JVC DLA-RS25 Projector Calibration and Settings
We calibrate each home theater that is reviewed. Normally we just do a basic grayscale calibration, but the JVC DLA-RS25 also needs to have individual colors calibrated in its Color Management System.
The JVC RS25 is not a toy! (OK, it's an expensive toy - an almost $8000 toy.)
If you are seriously considering the RS25, keep in mind that this projector is about as good as it's going to get in terms of under $10,000 projectors. While the "out of the box" performance of the JVC DLA-RS25 is rather very good, it definitely improves with a proper calibration.
Unlike with most other projectors, the JVC really does require that you calibrate the individual colors using the CMS to obtain the best results. Therefore, as we did last year (when the initial CMS firmware was a mess on the RS20), Mike did calibrate the individual colors. This time he reports it was straightforward. Last year we needed a lot of help from some "experts" on the forums who had already spent too many hours working with their own RS20s.
11/6/2009 - Art Feierman
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JVC DLA-RS25 Color Temperature
First, here are the color temperature measurements for the Cinema 2 mode, as well as the THX mode.
Important clarification: Cinema 2, and THX modes are almost identical, but for this important difference. The CMS for THX is already "calibrated" and is not user adjustable. Cinema 2 allows you to use the CMS system.
Out of the box, THX is definitely superior to Cinema 2. The color temp and brightness may be essentially identical, but the THX mode's individual color adjustments (RGBCYM) are better, and you get better skin tones, etc.
Like with last year's, the thing is, we believe, that by our calibrating the CMS for Cinema 2 mode, we end up with something slightly better than the provided THX.
That said, THX is extremely good. One of the best "out of the box" performances we've encountered.
These are the measurements, taken "right out of the box."
Color Temp over IRE Range (Pre calibration):
Cinema 2 THX
30 IRE 6542K 6525K (dark gray)
50 IRE 7006K 7019K (medium gray)
80 IRE 6898K 6891K (light gray)
100 IRE 6878K 6865K (white)
Note: not one temperature range difference between the two modes is greater than 0.3%. Can you say "insignificant?"
For those interested, here are the color temperature measurements (and lumens) for white (100 IRE), for each of the preset modes
Lumen Output and Color Temp at 100 IRE (mid zoom):
Cinema 1= 753 @ 6029
Cinema 2= 753 @ 6878
Cinema 3= 769 @ 8040
Natural= 748 @ 6863
Stage= 769 @ 8050
Dynamic= 853 @ 9586, 862 with Color Sat. set to 0
THX= 748 @ 6865
User 1 or 2= 753 @ 6860
While "out of the box" color temp in THX and Cinema 2 is a bit cool (too high), it is slight, and easily corrected with calibration. What is signficantly improved are the default CMS settings, resulting in better, over all "out of the box" performance this year with the RS25, than the RS20 last year.
JVC DLA-RS25 Basic Settings
In addition to calibrating Red Green and Blue for a correct grayscale balance (6500K), there are a number of other settings that come into play. Typically Contrast and Brightness (white balance and black balance), need to be done first. Color saturation and gamma also need adjustment.
Our final settings (the default settings for Brightness, Contrast, Saturation and Tint are all 0, in all modes). Mike made adjustments to these, and the Color Temp settings for each of the seven modes:
Preset Modes: |
Cinema 1 |
Cinema 2 |
Cinema 3 |
Natural |
Stage |
Dynamic |
THX |
Contrast = (0) |
-2 |
-1 |
-1 |
-1 |
-1 |
-1 |
-1 |
Brightness = (0) |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
Color Sat. = |
(0) |
(0) |
(0) |
(0) |
(0) |
(10) |
(0) |
Tint = |
(0) |
(0) |
(0) |
(0) |
(0) |
(0) |
(0) |
Color Temp = |
(5800) |
(6500) |
(7500) |
(6500) |
(7500) |
(High Bright) |
(6500) |
Gamma = |
(B) |
(A) |
(C) |
(Normal) |
(D) |
(D) |
(Normal) |
Both User modes (1 and 2) have same default and adjusted settings as THX mode
Lamp Mode=High (unless noted otherwise)
Lens aperture fully open
All other settings at default (untouched)
Zoom set at mid-point for all measurements
Note, the JVC does not have User savable settings (you can customize all modes). The RS25 has those two User modes that start out the same as THX. When we say "not savable", understand: If you make changes, the next time you go to that mode, those changes will still be there. But, if you make more changes, the older ones are lost. With a true User Savable memory, once you hit save, you will always get those settings back, unless you make changes and resave the User mode.
To get the very most out of the DLA-RS25, a calibration is necessary, but will only yield a slight improvement over THX mode. Dynamic mode seems improved in terms of color, compared to last year's RS20.
The CMS is much improved, as noted. This allows for a pretty straightforward calibration, without the hassles encountered by early buyers of the RS20 last year.
JVC DLA-RS25 Post Calibration Grayscale
So, how good does the final calibration look? Let's say the on screen image looks even better than the measured grayscale would anticipate.
Color Temp over IRE Range (Post calibration):
20 IRE 6510K
30 IRE 6306K
40 IRE 6578K
50 IRE 6563K
60 IRE 6508K
70 IRE 6422K
80 IRE 6406K
90 IRE 6462K
100 IRE 6460K
While the numbers do not look that spectacular, with a dip at 30 IRE that Mike couldn't eliminate, these are still very good numbers, with a 272K range, all but 30 IRE are within 100K of the ideal D65.
Mike reports that low lamp mode actually doesn't have the same dip, and overall, caibrates to a smoother D65. We, however, always calibrate the bright mode, as few users get to live with low power. Even those that have a bright enough projector for low power when they first get it, tend to shift to full power by the time their lamp has half of its life gone, as by then, it's dimmer in full power, than it was originally in low power. In other words, the projector gets dimmer over time due to the lamp, and people who start out in low power, end up using high power to maintain as much brightness as possible. I should note, though, that without recalibrating for low lamp, the JVC still looks extremely good when you do switch to low lamp power.
Gamma settings:
The gamma controls on the RS25 allow for detailed customization, including different gamma curves for each primary color! You can have about as much fun as you would like, customizing gamma for your screen, room conditions, personal tastes, etc.
Ultimately though, Normal is the default and averages 2.18 (ideal is 2.2) over the range. Each of the four other preset gammas - A-D, have different curves, and do noticeably different things to different ranges of the image (bright, mid, dark, etc.).
In addition there are three Custom gamma modes (1,2,3) which you can tinker with. You can start with any one of the preset gammas (Normal, A-D), copy that into a Custom, and modify from there. You can even set different gamma settings for the different primary colors (red, green, blue), or all at once with white. This is one of the more comprehensive customizable gamma modes I've encountered. (and much fun to play with). of the Preset Gammas, I tend to favor Normal C, or D.
The A setting lifts the brightness in the very darkest areas, making dark shadow detail more visible, but, by doing so, removes some of the punch on dark scenes. B setting mostly lifts brightness in the 40 to 80 IRE range. It adds punch and also makes those sunny days seem sunnier. Gamma C is much like B, but a little less push in those brighter ranges, and a little push added at the low end to bring up the very darkest shadow detail. In other words, C, is very much like a cross between A and B, and personally preferable to either. Gamma D lifts the mid-tones only slightly. It is closest to Normal, but "brightens" the mid-range just slightly.
Basically I tend to favor D over Normal, depending on the movie. C is my choice when I want to make the image more dynamic looking. B will also do that but is more "over the top" and typically "distorts" the original too much for my taste.
And of course, you can create your own, similar to any of these, with your own preferences, if you like to play.
JVC DLA-RS25 RGB Settings
These are the adjustments we made to Red, Green and Blue for the grayscale balance of THX mode. This is accomplished by placing these adjustments into one of the three Custom settings (1, 2, or 3). We placed all of these into User 1 (which starts out as a copy of THX).
Calibration settings for User 1:
Gamma on Normal, Color on -2
Custom Color Temp 1, 6500K ref.
Gain R = 0
G = -8
B = -14
Offset R = -3
G = 0
B = 0
CMS Settings: H=Hue, S=Saturation, B=Brightness
Red: H= 12, S= -18, B= 0
Yellow: H= 9, S= -46, B= 35
Green: H= -44, S= -46, B= 36
Cyan: H= 5, S= -59, B=55
Blue: H= 50, S= -20, B= 8
Magenta: H= -13, S= -20, B= 11
OK, you've got everything you need to copy our calibration efforts on your shiny new JVC DLA-RS25 projector. Of course, there will be slight variations due to the lamp (and lamp performance will change over time). We calibrated with the lamp virtually brand new, as opposed to waiting a couple hundred hours, which is generally considered more ideal. Still, any shifts are fairly slight. If I end up purchasing an RS25, or the souped up RS35 (with hand picked components and tighter quality control), I'll be calibrating it when new, and then likely redoing the calibration after about 300 hours. If that all happens, I'll post those numbers as well.
Bottom line: Skin tones, no, everything, tends to really look great, and natural, on our review RS25 using these settings. Gorgeous! I've run my RS20 against the RS25 with these settings, and no question, I've got a slightly better picture with the RS25, in terms of faithful color accuracy, including even better skin tones. I've always marveled at the colors of the InFocus IN83 I had here. It's a shame it's gone now, because this RS25 may well be the closest I've seen to that projector, in terms of skin tone handling.
A last thought. For those with their own calibration gear (that includes you professionals), it appears that the JVC CMS supports timed measurements and adjustments, in the same basic fashion as professional calibration software. If you're up to speed with your gear, this should save a fair amount of time calibrating the projector.