JVC DLA-X55 R Projector - Image Quality

Posted on July 15, 2013 by Art Feierman

DLA-X55R "Out of the Box" Picture Quality

Pretty impressive but not so good that calibrating it doesn't noticeably improve it. Oh your friends will think it's stunning "right out of the box" but you'll know it can be better. Right below is a good example of "out of the box". Both projectors were in one of their "best" modes, with default settings. The X55R projector is on the right, the Epson Pro Cinema 6020 on the left. Epson is slightly brighter on bright scenes:

Looking at the small image above, the Epson has a reddish caste, the JVC on the right a yellow green one. Neither looks quite right. Of course if you click and look at the larger image, try covering up one for 20-30 seconds, and the other will start looking just great. It's the comparison that makes it easy to spot small differences. Remember, this was shot before either was calibrated. Either projector will simply look better - closer to ideal, just by plugging in our calibration settings.

Check out our recommended settings for items like Brightness, Color, Grayscale, etc. on theCalibration page of this review.

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DLA-X55 Projector - Flesh Tones

Close to excellent but not quite there. After calibration the color accuracy of skin tones is improved, but despite Mike's calibration (including the Color Management System for individual colors) still managed to leave a slight hint of too much yellow or yellow/green.

Not that anyone but us "hard core" will care about that slight a shift.

I should note that for normal movie viewing I found best, most natural viewing when Sharpness was kept to no more than 10, and Detail Enhancement at 15. Most images here were taken with those settings.

DLA-X55 Projector Image Quality Slideshow

SKIN TONES

Lord of the Rings

SKIN TONES

Arwen has a bit too much yellow green, however, a slight greenish caste should be there regardless. The image is taken from a forest scene, and you can see that shift due to the "environment" (especially the forehead) with most projectors, but the JVC still has a touch too much, compared to the original.