Naitze Teng
03-09-2005, 09:08 AM
From the September edition of RevolutionHomeTheater.com...
JVC Professional DLA-HX2U D-ILA Video Projector (Optimzed by William Phelps)
History
Since the first days of commercially available digital projectors, I have
been a convert. A mere four years ago, I owned an older Sony seven-inch CRT
video projector paired with the all-time classic video processor, the
Faroudja LD100. The picture looked smooth and film-like. It also had no
brightness, barely being able to light up a 100-inch 4:3 Stewart Filmscreen
StudioTek 130 screen, and switching inputs was a nightmare. Working on the
projector required a professional technician, which means that in order to
keep the sucker converged, I needed a trip from Dr. Feelgood every three to
four months. While having a big screen to watch hockey games was cool, the
work needed to get such a video picture was trying, to say the least.
All of this changed in 2002, when I invested in a Madrigal Imaging MPD-1
video processor from Madrigal (parent company of Mark Levinson, Lexicon and
Proceed). The projector was the latest in digital video technology being
powered by hand-picked D-ILA chips, which was provided thanks to a
partnership between JVC and Harman (who owns Madrigal). The difference was
night and day. Many industry people who saw my projector were impressed as
to how much better, brighter and more accurate it looked than its
predecessor. The new projector looked like it was six times brighter than my
CRT. The colors on the D-ILA seemed accurate. And after a William Phelps
tuning, the contrast was a measured 525:1. For fourth-generation digital
projectors being tested in real-world circumstances, this was very high, and
I was very happy.
Owning the Madrigal projector and Faroudja NRS video processor at its nearly
$40,000 price tag proved to be enjoyable yet difficult. In the real world,
the investment in the projector a short two years later yielded me a
whopping $5,000 for the projector and the matching Faroudja NRS video
processor. The first-generation projector had no DVI or HDMI inputs for
digital signals coming from digital video sources like HD-DVRs or D-VHS
decks. The bulb life was about 1,000 hours, but what wasnąt reported was
that after the first 100 hours, the measured contrast of the projector
dropped noticeably. Anyone with a critical eye would want a new bulb after
400 to 500 hours and that required a professional installation. To suggest
the Madrigal MPD-1 wasnąt a landmark improvement over my original video rig
would be to misstate the situation. My new rig was incredible and I enjoyed
the hell out of it, but when watching łThe Sopranos˛ in HD you couldnąt help
but wish for more: more contrast, better black levels, less fan noise,
cheaper bulbs.
Read more at http://www.revolutionhometheater.com/equip/jvchx2u/
JVC Professional DLA-HX2U D-ILA Video Projector (Optimzed by William Phelps)
History
Since the first days of commercially available digital projectors, I have
been a convert. A mere four years ago, I owned an older Sony seven-inch CRT
video projector paired with the all-time classic video processor, the
Faroudja LD100. The picture looked smooth and film-like. It also had no
brightness, barely being able to light up a 100-inch 4:3 Stewart Filmscreen
StudioTek 130 screen, and switching inputs was a nightmare. Working on the
projector required a professional technician, which means that in order to
keep the sucker converged, I needed a trip from Dr. Feelgood every three to
four months. While having a big screen to watch hockey games was cool, the
work needed to get such a video picture was trying, to say the least.
All of this changed in 2002, when I invested in a Madrigal Imaging MPD-1
video processor from Madrigal (parent company of Mark Levinson, Lexicon and
Proceed). The projector was the latest in digital video technology being
powered by hand-picked D-ILA chips, which was provided thanks to a
partnership between JVC and Harman (who owns Madrigal). The difference was
night and day. Many industry people who saw my projector were impressed as
to how much better, brighter and more accurate it looked than its
predecessor. The new projector looked like it was six times brighter than my
CRT. The colors on the D-ILA seemed accurate. And after a William Phelps
tuning, the contrast was a measured 525:1. For fourth-generation digital
projectors being tested in real-world circumstances, this was very high, and
I was very happy.
Owning the Madrigal projector and Faroudja NRS video processor at its nearly
$40,000 price tag proved to be enjoyable yet difficult. In the real world,
the investment in the projector a short two years later yielded me a
whopping $5,000 for the projector and the matching Faroudja NRS video
processor. The first-generation projector had no DVI or HDMI inputs for
digital signals coming from digital video sources like HD-DVRs or D-VHS
decks. The bulb life was about 1,000 hours, but what wasnąt reported was
that after the first 100 hours, the measured contrast of the projector
dropped noticeably. Anyone with a critical eye would want a new bulb after
400 to 500 hours and that required a professional installation. To suggest
the Madrigal MPD-1 wasnąt a landmark improvement over my original video rig
would be to misstate the situation. My new rig was incredible and I enjoyed
the hell out of it, but when watching łThe Sopranos˛ in HD you couldnąt help
but wish for more: more contrast, better black levels, less fan noise,
cheaper bulbs.
Read more at http://www.revolutionhometheater.com/equip/jvchx2u/