JVC RS4500 (native 4K laser projector)

[ARROW-AV]

I believe he said, May issue.

Blimey, MAY edition Sound & Vision?! I was hoping that Kris’ review would be the first reliable information confirming real world performance figures… However, even though the MAY edition probably comes out in APRIL that’s one hell of a long wait! 

I will have opportunity to take accurate measurements way before that within the next few weeks or at the latest upon my return from ISE 2017 

It will still be good to read Kris’ review when it does finally appear, but that’s too late for our needs unfortunately... 

[DavidHir]

I know it's beyond Kris' control, but that is something I never liked about Sound and Vision - their projector reviews come late.  Goes without saying, but it would really help a potential customer to get that review the sooner the better.

[Kris Deering]

I've started in on the review. Got the projector setup yesterday for initial measurements and check out. Today I will be doing more thorough measurements for light output and contrast post calibration. Just some early observations:

Does not have the same scaling artifacts as the Sony 4K line with 1080p resolution patterns, they actually look like they should

The new lens is exceptional and has eliminated one of the common complaints I've seen with JVCs

The 4500 does not suffer from the clipping issues near black. With brightness at zero black is clipped appropriately at digital 16 and digital 17 is clearly resolved. This is out of the box, before calibration.

I may share a bit more throughout the process but don't look for too much. I'm not sure when the online review will be posted but I know they are pushing for the May issue of the magazine as that will be projector focused (though I'm not sure what other projectors will be featured in that issue). After I finish my measurements today I will probably chime in to confirm or dispel some of the rumors we've seen in regards to light output and contrast. I can say that the dynamic laser modulation has a PROFOUND influence on perceived contrast and so far has almost zero noticeable artifacts in use.

[AVSMike]

No streaking and no bright corners, nice. Usable dynamic dimming. This is shaping up to be a very nice projector.

[Dylan Seeger]

Thank you Kris! Finally someone with a real production unit with a production firmware on the unit. I'm really glad to see that they've ironed out the kinks with the dynamic laser dimming solution. Supposedly beta versions were quite noticeable when it was in operation. If it's at least as good as the mechanical DI in the eshift units I think JVC has a winner. I noticed that there are two dimming modes like the eshift units. Is it possible to know if both modes force a full fade to black? If so, does one take longer than the other to reach black? Not a huge fan of FFTB as typically speaking, when they come back out of black it tends to look like an artificial gimmick that shouts to me that the image is being manipulated. Maybe JVC's implementation fares better? I haven't seen the 5000ES's implementation, but from what I've read it doesn't work as well as Sony's mechanical DI's and many prefer to keep this feature turned off. So that makes this feature all the more enticing on the JVC.

Awesome to hear the lens is superb. I know you have a frame of reference given you've had an 1100ES there (same lens in the 5000ES) so I'm curious to hear how well you think it compares. Is pixel delineation just as good across the whole image? Also great to hear there aren't the same image artifacts as there on the Sony with regards to scaling. It seems Sony's convergence correction software is what makes most of the artifacts appear on screen. There's a way to disable it in the service menu but you lose convergence correction along the way.

My only pertinent question would be; do you see any of the posterization and banding in the image as all the Sony 4K models exhibit? The former you may need to walk up to your screen to see but the latter should be visible from a seated distance with the right type of content.

As always I can't wait to hear more of your impressions. Thank you for your hard work!

[ARROW-AV]

I've started in on the review. Got the projector setup yesterday for initial measurements and check out. Today I will be doing more thorough measurements for light output and contrast post calibration. Just some early observations: Does not have the same scaling artifacts as the Sony 4K line with 1080p resolution patterns, they actually look like they should... The new lens is exceptional and has eliminated one of the common complaints I've seen with JVCs... The 4500 does not suffer from the clipping issues near black. With brightness at zero black is clipped appropriately at digital 16 and digital 17 is clearly resolved. This is out of the box, before calibration...

Very interesting! Thanks for this Kris. Brilliant!

After I finish my measurements today I will probably chime in to confirm or dispel some of the rumors we've seen in regards to light output and contrast. I can say that the dynamic laser modulation has a PROFOUND influence on perceived contrast and so far has almost zero noticeable artifacts in use.

Yes please!

[Dylan Seeger]

I know ANSI contrast is a bit trickier to measure, but do you plan on including a quick dirty measurement? I'm most curious if ANSI is higher than the eshift units. Given the lens on this projector and the lack of the eshift glass, I'm hoping it's raised a bit.

[AVSMike]

I know ANSI contrast is a bit trickier to measure, but do you plan on including a quick dirty measurement? I'm most curious if ANSI is higher than the eshift units. Given the lens on this projector and the lack of the eshift glass, I'm hoping it's raised a bit.

I expect ANSI to be higher.

[Dylan Seeger]

I expect ANSI to be higher.

Me too. I'm hoping to see 400:1 or more.

[AVSMike]

Me too. I'm hoping to see 400:1 or more.

I think the 4500 is going to look more like a DLP, but with great contrast.

[AVSCraig]

I think the 4500 is going to look more like a DLP, but with great contrast.

Then this could be the new successor to the Sim Lumis, for DLP guys. With 4K and laser thrown in ! Yowza !

[Javs]

Kris, you're killing me man.

Stop enjoying your 4500 and spread the stats brotha!

[Kris Deering]

No banding issues so far, but if there is content specific you'd like me to look at I'm all ears.

[scott]

Kris, a less technical detail, I'm interested in how loud it is relatively speaking.  My PJ is soffit mounted not far from my head and I'm worried this one will be too loud.  Maybe that's something you can share before the review.

[Dylan Seeger]

No banding issues so far, but if there is content specific you'd like me to look at I'm all ears.

Do you have Lucy on blu-ray? There's a scene at the beginning of the film where the Sony 4K's are exhibiting quite a bit of banding and posterization:

JVC (eshift) vs Sony
http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/184542

Here's a close up where I've highlighted the issues:

(Click to see the full resolution image)

JVC RS4500 (native 4K laser projector)

Posterization shown in the top large red box, and banding shown in the bottom two red boxes

This type of banding and posterization happens quite frequently on the Sony 4K's from what I've seen. That shot above shows the issue quite well IMO.