DLP TV is a type of projection television technology.
DLP technology, which stands for digital light processing, was developed by
Texas Instruments, and relies on a digital micro-mirror device (DMD)
to form an image that is projected on the screen.
DLP televisions create their projected
image using tiny electro-mechanical mirrors.
The DMD found inside DLP televisions is a microchip, no larger than
a standard personal computer's CPU, with literally
hundreds of thousands of
little micro-mirrors arranged on it in a grid-like fashion.
By shining a bright light onto the DLP,
each mirror forms a single dot of light on the DLP television's screen.
Every mirror can be tilted into one of two angles (or positions)
by varying voltages supplied to the mirror's assembly.
Components inside the
DLP TV are arranged in such a way that when a light shines onto a micro-mirror,
it is reflected onto the screen if a mirror is in one position (the "on" position),
and away from the screen if it's in the other position ("off" position).
Colors are formed by rapidly rotating a three-color filter (red, green, and blue)
in front of the light source, and timing the mirror movements to form the correct
color image component when the respective color filter is in place. The relative
brightness of each color dot is controlled by varying the time in which a micro-mirror
is in the on position.
Longer durations in the on position produce brighter colors.
Like in every projection system, the light that bounces off the DLP is passed through
a lens, which focuses the light onto the DLP television's screen.
DLP TV screens are sharper and brighter than projection televisions that use
LCDs to form their pictures. This is because the image forming reflective surface
takes up nearly 90% of the DLP chip's area, with the rest as gaps between the mirrors,
whereas a typical LCD's image forming area is no more than 50%.
With respect to image quality and price,
DLP televisions lie somewhere in between conventional rear projection TVs and
plasma televisions. DLP TV picture quality is better than that of conventional rear
projection televisions but not as good as that of plasma.
DLP televisions are also more expensive than
conventional rear projection but cost considerably less than plasma,
for comparable screen sizes that is.
