JVC’s new HD-ILA rear-projection TVs offer 1080p resolution, but the HD-61Z886 does a great job at 768p. In fact, this TV handles HD signals better than the Mitsubishi display reviewed on page 81, which has a native resolution of 1080p.

 
Fortunately, the on-screen menu is easier to navigate, which makes initially setting up the TV a simple process. If you want a good picture, make sure you disable many of the enhanced feature modes. Doing so will make the picture substantially brighter, as well. You can’t save separate picture adjustment settings for each source, though, which is too bad.
 
Where the JVC HD-ILA TV really shines, however, is in its picture quality. For one, the TV is exceptionally bright. Even with the window shades open and sunlight streaming into our test room, the picture has plenty of snap. With the Smart Picture mode turned off, we measured 60 footlamberts coming from the screen. This is bright. When we turned this mode on, light output doubled. Shadows and black portions of the image had excellent detail, yet were dark enough in either mode to give the picture plenty of depth. The set’s gamma measures slightly lower than our reference TV, but had no overtly perceptible negative impact on the image.
 
The picture is equally as colorful. Both high-definition and DVD content looks vibrant on this display. Discovery HD was downright addicting, thanks to the combination of bright colors and subtle hues available in its high-definition broadcasts.

Despite how many high-end video inputs you’ll find on the HD-61Z886, the remote does nothing to help you get to them. An automation remote might make things easier, but programming the remote might prove difficult.

Measurements again backed up the visual assessments, indicating that the set accurately reproduces nearly all colors. Darker images tend to be slightly more red than brighter images, a characteristic that unfortunately can’t be removed with professional calibration, but is not detrimental, regardless.
 
The HD-61Z886’s video processing––another critical aspect of a TV’s performance––is good, though not necessarily on par with the rest of the display’s performance. The processor adequately converts low-resolution signals to the TV’s native 1366 by 768 resolution and only looks soft with poor quality signals from our digital cable box. It detects, albeit slowly, material that has been converted to video’s 30 frames per second rate from the original 24 frame film. The processor then appropriately compensates for the extra frames, eliminating many picture distortions that can otherwise occur, so long as the source material’s frame rate doesn’t change quickly. Unlike many other displays, this one appropriately deinterlaces 1080i high-definition signals into a 1080 line progressive signal before fitting it into the panel’s 768 line vertical resolution. This helps preserve as much apparent detail in high-definition signals as possible and is something that even more expensive processors don’t do properly. Serious videophiles might consider adding a high-end outboard processor to the TV for standard-definition sources, but the vast majority of users will likely be more than satisfied with the image as it is.

 
JVC’s HD-61Z886 has a great deal going for it. Numerous features and flexible connections combined with excellent picture quality make this a great choice for anyone looking for a large-screen rear-projection TV. I haven’t reviewed any digital cinema projectors lately, but if this TV is any indication of what’s in store for the local bijou, good things are on the way.