JVC has announced a major revamp of its home theater projector line, including three new laser models and the first home theater projectors to support pixel-for-pixel display of 8K video.

The new Procision Series DLA-NZ9, DLA-NZ8, and DLA-NZ7 (also known as Reference Series DLA-RS4100, DLA-RS3100, and DLA-RS2100 in the custom install market) are the first projectors with full 48Gbps HDMI 2.1/HDCP 2.3 inputs. All three projectors will be able to accept up to 8K/60 Hz signals and will support 4K/120 Hz signals from the latest gaming consoles. All feature a three-chip design with 0.69-inch native 4K (4096×2160) D-ILA LCoS imaging devices and offer JVC’s e-shift pixel-shifting technology. The new flagship DLA-NZ9 and middle tier DLA-NZ8 will have a newly improved e-shift drive that runs at a speed equivalent to 240Hz to accomplish a four-phase pixel shift in four diagonal directions (up, down, left, and right). The result is that all 33 million-plus pixels in a frame of 8K video appear on screen in the appropriate time frame without the need to discard information. The step-down DLA-NZ7 will use JVC’s preexisting 2-way e-shift tech to enhance content.

The projectors all use the new third generation of JVC’s BLU-Escent laser phosphor light engine technology, with a light source life of up to 20,000 hours. Previously the tech was only available on the flagship model DLA-RS4500. The light engine uses blue laser diodes with a yellow phosphor to provide a brightness of up to 3,000 lumens from the DLA-NZ9, 2,500 lumens for the DLA-NZ8, and 2,200 lumens for the DLA-NZ7. Rated native contrast is 100,000:1 for the DLA-NZ9, 80,000:1 for the DLA-NZ8, and 40,000:1 for the DLA-NZ7.

Ultra-high contrast optics in the DLA-NZ9 and DLA-NZ8 help improve brightness thanks to an efficient green component polarization method and a new optical device that keeps unwanted light scatter from reaching the projection screen. A cinema filter gives the two projectors a 100% coverage of the DCI-P3 color space.
The flagship DLA-NZ9 has a 100 mm, 18 element, 16 group all-glass lens with an aluminum barrel. It has a wide shift range of ±100 degrees vertical and ±43 degrees horizontal. The DLA-NZ8 and DLA-NZ7 lens is also all glass, but 65 mm with a vertical shift of ±80 degrees and ±34 degrees horizontal. The lenses on all have motorized focus and 2x optical zoom.
The new JVC laser D-ILA models are also among the first home theater projectors to comply with the HDR10+ specifications. So they will be capable of using dynamic metadata in compatible HDR content. They also carry over JVC’s well-regarded Frame Adapt HDR that adds dynamic scene-by-scene or frame-by-frame tone mapping to HDR10 content, and the Theater Optimizer tech introduced last year that fine tunes the projector’s HDR performance by taking into account installation characteristics, projector settings and light source life. 3D is supported on all projectors.
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Connections on the new Procision/Reference Series projectors include two HDMI 2.1 with a throughput of 48Gbps and HDCP 2.3 (although no CEC support), trigger out, 3D synchro out, RS-232C, Ethernet, and a USB for service.

Among laser home theater projectors, the new models are all very competitively priced with the DLA-NZ9/DLA-RS4100 MSRP set at $24,999, the DLA-NZ8/DLA-RS3100 at $14,999, and the DLA-NZ7/DLA-RS2100 at $9,999. They will be available for purchase in October. The lamp-based DLA-NX5, a ProjectorCentral Editor’s Choice, is still available to fill the $5,999 price point.
This Article was first published by Projector Central.