Sweet vid. The one question I have is when the head to head shootout was done did they use any of the picture enhancements that help with the contrast and sharpness or did they have those enhancements off? I know the LS12000 has the dynamic contrast enhancer? Sony has something similar and their reality creation. Those tend to help the projectors perform better? I thought about getting the NP5 but I don't want to pay for bulbs anymore.
@@hometheatergurus yeah I have seen some of them. I read the TSR shootout and yeah from what I remember they didn't use any of the enhancements. JVC won in all categories by a landslide. I saw the VE shootout and they didn't do a full on calibration they did some tweaking and used the picture settings as well as the enhancements. The reason why they did it that way is because most people don't get their projectors professionally calibrated. The JVC won overall but the Sony gave it a close run and Epson was 3rd. I know since those shootouts Epson did release a firmware update that helped with the contrast and sharpness.
@@percybedford6266I have a ls12000. Sharpness is fine. Native contrast isn't great. I wish I had of just gone with a jvc even if only a NP5 but won't upgrade to the next generation. I want a NZ7 with the native contrast of the 8 and I think the next generation will probably have that.
@@John-ok8ts I hear you it's just that JVC's prices are out of hand in my opinion. When I got my X35 you was able to get an entry level JVC in the $3500 range. Now the entry level is $6000 and it is lamp based. The next level up is $4000 more with the difference being a laser light source and 300 more lumens. That is a lot of money for incremental improvement. Another issue I had with JVC is the lumens were low to begin with and once the projector was calibrated they would drop significantly. They have great black levels and contrast but there are more things that go into a projector than black levels. One thing I would like to know is what is the actual lumen dropoff when these projectors are calibrated? I can never get an actual answer for that. What JVC should have done was made the NP5 a laser, named it the NZ6 and gave it manual lens and manual zoom and kept it in that $6000 range. With Sony and Epson producing laser models that are cheaper than JVC's entry level will force them to make some changes. In the meantime I'll do some more research on it and make a decision.
The Sony's entry laser doesn't have an iris so it's not really even comparable in performance to the np5.. Once you get to the Sony comparable to the nz7 (the 6000) you're spending a little more than the JVC comparable for less performance. See the TSR shootout. They were all calibrated and JVC was just as bright as the rest after cal but had a substantially better picture at every price point especially with HDR and darker scenes. I do agree these aren't cheap and is it worth it is something that differs from person to person. For some they'd be just fine with a budget Benq and that's prefectly fine.
At MWAVE 2023 I got to see all these projectors, including the entire JVC line, all calibrated and side by side. Hands down JVC has the best blacks, and it makes all the difference. I won’t buy anything except a JVC. As a TV guy, I want a PJ that is close to TV quality. The NZ9 looked like a QLED without Local Dimming, it was great for a PJ. The NZ8 was a little less bright and colorful, and I see why most people are getting it over the NZ9 because $10k more isn’t really worth it. The NZ7 had a larger drop in quality and was at my limit for acceptable brightness level. It was clearly darker and the colors weren’t as strong, but close enough to TV quality. The NP5 wasn’t good enough for me, too dim and not colorful enough, but it did look better than the LS12000. For me I’d go NZ8 if I could comfortably afford and justify it, but I plan to go NZ7 for my next house hopefully soon, unless I get a great deal on a NZ8 lol.
I presently have an older jvc projector. The dla 550. I have a 135” acoustically transparent screen and was thinking about going with the jvc np5. I only put 3hours a week on my projector so the laser series is of no real benefit to me. Plus the np5 is really all I can afford. Will the picture be dim on my 135 “ screen. I’ve heard great things about the np5.
@@davemccague222 Only buy what you can afford. I'm sure it will do 135" as it says up to 200", but your brightness is going to be lower than a NZ7 of course. The NP5 is a good projector, but I was comparing it to the bigger brothers and TV output. I want "realistic" brightness level, and the NP5 with their calibration just didn't meet it for me. Sure I could deal with it, but personally I wouldn't be happy. I think most people would be though, and you could even possibly sacrifice some black level for extra brightness. Looking at the specs of the two, the NP5 should dominate your 2019 produced DLA 550. Going up to 4K alone is a major move. You will need minimum 15ft of throw distance though according to Projector Central's calculator. I'd say go for it. The guy at MWAVE said they are $6000, but you can get Bstock for as low as $4800. I see a used one for $4900 on eBay. You can also talk to a dealer about Bstock or any sales coming up.
@@hometheatergurus You should try the Prismasonic lens, it's only $2600 including shipping, or at least that's what it was April of 22. The material the housing is made of looks a bit cheap but the lens works great.
Wish I had that much Room....nice theater ! Question do you know anyone that will calibrate a JVC projector on Maui? My next projector will be the NZ8 unless JVC releases a new line before next year when I will have the money!
Thanks for the great video. I went through the same thought process and made the same decision. The NZ7 would have been fine but I wanted the best I could reasonably afford and that was the NZ8.
I've had budget projectors and even DIY projectors back 20 years ago. I've loved them all. Just get what make sense for you and enjoy it. I'd take a budget projector on a large screen over a smaller OLED all day long, at least for a theater type setup where I want to be immersed and need a nice viewing angle.
I just bought the older NX5 and good lord the black levels are outstanding!I was missing so much before.I will be getting one of their laser models in the near future for sure.
I need to do an update but they're great but so are the cheaper options. You're paying for low extension so If the budget can swing them and you want the best, get em. If it's more than you wanna spend something like the BST-1 has all the force you need, just as tight and quick but of course you do lose the very low extension but you still get that extra fun factor.
What type of glass did you use to close off your opening for the projector? I have a NP5 and am currently running the lamp on low because the fan noise is a bit too loud when it's on high, so I'm thinking if I put a piece of glass and seal around it that it will make it so I can't hear the fan noise.
Hey Juice, I used this glass. Make sure you tilt it so the image reflected back isn't' reflected back into the lens. You need a slight angle so it's aimed under the lens. www.edmundoptics.com.sg/p/2032-x-254-x-3mm-high-efficiency-window/5443/
If it's ceiling mounted the image is already aimed downward so even with the glass flat it's almost clear of the lens. You can actually see the image reflected back. Yeah you do lose a little light due to this but it's nothing you'll notice by eye. You should need less than 5 degrees but adjust it manually with the projector on until the reflected image clears the lens and you can install it at that angle.
Thanks for all the video’s, this channel is a gold mine. Your Baffle Wall episode raised some questions though, for instance, does it need to be massive (multi-layerd). Can you also do a ‘soft’ baffle wall, like the bassstrap wall in your demo room? What would be the pro’s and cons? How to do a curved baffle-wall, I see Triad has one, what are the benefist? You talk about baffle step compensation when using regular bookshelfs instead of in-walls, but I didn’t understand what to do with it. Just throwing some ideas in your direction….. It would also be nice to see a MSO (Multi Sub Optimizer) video and an explaination on Group Delay and what to look for. Any other more in depth info on REW would be nice.
Thanks! I've had past videos that covered my wall and SBIR, baffle walls etc. A lot of it also depends on goals. My particular wall has been covered in a few videos. MSO is only something I'd recommend in a cut up room where room modes are not calculable. IN a symmetrical room proper seating and sub placement is vastly better as seen in ep 7 and in almost all of my designs where the subs need 0 delay and you get a tight seat to seat consistency. The subs are aligned due to placement of seats/subs. MSO is electronically beating subs to attempt a nice seat to seat but you end up with some subs working harder than others and other non ideal issues. MSO is a nice tool that should only be used when it must. If you need design help I do theater design. My contact info is in the description.
Thats a tough decision right now. For the last 10 years youve been able to get a very impressive picture on home projectors, but tbey just came out with a 118" lcd tv and its only 3 grand for a 100" one. The market demand for large tvs as well as the number of high performing companies creating them is really gonna incroach on the projector market. No problem reselling one of these but ill wait.
It will hurt the projector market some but until they can solve the issue with the center channels need to be properly placed behind the screen, projectors will live on. Some manufacturers are playing with dual centers but the issue is the lower center is always blocked by reclined feet and seats in front of non front rows which throws it off and they also have comb filtering issues to solve etc. They're a long ways off before they can replace projectors in rooms where high performing center channel performance is important. There are higher priced projectors that do have OLED deep blacks and also tech trickling down like RGB light engines that are going to improve JVC and others even more so who knows what the future will look like.
I’d be lucky if I could spend this much on my entire home theater lol. Hey speaking of that, what would you say is the starting HT budget level when it becomes worth it to contact you for a design?
Hey Vinnie, I do rooms at all budgets. From guys with DIY to some with 7k to drop on speakers and I get them a great deal and in the long run they save money and end up with a room that far exceeds their expectations.
It's a huge space up there. 5' deep, 3.5' tall and the opening is about 5x3. I could hide the family up there. Simply use a ladder and install the projector just like u would on any ceiling mount.
Loving my NZ7 but certainly wish I could have afforded the 8 or 9. I suspect Wayne is right that you’ll need high laser. Mine is pro calibrated by Chad B and with a 120” 16x9 AT screen (Dreamscreen v7 which is similar gain to XD) and throw of 14ft I get just under 100nits in high laser. That’s probably similar to medium on the NZ8. So on a 140” screen very likely you’ll need high laser.
Man that’s kind of a disappointing nit value for high laser on a 120inch at 14 ft throw distance. I have an NX5 calibrated by Chad B basically same throw distance as you (14ish feet), and 120 inch 16:9 ST 130 G4 Microperf screen. I’m getting 114nit on high lamp. I guess that Dreamscreen is low gain because I thought the NZ7 is a lot brighter than the NX5 on high lamp.
It's covered in the video. The 8 is a a good bit brighter, better optics and better upscaling and yeah the contrast is higher. In medium I don't hear it. I need to do a little work in my room as I show in the video so I can use high without hearing it.
From your video I see your NZ8 installed in the ceiling behind the HT i.e. noise should never be an issue for You. I have my current old JVC X7000 mounted just over my listening position. I can only live with low lamp mode meaning no HDR content for me. How would you rate the noise from the NZ8 sitting just above the listening position when displaying HDR content in a light controlled room ?
@@hlind1734 Hmm.. i'd say you'd be OK with Medium. High will be too loud. It's fine in my room due to how my wall blocks it's sound. There is a new update coming BTW where you're supposed to have incremental light adjustments.
@@hlind1734I have a N5. I use it in low lamp when watching HDR content. Works just fine. High lamp mode will give you more "pop", but it's too much for my eyes.
There was a time I DIY'd my own projector. There's nothing wrong with enjoying what you have but also nothing wrong with spending money on the hobby you enjoy. It's a lot cheaper than most spend on fishing...😀
Great video! Thanks! I'm trying my darndest to hold onto my NX until the next generation of JVC projectors come out. Wonder when that will be? I'm hoping that, in addition to the latest NZ features, that there will be other enhancements like faster HDMI resync. I'm fortunate that my projector is in a separate room behind my HT. The best thing I've done to improve the sound quality of my HT (by getting rid of fan noise altogether). And, doing so was cheaper than, say, a Trinnov 😊
What about the other guy that says projectors cannot produce black. Meaning blacks are the absence of light and has more to do with the screen than the projector. You cannot project the absence of light (black). Is that accurate?
It is correct it's not OLED level of black. There are projectors at much higher price points that can produce OLED level blacks so no it's not true but at this price point, it is true. As for absence of light you can only be as dark as the screen is with no lights on. The projectors use a few different ways to produce their picture, like DLP where mirrors flip so black the light is rejected. The JVC is LCOS which uses silicone vs a mirror and can also reject /block the light so a pixel can have absence of light when needed.
True, but projectors also have a lot to do with it, as they seem to struggle not letting any light on blacks, which is why they have different contrast ratios and different price points, at least that's my 2 cents.
