Projector and Screen

I have never been overly fond of projectors that require alignment of multiple panels due to pixel registration issues and the resulting fringing and softening of the image. I therefore tend to gravitate to single chip DLP projectors and currently use a THX professionally aligned (ISFTV, Kevin Miller) BenQ W10000 that meets REC709. While the ultimate black to peak white contrast ratio of most home DLP projectors cannot match that of many three panel devices, they do generally have a good ANSI contrast ratio which provides me with an excellent image. In low level scenes, the picture doesn’t provide the inky blacks of many three panel projectors, however, I still prefer the overall performance and sharpness of the DLP despite it occasionally showing the rainbow effect.

My Old BenQ W10000 Projector

I was not rushing into purchasing any native 4K projector due to their limitations in meeting the various 4K HDR, WCG, possible Dolby Vision support and their pricing. However, as of now I am most likely to purchase a JVC DILA as it is the only cost effective projector that has the potential to meet many of the 4K requirements; more about this topic later.

So after reading many native 4K and psuedo 4K projector reviews, together with examining the various available technologies, and the technical requirements to support the new 4K UHD standard. I opted to replace my faithful BenQ with a JVC DLA-RS640 three panel LCoS projector. This was despite my natural aversion to three panel projectors and the ‘rumor’ that the JVC image might look a ‘tad’ soft when compared to my single chip DLP. How wrong was that to be, as I found out. See my review here.

My New LCoS JVC DLA-RS640 Projector

My screen is a tab tensioned, Da-Mat, gain 1.0, by Da-Lite, with dual masking for 2.35:1 and 16:9 – 106”Wx45”H (115” diagonal for 2.35:1).

Front Of Room With Screen Down – Aspect Ratio 2.35:1

In order to fill the widescreen I use constant height and a Panamorph UH380 on an ATH2 motorized sled. This lens may ultimately have to be upgraded once a  native 4K projector is installed as even though it is set for its optimum distance to gain its maximum resolution and performance, I think that it may de-grade a 4K native image due to pixel size.

UPDATE: As the pixel size doesn’t change with JVC e-shift I could see no significant negative effects with the lens in or out of the light path. 4K e-shift providing considerably more detail.

Panamorph UH380 and ATH2 Motorized Sled