THE JVC DLA-RS60 3D PROJECTOR REVIEW
JoeRod
So here we are again. Seems like yesterday (actually last year) I was comparing the Sony VPL-VW85 and the JVC HD990 (RS35). With history repeating itself we now have the newer Sony VPL-VW90ES and the above JVC DLA-RS60. There's a cool new twist this year though. 3D! So which projector will be my champion this time around? You will need to read a little further to find out...
So what do you get when you combine a native Contrast Ratio of 100,000:1, color setting temperatures of a Xenon lamp, a new screen adjustment mode, Darkness and Lightness correction and industry leading 3D? Meet the new JVC DLA-RS60. It is the "Flagship" model which like the RS35 from last year has a higher native Contrast Ratio and hand-selected components. I should also point out it is in a brand new chassis that I really like. With input and menu selections on the back this high gloss black design is large but very impressive. Looks classy! So does the image it projects look as good?
Let's start with one of my favorite subjects. The NFL. When I had the RS40 here not very long ago I had a tougher time getting the image to "pop" like it does on my Sony. I was able to get the RS40 pretty close but still the Sony was a step above. The RS60 I am happy to report can get right in there with the Sony. I am including a few pics from the Superbowl but trust me when I say it rivals the Sony. Without there being an "official" Vivid mode for sports I ended up improvising and making User 1 it. After plenty of tweaking I ended up liking Color Profile Vivid (of course), with Gamma C, Color Temp 7500 and CMD (Clear Motion Drive) to 4. I also had Sharpness and Detail up a little which brought out better details in the artificial grass. To much though and you will get that Predator look around the players with CMD on. For general DirecTV viewing I prefer using the Natural pic settings with the Color Profile on Video. Gamma could be C or B depending on what we are watching. Overall the RS60 puts out an impressive image that is very sharp. I think the extra native Contrast just makes it appear even sharper at times! If you are watching cartoons or a Disney movie on DirecTV then the Animation pic mode is ideal. The good news about the RS60 is you will never run out of settings that will allow you to combine and tweak the image to your liking. I haven't found myself yet saying if only I could do this. Now that is saying something!!!
Next stop was Blu ray. I have been going back and forth between projectors now for about a week. I have been impressed with Dinner For Schmucks and how nice fleshtones appear. Being used to the clean look on the Sony I was not sure just how good I could tweak the RS60. Thankfully there are so many tweaks in the set up menu (more on that later) I was able to get a detailed image with an amazing amount of depth. I was also blown away by the DLP like Sharpness. The Social Network which looked good on the RS40 simply looked great on the RS60. Seeing makeup on the faces has become much more easier these days. As usual per JVC projectors Black Levels are second to none. Especially with the RS60. Shadow Detail was excellent. I couldn't find anything wrong with the image. Still can't! I am favoring Cinema with Color Profile Cinema 2 and Color Temp Xenon 2. That reminds me of my Sony VW200 days with its Xenon Lamp. Colors were always rich and the best for under $20,000. The RS60 has excellent colors and I am hardly missing my VW200! Gamma is more of a "your taste" selection. I am a fan of C for nearly everything but admit for serious movie watching Normal or A should be used. I should also note that with Blu ray and DirecTV I use the Lamp on High. So whatever I viewed with Blu ray 1080p/24 looked brilliant. Grown Ups has a very nice bright and clear image. As did the very detailed preview of Salt. I included a pic that shows an incredible amount of detail. My eyes had a good time with every Blu ray title I tried. The RS60 never failed to leave me in amazement at least a few times per movie maybe more... And with as many tweaks as there are anyone can easily dial in the image of their choice...
Before I discuss the newest feature in projector world called 3D I will first spend a little bit on the Set Up and Menu area. Setting up the RS60 was pretty straight forward. I was able to have it up and going quickly. Again I was able to use my Chief RPA-U mount which I have for every projector I have had here in the past 5 years or so. Those that are used to JVC GUIs will feel right at home. If you are new to JVC it is very simple to learn. I have always liked how the layout is. I especially like having direct Input selections and the nice Info section which tells you what is coming in. It even tells you which upconverted color bit you are sending in either from your Blu ray player or Video Processor. The JVCs accept Deep Color or ---
upconverted color either 10 bit or 12 bit while the Sony VW90 (as well as last year's 85) does not. Still colors on the Sony are very good and I have no complaints there. I will say sending in 12 bit has yeilded better color gradations on my test patterns. Speaking of which I should mention there has been reports of some who had slight noise on gray ramps. I do not see any type of noise during "real time" viewing. The image is squeeky clean. As far as the CMS portion of the newer RS50 and RS60 it is not in working condition so I will not comment until there is another firmware fix for it. Still with all the tweaks this projector has it is a nonfactor for me. With all the color profiles I am more than satisfied!
Chief RPA-U comes through again!!!
Speaking of firmware updates there was one already which was mainly for HDMI handshaking issues. It is still hard to believe we are in 2011 and these issues can still occur. For those that aren't familiar with HDMI and what goes on during the handshake process here is an excerpt from an earlier Review I did:
*Side Note: For those that do not know EDID is Extended Display Identification Data. EDID contains basic information about a monitor or display and its capabilities, including vendor info, maximum image size, color characteristics, factory timings, frequency range limits and character strings. I was fortunate to spend time this past Summer with Jeff Boccaaccio President and HDMI guru of DPL (Digital Performance Level) Labs and learned plenty from him about HDMI. Each time a new component is connected via HDMI keys are sent back and forth which will either allow or not allow the handshake (or features) between the components. And sadly the EDID in the VW85 tells different components it only wants 24 bit. It reminds me of my dating days when you would find out what is acceptable and what is not from your display/girl on the first date...
I will point out that my RS60 has not had any issues syncing with other devices. It has been quick to project the image. I always start it up first then turn on my other equipment.
Other stuff... I would be remiss if I did not point out that when you change Color Profiles you do hear a distinct sound as the RS60 changes gears. It sounds like a soda fountain machine after you select your flavor and push your cup against the lever. It is pretty loud but I have not had any incidents after switching "gears" many, many times. On a positive side (at least for me) the heat vents out the front. I love being able to use the Mask feature under its Custom settings. Having the ability to Mask the sides, top and bottom independently is great. Also JVC's Screen Adjust allows you to set the White Balance based on your screen. Mine being a Vutec has a setting of 88. This is a really cool feature that allows us to customize the image for the most optimal viewing for all screens... Check yours by going here!
The Remote is very easy to use. I am just glad to have direct input selecting. Other companies like Sony make you go around the horn. Not JVC. You get JVC's Lens Aperature (allows adjusting from dark to bright), CMD (Clear Motion Drive), and Lens Control. Also the various pic modes (like 3D and THX) and some other common adjustments (Gamma, Color Temp< Color Space and Pic Adj)...The last I will say about the remote is it is very light in your hand and yes it lights up!
Before I get to my favorite subject (3D) please allow me a moment to put in my Ad space. By using the below Google search engine and or using the Amazon links you can help me keep my site going forward with more Reviews... And again helps pay for the 3D glasses which Rocco likes to wear...
Back to business... 3D!!! So after having the Sony VPL-VW90ES and considering myself pretty happy with 3D I am now eating a BIG piece of humble pie. Not that my Sony was terrible with 3D, it really wasn't. I did have some episodes of crosstalk (image ghosting) but for the most part was very happy. Until now! The RS60 beats it hands down with 3D. There, I said it. With the Sony I would get a clear image up front that was eye pleasing. With the RS60 I get an image that is clear up front and in the background. The amount of Image Depth Clarity or IDC (a JoeRod term lol) is astounding. I did plenty of A/B comparisons and trust me when I say the RS60 won every single time. It is definitely sharper. For instance in Avatar the opening scene when Jake comes out of his pod you can see details in the entire scene. Even far behind him. When he speaks into the microphone you can see stubble on his face. The jungle scenes make you feel like you are in a Rainforest Cafe! The amount of visable detail is exceptional. Same for Piranha 3D. When it shows their underwater point of view it really draws you in. Gives you that "you are there" feeling. Before I had the RS60 here my Mitsubishi WD65738 was the best in my home at 3D. Not now. I also played some Shrek and Dispicable Me in 3D. I had my family watch The Hole 3D which was made in 3D and is a cool, scary movie. Good times!!! Anyway afterwards even my Fiance' Jaclyn said she loves it. With the Sony she could watch awhile but sometimes would get a headache. Not with the RS60 and the JVC 3D glasses. We watched Piranha and other movies nonstop and she was enjoying it. Now maybe we can start watching my other 3D titles? Speaking of glasses though I have to mention I did not have luck with the Xpand X103s like I do with the Sony and Mits. They are just a bad combination with my Vutec Silverstar high gain screen. The JVC puts out Horizontal Polarization while the Xpands are Vertical. With my screen this just does not work well. You have to tilt your head completely sideways to work. Maybe the new (not yet released) Xpand X104s will work? Xpand and I discussed it and they said the X104s would most likely do the trick. I like the JVCs better anyway since they turn on automatically. Makes life easier with guests. Lastly I wanted to also point out that the infamous titles Resident Evil Afterlife and Grand Canyon both played fine. The subtitles in RE were perfectly readable with no ghosting! Oh and I almost forgot to mention the famous underwater Potato Cod fish. Wow!!! Referene 3D at its best...
My 3D settings are Pic Mode: 3D, Color Profile: Vivid, Color Temp: Custom 2 (pre set) and Gamma B (3D) for movies and Gamma A (3D) for animation like Despicable Me, Shreks and How To Train Your Dragon...
ALL PICS BELOW TAKEN IN 3D!!!
For more Reviews click joerodhometheater.com
EQUIPMENT USED FOR ALL OR PART OF THIS REVIEW:
JVC DLA-RS60 3D Projector, Sony VPL-VW90ES 3D Projector, DirecTV HR24 500, DVDO DUO Video Processor, Monster Power HTS 5100, Oppo BDP-93 3D Blu ray play, Onkyo TX NR3008 Receiver/pre-pro, Emotiva UPA-1 AMP, Sherwood Newcastle A-965 7 Channel AMP, Antec Component Coolers, Vutec SilverStar 120.5" screen with a Carada Masquerade Masking System... Pinnacle Speakers- Center BD600, Heights BD500 OWs, Left and Right and Surrounds Super K555s and the KLCR for surround back. Subwoofers- Pinnacle Dig 600, plus four MTX Lolita Low Profiles. 7.6 Sound! Remotes: Harmony 1100 and a Sony Navitus. Monster M1000 Ultimate HDMI cables top to bottom...
Special thanks again to my good friend Robert of Value Electronics. He has been there for me through all of my crazy Electronic addictions as well as there for me in my personal life. Give him and Wendy a call TODAY and tell them I sent you. 1-800-789-5050...
Review by: JoeRod, The End User Clinician
JVC says,
"The DLA-RS60 is the flagship in JVC's line of D-ILA home theater projectors. Built on a new chassis from hand selected perfectly matched components, the DLA-RS60 achieves breathtaking 2D and 3D performance with an industry leading native contrast ratio of more than 100,000:1. There is no finer home theater projector anywhere, at any price."
So if you are looking for the best 3D has to offer (hands down) as well as great 2D then look no further than the JVC DLA-RS60. I became a believer after having it for over 2 weeks now. I knew it was special the first time I fired it up and put it in 3D mode. Don't get me wrong, I loved the Sony VPL- VW90ES but since I want the best of both worlds the JVC DLA- RS60 gets my vote. With "Stress Free 3D" for the whole family you just can't go wrong. Not to mention the unrivaled IDC (Image Depth Clarity) which makes the RS60 "THE" 3D reference projector of choice today...
Click here for more on the RS60 from JVC...
I am planning a full ISF Calibration soon so I will post all the results as soon as it is done.
@joerodhometheat
