JVC frequently uses CEDIA to launch its latest video projectors. The company introduced its two first D-ILA projector models at CEDIA 1998, and at CEDIA 2009 the company debuted its first native 4K projector, the DLA-RS4000, which retailed for $175,000.
This year JVC is launching the DLA-RS4500, a flagship projector that incorporates a native 4K (4096×2160) D-ILA device powered by a proprietary BLU-Escent laser phosphor light source. This second generation BLU-Escent high power laser delivers a rated 3,000 lumens and 20,000 hours of operational life.
Fred Zecha (left) and Ian Scott of JVC show off the company’s new 4K projector, the DLA-RS4500. The new laser light source also offers dynamic light source control to deliver the highest native contrast available, achieving an “infinite contrast ratio,” a black too low to measure. And to further ensure the highest image quality, the projector features a new high-resolution, 100mm diameter lens with a new 18-element, 16-group all-glass design. (This compares to 65mm diameter designs featured in other JVC projectors.)
The new 4K D-ILA devices are JVC’s latest and smallest, and the .69-inch device has a pixel gap of just 3.8 micrometers, 31 percent narrower than earlier devices. This produces an incredibly detailed image with no visible pixel structure even on the largest screens. JVC is demonstrating the DLA-RS4500 on a 16-foot wide Stewart StudioTek 130 screen at CEDIA.
To display next generation video sources in their fullest quality, the BLU-Escent laser light source and new Cinema Filter allow the projector to achieve a wide color gamut. The DLS-RS4500 can achieve 100 percent of the DCI P3 color space and over 80 percent of the BT.2020 range. The projector will also automatically select the correct picture mode preset when it detects an HDR signal, and features Hybrid Log-Gamma, a new HDR standard for broadcasts and streaming services.
JVC stressed that the company’s focus is reference quality image, and that the DLA-RS4500 is the “best, brightest, sharpest, and most forward thinking projector the company has ever made.” The projector is currently undergoing THX certification and will become the world’s first THX Certified 4K projector.
The projector is expected to be available in December at a suggested retail of $34,995.
