Posted on November 9, 2020 By Phil Jones
JVC DLA-RS3000 Projector Review – Performance: Brightness, Black level, Audible Noise
The JVC DLA-RS3000 produced 1,783 lumens in High Lamp mode and at wide-zoom. This is about 400 lumens lower than its rated brightness of 2200 lumens. While many 4K UHD DLPs can produce much higher max brightness, their brightness advantage quickly disappears once those projectors are calibrated. The RS3000 still produced over 1400 lumens even after calibration.
The JVC’s great black levels and high brightness combined with overall great color (calibrated or uncalibrated) deliver HD picture quality rivaling projectors costing thousands more.
In High Lamp mode, all the JVC DLA-RS3000 picture modes measured within a couple of hundred lumens of each other. The Natural and User modes measured just under 1,500 lumens at mid-zoom while still delivering fairly accurate out-of-the-box picture quality.
JVC D-ILA projectors are renowned for having great black level performance and the highest native contrast in the industry.
While a dynamic iris or a laser light can be used to increase the perceived contrast, neither solution is 100% transparent. Dynamic light modulation can sometimes be noticeable as the projector adjusts from scene to scene.
Even without the DLA-RS3000’s dynamic iris engaged, there are few projectors that can come close to this JVC’s performance on dark scenes. Since JVC’s newer 4K D-ILA device used in the DLA-RS3000 delivers higher native contrast, less aggressive dynamic light modulation is needed to reproduce great blacks and shadow detail.
When it comes to black level, no 4K DLP projector comes close. While Sony VPL-VW915ES can match the DLA-RS3000 in resolution and brightness, the JVC offers superior native contrast and blacks while costing $2K less.
While great black levels are important, so is shadow detail. Not only did the DLA-RS3000 handle the darkest scenes, it also did a great job reproducing the darkest details.
With the Iris engaged, you would have to spend a couple of grand more to find a competitor’s native 4K projector with comparable blacks like the Sony VW915. Even then, most competitor’s 4K projectors can’t match the DLA-RS3000’s native contrast and they would have to depend on dynamic light modulation (a dynamic iris and laser light dimming) to match its dynamic contrast. So, if you love deep blacks on very dark scenes, you can’t beat this JVC without spending a lot more.
We do not measure audible noise, but even at full power, it is significantly quieter than most of the Home Theater projectors we have reviewed over that the past year. There is a noticeable increase in fan noise when switching from low to high.
In High Lamp mode, the DLA-RS3000 is noticeably quieter than the Epson 5040UB and 6040UB projectors, which are the only projectors that cost less and approach the JVC in terms of black level performance. Only the direct competitor Sony VW915ES is as quiet or perhaps even slightly quieter.
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