After an exciting IFA where 8K TVs had a chance to make their world debut, it’s now the humble projector’s turn to get the 8K treatment during the annual CEDIA conference down in Los Angeles, California.
At the head of the pack is JVC, who today announced its new D-ILA series that includes the world’s first 8K e-shift projector, the DLA-NX9/DLA-RS3000, that can produce images up to 300 inches across (25 ft/7.6m) with a 8,192x4,320 resolution.
While the world's first 8K projector should absolutely enthrall AV enthusiasts, the word e-shift might dampen the spirits of some: E-Shift, for those who've never seen the term before, means that the projector doesn't exactly output a native resolution, but rather uses a pixel shifting algorithm to upscale images.
In terms of specs, the NX-9 has a 100,000:1 native contrast ratio and a brightness of 2,200 lumens. It will offer HDR support in the form of HDR10 and HLG, plus uses something called Auto Tone Mapping function to automatically adjust settings based on the mastering information – a technology that sounds awfully similar to HDR10+.
If all this technology sounds expensive, you're absolutely right. It is. The NX-9 will set you back a whopping $17,999 (£18,599, around AU$25,000) when it comes out in October of this year.
Of course, 4K is still fine!
While the highlight of the show is JVC's 8K beamer, you'll also find two new 4K projectors from the firm coming out at the same time.
To wit, there's the new DLA-NX7, a 4K projector with an 80,000:1 native contrast and a maximum screen size of 200 inches and the DLA-NX5 that drops the native contrast down to just 40,000:1.
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These projectors will be a bit cheaper than their 8K counterpart and will sell for $7,999.95 (£8,499, around AU$11,000) and $5,999.95 (£6,499, around AU$8,400), respectively when they release in October.
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Nick Pino is Managing Editor, TV and AV for TechRadar's sister site, Tom's Guide. Previously, he was the Senior Editor of Home Entertainment at TechRadar, covering TVs, headphones, speakers, video games, VR and streaming devices. He's also written for GamesRadar+, Official Xbox Magazine, PC Gamer and other outlets over the last decade, and he has a degree in computer science he's not using if anyone wants it.