In the quest for deeper blacks and ever better contrast-ratio specs, dynamic irises that close down and open up the projectors light output automatically depending on the program material are all the rage. But theres no free lunch here. While the best auto-iris designs deepen blacks and increase contrast and are invisible in operation, there are inevitable issues with the varying black levels and brightness compression involved in this sleight of hand. Design—More of a Good Thing The reasonably stylish casing looks similar to that of last years model, but its finished in all black, which will make owners of darkened ISF-approved bat caves happy. The open vents on either side of the lens are good in that this is a cool, quiet projector. Its not Sony quiet, but it didn bother me an instant, even though it was stand-mounted within a couple of feet of my chair. Back in the day, there was a cottage industry of custom-built "hush boxes" for JVCs D-ILA projectors, but that isn a viable business plan anymore. The downside of the vents carried over from last year is light spill aimed right at the screen. There are diagonally placed fins behind the vents, but this projector still sprays enough light into the room to be distracting and lighten the black bars on a 2.35:1 movie. Easing installation, there are manual adjustments for both vertical and horizontal lens shift. But zoom and focus are electronic and accessible via remote. Its handy for dialing in the tightest image to get your eyeballs close to the screen and adjust the focus in small increments. One nit here, though—when the focus adjustment is engaged, a gray graphic that says "Focus" covers the center of the screen, which ironically is what you want to look at when you e focusing the projector.