DLA-NZ900

The worse your light control, the more you must consider lumens. Being a reflected image, you must also consider the screen size, screen gain, viewing distance, projector throw distance, and anything else that effects perceived brightness and contrast like masking panels and how reflective your wall surfaces are. Without a discussion of budget it’s impossible to give you qualified advice, as 4K projectors run anywhere from $1500-$150k USD. Almost every decent projector for home cinema use will still warrant an outboard video processor like Lumagen or madVR if you want to optimize the HDR experience. There are some inexpensive shortcuts for things like Dolby Vision (see EZCOO SP12H2 w/ custom firmware for LLDV EDID injection hack) but for general HDR10 content you’ll want a processor with its own DTM algorithm. Static tone mapping especially sucks on projectors. Which brings us back to brightness: HDR performance necessarily requires more brightness and contrast and good color and the ability to manage it all. Which brings us back to an outboard video processor. Even a $30k JVC DLA-NZ900 that has its own native DTM capability still benefits from the addition of an outboard video processor. What you’re generally getting with more costly projectors is more lumens and better optics, and not necessarily “better” video processing capability.

People pay professionals good money to help them with answers to your questions. Equipment choice alone is barely half the equation. Good design and good integration are critical to achieving high performance. This isn’t something you should just freestyle, as there are many tradeoffs to manage based on your subjective preferences. Design informs equipment choice. It’s an iterative process as you converge on design and equipment choice simultaneously. Long throw projectors generally offer better image quality than UST at the same price point. UST are nice if you’re worried about people casting shadows or if this is a general entertainment space hosting karaoke night and dance parties. If it’s just for watching motion pictures while seated then get a long throw projector. For $5k I’d try to score a deal on a B-stock Sony VPL-XW5000ES or a lightly used JVC D-ILA projector, preferably with laser light source but if you’d rather spend less then a bulb is fine. You can find some screaming deals if you don’t mind bulbs and fake 4K pixel-shifting. If your viewing distance is >10ft then it shouldn’t matter. https://www.avsforum.com/forums/front-projector.252/ Fixed screens are cheaper than motorized screens. Acoustically transparent screens are nice because you can place the LCR speakers behind the screen, which not only looks better but sounds better. But this is also where you need to be careful as there is interaction between viewing angles/ screen size and speaker positions and seating distance. All have to be in harmony. Woven screens usually look and sound better than perforated screens, but this depends on the exact screen material, budget, viewing distance and preference. Like I said, there’s lots of tradeoffs to manage. I’d recommend minimum 7.1.4 speaker configuration, even if you have to built it in stages as funds allow. My preference in that size room is 9.1.6 but that’s going to break your budget in terms of AV processor capability, speaker count and amplification requirements. You’ll want a minimum of two subwoofers. What exactly do you mean by “sound conditioning is already taken care of?”

If we're really talking money is no object, then not even the higher end JVC or Sony will really cut it. We're talking brands like Christie, Barco and the like, and that's into six figures. Frankly it's so far from my wheelhouse I barely know what's available up there in the stratosphere of projection, but those are the projectors you buy first and then build the room around them second. But in a more semi-reasonable price range - $30 grand or so - you find stuff like this https://www.jvc.com/usa/projectors/procision/dla-rs4200/ But if you have "fuck you" money to spend and want a really superlative home theater, go find a company that sets those things up and have the expertise to both get the right projector, the right video processor and also set up a Kaleidescape so you can buy the movies in 4K with full Bluray quality and download them to your system.

I am in a similar situation. I’m renovating my home theater and upgrading projectors. My room is 23wx25d with a sloped ceiling that’s 8 to 17ft. So along that 25ft depth the screen side is 25ft wide and 17ft tall. My screen is 180 inches I have been struggling with what projector to get and while there are some in the 10k price range that can work it’s going to be difficult to get that many lumens in a solid projector. Ultimately you have (and I have) a lumens problem. I’ve been working with Audio Advice to try to determine a projector and I am already looking at 20-30k projectors. One I found that would easily meet your lumen needs is the Epson QL-3000. That’s a $16k projector without the lenses and close to 19 depending on the lens’s. When I brought it up to Audio Advice they were not huge fans of the projector. I haven’t seen it in person but images I’ve seen of the video look good. But it’s doing 4k upscaling - so it really comes down to what you need lumen wise compared to image quality. I want cinema level amazing so I’m looking at the JVC-NZ900 now (30k! :(…)

https://preview.redd.it/1ul7a5snstvf1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=06073ce5d1601bc998177230231e2b68713a8010 Just for assistance. I put a separate post up talking about my new NZ900 (outside of your price range but as an example). This is a 25ft throw onto my wall, the screen size here is about 220 inches. The NZ900 is 3200 lumens. Your issue will be lumens as you need the brightness for your HDR pop. If native 4k isn’t a hard and fast requirement the QL-3000 is 6,000 lumens and is 18k-20k for the lens you’d need. I just wanted you to get a visual of what you’re looking for. This was taken directly out of the box, with zero config, image is 1080p. There’s no screen (hasn’t been installed yet, and it’s projecting onto a peopercorn gray wall). I know when I was looking I wanted to see what things looked like and know the variables to help me decide. One big item that could matter is your throw distance. The closer in the better (but there are zoom considerations). For example my pic is at a 25ft throw but I’m considering mounting at 20ft AND I’ll shrink the image down to a 180 screen. So my setup will actually get a bit brighter.

Another advantage is placing the speakers behind an acoustically transparent screen, so the sound comes from the image. Recently bought two 85 inch 8K TVs and an 8K projector with 200 inch screen. The contrast and black level with the projector is excellent. [https://www.jvc.com/usa/projectors/procision/dla-nz900/](https://www.jvc.com/usa/projectors/procision/dla-nz900/) One of the TVs already shorted out, Samsung. Since one of the TVs was dead when it was opened and had to be replaced that means only 1 of 3 is working.

If budget is not the primary concern, I highly recommend the JVC NZ series. Image is razor sharp, blacks are deepest you ca get in a projector. I have the NZ500 it’s *amazing*, and I do my fair share of gaming on it. Might also want to consider nz700 and nz800. And yes they are easy to set up and the higher you go on their range the less dark of a room is needed. I’ve seen the NZ900 is all daylight and it just works.

That makes it a lot more clear then. Personally, I would say for **most "normal" people**, you would hit that point around the **$6000** mark. I'm specifically thinking of two projectors: **Epson LS12000 and JVC NZ5000**: https://www.projectorcentral.com/Epson-Pro_Cinema_LS12000.htm https://www.projectorcentral.com/JVC-NZ500-Projector-Review.htm That is the point where you are getting most of the features that are relevant to either of these brands when it comes to home theater. And when you pay more than this, you're spending multiple thousands of dollars in order to get relatively smaller brightness bumps or more esoteric features. It's also worth noting that you don't actually need to pay $6K for these projectors. There's discount to be had when you know where to look. The real price is closer to around $5K. Ask around with a few different Epson/JVC dealers. I'd recommend starting with AV Science. Actually call them and talk to them. Oversimplifying a bit here, but I would go with the JVC if you primarily care about movies, have a fully light controlled room, ***and*** are blacking out the areas around the screen. If you're using the projector for more of a mix of content (including gaming), and the room is mostly light controlled, but not perfect, then I would go with the Epson. And with either of these projectors, I probably wouldn't recommend going above ~140" at more in screen size. There is another point where I would say **diminishing returns hit for enthusiasts.** And that is at around **$17K for the Epson QL3000 or JVC NZ800**: https://www.projectorcentral.com/Epson-QL3000B.htm https://www.projectorcentral.com/JVC-DLA-NZ800.htm With the JVC, you're getting 120Hz support that the cheaper JVCs do not have and more brightness without sacrificing on black levels. The Epson QL3000 is a bit more of an odd esoteric choice. It's a monster light cannon that can output 6000 lumens (more like 5000 lumens when in a color accurate mode). This allows you to either use a crazy large screen (if you need to go above 150"). Or it allows you to go for a super bright 200-300 nit image. I've seen the JVC NZ800 and Epson QL3000 played side-by-side. And while I fully accept that the JVC has deeper black levels and arguably more accurate color, the Epson's crazy brightness just pops way more for HDR content. I subjectively prefer the image from the Epson on the majority of content. But if your goal is reference level accuracy, then the JVC will get you closer to that. And again, you shouldn't need to pay sticker price for these either. You can save a couple thousand dollars by shopping around. Once you go above these two projectors, there are models above them (JVC NZ900 and Epson QL7000). However, those models cost ~$15K more and are not substantially better IMO. The next meaningful set up IMO, would be spending over $60K for a Christie, Barco, or Sony GTZ-380.

> I’m thinking a non-retractable, sound transparent screen that’s one piece, and a standard throw projector. Not sure about screen size. > I have 10’ to work with, maybe 12’ width if I take out a closet. Room is 16’ length, but I do have rear surrounds and rear subs that need some room. Probably 40-50 FOV is good. If you want an acoustically transparent screen, that means that the speakers will be behind the screen. **You need to determine how much space you will need behind the screen.** Everything flows together, everything is connected. You have 16ft of depth to work with. The seating should ideally be at least 3ft away from the back wall. You can kinda fudge it with 2ft and some compromises. So your viewing distance from the seats to screen will be 13ft minus however much distance you need behind the screen. Will that be 1ft? 2ft? More? That's all going to depend on what type of LCR speakers you use and what type of screen you use. For example, you can use slim LCRs like the on-wall Arendal 1961 Monitors or 1610 Slim 8s: https://store.arendalsound.com/product/1961-monitor/ https://store.arendalsound.com/product/1610-slim-8/ And pair them with a woven acoustically transparent screen that doesn't require any space between the speaker and the screen. In that case, you really only need about 8 inches between the front wall and the screen. **This will give you a pretty nice ~12ft viewing distance.** Or on the other hand, you can use much deeper speakers like the 21" deep Power Sound Audio MTM210K and a perforated screen that requires 12" between the speaker and the screen. In that case, you need to have the screen offset from the front wall by nearly 3ft. This gives you a tighter 10ft viewing distance. Or 11ft if you compromise a bit and push the seating closer to the wall. And of course, there are all the combinations in-between those. But say for argument sake, you end up with a ~12ft viewing distance. If you're shooting for a 45 degree FOV, then that means you will want a ~137" screen. That screen would be 119" wide. That's just shy of 10ft wide. The issue is that any sort of bezel would make that screen wider than 10ft. I think **the largest screen you would be able to reasonably fit without demolishing the closet would be ~132".** At 12ft away, this gives you a **FOV of 43.6 degrees.**

The Max is good for general use in bright spaces maybe but it certainly wouldn't meet my definition of best. In my mind, anything with a built-in speaker is a compromise. If I had the $35k I'd need to buy it, my choice would probably be something like the JVC DLA-NZ900. It would be tough, but I might have to settle for the likes of the NZ800. First world problems... :)