JVC NZ800 / NZ900 2.0 Firmware Now Available

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As is customary for JVC since the N-series (NX5 / NX7 / NX9), they release a product one year, and then update the firmware on it the next year to keep the product fresh. This is exactly what they have done a couple of weeks ago for the NZ800 / NZ900 projectors (and for projectors with equivalent model numbers in other regions).

You can download the new firmware on JVC’s support site here.

We have already covered the new features extensively in another article here, however we have some more details now that the firmware is out that I’d like to share.

Shifting of White Point / Colour?

At least two users mentioned that they think their white point shifted after the update, so I would say be cautious if you have a professionally calibrated unit. However, this is not the experience of mine or others. Any shift can be attributed to measurement error.

While I like to take people at their word, it is also possible that the units were calibrated incorrectly (there are certain things you should not do to your JVC, regardless of the controls allowing for it) or there were other issues at play (calibration or measurement errors do happen to the best of us).

In any case, I thought I’d mention this for completeness. Thanks to one of our readers (Mr. M.T.) for bringing it to my attention.

New Calibration Features

The new autocal can be downloaded from JVC’s site here.

Firstly, Windows 10 support has been removed from the new Autocal. While this isn’t great, as many people are still stuck on Windows 10, I don’t think it means the software will break on Windows 10, just that JVC will provide no official support going forward.

Autocal has been updated with a “Calibrator Mode”, which allows you to specify the laser level you want the calibration to be focusing on more intensively. This is helpful as laser takes a bit more time to warm up and change than previously allowed.

In addition, you can select windowed mode. This allows for a more accurate autocal that takes into consideration more of how the hardware behaves with actual content, as opposed to full-screen patterns. This is due to light recycling, whereby laser power is pushed back up the light path when the DILA panels reject any of the light. This differs based on the scene’s APL. Using windowed patterns allow us to take this into account, which should result in a more accurate calibration for actual content, as opposed to the patterns.

While I think JVC has done a great job so far with colour calibration, any improvement in accuracy is most welcome, especially for those of us obsessive about colour.

I do want to mention the Reference Meter Emulation function, which allows you to use a spectro to profile your Spyder to, so it can be used for both gamma and colour calibration more accurately. This excellent feature was added when the NZ700 / NZ500 projectors were released, and is included here. It will become simply critical when dual or triple laser JVCs are released.

There is also a v2.0 autocal scheduled for release in Mid November. I don’t know if that will only update the sensor support, or also add other new features. We shall see.

Dark OSD Mode

The OSD has two additional settings now:

1. One to darken the OSD so it doesn’t interfere with what’s on the screen (OSD Dark Mode)
2. The second is to keep laser dimming ON when the OSD is called up and not brighten the screen (OSD Brightness Sync)

These together allow for adjustment of the projector without any changes to screen brightness while content is shown and makes adjustment much more comfortable. What’s more, it is an important tool for calibrators who want to test features or even calibrate with laser dimming on. While we don’t generally do this, running tests with laser-dimming on is useful in some instances.

New MPC Algorithm for Standard Mode

MPC, JVC’s Super-Resolution Algorithm, has three modes on the NZ800 / NZ900:

1. Standard
2. High-Res 1
3. High-Res 2

I have covered these in detail during my NZ800 review. However, to recap:

1. Standard and High-Res 1 both use the new Super-Resolution Algorithm developed for this new series that has much better detail retrieval than the NZ8 / NZ9 generation.
2. High-Res 2 uses the old algorithm from the NZ8 / NZ9 generation for those instances where you want a smoother, almost optical feel to the image. This is indeed useful when trying to emulate the look of optical film, and you can be quite aggressive with the Enhance setting on High-Res 2 (even going up to 10) without doing any damage to the image.

On the original NZ800 / NZ900 firmware, both Standard and High-Res 1 had very aggressive enhancement applied when going up the range with the Enhance control, so anything beyond 4 or 5 was completely unusable. High Res 1 was tamed down with the previous point update, and looks even better now with this update. Standard has been re-worked with this update to be more useful as well.

Standard now has less enhancement applied than High Res 1, and it looks like there’s less edge and contrast-adaptive enhancement, altering the underlying source material even less, while keeping detail enhancement on.

This is quite a turn-around, as Standard used to be more aggressive all the way back to when it was introduced many generation ago. Now, it is using the new Super Resolution algorithm, but with less enhancement applied and respecting the source material more, just like High Res 2 does.

I think this is an excellent update, and enjoyed using the new Standard mode. I still tend to gravitate to High Res 1 when I want that extra sharpness. But Standard is now a great option as a mid-way point between High Res 1 and High Res 2. Well done, JVC.

Smoother Feature under MPC

There’s also a “Smoother” feature under MPC that you can turn on. It is supposed to help with banding, without destroying detail. I have to be honest, it is very difficult to see it in action. I’ll have to experiment with this more. JVC could give us some time-codes in readily available content so we could see it working.

HDR Vivid Mode

HDR Vivid more is about giving more contrast and more of that flat-panel-look to the image. I guess this is following in Sony’s and Epson’s foot-steps and trying to give choice to users who crave more punch from HDR, as opposed to chasing “reference” all the time. Ultimately, there is no “reference” for HDR on projectors. So the question is whether we should interpret the standard numerically, or we should try to “emulate” the HDR look, and contrast that’s on flat panels.

Since our contrast perception works quite differently when viewing a high-brightness flat panel versus a lower-brightness projected image, following the standards just mathematically doesn’t give that HDR look necessarily. Hence, I think it’s great to have this available, and JVC giving us some choice in the matter.

I switched between the Lumagen and JVC’s new HDR mode, and I have to be honest, the image JVC produces with these new enhancements is very natural, but with sharpness and punch. I hesitate to say this, but at times I preferred the JVC so I revisited my Lumagen settings to improve on them. The Lumagen still has the upper hand in configurability of course.

I am also happy to see JVC finally giving us a “low / mid / high” HDR quantiser option to choose from. Could we please do the same for the Auto (normal) – Auto (wide) option under normal Frame Adapt, please? I’d like to see an Auto (Mid) option personally.

Now whether you use Deep Black with HDR Vivid mode or not is a personal choice. I like them together and don’t see black crush on my unit, but you may want to experiment with it, and leave it off for more shadow detail if you prefer.

Closing

I think it’s great to see JVC pushing things forward with these firmware updates. I think it’s also great to see these firmware updates being pushed out for free.

The NZ800 is definitely delivering the best image I have seen from any projector to date, minus a Christie Eclipse, and that’s again high praise. With this update, the image looks even more natural but gaining even more punch, which is hard to achieve as they are generally diametrically opposed aims. Not here though!

I would still like to see one more thing implemented: the ability to tweak the base gamma after an autocal run. This is the gamma which is used to derive all other gammas on the unit (including for HDR). Maybe JVC will come through with Autocal 14 2.0 in mid November?

There’s also one last suggestion, and not a criticism: back-porting new features. Let me break it down!

• JVC could consider porting new features to older units (at least one generation back to the NZ8 and NZ9), if the processing power is there.
• In such a case, charging users on the older platform for the update would be more than acceptable, as back-porting takes time and resources to do.
• This could make sense as it’s very rare that users upgrade from the very last generation to the current one, especially at the cost these units go for these days, it usually takes two generations of updates for users to move. Hence JVC could make extra money off the excellent work they do, and everyone else is happy.
• For example, back-porting the new MPC algorithm could delight NZ8 / NZ9 users as it’s a huge upgrade. Charging even upward of US$500-700 is acceptable in my opinion considering the value.

But I understand if JVC wanted to keep things fresh and not look backward. I just think it could fund further development, not hinder sales, as most NZ800/900 sales were from NX7/NX9 users.

In any case, amazing update from JVC, and polishing an already excellent product. I can safely say that the NZ800 is the best and most polished JVC projector I have owned, bar none. Highly recommended.