Projector Reviews

Comparisons
I was able to compare the PD8150 directly against two JVC projectors: the DLA-HD100 and DLA-RS1, the pro version of the DLA-HD1. I found the Planar to be just a hair sharper than either JVC, though they are hardly soft-looking. The PD8150 also had more-accurate color, with the JVCs both leaning toward subtly reddish flesh tones (more so on the HD100 than the RS1).

The RS1 was comparable in brightness to the Planar with both projectors in their low lamp modes, but the Planar's high lamp setting was the brightest of all. The HD100 was the dimmest of all three projectors in any lamp setting. The HD100 offers the most flexible gamma adjustments of all, but neither JVC projector has color adjustments as useful as the Planar's.

Which would I choose? Since the RS1 is my current reference, that's probably an unfair question. But I wish it offered a little more in the way of gamma and color control. The HD100 has the gamma flexibility, but still not enough color control, and it's just not quite bright enough for me—you can get spoiled by onscreen brightness levels that top out around 20fL if the blacks are up to speed, as they are on the RS1.

The Planar has the best color control, but it needs a bit more gamma flexibility. And its occasional rainbows will bother some viewers, as it will from all single-chip DLPs. But in the end, all three are great projectors.