Remember being in a theatre and thrilled with seeing a large bright film image filling the screen? This experience is within reach based on the advanced changes in technology. Projectors are now made for home theatre situations, and they’re bright, and with stunning high quality resolution. In fact, they’re good enough to rival even the finest flat screen TVs, and of course, it’s the technology movie theatres rely on.
JVC LX-UH1 4K HDR DLP home theatre projector review
I recently had a chance to try out one of JVC’s newest projectors, the LX-UH1 4K HDR DLP for a sponsored post collaboration. JVC has not told me what to say or what not to say, so these thoughts are my own.
The new JVC LX-UH1 is a 4K Ultra High Definition (UHD) projector that uses the new TRP DMD chipset technology, developed by Texas Instruments, to deliver 4K images with HDR support.
DMD (Digital Micromirror Device)The DMD is essentially a moving surface that shifts light in different directions (Typically ON & OFF). For the UH1 and other similar DLP UHD projectors each mirror in the DMD can ‘drive’ multiple pixel operations in order to deliver the UHD image.
This projector is more compact than the last JVC projector I looked at, the JVC DLA-X590RB.
It’s definitely made for smaller home spaces.
The key attributes of this device are that it’s 4K and HDR ready. 4K video is four times the resolution of 1080p HD video. HDR meanwhile is all about detail, light and colour; more intensity and gradation plus brighter brights without glare and more depth in dark scenes.
This projector can put out 2000 lumens (a measure of light output), so you can expect bright, high-contrast images. That many lumens means this projector can more than capably handle being in a room with ambient light.
The LX-UH1 projector includes two HDMI inputs, including one that features the full speed/full spec HDMI/HDCP2.2 standard which is capable of handling data transfer rates up to 18Gbps.
There’s also a remote control for the projector included.
JVC LX-UH1: What you need
To use the LX-UH1 4K HDR DLP, you’ll need to connect a peripheral; a 4K or Blu-ray player, streaming device or similar. Of course it also goes without saying that you need a proper screen. I’ve got the EluneVision Elara Nano Edge installed here so that I can enjoy those crisp clear images wrinkle and distraction-free.
Set up: JVC LX-UH1 4K HDR DLP.
Getting things set up and ready to watch is easy; you’ll hook up your chosen peripheral, in my case the 4K Roku Premiere + using an HDMI cable, power things on, and then you can make any adjustments to the image that you need.
To handle a wide range of installation situations the LX-UH1 provides a ±60% vertical lens shift and ±23% horizontal lens shift so you can adjust the video without always needing to move the machine.
In combination with the projector’s 1.6x wide zoom lens, this versatility means it’s made for almost any home environment. It’s also got focus and zoom controls so you can get things perfect.
The remote control is big and boxy. It has controls for instant adjustments to Brightness and Contrast, it’s also got a handful of different video presets *(more on that in a second). There’s also cursor controls for navigating the menu and adjusting the picture. A button labelled Hide blacks out the picture temporarily from the screen while keeping the power on while Test displays a lined grid so you can perfectly line up your frame to the screen.
Menu options
As you might expect, there are several pages of menu settings available. You can adjust all the settings you might expect ROM brightness, color, contrast, and more, to language, lamp usage, screen saver and aspect ratio. Bottom line; you can customize most of the features on this projector to be perfect for you, your content, and your room.
Video Settings
There are three video settings on the remote; they are labeled natural, cinema, and dynamic. Each of them makes slight, preset adjustments to your video picture. You can use them to maximize color or contrast depending on the type of content you’re watching. Natural for example would it be ideal for general TV viewing and watching nature shows in 4K, while l cinema would maximize movie viewing. There are also 3 selectable “gamma” settings to adjust overall brightness curve of HDR images.
JVC LX-UH1 4K HDR DLP Video Quality
The video quality of this projector is superb. The projector is bright, the images detailed, the colours are strong and vibrant, and it really gives you a movie theatre-like experience at home.
I also had a chance to test this projector out with a special screen with anti-reflective coating; the EluneVision Aurora 4K Ambient Light Rejection Screen. This is the screen to choose if you want to use your projector in a brighter room. The LX-UH1’s images are even brighter and more colourful, compared to just using a basic white screen as a backdrop.
Overall thoughts on JVC LX-UH1 4K HDR DLP.
There’s lots to like about this projector; its compact size, bright lamp, and 4K HDR capabilities stand out.
The JVC LX-UH1 sells for about $2,999 from authorized JVC dealers in Canada or online from Best Buy Marketplace.
