Home Theatre/TV: JVC DLA-HD100 D-ILA Home Theatre Projector – 71

I seem to be one of The Chosen at Tone, managing to wrap my greasy mitts on some exceptionally luscious pieces of kit. I’m not complaining of course, but one thing has become readily apparent: I seem to have a lot of new friends, all eager to pop over and help me set up the various articles of home entertainment porn I’m entrusted with. Like JVC’s newest D-ILA projector for instance, the DLA-HD100.

This time I managed to keep schtum about the HD100 and save all the fun for myself, thereby avoiding the usual all-night State of Origin and All Black test shenanigans in order to concentrate on watching movies – lots of ‘em, both on DVD and Blu-ray. And boy, was I in for a treat.

Like the HD1 from last year, the 100 uses D-ILA technology to produce its high-class imagery, so I was expecting the same filmic ability and artefact-free qualities of the earlier model. The HD100 boasts a contrast ratio of 30,000:1 (up from the HD1′s 15,000:1), while light output is actually pared back to 600 lumens, compared with the 700 of last year’s model.

The full 1080p 60/50/24 options are supported here of course, along with lens shift and the new and very useful V-stretch function. Using V-stretch, the HD100 is able to utilise the entire D-ILA device when viewing 2.35:1 anamorphic cinemascope source material. Third party lenses can then be used to expand the image to the full widescreen 2.35:1 ratio if desired, albeit at an extra cost. It would be well worth it though, as the result would be just as you’d experience in a state-of-the-art commercial theatre.

Zoom and focus are now powered, an improvement over the HD1′s manual setup, while the new baby is fully compatible with HDMI 1.3.

At 24dB (normal mode), fan noise is not an issue with the HD100. A play with the high lamp mode pushed the volume up to a reasonably audible level, but in reality this wasn’t needed in my dark theatre room.

The HD100 has the same black casework as the HD1 and although large would probably make an elegant addition to a ceiling, the natural siting position for a display of this calibre.

Once set up the JVC proved to be a real thoroughbred, displaying generally superb imagery with both DVD and Blu-ray source material.

Tim Burton’s gory Sweeny Todd had excellent field depth and grey scale colour reproduction on DVD, punctuated by gallons of realistically coloured spurting blood. I was treated to an even more spectacular picture with I Am Legend on Blu-ray; the detail in every scene was just fantastic, while colours seemed just right out of the box on my 100-inch Da-Lite screen.

I’ve just purchased the collectors’ edition five-disc Blu-ray of Ridley Scott’s Bladerunner, and this old favourite virtually leapt off the screen in all its hi-res glory with astoundingly cinematic picture quality. Gone was the graininess of my DVD copy, replaced with lashings of detail and superb contrast and colour. And once again, no digital artefacts to be seen anywhere.

JVC has really got something going on with its D-ILA projectors. Although the HD100 is pricey, it still represents true value to those seeking cinematic quality front projection.

GARY PEARCE

SPECIFICATIONS

Contrast ratio: 30,000:1

Brightness: 600 lumens

Throw ratio: 1.4:1 – 2.8:1

Native Resolution: 1920 x 1080

Lens shift: Horizontal and vertical

Zoom: 2x

Connections: HDMI x 2, component x 1, S-Video x 1, composite video x 1

Fan Noise: 24dB

Dimensions: 455 x 172.5 x 418.5mm (W/H/D)

Weight: 11.6 Kg

Pros

• Fabulous picture quality
• Great connectivity and flexibility
• Upgradeable

Cons

• Price tag, but you definitely get what you pay for in terms of performance

Verdict

Superior home theatre projector

Contact: www.jvc.co.nz