At CEDIA Expo in Denver this week, JVC was on-hand to announce and demonstrate new 1080p D-ILA front projectors. The new models exploit advances in D-ILA chip design which enable an impressive 30,000:1 native contrast ratio.

JVC began the demo with a prototype 4K D-ILA projector developed for flight simulation purposes. The projector's native resolution is a remarkable 4096x2400 pixels - that's nearly 5 times the resolution of a full HD 1080p display. And its native contrast ratio is said to be 40,000:1. A flight simulation clip was followed by a short demo film called "Trident" which was filmed on 4K cameras.

The detail and image resolution were impressive. I'm sure David Carradine's face has never looked so wonderfully weathered on the silver screen before, every line and wrinkle preserved in exquisite detail. Do you need this much detail in your home theater? Probably not, unless your screening room seats about 500, but it's interesting to see what can be done through the proper application of advanced technology.


As for real world products, JVC announced and showed off two new front projectors in their 1080p D-ILA line, the DLA-HD100 (consumer model) and DLA-RS2 (pro model). Each will be priced "below $8,000" and both are expected to be available in November of this year. These do not replace earlier models, but supplement them with slightly better specs, including a native contrast ratio of 30,000:1.

Unlike LCD models that claim high contrast numbers, these JVCs do not include a dynamic iris - these are native contrast specs, and it shows when you view them in the typical subdued lighting of a home theater. Deep rich blacks are reproduced cleanly, without sacrificing image clarity, luminance or shadow detail.


Also, the new projectors support a "V-stretch" mode which uses all 1920x1080 pixels for Cinemascope images. Combine the projectors with a 2.35:1 screen and an optional third party anamorphic lens and you can use all 1920x1080 pixels in the panel to reproduce ultra-wide cinemascopic images without any black bars.

Both of the new projectors include latest 1920x1080 D-ILA panels, dual HDMI 1.3-compatible inputs (with DeepColor) motorized zoom lens and support for 1080p/60 and 1080p/24 frame rates. Also, as a 3-chip design, the JVC projectors offer flexible placement via wide optical lens shift options: +/-80% vertical and +/-34% horizontal lens shift capabilities.