JVC's new, $6299 DLA-HD1 projector is due to ship in February. This time around, their demo compared it to the new Sony Pearl, with both projectors firing HD source material onto 120" (diagonal) Stewart StudioTek 130 screens. Yes, the JVC did look better, with crisper contrast, darker blacks, and a richer-looking image. JVC claims that their D-ILA imaging chip offers a peak native contrast ratio of 20,000:1, which is why the in-projector contrast is so good. No iris of any sort is used. We don't know how well the Pearl was set up, of course (though the JVC rep did say that the auto iris was engaged). But it was an impressive demo nonetheless.

In an area closed to photos, JVC also showed some possible advanced technologies. The one that caught my eye was a rear projection HD-ILA set with an aspect ratio of 2.35:1. They even postulated three different screen sizes. While there are no announced plans for production of such a set, the suggestion of three sizes certainly suggests that someone is thinking about it. I love the idea of a 2.35:1 set, and suspect that black bars at the sides with narrower aspect material will be less bothersome to casual viewers than black bars at the top and bottom).