JVC DLA-RS35 Projector: Pros, Cons, and Typical Capabilities Posted on February 4, 2010 By Art Feierman 1. JVC DLA-RS35 Projector Review - JVC DLA-RS35 Projector Overview2. JVC DLA-RS35 Projector Review 23. DLA-RS35 Projector Highlights - JVC DLA-RS35 Special Features4. Individual panel adjustment - CFI - Clear Motion Drive - Color Management System (CMS)5. JVC DLA-RS35 Physical Tour - JVC DLA-RS35 Physical Appearance - Control Panel6. Input/Output - JVC DLA-RS35 Menus - JVC DLA-RS35 Remote Control7. DLA-RS35 Lens Throw - DLA-RS35 Lens Shift - Anamorphic Lens8. JVC DLA-RS35 Projector – Image Quality - DLA-RS35 Out of the Box Picture Quality - Flesh Tones9. JVC RS35 Black Levels & Shadow Detail10. JVC RS35 Black Levels & Shadow Detail 211. Shadow Detail Performance 212. Shadow Detail Performance 313. JVC RS35 Black Levels & Shadow Detail614. Overall Color & Picture Quality15. JVC DLA-RS35U Projector: Performance, HDTV and Sports16. JVC DLA-RS35 – Performance - JVC DLA-RS35 Brightness - JVC DLA-RS35 Projector - Uncalibrated: - The Effect of low lamp (eco) mode on brightness: - Effect of Lens Aperture setting on lumen output (THX Mode):17. Sharpness18. Sharpness 2 - JVC DLA-RS35: Bottom Line Sharpness19. Light Leakage - JVC DLA-RS35 Image Noise - DLA-RS35 Audible Noise20. JVC DLA-RS35 Projector Calibration and Settings - JVC DLA-RS35 Projector Calibration and Settings - JVC DLA-RS35 Color Temperature - Color Temp over IRE Range (Pre calibration): - Lumen Output and Color Temp at 100 IRE (mid zoom): - JVC DLA-RS35 Basic Settings21. JVC DLA-RS35 Post Calibration Grayscale - Color Temp over IRE Range (Post calibration): - JVC DLA-RS35 RGB Settings - CMS Settings: H=Hue, S=Saturation, B=Brightness22. JVC DLA-RS35 – Screen Recommendations - JVC RS35 Projector Screen Recommendations23. JVC DLA-RS35 – Competitors - DLA-RS35 vs. Epson Home Cinema 8500UB, Pro 9500UB - JVC DLA-RS35 vs. Mitsubishi HC700024. JVC DLA-RS35 vs. Mitsubishi HC7000 2 - JVC DLA-RS35 vs. BenQ W6000 - JVC DLA-RS35 vs. LG CF181D25. JVC DLA-RS35 vs. Planar PD8150 and Optoma HD8600 - DLA-RS35 vs. InFocus IN83 and SP860226. DLA-RS35 vs. InFocus IN83 and SP8602-2 - JVC DLA-RS35 vs. Panasonic PT-AE400027. JVC DLA-RS35 vs. JVC DLA-RS20, DLA-RS15 and RS25! - JVC DLA-RS35 vs. JVC DLA-RS25 - The two best under $10K home theater projectors? - JVC DLA-RS35 vs. Sony VPL-HW15, VPL-VW8528. JVC DLA-RS35 Projector – Warranty29. JVC DLA-RS35 – Review Summary - JVC DLA-RS35 Projector - The Bottom Line - JVC DLA-RS35 Brightness30. JVC DLA-RS35 Projector: Pros, Cons, and Typical Capabilities - JVC DLA-RS35 Projector: Pros - JVC DLA-RS35 Projector: Cons - JVC DLA-RS35 Projector: Typical Capabilities31. JVC DLA-RS35 Projector Review JVC DLA-RS35 Projector: Pros Excellent Color with extremely good skin tones (the tiniest of gold caste, but I’m really quibbling and figure I can eyeball remove that, as I continue to play) Definitely above average brightness in “best” movie mode Superb, and unmatched, black level performance – as close to the Holy Grail (of perfect blacks) as any fixed panel projector I have ever seen. Certainly the sharpest looking image from an LCoS or LCD based projector, that I’ve ever seen Not the most dynamic image (pop and wow) but still rather good at it, on bright scenes. Great blacks give it more “pop and wow” than the competition on any dark scene. Good shadow detail performance, not the best, but more than acceptable. There is a manual iris, for getting your brightness right. It has lots of steps and can be very helpful for those with smaller screens, if things actually get too bright. Good CFI – creative frame interpolation, best for sports, and digital source material. Not as smooth as the best, very minor artifacts at times. Could be improved, but just dandy for 40 hours of Olympics viewing these past two weeks. Outputs 24 frame per second sources at 96 fps Excellent remote control with excellent range, excellent backlight, good organization one of my all time favorite remotes (a great thing, since my RS20’s remote sucks due to limited range – though fine for people with smaller rooms and screens.) Click to enlarge. SO close Very good color management system, improved over the last generation Almost excellent placement flexibility (2:1 zoom, lens shift), just a little less lens shift than the most shift offered by a few models If you can’t make the RS35 fit in your room, few projectors will. Focus, Zoom and Lens shift all motorized Very good menus Definitely expensive, but it delivers excellent value for those who can appreciate this projector – at least a small step up, over anything else near its price. A pricy projector, yet a really good value proposition. That is, if you can afford, it, you will almost certainly feel it’s worth it. Note, I’ve received 3 emails now from current RS35 owners, since this was published almost a week ago. The one thing in common all three said, in addition to mentioning a this or that, was that, yes, they all felt the RS35 was definitely worth it. (Obviously it was within their affordable range.) At least two of the three have had at least 1 home theater projector previously. Click Image to EnlargeJVC DLA-RS35 Projector: Cons A relatively dim “brightest” mode, of 725 (calibrated, midpoint on zoom lens) lumens means it can’t deal with a whole lot of ambient light, at all, unless you have a small screen. CFI not as smooth as the best, but fine for sports. Definitely changes enough to “damage” the director’s intent when watching movies. Slightly less than average lamp life? JVC quotes 2000 hours at full power (the “industry average), but only “slightly better, in low lamp” while most 2000 hour full power projectors quote 3000 in low power. Although most reasonable – audible noise wise, the RS35 could be a little quieter with lamp at full power. Few would consider this an issue though I’m still waiting for truly great documentation, from anyone. JVC’s efforts aren’t bad, but, still leaves many questions about how features work, unanswered. Click Image to EnlargeJVC DLA-RS35 Projector: Typical Capabilities Selection of inputs Lamp life is likely typical or below average in life Documentation (I’m still waiting to see a projector that really does provide good explanations of all the menu functions). My last thoughts: Well, I’d rather have the RS35 over my RS20, if for no other reasons, the sharpness difference and the CFI for sports viewing. Ultimately it’s JVC’s decision to build a limited number of RS35 projectors from the best of the parts that go into RS25s, that provides the extra sharpness and other, subtle improvements, that really make the JVC DLA-RS35 home theater projector, overall, outstanding, without any real image quality issues. I just looked at my check book balance. It would seem that I will have to get by with my RS20 and it’s slightly softer image, and not quite as excellent blacks, for a while longer. But, don’t let that stop you. If you’ve got the funds on hand, I’d suggest you either plunk down for the JVC RS35, or, better still, transfer the money into my checking account, and I’ll buy one, and provide you an occasional report on how much I’m enjoying “your” home theater projector. The last image above, was taken with the RS25, not the DLA-RS35 projector. Source, August Rush, Blu-ray. If you do spring for a JVC DLA-RS35 or DLA-HD990, you really are in for a treat to the eyes and the visual cortex. 1. JVC DLA-RS35 Projector Review - JVC DLA-RS35 Projector Overview2. JVC DLA-RS35 Projector Review 23. DLA-RS35 Projector Highlights - JVC DLA-RS35 Special Features4. Individual panel adjustment - CFI - Clear Motion Drive - Color Management System (CMS)5. JVC DLA-RS35 Physical Tour - JVC DLA-RS35 Physical Appearance - Control Panel6. Input/Output - JVC DLA-RS35 Menus - JVC DLA-RS35 Remote Control7. DLA-RS35 Lens Throw - DLA-RS35 Lens Shift - Anamorphic Lens8. JVC DLA-RS35 Projector – Image Quality - DLA-RS35 Out of the Box Picture Quality - Flesh Tones9. JVC RS35 Black Levels & Shadow Detail10. JVC RS35 Black Levels & Shadow Detail 211. Shadow Detail Performance 212. Shadow Detail Performance 313. JVC RS35 Black Levels & Shadow Detail614. Overall Color & Picture Quality15. JVC DLA-RS35U Projector: Performance, HDTV and Sports16. JVC DLA-RS35 – Performance - JVC DLA-RS35 Brightness - JVC DLA-RS35 Projector - Uncalibrated: - The Effect of low lamp (eco) mode on brightness: - Effect of Lens Aperture setting on lumen output (THX Mode):17. Sharpness18. Sharpness 2 - JVC DLA-RS35: Bottom Line Sharpness19. Light Leakage - JVC DLA-RS35 Image Noise - DLA-RS35 Audible Noise20. JVC DLA-RS35 Projector Calibration and Settings - JVC DLA-RS35 Projector Calibration and Settings - JVC DLA-RS35 Color Temperature - Color Temp over IRE Range (Pre calibration): - Lumen Output and Color Temp at 100 IRE (mid zoom): - JVC DLA-RS35 Basic Settings21. JVC DLA-RS35 Post Calibration Grayscale - Color Temp over IRE Range (Post calibration): - JVC DLA-RS35 RGB Settings - CMS Settings: H=Hue, S=Saturation, B=Brightness22. JVC DLA-RS35 – Screen Recommendations - JVC RS35 Projector Screen Recommendations23. JVC DLA-RS35 – Competitors - DLA-RS35 vs. Epson Home Cinema 8500UB, Pro 9500UB - JVC DLA-RS35 vs. Mitsubishi HC700024. JVC DLA-RS35 vs. Mitsubishi HC7000 2 - JVC DLA-RS35 vs. BenQ W6000 - JVC DLA-RS35 vs. LG CF181D25. JVC DLA-RS35 vs. Planar PD8150 and Optoma HD8600 - DLA-RS35 vs. InFocus IN83 and SP860226. DLA-RS35 vs. InFocus IN83 and SP8602-2 - JVC DLA-RS35 vs. Panasonic PT-AE400027. JVC DLA-RS35 vs. JVC DLA-RS20, DLA-RS15 and RS25! - JVC DLA-RS35 vs. JVC DLA-RS25 - The two best under $10K home theater projectors? - JVC DLA-RS35 vs. Sony VPL-HW15, VPL-VW8528. JVC DLA-RS35 Projector – Warranty29. JVC DLA-RS35 – Review Summary - JVC DLA-RS35 Projector - The Bottom Line - JVC DLA-RS35 Brightness30. JVC DLA-RS35 Projector: Pros, Cons, and Typical Capabilities - JVC DLA-RS35 Projector: Pros - JVC DLA-RS35 Projector: Cons - JVC DLA-RS35 Projector: Typical Capabilities31. JVC DLA-RS35 Projector Review JVC DLA-RS35 – Review Summary JVC DLA-RS35 Projector Review