JVC DLA-HD2K - General Performance
Overview
Layout
Image Quality
General Performance
Setup
Warranty
Summary, Pros, Cons
Let’s start with the remote control. This is easy. First, the confusion. You get two remotes, one for the Processor, and one for the Projector itself. After initial setup, you will be almost exclusively dealing with the “projector’s remote.”
It has lots of buttons, but let’s cut to the chase. If you are doing a room with a $30K projector the odds are that you will be using some sort of universal remote system, probably a full blown Crestron system that will control everything from projector to sound to your screen (if motorized) motorized shades, lighting and of course the kitchen sink. If you don’t go with a system like the Crestron, you are at least likely to use something like one of the higher end Marantz remotes. Taking that into consideration, I wouldn’t worry too much about the ergonomics of the provided remotes, although I found the projector’s remote to be sufficiently well laid out to be able to use it effectively while testing.
The Lens
Herein lies my biggest complaint with the JVC projector. All you get is your basic zoom lens, it only has a ratio of 1:1.3 which is typical, however the JVC is a bit longer telephoto than many others out there. You will need to have a not too square room if you want a large screen. (My BenQ is the other way, it sits closer to the screen than most. To give you an idea, with the JVC’s zoom at widest, it can’t project as large an image as the BenQ with it’s zoom in max telephoto, from the same distance.
Of course these are details your installation team will take care of. Either the JVC will fit, or it will not!
More to the point, here is a $30K projector that does not offer alternative lenses (except for the wide angle extension, which I haven't seen, but which the JVC product manager assures me is a first class piece of glass), means that the projector may not work for everyone's room. Keep your hopes up, though, that it will work in your theater.
Optical lens shift (or lack thereof)
I can live with the lack of interchangeable lenses, but I do believe a 30K projector should have optical lens shift. My own theater environment is an example. I have a 21 foot ceiling, as a result even with my screen being mounted fairly high, I need the projector to be mounted about 7 feet below the ceiling. Now even with a lot of lens shift I doubt that any projector could be flush with the ceiling (the top of the screen is about 11 feet from the floor). Let me refocus.
Most people won’t have that tall a ceiling, but it would be nice to have the lens shift so that, say with a 110” screen in a room with an 10 foot ceiling, and the top of the screen being 3 feet from the ceiling, that the projector could be flush to the ceiling (reasonable with variable lens shift). With the JVC, the projector would have to come down about two feet. (OK, that’s not so terrible anyway, and is no problem with a motorized ceiling lift that hides the projector when not in use, if you are going that route.)
Keystone Correction
This JVC projector even lacks keystone correction, which, is just fine. No one has any business using keystone correction to get a rectangular image. Digital keystone correction adds distortion, and the whole idea is to the cleanest possible signal. You’ll just have no choice, and have to mount the projector from the ceiling or on a shelf in the back of the room, at the correct height, to properly fill the screen.
Noise Levels
If there was one thing that truly surprising, it is the noise levels of the JVC. Without a meter to do the complicated measurements, let’s just say that the JVC is surprisingly not quiet. The noise level is, however acceptable, but I really was surprised, in that it is about the same, maybe a triffle louder than the BenQ projector, and definitely noiser than some very inexpensive projectors like Panasonic’s AE700u. Once ceiling mounted I seriously doubt that it can be heard even if the room is quiet, but if it were to be shelf mounted right behind seating, it might be detectable during quiet scenes.
Overview
Layout
Image Quality
General Performance
Setup
Warranty
Summary, Pros, Cons