JVC 'New Ultimate' 8K laser projector on its way

JVC Ultimate projector teaser
(Image credit: JVC)

JVC has dropped a teaser video hinting at the launch of a new 8K laser projector for its top-end D-ILA range.

'The New Ultimate' is trailered in a 30-second clip below, but there's not actually a huge amount of solid info to go on at present. That said, the video was posted today on the official JVC YouTube account and is titled 'JVC D-ILA Projector Teaser Movie 2021' – and that actually gives us some firm facts.

For starters, we know it's definitely happening. We know that it's a D-ILA projector and, from the date, one would imagine that this is a device coming some time this year. The video itself also confirms some key, exciting specs – laser, 8K and, of course, HDR – and finishes with a quick close up of the front of this soon-to-come machine.

From what can be seen, the chassis looks virtually identical to that of the JVC DLA-N5 and the rest of the incumbent D-ILA range, with its curved front, side vents, central black stripe on the top and three LEDs. We'll have to wait for more information on anything else. Hopefully, that's not too far away.

JVC's D-ILA machines are some of the very best out there – certainly at native 4K levels. The N5, N7 and N9 are the current 'good, better, best' models for lamp source 4K, with the JVC DLA-Z1 the laser option.

Upping these LCOS (liquid crystal on silicon) projector panel-based machines to 8K resolution is a very exciting step. While there's little 8K source material to speak of, 8K TVs such as the Samsung QE75QN900A have showed us what a huge difference those extra pixels can make for super-sharp upscaled 4K picture quality, particularly at large screen sizes. With pictures of up to 300 inches, that should certainly help projectors. 

It's been a fair while since JVC last launched a D-ILA projector, so we wouldn't be surprised if this was a teaser for more than one model. Whether they will all be 8K and all have a laser light source remains to be seen but they should certainly give Sony's refreshed SXRD machines a run for their money. Exciting stuff.

MORE:

JVC DLA-N5 vs Sony VPL-VW590ES: which 4K projector should you buy?

The best entry-level native 4K projector? Read our Sony VPL-VW290ES review.

The Sony 2021 4K projector lineup: models, specs, SXRD, everything to know.

Dan Sung

Dan is a staff writer at What Hi-Fi? and his job is with product reviews as well as news, feature and advice articles too. He works across both the hi-fi and AV parts of the site and magazine and has a particular interest in home cinema. Dan joined What Hi-Fi? in 2019 and has worked in tech journalism for over a decade, writing for Tech Digest, Pocket-lint, MSN Tech and Wareable as well as freelancing for T3, Metro and the Independent. Dan has a keen interest in playing and watching football. He has also written about it for the Observer and FourFourTwo and ghost authored John Toshack's autobiography, Toshack's Way.

  • Rob Zohn
    Thanks for covering this! Very exciting projector advancements from JVC.

    We'll see a press release from JVC on September 1st and we'll have all of the detailed specs, and.pdf spec sheets on September 1st.
    Reply