/ By Jennifer Stringfellow
JVC's flagship home theater projector makes for stunning viewing in a dedicated home theater!
A quick clarification. This JVC DLA-RS6710U accepts some 4K content, but technically it is still a 1080p projector, since it has 1080p panels. It is not a native 4K projector. It does use something called pixel shifting.
More on that later. Let's get started.
| JVC DLA-RS6710U Specs | |
|---|---|
| Price | 12495 |
| Technology | D-ILA, D-ILA-3 |
| Native Resolution | 1920x1080 |
| Brightness (Manufacturer Claim) | 1300 |
| Contrast | 1,000,000:1 |
| Zoom Lens Ratio | 2.00:1 |
| Lens Shift | Yes |
| Lamp Life | 3000 hours |
| Weight | 33.1 |
| Warranty | 5 years |
Welcome JVC DLA-RS6710 projector! It's been a couple of generations since I was able to obtain a top of the line JVC. The last one was the old DLA-RS60U.
Let's start with something very basic: The RS67U / RS6710 / X900R are by definition, the same projectors as the RS57U, etc, but about $4000 more expensive.
What gives? As with previous generations, JVC quality controls the components for these projectors. The very best lenses, and other components are set aside to build the best of the projectors. The bulk of those that pass quality control end up in projectors with names like RS57U ad X700R, while the very best are combined to build a limited number of RS67U, RS6710, and X900R projectors.
Is it worth the extra? That's a point we'll discuss later. That said, the RS6710 projector I have here puts one outstanding picture up on the screen.
I'll go as far as to say, that for standard 1080p viewing in a very dark dedicated home theater or cave, this is the projector to beat. That's not to say there aren't brighter projectors, projectors with some great strengths that are far more expensive, or projectors with more features.
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This projector is an LCoS design with the usual 3 panels. JVC calls their LCoS: D-iLA (in case you were wondering why the DLA in front of the rest of the model numbers). It runs on a conventional lamp.
Some projectors are better at some things than others... Some projectors might be defined as a purist's projector, where bells and whistles are nice, but the consumer demands as close as possible to a no compromise projector when it comes to the basics of color, black levels, etc. That's the consumer this JVC caters to. It's strongest on core picture quality, but has some shortcomings in other areas.
So what have we here? Well, first, this is the RS6710 I'm reviewing, not an RS67U or X900R. The hardware is the same (except for some minor trim). The RS6710 however is the most expensive, by $500. For that you get a longer warranty - a massive five years - and a different distribution/dealer network than the other two.
The RS6710 and its siblings when launched in the fall of 2013 (yes over a year ago - JVC did not replace any projectors for the 2014-2015 year), boasted new LCoS panels, with higher contrast and efficiency. In JVC's case, that means starting with pretty great, and getting even better. No one before this current series could match the JVC's black level performance, and these newer models are even better, widening the lead, with the addition of a dynamic iris, on top of having the best contrast around.
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From a hardware standpoint, there's a motorized 2:1 zoom lens with Lens Memory. That means you can go traditional 16:9 (1.78:1) aspect ratio screens or go widescreen with 2.35:1, 2.4:1 or similar.
JVC claims 1300 lumens, not enough to be called a light canon, and not quite as bright as some other competing projectors, but I will tell you here, that calibrated, it managed to beat 1000 lumens at full wide angle on the zoom (the brightest part of the zoom range).
This projector supports 3D - via a plug in emitter (shown in the image player above).
It also supports a limited amount of 4K content. That will be discussed at length on the next page - as a "special feature."
This JVC, like all but JVC's "entry-level" projector, offers a feature called pixel shifting - in JVC's case under the name e-Shift3. More on that as well, but what that is about is perceived sharpness, and smoothness of the projected content. We have reviewed projectors before with e-Shift3 and earlier versions, and even created a video about JVC's e-Shift, and it's effectiveness.
Physically, the JVC DLA-RS6710 is a large-ish projector in the same general size range as the Sony projectors and Epson's LS10000, but bigger than just about everything else we've reviewed in the last couple of years (the other JVC's are the same size, as well.) This one comes finished in a shiny black piano type finish. The trim around the lens is gold (it would be silver on the X900R).
