• Hardware

  • D-ILA Projectors (no temporal dithering)

I have gone back and forth with JVC over their D-ILA projectors. For those who are unaware of the 3 major technologies in the projector realm, there is 3LCD, DLP, and LCoS (JVC calls this D-ILA).

After seeing if they could get answers from an engineer which they were kind enough to do in pre-sales, I was able to find that these projectors DO NOT incorporate temporal dithering BUT they do use PWM. Since these projectors do not have the highest light output, I presume many would use max brightness anyways if you are affected.

I currently have a 3LCD, but wanted to know what other usable options there were. Their new line of projectors are expensive but may be worth it. (NX and NZ series).

Have you tried DLP? I've never had problems with premium ones that use 3 chips (virtually no rainbow effect). I'm very happy about this, as, if I'm not mistaken, DLP has the best response time of the various modern projector technologies.
Unsure if the ones I've seen did or didn't have temporal dithering. Obviously, manufacturers are seldom clear about it. So, it's nice to see another option outside of Epson that veritably does not dither. PWM is a concern for me though, particularly if it uses a LED lamp.

    cizeta

    Thankfully premium projectors are now using laser. The lowest latency goes to Epsons LS500 right now I believe. It's one reason I bought it because I game occasionally.

        Clokwork Yeah, that's nice. I don't think I've ever seen someone here or anywhere have much eye fatigue from laser for some reason.
        Oh, response time is a different thing than input lag. It refers to how long it takes for pixels to transition, and is basically most of what constitutes good or bad motion clarity. DLP's response time is in the microseconds, and is about 10 times faster than OLED, which was already fast. I just haven't figured out yet how other projector tech compares in response time.
        I found the LS500's input lag is 16ms. That's excellent for a projector. But, Optoma's gaming projectors areon top, their input lag is 4ms. They can also do 240Hz. I've got my eyes set on the new Optoma UHZ50. The same speed of its lamp-based predecessor, but upgraded to laser. They understandably went out of stock like instantly lol.

            cizeta

            Thanks for the info! I've been educated 😄

            When you speak of response time, is that how fast it takes for each pixel to turn on and off? I'm guessing this has something to do with the mirrors switching so fast?

            I'm glad the rainbow effect has become less of an issue as of late. I haven't given DLP a fair shot due to the amount of moving parts. I also haven't verified if they use temporal dithering and/or PWM.

            I'm very impressed that Optoma can have such a low input lag with the amount of processing DLP requires. That's pretty impressive. I should have been more specific when I spoke of the LS500 as I was only in the market for UST projectors at the time.

                Clokwork

                Clokwork When you speak of response time, is that how fast it takes for each pixel to turn on and off? I'm guessing this has something to do with the mirrors switching so fast?

                Yes, exactly. The main response time spec is usually measured from black to white or grey to grey, but it sometimes doesn't tell the whole story. For example, many VA LCDs have pretty good black to white response times, but awful white to black response times. This causes "black smearing" artifacts because the VA's pixels cannot dim to black as fast as they brighten to white.
                Yeah, the mirrors in DLP are zippy. As far as I know, it's most of why their response time is so good.

                Clokwork I also haven't verified if they use temporal dithering and/or PWM.

                I'm curious to know what it's like and how much it varies between different brands/models of DLP, too.

                Clokwork I'm very impressed that Optoma can have such a low input lag with the amount of processing DLP requires. That's pretty impressive. I should have been more specific when I spoke of the LS500 as I was only in the market for UST projectors at the time.

                Ah okay. Yeah, I am too. I get that projectors are more niche nowadays, but I'm surprised it didn't get more coverage. Most projectors have even worse input lag than TVs, let alone something competitive with a gaming monitor. This review of the UHD35, their first projector with 4ms lag, is the best I could find. The best input lag he measured was 8ms, but that was at a 120Hz refresh rate. If he measured with 240Hz it would have been in the ballpark of 4. Still, I'm pretty sure anything below 10ms was unprecedented at the time.
                The main issue with the UHD35 seems to be sub-par contrast. The new UHZ50 is rated at double the contrast in the spec sheet, so I'm excited to see how it compares.

                        I may have to add this to the list of things to possibly get when my plasma goes out. I dread that day. I love that tv so much.

                        I’m interested in the JVC high end DILA projectors as well. I need some eyes on time with many of these projectors.

                          Clokwork I feel you man. There's just something about how CRTs and Plasmas display an image that nothing else can replicate. I'm glad I still have some old CRT monitors kicking.
                          Coincidentally, and maybe this is part of why they have that special look, CRT and Plasma both have excellent response times- much better than pretty much any LCD, including LCD gaming monitors.
                          I just wish SED displays took off. To have a display more compact and power efficient than LCD with the quality of CRT would've been insane. I know SED got cancelled because of financial issues and marketing challenges. But, I have a pet conspiracy that the LCD industry forced SED under because it could've completely killed the LCD market, even in industrial applications like shopping center displays and football stadium screens. Just fun to theorize 😛

                          DILA looks interesting. Some of the JVCs have super high contrast ratios.

                            You are really opening my eyes. I had no idea about these technologies. Now that I know about them, I am quite angry that they died off as well. I really wish there was someway to resurrect technologies like this. I would pay immensely for a new plasma TV or for this technology to make a come back.

                            dev