Review of the JVC RS4100

[Barry]

A First Glance review of the JVC RS4100 (aka DLA-NZ9)

I replaced my JVC RS3000 with the RS4100 today.  The new unit has been up and running now for five straight hours. But only five hours.  Me, a little longer than that!

I was incorrectly told that the 4100 needed a brace fit onto the pipe from the ceiling.  It didn’t need that.  So the installation actually went quick than I thought.

We then upgraded the firmware with the November 2.00 update and that took a surprising hour. Everything is fine, but that turns out to be the only problem I have had. That is the on line instruction booklet and the short quick start guide that was included in the packaging do not reflect the present state of menu items. Or where to find them. Sadly, a few You Tube videos on the settings also do not reflect the current menus.  An example is that many suggest changing the “Gamma” setting from 2.2 to 2.4.  It ain’t there.  Or anywhere that I could find.

While there are many picture -modes, including one for the Panasonic 9000, a new one was added, “Filmmakers” which sets things to where many filmmakers would like them.  That is where mine is set right now. To be honest, we guessed a few settings, setting it up similar to my 3000. Kris Deering configured the 3000.

The projector is connected to my McIntosh 3000, which has Cable, Apple TV and Panasonic 9000 4K player attached. The sharpness, color and brightness on the 3000 was very good, this is better.  The accuracy of the color was the first thing I noticed. It is certainly brighter and more vibrant than the 3000 and the sharpness is improved too. To be honest and accurate, it is better than the 3000 but the difference is very noticeable but not a big night and day.  It is more like night and early evening.

I experimented by putting the projector on it’s highest of three brightness modes.  It was TOO bright and colors, especially flesh, didn’t seem right. However in the mid brightness mode the picture was really picture perfect. And the machine was so quiet.

I watched all three sources in the Filmmakers mode. While images on cable are always different between channels, the movies look great, as did the live news and talk shows.  Black and White Gunsmoke was also fine. Apple TV also was terrific looking.  Sadly my Panasonic player was out of sync so I didn’t watch too  much, but Harry Potter and Batman vs Superman looked great. I will have to spend so time fixing that.

I am no longer the tech person who will give a long a detail review. Now, I just a customer who would rather enjoy just watching. I wish there was a local person to configure this. I did email K.D. yesterday, but he is a busy man and I may not hear back from him.  Please ask questions or give suggestions.  But so far, I am extremely happy with the unit.

[SRW1000]

You mentioned it was quiet, but can you compare it to the RS3000?  Is it noticeably quieter, or just slightly quieter?

[Barry]

Very much quieter! Surprisingly so. Apparently lasers run  cooler so the fans make less noise.

[David Vaughn]

Congratulations with the projector Barry. I'd start here:  https://www.avsforum.com/threads/jvc-dla-nz8-rs3100-mini-review-first-impressions-detailed-brightness-and-contrast-measurements-comparison-with-rs2000-nx7-and-calibration-tips.3235990/

Read anything that Manni01 posts about the projector and setup. He's very knowledgeable. 

[DLCPhoto]

I thought I'd chime in here as well. Appreciate the report, Barry, and glad you're liking your new projector.

I finally got my NZ9 about 2 weeks ago, upgrading from an NX7. Unfortunately for the sake of being able to do A/B comparisons, I ended up selling the NX7 about a month before the NZ9 arrived. So my observations have to be taken with a grain of salt.

That said, I'm finding the NZ9 a significant step above the NX7 overall. Like Barry, I don't see this as a night and day difference, but to me it is quite evident. I'm using mine with the DCR and madVR Envy, so I get the benefit of those as well (they were also used with the NX7).

Colors subjectively look quite accurate, in terms of skin tones and such, and seem to have a degree of richness, depth and vibrance that is a step above what I recall from the NX7. The in-scene contrast improvement seems to account for much of the difference I'm seeing, with the range from the darkest to brightest elements in any given scene providing a great deal of pop. Even my wife commented on this, and she isn't into this stuff at all.

Detail is quite good, again seemingly more than I recall from the NX7 - perhaps a more 'natural', less processed image? Between that and the in-scene contrast, so many scenes in well-shot UHD Discs really take on a 3d-like appearance.

I also tried out some 3D Titles (Avatar and Despicable Me - had some grandkids over this past weekend), with Laser on High, Aperture wide open, and they looked really really good.

I've watched a number of movies and scenes I'm familiar with - Lucy, Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Dr. Strange and the Multiverse - and while they always looked good, I really don't recall them looking *this* good! The 'pop' in the brighter elements provides an almost 'glowing' type of effect with good HDR content, that is really fun to experience.

So I'm one happy camper!

[Barry]

What settings did you change for 3D?

[DLCPhoto]

At this point the only change I made was going to High Lamp and Aperture wide open, for maximum light output. I think I still have Gamma at 2.4. I moved the 2 3D Sliders all the way to the right, which is how I felt it looked best with my prior NX7. But I haven't spent much time yet tweaking settings, for example Picture Tone or other of the Gamma adjustments, or anything else yet.

I'm currently targeting around 67 Nits for SDR (Medium Laser, Aperture at -11) and 110 Nits for HDR (Medium Laser, Aperture at -4). Everything looks so good I haven't felt any urgency as far as tweaking these further, but will do so in time, to see how HDR looks at higher Nit levels, for example.

For SDR, I'm using what I learned here years ago as emulating 'BT1886' which apparently is often used for HD disc mastering: Gamma of 2.3, with Dark Level up 2 clicks. With well-made HD Discs (I watched "The 355" which has excellent picture quality), from the improved in-scene contrast, and a bit higher light output than I used with the NX7, it looked almost 'HDR-like' in places, and was quite enjoyable.

[bmoney]

Congrats on the new PJ! Sounds awesome 

[AVSCraig]

Congratulations guys on the new RS4100's. My RS4100 just arrived today! My RS4500 was picked up buy its new owner around 11am, and the RS4100 was delivered by UPS around 12:30pm, fresh from Kris Deering's house after being calibrated. It's installed, new files are loaded in the Lumagen that Kris sent, and what little I've had a chance to watch looks great! 

[David Vaughn]

Congratulations guys on the new RS4100's. My RS4100 just arrived today! My RS4500 was picked up buy its new owner around 11am, and the RS4100 was delivered by UPS around 12:30pm, fresh from Kris Deering's house after being calibrated. It's installed, new files are loaded in the Lumagen that Kris sent, and what little I've had a chance to watch looks great!

Craig,

Did you get another Lumagen? I thought you already had one?

[AVSCraig]

Craig,

Did you get another Lumagen? I thought you already had one?

No - Kris uses his test Lumagen to create files for the projector as calibrated and emails them to you. Easy to download into the existing Lumagen I have. It's like having him here - but he never has to leave home. 

[bmoney]

Craig,

Did you get another Lumagen? I thought you already had one?

I think he meant….new files, that kris sent, were loaded in the lumagen 

[randman]

Compared to the RS3000, any difference in HDMI resync times when there is a resolution or frame rates change?

[Barry]

Can you explain what the lumagen is, how it works and how you got Kris to do it? He did my 3000, but I haven’t gotten him to answer my email about the 4100

[AVSCraig]

I think he meant….new files, that kris sent, were loaded in the lumagen

That is correct!