The DLP projector

The dlp projector aka Digital Light Projection - a million tiny mirrors to make you "high definition happy!"

DLP stands for Don't you Like Plasma? No it doesn't. It stands for Digital Light Processing. Here's another chip based display technology. A bright light shines through a spinning color wheel onto a Digital Micro-mirror (DMD) Device chip or chips consisting of more than a million tiny mirrors that reflect light on or off a point on your screen, very, very quickly (thousands of times each second.) This all happens so fast that you can't see it happen. But SOME people ON SOME on these displays, especially older models, see an artifact called RAINBOWS. Where's Judy Garland when we need her to sing? This artifact bothers some people while others just don't see it. Or NOTICE it: maybe that's a better way to say it. The electronic companies ARE trying to get clever and cleverer to make it less obvious, but the RAINBOWS are subtle - at worst - to my eye. Let's say you are looking at a bright part of the picture then you look away, you might see the rainbow effect. 3-chip DLP projectors, higher wheel speeds, and 7-segment color wheels are advances to help eliminate this artifact.

One of the best pictures I have seen was on a DLP set. It was literally like looking through a window at Sweden. There were flowers blowing in the breeze. A bee about 25 inches long was doing the nectar-thing in close-up. You could see its whiskers flex. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Digital Light Projectors have gone through generations of chipsets ALREADY, so this is a rapidly maturing technology.

DLPs can be had in 'project onto a screen' or 'in the box' versions. Just like REAR PROJECTOR LCDs, there's some depth to the 'in a box' versions, though depth is shrinking, but the box can stand on a, um, ...stand.

If you saw STAR WARS REVENGE OF THE SITH in a digital movie theater, you saw the commercial version of the DLP projector. I saw 25 foot wide actor heads on the big screen, and I have to say, it sure looked like film to me. And apparently, the screen I saw it IN was only at half resolution, If my data is correct. Which means it could have looked even better. From where we sat, you could drive a bus up Natalie Portman's nostril.

DLP Projector Plusses:

Great picture, especially brightness and color

Good contrast

Rapidly advancing technology

Good bulb life

Replaceable bulb by user

Relatively light weight

Chip (version) progression continues with improvement

No burn in.

Now as thin as 7 inches (in limited availability)

DLP Projector Minuses:

Wheel noise?

Rainbows?

In a quiet room you might hear the wheel motor. There are also fans that cool the bright lights that shine in this and other technologies. Sometimes you'll hear a whisper... or not.

Bulb replacement cost

OPINION

DLP is in a horse race with LCD, although all DLP is by definition, a form of projection TV, while LCDs can be flat panels OR Projected.

The DLP projector: A very worthy contender for any home theater. Now available as shallow as 7 inches deep!

The dlp projector vs. the lcd projector: what to look for and consider.

1- Will the wheel noise in the dlp projector bother you? (You won’t hear it in a store.)

2- Will the dlp projector screen show a ‘hotspot’ in dark scenes or transitions and will it bother you?

3- Will you see rainbows and if you do, how often and will they bother you or your siggy other?

4- Will the lcd projector colors seem washed out?

5- Check analog reception on either format. Is one superior to the other for your tastes?

6- Review costs of respective replacement lamps and estimated life spans.

7- If serious about LCD, have you seen a new generation LCoS set?

New generation LCoS is said to have better color, less screen door effect, better dark picture rendition.

Bottom line?

Proponents of lcd and dlp both claim superiority - it's a close close race.

YOU CAN'T TELL WHICH IS BETTER IN A STORE! Read why.

Recommended DLP

Change is in the air.  Using a new LED light source, there's said to be no need for expensive bulb changes, but more importantly, no wheel is necessary.  This should cut down on internal noise and is worth tracking down.

Change number 2:  There's a new chipset which allows optical distortions to be fixed... distortions which would come from a box with lesser depth for the lens assembly.