Articles

So big IS beautiful after all? Announcements about 80+ inches TVs have almost become boring routine, and the Optoma BigVizion's ($20000) 100-inches Rear-Projection DLP was unveiled during the last CEDIA... JVC (JP:6792) is, however, making a slam hit with its HD-ILA technology large HD-70FH96 70-in flatscreen... Because most reviews agree that it is very good. A monster? After all, we all knew Gila monster salamander for quite a while...

Although there has been some concern for some time about the pertinence of the "ultra-large" flatscreen, especially for the Liquid Crystal on Silicon (LCoS) technology regarding, notably, the return on investment, more than one brand will propose large displays this year -after all, size, along with HD capability, seems to be the most discriminant factors among the crowd. So be it!

D-ILA is JVC's method of LCoS, or Liquid Crystal on Silicon (read our article about the big screens and LCoS market here); it is the same technology as Sony's SXRD but it is bigger.

Who is the monster?

It looks like JVC has worked hard to resolve its biggest problem in previous versions of HD-ILA TVs, that is to say a difficulty to obtain a satisfying "dark black." It is apparently solved. Yet, some limitations are still there when displaying flashy white lights -a problem which is apparently originated within the Rear-Projection technology  itself -this, because of a light output heightening system which produces a visible texture.

But JVC's monster is bright and brilliant, especially in its "Theater Pro" configuration, which optimizes the device for cinema/Home entertainment.

JVC uses three ILA chips to produce such result. We'll keep you posted about their technology when they communicate, which they will not fail doing in the coming months.

The little beast is available for the tiny price of $6000, which is considerably lower than its Sony SXRD competitor.

Specs (source: JVC)

• HDMI digital input w/HDCP
• Two (2) HD auto sensing Component Video Inputs for satellite or DVD player
• Three (3) S-Video Inputs for cable or S-VHS connections (2 rear/1 side)
• Four (4) AV inputs for all Composite Video connections (3 rear/1 side)
• One (1) Smart Input for AV receiver connections
• An AV Compu Link III mini jack to connect an entire JVC home theater for automated startup and input selection
• Center Channel Input for the TV to act as the center speaker in a surround sound system
• Fixed/Variable Audio Output with TV Speaker on and off
• Subwoofer Output to hook up a subwoofer directly to the TV
• i.LINK (IEEE,1394) for connecting to i.LINK compatible components
• Optical Audio Output
• Digital CableCARD slot

Visit JVC website here