off the projectors at shows they should be production ready models. Also, expecting evolution rather than revolution is all well and good if we were talking about the same price points. These are in another tier and then some, they’d better be revolutionary 😄
 
JVC N5 remaining bulb based projector at £6500, then a leap to £11,500 for the laser NZ7. £5000 is a very large jump in price point, can there really be that big a difference In performance.

Is there a chance in the near future that JVC could upgrade the current N5 model to specification close to the outgoing N7 for a similar price point of the N5, or would that undermine the point of the NZ7.
 
JVC N5 remaining bulb based projector at £6500, then a leap to £11,500 for the laser NZ7. £5000 is a very large jump in price point, can there really be that big a difference In performance.

Is there a chance in the near future that JVC could upgrade the current N5 model to specification close to the outgoing N7 for a similar price point of the N5, or would that undermine the point of the NZ7.
It would cannibalise them. I feel the simple way of seeing this reality is the telling fact that the N7 didn’t remain in the lineup at the N5 price point, or even its 3 year old RRP. Too close for comfort.
 
JVC N5 remaining bulb based projector at £6500, then a leap to £11,500 for the laser NZ7. £5000 is a very large jump in price point, can there really be that big a difference In performance.

Is there a chance in the near future that JVC could upgrade the current N5 model to specification close to the outgoing N7 for a similar price point of the N5, or would that undermine the point of the NZ7.
the n5 will get a hdmi 2.1 chipset and then take a further leap up in price so no longer have a big gap. is this what want to bridge the gap ? the current n5 will then ... disappear....
 
Given those who have seen a well set up JVC laser projector (Z1) have rarely said anything other than 'wow' (after the software upgrades) Im not expecting there to be too much disappointment.

This is what we've been waiting for isn't it. I'm the first to recognise that all things shiny and new are not necessarily better. But laser is in my opinion a step forward
 
Anyone tempted to go giant 97” OLED next year instead? Granted the size of the image won’t be for everyone, but for those running 110-120” setups, would you be tempted?
The question is becoming more relevant with the pricing of the z series for sure . I would also include 4k led tvs [ if available in the UK] for an interim solution for specifically uhd as they have generally more nits than a oled and with a good edge lighting zone system can get reasonably close to an oleds black levels ..
And the price is easier to swallow ;)
Hisense 100S8 100" S8 4K UHD Smart LED TV at The Good Guys

The tradeoff is keeping a 3d projector with drop down screen for 3d and bluray while we wait for the aus z series prices to drop - in a few days time were told :)
 
Given those who have seen a well set up JVC laser projector (Z1) have rarely said anything other than 'wow' (after the software upgrades) Im not expecting there to be too much disappointment.

This is what we've been waiting for isn't it. I'm the first to recognise that all things shiny and new are not necessarily better. But laser is in my opinion a step forward
The Z1 was more like a step backwards. It was a disappointment in light output, and had issues with the phosphor plate, no tone mapping, and was extremely noisy.
You will find that people that have seen the Epson TW9400 also go wow, thats not really usefull to establish quality.
I dont think laser is a step forward, its is different, and a step sideways, you get some and loos something else, its not a win win, + you get a major price raise, and then it becomes quite hard to justify to try the sidestep, just to see what laser is all about, thats why we have to hope JVC have done major improvements elsewhere, like the specs being more realistic, significantly better contrast and color uniformity, pro calibration support with light space and calman, easy Firmware update via network and so on.
 
Last edited:
I think if JVC are happy to show off the projectors at shows they should be production ready models. Also, expecting evolution rather than revolution is all well and good if we were talking about the same price points. These are in another tier and then some, they’d better be revolutionary 😄

They are engineering samples. I believe they are the same ones we had in the UK (only a limited engineering samples across the world). In my experience with engineering samples they are often refined in firmware etc before release. So things do often change/improve with regard to performance and stability.

JVC N5 remaining bulb based projector at £6500, then a leap to £11,500 for the laser NZ7. £5000 is a very large jump in price point, can there really be that big a difference In performance.

Is there a chance in the near future that JVC could upgrade the current N5 model to specification close to the outgoing N7 for a similar price point of the N5, or would that undermine the point of the NZ7.

The N5 is not remaining. Last delivery is next month and all units are allocated by JVC already. As @alebonau has suggested there was an announcement for a replacement for the N5 in the USA (but it was pulled from some announcements and never made it to the website, as it has been shelved), which was expected to be the same as the N5 but with a 4k120p input and some other small changes. The price was expected to increase though as the costs across the world for parts have risen in recent months etc. This was pulled for the time being due to a lack of parts and the NZ range being the priority. We will have to see when/if this replacement N5 does get announced in the future, as it will depend on the supply of parts I would think.

It would cannibalise them. I feel the simple way of seeing this reality is the telling fact that the N7 didn’t remain in the lineup at the N5 price point, or even its 3 year old RRP. Too close for comfort.

I think it is more a lack of parts being the issue. N/RS series have been on backorder for months, and for every part that is used for an N series it takes a part away from the NZ (i.e. filters, lenses etc), and I just don't think they have the parts available to continue with both. I would have liked them to continue with an N7 equivalent, but can understand why they are not.
 
Wow @Rickyj at Kalibrate so after next month there is no N5 at all? So JVC have basically entirely left the sub £10,000 market? That is incredible if so. That makes the entire line unaffordable for all but the most wealthy. I’m genuinely surprised they can’t see any value in keeping something at the N5 level.
 
Wow @Rickyj at Kalibrate so after next month there is no N5 at all? So JVC have basically entirely left the sub £10,000 market? That is incredible if so. That makes the entire line unaffordable for all but the most wealthy. I’m genuinely surprised they can’t see any value in keeping something at the N5 level.
To be honest it is near enough gone now, as I suspect most of the delivery next month is presold (at least in the UK). I know our units are, and I suspect others are too.

It may not be that they can't see the value, but it may not be profitable enough in these times to continue for now. I do hope that we will have bulb options back at some point.

In general terms (nothing to do with JVC), just say a company makes a 10% margin on RRP of all their models:

Model A is £6,500, so £650 profit
Model B is £11,500 so £1,150 profit

You are limited by the parts you can access (this is the important part, as supplies are limited at the moment), and you can sell the same numbers of each unit, as demand is high enough. Which are you going to produce as a business?

These are very different times we are living in, so you have got to be sensible as a manufacturer. Just as an example, we have seen Models/SKUs discontinued by miniDSP for similar reasons.
 
Not really a JVC, in albeit name, and that continues as it does not steal parts from the NZ series. :smashin:
I only meant in terms of something below the £10k mark. Agreed about the parts, do you think the same polarisers and filters will be used on the NZ range as the N series?

Does anything on their scientific and commercial side potentially utilise N series parts and set to continue?
 

The latest video from AVForums

Is 4K Blu-ray Worth It?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom