February 2007 saw the debut of JVC’s DLA-HD1.

Out of the blue, this remarkable projector suddenly carried the company’s previously interesting, but ultimately flawed, Digital Light Amplification technology right into the thick of the AV battlefield.

And now D-ILA is in improved form, in the step-up HD100. If this really does deliver a performance boost over the HD1, it should be very special indeed.

Astounding contrast ratio

The HD1’s most remarkable feature was its black level response that delivered a 15,000:1 contrast ratio. The HD100 blasts that out of the water, by promising double that as standard and with a maximum (extendable) figure of 40,000:1.

This is made possible through refinements made to the already revolutionary ‘Wire Grid Optical Engine’ that gave this model’s predecessor such a leg up over previous D-ILA models.

This engine employs a new smoothing technology that reduces imperfections in the liquid crystal alignment construction process, helping cut down on stray light bouncing around the system.

Also, the HD100’s engine dispenses with the conventional, but inefficient prism for splitting light into colour, and replaces it with a flat device featuring an inorganic reflective polarising surface and aluminium strips arrayed along the top. This means you end up with less unwanted light spillage and much enhanced brightness and black level response.

Impressive connectivity

Connectivity hits the spot with two v1.3a HDMI inputs, making the unit compatible with the much hyped Deep Color system, with its enhanced colours.

You also a get component video input, an RS232C jack for system integration and S-video and composite video fallbacks, too. As with the HD1, the HD100 delivers a 1080p resolution, and provides a zero overscan mode for unscaled reproduction of 1,080-line sources.

Plus, of course, it can handle any hi-def material you might throw at it, including the new 1080p/24fps format found on most next-generation discs. The HD100 allegedly improves on the HD1, meanwhile, by reproducing a broader colour space for more natural and richer tones.

Plus – rather crucially, given that the HD1 sold well through custom installation channels – it provides much more setup flexibility, including onscreen customised gamma controls, noise reduction, and much more comprehensive colour tweaking.

Straightforward setup

For such a sophisticated projector, the HD100 is surprisingly straightforward to set up and use.