Exclusive Hands-on with the JVC DLA-HD990
Phil Hinton reports on the first AVForums HD World event held at JVC UK.
On Saturday the 24th of October, around 48 AVForums members attended the first event of its type to preview new products at a Manufacturers showroom – ahead of the AV press.
You can watch a Video in HD covering the event here
The event was organised with the enthusiastic help of JVC who wanted to give AV enthusiasts a high quality demonstration of their new projectors and 3DTV technology. This was done without any sales pressure and in an open environment where the members could ask question and give their feedback freely. The JVC staff were extremely welcoming and provided the attendees with answers to questions, as well as some top quality food and drink. The atmosphere was relaxed and laid back with like-mind people all discussing the virtues of the AV hobby and the equipment on show.
The major attraction for the event was the UK launch of the JVC DLA-HD990 DILA projector, the company’s high-end, high spec machine. This was shown in the main cinema demonstration room alongside the DLA-HD950 and a 110” 2.37:1 DNP Supernova screen. The HD990 was fitted with the JVC anamorphic lens system and the HD950 was shown with a budget CAVX anamorphic solution. Feeding both projectors was a JVC BD player. The room used was light controlled so the projectors could be shown at their very best. Due to time constraints in setting up the demos it was agreed that both projectors would be used in the THX preset mode. This preset offers very accurate images towards the international TV and Film standards for playback. It would have been interesting to have had the time to do a full ISF calibration on both projectors, but on this occasion that just wasn’t possible. At least with the use of the THX mode, those attending could get a good idea of what the projectors are capable off in out of the box settings.
There were four demo groups of 12 members each with a 2 hour demo time window. This allowed the groups to have just the right amount of people in each room without feeling cramped. The day started with a presentation of the technology by Steve Carter who went through the new JVC products and their specifications. Once the members were up to speed they were taken to the cinema demo room to see both Projectors in action. Once satisfied with various Blu-ray clips and anamorphic demonstrations it was then on to the 3DTV room. In here were the WX70 professional LCD Monitor, the WX50 LED backlit LCD with it’s super slim looks and the 3DTV monitor which was a 42” LCD Panel. On the 3D TV the members were shown various clips ranging from U2, music videos, film clips and sports footage. The JVC technology uses polarising filters in the glasses and on the screen to provide the 3D effect. The final demo for most groups was the HD550 projector on a massive 140” screen in the main showroom area.
The event was a great success and the positive feedback on the products and the way JVC opened its doors has come thick and fast over on AVForums.
So what about the initial impressions on the DLA-HD990? Well, I expect our review sample will be with me soon, but in the meantime my initial impressions are very positive.
Forgetting about the price difference for a second (the HD990 will be around £9k), the actual picture performance is a slight improvement over the HD950 when using the THX modes. Looking at both projectors side by side (something I will do again when the review sample arrives) it was obvious that contrast and dynamic range had an edge on the HD990. Colours were pretty much the same as they should be and black levels have that subtle bit more again. The menus and functions are the same as the HD950, but its obvious that this more expensive machine is made for the high end market place, a fact also supported by its limited availability.
So it was obvious that the forums members had a great day out and our thanks to JVC for hosting us.
