Impressions of my new JVC DLA-RS1 Front Projector (1 Viewer)

Read all about it. My new 1080p JVC DLA-RS1 (LCoS) projector is up and running and I offer some initial thoughts regarding this remarkable unit here.

I hope this article is informative and I'll be happy to field questions regarding it in this thread.

Enjoy.

Robert
Thanks for taking the time to do the review ! I remember when you first received your Sony HT10. And your theater was just being built !

I received my JVC RS1 about a month ago and love it. It really does a great job of producing black with bright light on the screen at the same time. I have found that most of the complaints made by others are non issues for me.

This is my fourth FP starting with a lowly Sharp 37U then Sony 400Q and Sony HS-10 . The RS1 is well above all of those units and its image is stunning and life like. I sit 15 feet from a dalite 119" Hi Power screen and this is the best projected image I can recall seeing. So that really is all that matters to me . With the Toshiba XA2 even my old SD DVD's look great !

Cheers Johnathan

Glad to hear that you are loving your DLA-RS1! (I had no doubt that you would.) It truly offers an amazing picture - especially for the price. I find it hard to believe that in a 1080p world one is going to see a finer picture for a Home Theater application.

This latest HT chapter all began for me back in 2006 at the CEDIA show in Denver. We were sitting at the SONY press conference waiting for it to start and I thought I saw a Sony "Ruby" projector up on stage. I casually remarked to Parker Clack who was sitting next to me that the Ruby was something that I would consider once the price dropped down below $5000. Little did I know that it was the $4995 "Pearl" and from that point on I knew a 1080p FP would be in my home before CEDIA 2007. I was very impressed with the Sony VW50 ("Pearl") and even went to see a shootout with it and the JVC RS-1 prototype. (Actually JVC couldn't get their hands on the Pearl so they used a Ruby instead.) As impressive as the shootout was (in favor of the RS1 prototype) it still didn't answer all my questions. Being a prototype, JVC wouldn't commit to the final specs nor the final price of the finished product. They wouldn't even answer such basic question as, "Will it support 1080p/24?" because of the unfinished nature of the specs (understandable but a bit frustrating.)

At the show I had a verbal commitment from Sony to do a test run of the Pearl in my Home Theater (especially since they were familiar with my history with one of the first Sony VW10HTs when they were introduced.) In typical Sony Corporate waffling fashion, this plan never reached fruition so I decided to wait to see the finished JVC model before replacing my 720p Runco DLP.

And boy am I glad that I did. Yes, the RS1 costs a bit more than the Pearl but it really does outperform it (and the Pearl is a very nice unit itself.) Sony is about to introduce new models to replace both the Pearl and the Ruby (probably by CEDIA in September if not sooner) and I have to feel that some of this in direct response to the presence of the JVC DLA-RS1.

In other words - you made a fine choice. I, like you, am amazed at the blacks that this FP produces. Can you say, "CRT black?"

I can.

Robert,
I was in just about the same boat as you....I had pretty much settled on the Sony VPL50 (Pearl)...then I went to the 06 EHX show here in Long Beach California...and saw the RS-1 Demo. I was blown away, this unit had amazing black with no loss in brighter detail. The U-571 Demo that they were showing
was head to head with a sharp $12,000 DLP and it was great. That day my mind changed from the Sony to the JVC...so much so that I pre ordered it the day after the show. I have had my RS-1 for 2 months now and have loved everything that I have watched on it.

For your info, here are the RGB reads of the RS-1 after 10 hours of use with no calibration.


Hope this helps someone else with there choice.

Later
Rayjr

P.S...Thanks for choosing me for the Home Media Expo.

RAF:

How does SD and upconverted DVD look from this projector? I look forward to what we will see at CEDIA this year.

Parker

RayJr,

Thanks for sharing. It looks like we've had similar experiences. I look forward to seeing you at EMA.

Quite frankly, I haven't watched much SD source material on my RS1 since I've installed it because I'm so engrossed with HD content (HDTV, HD-DVD, Blu-ray, next-gen gaming, etc.) However, the little SD material I've looked at (Pan's Labyrinth, etc.) looks fine.

While it is true that the better a display, the more that it shows off a source's flaws, the fact that the resolution of the JVC is better than the 720p Runco and bigger than the 1080p 58" HP doesn't translate to objectionable viewing of SD sources - not even SD TV (although I still prefer to watch SD TV on a smaller screen - the HP - for TV esthetic reasons). And I should add that all my SD DVD watching comes from an HDMI 480i (native) source player (The Denon 2930ci) fed into the DVDO iScan VP50 which is known for its fine handling of 480i source material. In other words, the SD DVD material is about as good as it's going to get with today's technology. It's not HD, but it's better than straight out of the box SD.

Long time no see guys! (If some of you remember me from the first HT Hollywood tour :>)

It was finally time for an upgrade of my theater and my JVC G-11 is being replaced by the RS1! I was told it shipped yesterday.
Now if they just would hurry up and ship my Onkyo 805...

With all the hype of them over at AVS I had to buy one myself. I have to say it is my first FPJ setup so I was unsure about setup. It went very well and was very simple to say the least. I'm very content with it, Im using Sony BDP S1 and Tosh A1 into it and the WOW factor is surely there. If any of you guys have military base access I suggest you give the shopping center there a try. I was able to get mine right at 4599.00 new of course through special order which took about a month. Not sure if most people are getting those prices yet, Im still seeing them around mid 5-6k price range. Have fun guys.

Parker
Using the Tosh XA2 to up convert SD DVD content looks better than it ever has to me ! It was also a big improvement with the XA2 and my old Sony HS10.
It looks great on the RS1 but it is so easy to see the difference in a good HD DVD transfer you get spoiled very quickly ! Johnathan

PS I wanted to add the XA2/RS1 combo and the Matrix HD collection are really beautiful ! So many details that I had never seen before wow I am beside myself !

The Samsung BDP-1200 has the same Reon video processor as the XA2 for SD DVD upconversion for those BluRay fans out there...

...it's available for $606 at Amazon right now as well.

And the PS3 just got a firmware upgrade to Version 1.8 yesterday. It now does two significant things.

1. It upscales SD to 1080p
2. It outputs 1080p as 1080p/24

I still think that the DVDO VP50's handling of 480i upscaling via VRS (Video Reference Series) Precision Video Scaling is the best in the business but any of these other options for upscaling SD to 1080p is better, in my opinion, than feeding 480i directly into the RS1 (or most other displays for that matter).

I saw on AVS that there is a firmware update for the JVC projector, and it has some good fixes. I checked mine and it was current so some of guys who purchased earlier may want to take a look.

I'm considering replacing my E-home 8500 with a much smaller unit. I guess my choices are sony pearl which is available now, wait for new sony units or wait for availability of the RS1. I love the CRT black levels, and I hope these units deliver. Thanks for your review RAF! Does anyone know where I can get an RS1?

I posted this over on AVS, but will post it here also.

Hello all,
Not real sure if I am allowed to do this but, here it goes.
I requested the JVC Loader and firmware from MR.D over on AVS and told him that I would host it so that others could get it without swamping him with request.
Well here it is:
JVC HD-1/RS-1 061 Firmware upgrade
UPDATE AT YOUR OWN RISK

I will leave it up as long as I am not told by HTF or JVC to take down the link.

Hope this helps other HD-1/RS-1 Owners

Later
Proud RS-1 Owner
RayJr

Since this forum isn't owned by a dealer like the AVS forums are, I don't feel too bad saying where I got my RS1 (it should ship this week). I bought mine from Medial Video Systems (http://www.medicalvideosystems.com/). The same place I bought my JVC G-11 6 or 7 years ago.

Congrats RAF. Awesome projector....looks like you've got a winner.

Is the grin now permanent from watching HD DVD & Blu-ray on this?

Actually, all my projectors (Sony VW10HT, Runco CL-710 and now the RS1) brought a smile to my face at various levels of satisfaction. All produced a nice HD picture (even the Sony LCD was 720p seven years ago) and, of course, each one offered a step up from the previous model.

I will say that with the acquisition of my RS-1 I no longer have to try to rationalize my black levels with an "almost CRT-like" statement. The RS-1 produces contrast and black levels that are so good that I can't come up with any justification for putting up with all the baggage that comes with a CRT. I think most RS-1 owners would agree with this assessment. Only the true die-hard CRT user would probably argue this and at this point it becomes a matter of personal preference to me.

My two cents.

Thank you, RayJ. I saw your post over on AVS and I'm glad you reproduced it here for those interested. As far as I'm concerned, I have no problem with your posting the information here. I would imagine that if JVC were to protest for some legal reason, etc. then we would remove it. However, if it's o.k. with JVC it's o.k. with me.

Enjoy the show!

Patrick,

I agree with your assessment of the situation. Like you said, the Home Theater Forum isn't in the hardware business like that "other" forum, so I see no conflict of interest sharing such information as long as you aren't a dealer yourself. If you were, then we'd ask you to check it out with Ron Epstein or Parker Clack for clearance.

Incidentally, I, too, purchased my first FP (the Sony VW10HT) from Dennis Shepard at MVS 7 years ago (probably 8 years if you include the wait list time). At one point, when the VW10HT was delayed I almost went with the JVC you purchased as an alternative option. While I'm glad I waited I'm also glad that JVC has made 1080p DLA (LCoS) so affordable (and so quiet!) as to be hard to resist. I would have purchased my RS-1 from MVS myself since they are (were?) offering a great trade-in for your old projector ($1500 or something like that) off of list ~$6250 for the RS-1. If you do the math you will see that this makes the price of the RS-1 extremely attractive. But as it turns out a very close friend is a dealer for JVC and I did even better than MVS (Dennis understands).

In a related matter, does anyone know what the "group buy" price for the RS-1 was at that "other" forum? Just curious.

Enjoy your new projector when it arrives.