Projection Panels

Here we cover the main topics of projection panels. All projectors in the Projectisle database have their projection system specifications listed. By Projection System were referring to the internal panels that display your image and either reflect or filter light to project that image

The Listing is normally tells you the size of the internal panel, the technology employed and the number of panels. An example of this is below:

Although DLP has been gaining a larger market share, LCD is still the most prevalent system. Mainly due to its cost advantage over DLP, LCD manufacturers have had time to close the performance gap. While D-ila and SXRD and used for high end projectors

Size

The panel size is directly proportional to the intended use. Larger projectors designed for higher brightness and larger screens, have larger projection panels. Small portables use more compact panels, to save space. The smaller the device the less space available, they also tend to have a lower resolution.

Inorganic Projection Panels

If you look back to the first projectors, all were LCD. Being an organic material, the liquid crystals, like us get a tan from ultra violet light. This could be seen as an amber colour accross the whole image. The depth increasing relative to the operating hours. With lamps lasting 1,000 to 2,000 hours at the time, many machines were displaying an amber tinge, by 4,000 hours

Two things can be considered the root cause of this issue. The organic nature of the panels and the UV producing lamps. Eliminate one or both and we have a cure.

Type

There are currently 5 different types available:

• D-ila - A JVC technology
• DLP - by Texas instruments
• LCD - by various manufacturers
• LCoS - the original panel, addapted for D-ila and SXRD
• SXRD - A Sony design

Number

Current design centers around the 3 primary colours.

• D-ila have 3 panels
• DLP can have 1 or 3 panels
• LCD have 3 panels
• LCoS have 3 panels
• SXRD have 3 panels

3 panels are the prefered design. They have a dedicated panel for each primary colour, They produce the most accurate colour. High end DLP use a 3 panel design.

Only manufacturers using DLP, produce single panel machines. See Individual guides above for more.

Screen Door Effect

The screen-door effect is a visual artifact of all displays, where the spaces separating pixels become visible in the displayed image. This creates the effect of looking through fly mesh, on a screen door.

This can be seen in projected images and regular displays under magnification or at close range. Improvements in panel resolution and construction have made this much less significant.

 

Screen door effect grid image artifact

 

Future Design

Light Blue Optics (LBO) developed a revolutionary technology for miniature laser projectors dubbed PVPro™. In 2006 they announced the unique laser-based projection technology, which uses computational algorithms and novel optical techniques to allow miniature lasers to display video images in real-time using the diffractive nature of laser light. This overcomes the size limitation of conventional projection techniques, allowing projectors to be smaller than ever before.

With no glass or prisms, NO MOVING PARTS, and no need for fans to provide heat dissipation. In addition, it runs on less than 1.5W at full power. There is also an infinite focus, meaning that no matter how close or far away, there are no optics to adjust for a clear picture.

The advantage of the Light Blue Optics approach is to address the four key requirements for a small battery powered device. These are compact size, low power consumption, which allows the projector to be powered by typical portable battery technology, ease of use due to the focus-free operation of the system, and robustness both physically and in terms of error-tolerance.

PVPro Projector

PVPro Quick Specs:

Color Depth: Monochrome Green at 532nm (full color available late 2006)

Depth of Focus: Infinite (image remains in focus at any distance from the projector)

Resolutions Supported: QCIF, CIF, VGA, NTSC, 1024x512 (resolutions up to 2048x1280 including SXGA and S-HDTV available)

Image size: 15"

Brightness: 50cd/m^2 (all pixels full brightness)

Electrical Power Consumption: 1.4W (max pixel power, all pixels)

Holographic laser projector projection system