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The last time I reviewed a D-ILA projector (The 1000 ANSI lumen JVC-G11U), I became hooked on the image quality. To be completely candid, it had simply been the best looking home theater image that I had ever personally experienced to that date. To put my awe into perspective, I had been using a 400 ANSI lumen projector (which was probably generating only about 200 ANSI lumens) prior to seeing the G11, so the difference was significant and startling. After my test run, it took my eyes a few days to get used to watching the considerably dimmer display from my venerable Sony VPL-W400Q again , but 400Q owners take heart: I did re-adjust. But things, were never quite the same again. The "upgrade" bug had taken hold. Big time. I also noticed that outdoor scenes all seemed to look a bit, ah... overcast most of the time.
Recently, I had the good fortune of reviewing an LCD projector, the Sanyo PLV-60, which in my opinion, is the more logical successor to the Sony 400Q than even Sony's own VW10HT turned out to be. I was extremely impressed with the Sanyo LCD unit, but parting with that display wasn't quite as difficult as parting with the G11 had been, even though the Sanyo is a solid and capable performer.
My withdrawal was somewhat mitigated by the JVC D-ILA G15U / Quadscan Pro combo I had waiting in the wings for my next projector review. Like a familiar old friend, I hefted the G15 from its carton and placed it atop an old antique floor radio against the wall in the back of my room.
Just so we can be very clear on things, I believe that there are more user-friendly projectors on the market to use than the G15 that also come very close to matching the overall performance of this projector. The aforementioned Sanyo is one of them. To my way of thinking, projectors like the PLV-60 can sometimes offer a better value to a wider range of consumers because of their lower price and enhanced features that make setup, placement and operation a real breeze.
As I said, these other machines come close to the image quality of the G15 D-ILA projector...
Close, but no cigar.
When it comes to pure picture quality, setting everything else aside -- the JVC D-ILA units are exceptional performers that are very, very hard to beat. But all consumers don't make purchasing decisions based on image quality alone.
All of the benefits (and annoyances) of the G11 are carried over to the G15, with one major difference. With a rating of 1,500 ANSI lumens generated by a 420 watt Xenon bulb, the G15 emits about a third more brightness than the G11, which can really expand the enjoyment factor for home theaters without total ambient light control, during daytime viewing especially, and make the experience for those with total light control a truly exhilarating experience. I seem to be using a lot of words that begin with "ex", don't I? Well, consider me justifiably exicited by this SXGA projector.
I'm going to tell you all the things about the G15U that bother me as well as the things I like. Most of the complaints I have about the G15 can be successfully mitigated with a bit of effort and determination. For the discriminating home theater owner, I would think that most feel that the end results justified their effort.
Like it's younger sibling, the G15 resides in a rather bulky case, cooled by a noisy fan that puts out the rough sound equivalent of one of those dual-blade 9" window fans running at high speed. In other words, it's as least as loud as the Sony W400Q, if not a bit louder.
A sound enclosure incorporating quieter fans and heat-proof sound-absorbing foam panels can do wonders to stifle the noise of the fan, but the enclosures themselves should be disguised inside another piece of furniture if possible. On their own, I find them to be somewhat unsightly.
My preferred solution for installing the G15 would be to place it behind a wall with a cutout just large enough for the lens and IR assembly to poke through, or perhaps a separate enclosure that could be ceiling mounted with it's own fans that would suck the exhaust from the projector right up into the attic. The reality here folks, is that in order to effectively reduce the fan noise, you're going to need to expend a few dollars and think in creative terms.
Aside from the noise issue, the G15 puts out a discernable amount of heat thanks to that glorious 420 watt bulb. There is a minimal amount of light spill out from the bottom of the projector and a small amount from one side as well. In a perfect world, there would be no heat, no noise, no light spill and a case the size of a cigar box.
Technology isn't quite up to this standard yet, but it's getting there. Oh, you can have your quiet cigar box, but the trade off will be in the image quality. At least, so far.
Another frustration is the limited user adjustments available from the G15 by itself. Designed as a presentation device, the G15, like the G11, is really at its best for home theater use after it has been professionally calibrated to improve the contrast ratio and shadow detail, among other things. This is done in a somewhat complicated process that involves adjusting the gamma curve and other feats of electronic magic that I really can't begin to understand, let alone have much interest immersing myself in. It looks terrific right out of the box, but for users who desire to wring every possible ounce of video image quality from their projectors, professional calibration (like the one our demo unit received from Medical Video Systems) is highly desirable.
In fact, a small cottage industry has emerged to help end users maximize the output of their D-ILA projectors and to my knowledge, there are two ways to achieve the desired results. Some dealers have been trained by JVC factory technicians directly. JVC also provides these dealers the necessary software tools for calibrating the projectors for video. This process is long, arduous and involved. It typically takes a trained technician several hours to properly tweak the projector to its full video capabilities, so few dealers offer this value added service. Make certain that yours does. It's well worth it. I'm not alone in this assertion.
Another option for the ultimate do-it-yourselfer in the crowd is a software package called Dilard by a company called Milori. This semi-automated package takes you through the various steps of calibration with the aid of a nearby computer and the RS-232 port on the JVC.
I was given the option of a dealer supplied calibration and I'm glad that I took MVS up on the offer. Normally, I wouldn't have done this for a review, but this projector has been on the market for some time now and it has become common knowledge that home theater calibration has become a highly desired option to undertake. Since I really have no formal training in these intricate technical details and little time or patience to do the tweaking myself, it was nice having it done for me. The folks at Milori offered to send me their software package when it became known on our D-ILA forum that I would be reviewing this projector. To be perfectly candid, after spending an hour or so with the Dilard software, I could not find a way to improve upon the professional dealer calibration from MVS. However, Dilard does provide the vehicle for some handy internal adjustments for the G15 not possible through the regular user menu such as image geometry, sharpness, etc. and it was nice to be able to get at these functions. Once these have been set, I'm not sure how often I'd need to tweak them again, however. These digital projectors are not like a CRT device that eventually drifts out of alignment. Once they're set, they're set.
The G15, like the G11, allows you to adjust contrast, horizontal and vertical image placement, select the source and change aspect ratio from the remote control, among other rudimentary controls. A "quick-align" button on both the projector case and the remote is used when a computer or scaler is driving the G15 externally and this sets the proper pixel phase and offset automatically. That's a very handy feature which I found myself using often when switching between different source devices.
Attaining perfect focus via the motorized remote focus on the G15 leaves a bit to be desired. There are no onscreen displays to assist you, other than whatever programming you happen to be feeding into the projector, making the use of a test disc a no brainer. With a suitable test pattern or even a close-up of an actor's face with beard stubble (if you're in a pinch), you can eventually find the perfect focus, but it's a bit of an eyestrain to really get it where you want it since the focus adjustments are extremely fine. Even when you're satisfied with the focus, it's hard to be certain you're finally "there" because the usual roadmap of pixel structure is invisible at normal viewing distances, due to the extremely tight 13.5 micron spacing between the 1.4 million pixels on each of the three chips. This of course, turns my thoughts to the things I like about the G15U.
The aforementioned Xenon bulb yields an exceptionally life-like image with excellent color characteristics from corner to corner. Gone are the days of eyestrain as the Metal Halide bulbs of yore gradually lost their brightness over time. Like the UHP bulbs being used in more modern LCD projectors, the Xenon bulb should retain it's full brightness for about 1,000 hours, after which time it must be replaced. As a safety precaution, the projector will not function past 1,000 hours. Pushing your luck with a Xenon bulb past its prime can lead to explosive consequences. Because of the high cost of these bulbs (about $700), it's difficult to imagine using the G15 for anything but serious movie watching, but if you've got the bread to replace the bulb frequently and can supply the 660 watts of electricity to operate it, more power to you brother. Living in California, I'm becoming a bit more sensitive to power consumption issues... The photo above shows how the G15 stacks up against a direct view 20" CRT for brightness when both are set to "0".
The pixel structure of the G15 is virtually indistinguishable at six to eight feet from my 119" (ten foot diagonal) 16:9 screen and totally invisible at my preferred seating distance of fourteen feet. This makes every seat in the house an excellent one to enjoy a silky-smooth, distraction-free video display. This is the only projector that I have personally viewed which can match the Sony VPL-W400Q in terms of image smoothness with ZERO distraction from the pixel structure. Except it's several times brighter with a much greater contrast ratio (over 350:1 out of the box) The smooth pixel structure alone is what created a sensation when the 400Q was first introduced in November 1996 and discovered by a handful of stunned home theater hopefuls (myself among the first). A dud in the presentation market because of the limited brightness and poor performance with computer graphics, the 400Q was a fledgling home theater enthusiast's dream. After all, home theater fans are interested in video quality and typically can produce the desired total or near total ambient light control required for the ultimate home theater experience.
The film-like output of the G15 D-ILA is of course what makes it the machine of choice for so many discerning videophiles. With such an outstanding contrast ratio (the rating of which appears mighty conservative to my eyes), the G15 provides the closest black level to CRT than most other digital displays are capable of -- and the 16.7 million color palette will knock your socks off with the right source material. SINGIN' IN THE RAIN or BATMAN & ROBIN, for instance, is liable to make your head explode when viewed on this projector.
While you can attain very nice results from a progressive scan DVD player, an external scaler designed for D-ILA projectors is really quite necessary to attain maximum display quality from this 1365 x 1024 native 4:3 display. The good news is this: If you blow your entire budget on the G15 and a screen to go with it, then you can still enjoy the show until you can save your pennies and spring for a scaler later on, but adding one will not only provide a better picture, it will also eliminate the need to zoom in and out when changing aspect ratios for your source.
I tried using the G15 with a Quadscan Pro; a straight progressive input from a Toshiba 6200; and a standard interlaced DVD signal from the same DVD player into the new Quadscan Elite model by Focus Enhancements. The Quadscan converts incoming interlaced signals into progressive scan, so happily, you don't need to run out to buy a new DVD player if you purchase the scaler to go with the projector.
After some initial frustrations with the Quadscan Pro (I had some syncing problems), I called Dennis at MVS for a little advice. Basically, I wanted to throw the Quadscan out the window. Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed and I admitted rather sheepishly that I really hadn't read the rather technical Quadscan user's manual. Dennis talked me through the setup for the Quadscan, and from that point forward, I had no problems with syncing to the JVC G15, and a whole new array of image tweaking options were suddenly available. In the span of about a half an hour, my attitude towards the Quadscan Pro took a 180 degree change for the better and I haven't looked back since. I even took another swipe at reading the manual...
I noticed immediately that the Quadscan held certain advantages over a straight progressive input, aside from the aforementioned convenience of one click aspect ratio switching (via remote) without having to fiddle with the zoom control. The internal circuitry of the Quadscan seemed to handle some image problems better than straight progressive, like aliasing, for example. In observing a deck scene from the non-anamorphic TITANIC disc, the fine diagonal lines of the ship's railing looked significantly better with less stair-stepping when the Quadscan was in the loop. Same thing with the geometric floor designs in the Overlook Hotel featured on THE SHINING.
The added controls for saturation, hue, brightness and contrast were a real plus, too. Through the Quadscan Elite (or Pro), you have three available horizontal positioning options when viewing widescreen material. 16:9A places the image in the top third of the 4:3 display area, 16:9B places it square in the middle and 16:9C places it in the lower third.
One thing I need to note about using a 4:3 projector with a 16:9 screen, is although sizing the picture to match the screen width is no problem, particularly when using a scaler, you will see some ambient light dark light spill beneath and to the sides of your screen, which is barely noticeable at all while viewing a movie, thanks to the incredibly bright display. I liken this effect to moonlight when the moon is about half full. I thought this would bother me, but after experiencing the light spill, I can honestly say that it doesn't bother me at all. I'm not one of these guys who gets hung up with everything that doesn't involve the pretty motion pictures on the screen. As long as the picture looks fabulous and nothing distracts me from it, then that's all I care about.
I did notice one undesirable artifact from the Quadscan Pro, however. An almost indiscernible, nearly transparent band of horizontal, undulating squiggles that would be apparently only when the projector was emitting bright white images. I was able to accept this situation, given the rest of the outstanding image characteristics, but the arrival of the new Quadscan Elite has completely eliminated this artifact. The QS Elite contains a new filter, hard wired to the back of the box via a toggle switch, which optimizes the output for either CRT or LCD, DLP, D-ILA or other digital pixel display devices. When the filter is set to "on" it softens the output -- too slightly to really detect with the naked eye -- but enough apparently to eliminate some pixel artifacts like banding. This switch should further decrease pixel awareness on other projectors that suffer from the dreaded "screen door" effect. A malady which does NOT infect the G15.
I had the good fortune to view GLADIATOR late last year in Beverly Hills at the American Society for Motion Picture Arts and Sciences screening theater on Wilshire Blvd. Assuming that the theater the members of the Academy attend is state of the art, I paid very close attention to the visual qualities of the film that I had already seen a few times before. In particular, I took note of grain in certain scenes and the rather contrasty appearance of the image which seemed to eliminate more shadow detail than I expected it to.
After installing the Quadscan Elite, I did some A/B testing between the progressive input from a Toshiba 6200 and an interlaced signal from the same player feeding the QS Elite. There's really no comparison. The QS Elite appears to be the perfect match for the G15. I intentionally increased the contrast ratio and saturation levels a bit on the QS Elite while watching GLADIATOR on DVD, and ladies and gentlemen, I was truly stunned at how close to the theatrical experience this combination yielded. Fine details like the flaming arrows in the opening battle scene were clearly evident with crisp definition. Like any home theater projector, the G15 is at it's best when the source material is top notch. Try to demo Warner Bros. NORTH BY NORTHWEST DVD (16:9 enhanced) and the digitally remastered DVD of THE SHINING (4:3) to get an idea of what home theater is supposed to look like. But unlike most projectors, the G15/Quadscan Elite combo appears to be more forgiving of less-than-stellar transfers as well, no doubt thanks to the tight pixel density, excellent contrast, color and smoothness of the Direct Drive Image Light Amplifiers (D-ILA) technology.
In viewing black and white source material, I noticed a very slight shift in the grayscale uniformity from the left side of the screen to the right. Not enough to pose any real distractions while viewing older films, but present nonetheless. I don't know if this is something that can be addressed in the service menu, but I suspect not. I could detect no such shift when viewing color material or when no signal source was present. Other than the fan and heat issues, this was my only real disappointment with the G15, even though I must again stress that the extremely minor shift didn't spoil the THREE STOOGES for me.
I've had the luxury of putting over 100 hours on my demo unit already and I have seen no evidence of dust infiltrating the optical path ( a genuine concern with some recent top performing LCD units), nor have I experienced any unexpected surprises from the G15. Designed to be a business presentation work-horse from the get-go, this 32 pound unit is built like a tank and seems quite solid in its construction. The throw distance via the motorized zoom lens ranges from 8.2' - 65.5', accommodating screen widths of 2.8' - 34.7'. A fixed lens version with a shorter throw distance and motorized lens shift feature is also available, but I would find the lack of zoom too limiting a factor for most home theater applications.
There are a wide array of inputs: PC (mini D-sub 15 pin) x 1, RGBHV (BNC) x 1, Y, PB/B-Y, PR/R-Y (BNC) x 1, Composite Video (BNC) x 1, and S-Video (mini DIN 4 pin) x 1. Outputs include accommodations for a PC Monitor (mini D-sub 15 pin) and stereo audio (RCA phono x 2). The G15 is operated by controls mounted atop the case or by the included remote, which is identical to the one that was supplied with the G11. The remote can also be hard wired to the projector, for reasons that would completely escape a home theater owner, I would think. It would be handy for presentations featuring multiple projectors, I guess.
The JVC G15U comes with a 3-year parts and labor warranty from JVC.
I've saved the best news for last. Since this projector has been on the market for some time (its predecessor, the G11, has already been discontinued), owning one of these gems is within the reach of more enthusiasts, since prices have already fallen significantly. Overall, I have not personally experienced a more satisfying home theater display than this, to date. I was greatly impressed by the G11 I reviewed last year. The G15 offers subtle improvement, but improvement nonetheless. The picture this projector generates has become the new benchmark by which I compare all other projectors under $15,000.
I'm about ready to break out the saw and extend the cutout in my wall a few inches to accommodate this bad boy. This may be one projector that I end up purchasing for my own personal use. Time will tell, but one thing is for certain: I'm in no hurry to ship this G15 back to Medical Video Systems. I'm too busy enjoying the show.
Please Note:On Saturday January 12, 2001, I successfully completed the sale of the projector used for this review and it is now SOLD. On Sunday, January 13, 2001, someone with "sunglasses" and zero feedback listed a G15U for sale on eBay, stealing my description word for word, which was taken from my auction. In other words, they're claiming to be me. An alert eBay member thoughtfully brought this to my attention and reported it to the eBay fraud division and I did the same, along with sending the fraudulent eBay seller an e-mail with more profanity than I've used since the sixth grade. The FRAUDULENT listing number is #1321845853. Please DO NOT BID on this auction. The seller is committing FRAUD. eBay fraud investigation has been notified.
Best wishes, Jeff McNeal editor & publisher The BIG Picture