DLP (digital light processing) TVs are a version of rear projection high-definition sets that use digital light projection to create the picture. A DLP TV works differently from its other rear-projection counterparts in that it reflects its picture image off tiny mirrors rather than projecting the image outright. DLP is a competitor in the HD TV market to the flat-panel HD TVs.
DLP Mirrors
The key component of a DLP TV is the digital micromirror device, also called a DLP chip. This chip is an optical semiconductor that contains millions of tiny aluminum mirrors. One chip can contain more than 1 million mirrors though it fits in the palm of the hand. The mirrors are laid out to form a matrix, very much like a mosaic. Each mirror stands for one pixel on the screen.
Function
The mirrors receive the data from the DLP chip, which creates the picture by decoding an image code and converting it to progressive data. The mirrors then rapidly tilt toward and away from the light they will receive to create gray pixels. The light from the TV's lamp is shone through optical lenses and a spinning color wheel and then reflects off the mirrors. The reflected light then passes to a projection lens and another larger mirror to the screen.
Identification
The DLP TV's resolution size depends on the number of mirrors contained on the chip. The chip has one mirror for every pixel on the screen. The smallest HD TV screen, at a resolution of 1280-by-720 pixels, uses a DLP chip containing more than 900,000 mirrors. A 1920-by-1080 screen, usually the largest resolution on the open market, uses more than 2 million mirrors.
Benefits
DLP TVs are advertised as having a higher picture quality than plasma and LCD screens, with a contrast ratio of up to 100,000-to-1. DLP does not allow phosphor burn-in, where areas on a CRT or plasma screen can disfigure from an image appearing for too long. It also avoids pixelation, where viewers can see the lines between pixels. They often cost less than comparable plasma and LCD screens.
Warning
DLP can encounter its own problems. Older DLP sets sometimes have what is known as the "rainbow effect"--shadows of the primary red, green and blue colors could flash along borders, usually with very bright objects against very dark backgrounds.
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