JVC Adds 4K Signal Inputs To New Line of Projectors

While 4K source material “hasn’t been widely available,” JVC expects that to “change over this coming year,” said Klasmeier. One source of 4K content that’s “often overlooked are the millions of still photos that are taken every day,” he said. Most cameras are now at least 8 megapixels and can produce 4K images, he said. “Anticipating that customers will want to view those on a big screen,” JVC added an Adobe color space profile to its new projectors that “will bring these pictures to life” on a 4K screen, he said. It also added the extended-gamut YCC color profile, x.v.Color, that’s supported by some Blu-ray titles, he said.

The 4K e-shift technology was first developed to upconvert and scale 2D HD content to a 4K signal, said JVC. But by adding 4K inputs, the new projectors can now process 4K signals also to deliver a smoother, detailed image, it said. Picture performance was “further optimized” by a new Multiple Pixel Control (MPC) processor with eight-band detection, it said in a news release. The MPC processor has four presets plus an Auto setting that automatically selects the best upconversion process by detecting the frequency of each pixel, it said. Picture quality was also enhanced via a new Clear Black feature that provides local area contrast enhancement and improved Clear Motion Drive (CMD), it said. CMD 3 uses a new LSI and new algorithm to “deliver a significant improvement in motion artifacts” on diagonal lines on 4K and 2K 2D content and 2K 3D content, it said.

The enhanced performance of the new models was also made possible by a new D-ILA imaging device and a user-selectable Intelligent Lens Aperture that can “dial in even deeper blacks,” JVC said. When engaged, the Intelligent Lens Aperture “produces deeper black levels while maintaining white levels superior to what’s delivered by competing projectors using a dynamic iris,” it said. The projectors use three sixth-generation D-ILA devices that it said have a pixel gap that’s “40 percent narrower” than the prior chip for a smoother picture, a 10 percent improvement in light efficiency for a light output of 1,300 lumens, and improved native contrast that’s also enhanced by a new third-generation wire grid optical engine. Although pixel count is “repeated over and over again” by companies at CEDIA Expo, “picture sharpness and clarity as perceived by the human eye has far more to do with contrast than pixel count,” said Klasmeier.

New to the projector line are the Procision Series DLA-X900R ($11,999), DLA-X700R ($7,999) and DLA-X500R ($4,999), marketed by JVC’s Consumer AV Group, and the Reference Series DLA-RS6710 ($12,499), DLA-RS67 ($11,999), DLA-RS57 ($7,999), DLA-RS4910 ($5,199) and DLA-RS49 ($4,999), available via JVC Professional Products. They will ship in November, said JVC.

A new smartphone app provides remote control of the projectors, including picture settings, said JVC. Active-shutter glasses for 3D viewing use RF instead of IR technology, which JVC said provides “more stable synchronization and extended range while avoiding possible interference” with IR-controlled devices.

Last year’s $3,499 DLA-X35 and DLA-RS46 projectors are remaining in the line for 2014, said Klasmeier. The 84-inch Reference Series $13,500 RS-84OUD LCD monitor for the custom installation market and $14,000 PS-84OUD LCD monitor for the public signage market, meanwhile, are also remaining in the company’s product line and have been “selling well,” he said.

CEDIA Expo Notebook

Monster again expanded its headphone line, saying it will ship the Freedom wireless model next month at $249.95. The headphones feature Bluetooth and Monster’s Pure Monster Sound technology, and will be “perfect for installers,” the company said in a news release. But it wasn’t clear from Monster’s Thursday news briefing why the model will be any more appealing to installers than its other headphones at similar pricing, and the company said it will sell the new product to regular CE retailers as well. However, Monster also will field a special bundle only for the custom channel that will include its recently shipped M7 tablet (CED Sept 19 p10) with a Monster Power module and PowerControl gateway for controlling power management at $199. The module will work in conjunction with a new Monster PowerMeter app that will come pre-installed on the M7 and also work with iOS and Android smartphones and tablets, said CEO Noel Lee. The tablet sells for $149 on its own and Monster will sell the module and gateway as a $149.95 package at retail, said Vern Smith, director-business development.