JVC DLA-RS25 Physical Tour

Clean lines, black piano finish and a little gold trim make for a physically very attractive projector. The motorized lens is recessed, and mounted slightly offset to the left of center. An infra-red sensor is just to the left of the lens. The control panel is on the top toward the rear (toward the right side if looking from the front), and the inputs are located low on the right side (looking from the front). Watch out! The IR sensors on the front and back are covered by some almost clear plastic. It’s almost impossible to notice the plastic. If you don’t remember to remove it, it definitely harms the range of the remote control.

The projector can be shelf or ceiling mounted.

The RS25’s control panel is located on the top. In the image on the right, you are viewing the panel from the back of the projector. The three indicator lamps are closest to the front of the projector. They are: Warning, Lamp, and Standby/On.

Further back is the first button, the Power switch. It’s the usual press once for on, press twice for off. Next is the Input button, followed by a Hide button to black out the image.

Then comes the four arrow buttons in a diamond shaped arrangement, with a larger Enter button in the center.

Lastly, side by side, are the Menu, and (menu) Back button. Pretty standard stuff. Of course, we all primarily rely on the remote control, and probably only use the control panel during initial setup, if at all.

There seem to be no changes this year, in terms of I/O – inputs and outputs. Located on the side, from front to back, first there are two HDMI 1.3b compatible inputs. Next comes an analog PC input (standard HD15 connector), which the original RS1, and also the RS10 did not offer. (I’m not sure if the new RS15 has a PC input, but we’ll address that when it’s reviewed.)

Next up, are three RCA connectors for the component video input, followed by another RCA connector for basic composite video. Next is the S-Video input, followed by the RS-232 connector for controlling the projector directly from a computer or room controller. Finally, there is a 12 volt screen trigger for controlling a motorized screen or masking system.

Add all of them up, and you have a fairly standard complement of inputs and outputs, with no surprises. As with all home theater projectors, I’d still like to see three HDMI ports, but I’ve only seen that on a couple of 1080p projectors so far.