JVC LX-NZ3 4K Laser Projector Review-Special Features

JVC LX-NZ3 Projector Review – Special Features: Laser Light Engine, Native 4K UHD Resolution, HDR Compatible, HDR Auto Tone Mapping

The LX-NZ3 utilizes JVC’s BLU-Escent™ technology, a blue laser diode array that provides the blue light and excites a yellow phosphor color wheel. The yellow light is then combined with the blue light to create white light. JVC rates its laser light engine at 20,000 hours (in High Power Mode). This provides years of worry-free operation. Normally you would have to switch out lamps every 3,000 to 8,000 hours but a laser can easily last over a decade without losing much brightness.

There are four modes to adjust the brightness output of the laser light source:

• Normal: which sets the brightness to maximum.
• Eco: which sets brightness to 70% of full power which reduces the fan speed which toy reduces fan noise. I used this mode for most of my viewing in my home theater. When set to Eco mode, the fan noise was barely louder than my reference theater projector while delivering nearly twice the brightness.
• Variable LOW: reduces light source power consumption and system noise between 30% to 80% based on the source content.
• Variable HIGH: reduces light source power consumption and system noise between 0% to 80% based on the source content.

The LX-NZ3 when set to Variable LOW or HIGH utilizes Dynamic Laser Dimming. When the projector detects a “black frame” of information, it can shut down the laser engine to project a true black frame. This gives the LX-NZ3 a theoretical ∞:1 dynamic contrast ratio.

The LX-NZ3 utilizes a Texas Instruments 2^nd generation DLP (0.47” DMD) chip to reproduce 4K UHD (3840 x 2160) resolution. To further sharpen the image of the LX-NZ3’s 4K DLP chip mirror array, JVC also utilizes pixel shifting. The projector can also accept signals up to 4K@60P via a 18Gbps HDMI/HDCP 2.2 Compatible Input (HDMI #1).

Like all other DLP projectors, the LX-NZ3 has a sealed light path to protect the optics from the dreaded “dust blob.” Having a sealed light path prevents particles of dust from settling inside the light path and obstructing the projected image.

A 4K DLP projector like the LX-NZ3 cannot match the color saturation, native contrast, and black level of a 3-chip projector like the JVC DLA NX-5. The JVC’s new NX Series projectors uses their new 0.69inch 4K D-ILA (4096 x 2160) devices to produce a sharp, high-contrast image. In a dedicated theater, the NX-5 would be a great option.

However, if you desire a laser light engine in a 3-chip Home theater 4K projector, be prepared to spend significantly more than the LX-NZ3. While it can’t match the DLA NX-5 native contrast, the LX-NZ3 is a much brighter, more compact laser projector which retails for more than $1,000 less. Since the LX-NZ3 is a single-chip DLP projector you will never have any convergence problems because there's nothing to converge so the image will remain sharp throughout the life of the projector.

In a room with higher ambient light, LX-NZ3’s higher brightness, longer lamp life, and lower cost makes the LX-NZ3 a compelling alternative to the JVC NX Series.

The HDR provides a major improvement in dynamic range as well as color. It lets you see more detail in the shadows and the bright areas and delivers more saturated lifelike colors.

There are two HDR standards, first is the PQ (ST2084). While there are three variations of PQ, most projectors are only compatible with HDR10 which is mostly used for UHD Blu-ray discs (4K movies), and recorded streaming content. Dolby Vision and HDR10+, like the more mainstream HDR10, are also based on PQ (ST2084). The only difference between the three PQ based formats is what type of HDR metadata is delivered to a video display to help it tone map HDR content to fit a display’s brightness capabilities.

The second HDR standard is HLG (Hybrid Log-Gamma) and it was developed for live broadcast. The LX-NZ3 supports both HDR10 and HLG. Since most HDR10+ and Dolby Vision content is either backward compatible with or available in HDR10 you can enjoy 99% of HDR content available on the market now and in the future.

Since the MaxFALL/MaxCLL metadata is based on the average brightness of the brightest frame and brightest pixel in the movie, certain scenes with lower than average frame levels can still look way too dark. The nice thing is you can fine tune the look of HDR to fit your taste by using the LX-NZ3’s Mapping Level adjustment. The projector can also display MaxCLL/Max FALL information under its menu.

In many cases the metadata is missing or incorrect so the LX-NZ3 might not have the right information to work with. Also, since the same embedded metadata (MaxCLL/MaxFALL) is applied throughout the entire movie, sometimes the tone mapping decisions made by the projector can be a little off.

Higher-end LCD and OLED TVs have been able to measure the HDR content frame-by-frame to generate accurate metadata dynamically for years. This summer, JVC added the capability to dynamically measure HDR metadata to their higher-end D-ILA projectors like the NX5, NX7 and NX9 which further improves the HDR performance of those projectors.

Even if the LX-NZ3 doesn’t offer dynamic HDR tone mapping, it is one of the few projectors on the market with AUTO TONE MAPPING capabilities which should make a notable improvement to HDR reproduction.

BTW, since HLG is based on a Gamma curve just like SDR, it does not need to be tone mapped by the projector.