Rear-projection down but not out?

Author: Gareth Halfacree
Published: 22nd January 2008
Comments (11) Stumble
Texas Instruments think that rear-projection sets driven by DLP chips are the way to go.

Texas Instruments think that rear-projection sets driven by DLP chips are the way to go.

Despite reports to the contrary, it would appear that rear-projection technology isn't quite out for the count just yet. Although, as previously reported, sales of HDTVs based on rear-projection technology have slowed to the point where they are almost completely eclipsed by rival LCD, at least one company thinks they can inject some life into the sets.

Texas Instruments, the developer of the original digital light processor system used in most modern projection systems – both rear and front – has plans to reinvigorate the technology.

The company used its booth at the Consumer Electronics Show last week to showcase teeny-tiny new DLP chips that could help rear-projection sets compete with the elfin depths of LCD TVs, along with a hush-hush demo of projectors small enough to be built in to a mobile phone.

The main hook Texas Instruments is using to draw manufacturers back to rear-projection is contrast ratio: as consumers begin to feel disappointed with the often lacklustre blacks offered by the backlit LCD sets currently on the market, the company is hoping that a 500,000-to-1 contrast ratio will be enough to turn heads. The sets planned for production in the second half of this year will also ditch the traditional bulb-based lighting for a system of LEDs and lasers to double the brightness of the picture and eliminate the hot-spot effect that some DLP sets can suffer from.

The new DLP chips will be adopted by the last few manufactures still supporting rear-projection technology: Toshiba, Samsung, and Mitsubishi. Previous rear-projection stalwarts Seiko Epson, Sony, and Hitachi all ditched the format last year in favour of LCD.

Has a 500,000-to-1 contrast got you thinking twice about discounting rear-projection as a current technology, or do you think LCD still has the upper hand? Let us know your thoughts over in the forums.
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Quote mmorgue 22nd January 2008, 09:35
Rear-pro...Rear-pruh...prew-jek-shun?

...never heard of it....
Quote Orlix 22nd January 2008, 10:32
If the picture quality improves without afecting the price too much, it could LCD a good fight. The main advantage I see in Rear projection is the size and the price difference vs LCD.
Quote Corvyne 22nd January 2008, 12:55
With dolby having bought out brightside technologies, the people behind the active LED backlight matrix and now marketing it as dolby HDR, I think they might have a bit of a struggle on their hands.
http://www.dolby.com/promo/hdr/technology.html
Quote Arkanrais 22nd January 2008, 13:12
so long as the rear projection screens aren't as s*** as the ones I was looking at a year or so ago. the ones I was looking at had the worst viewing angle I have ever seen where you had to pretty much be directly in front of and level with the screen to get a passable view of the action.
Quote devdevil85 22nd January 2008, 17:44
Quote:
Originally Posted by Arkanrais
so long as the rear projection screens aren't as s*** as the ones I was looking at a year or so ago. the ones I was looking at had the worst viewing angle I have ever seen where you had to pretty much be directly in front of and level with the screen to get a passable view of the action.
ditto....viewing angles on RPTVs (from what I've experienced) are not as good as they should be and if you aren't staring directly in front of it the image can get color distortion and look faded.....but again this is my experience on a 6-year old Mitsubishi 1080i/480p RPTV......
Quote Trekari 22nd January 2008, 19:17
Two things killed DLP for me when I was looking to purchase my first HDTV last Feb.

1) The texture of the screen was clearly visible to me on light pictures to the point of being distracting from what I was trying to watch.

2) The input lag using a video game console was unbearable. Even with all options for "Game mode" turned on, the processing delay from moving my controller stick and then waiting for my character to move was not tolerable and would've made competitive gaming impossible.
Quote marscay 22nd January 2008, 20:41
this is great news, for those that don't know about DLP take a look at the Sagem HD series or the Sony SXRD's.

i have a 56" sagem and in HD it beats the pants of any LCD and any Plasma under 3-4k for PQ - and in terms of black levels versus LCD it's not contest.

they're the great unknown sets for those 'in the know' :)
Quote Lucidity 22nd January 2008, 20:57
DLPs will remain the sets of true ht enthusiasts as long as they exist. You just can't get the colors, response time, and deep blacks from an LCD, and in order to get it out of a plasma you will have to bleed your bank account dry. This is great news, as it seemed like TI had given up on their awesome technology. Getting a flat panel is pointless anyway, nobody makes flat components......
Quote Lucidity 22nd January 2008, 21:15
Quote:
Originally Posted by Trekari
Two things killed DLP for me when I was looking to purchase my first HDTV last Feb.

1) The texture of the screen was clearly visible to me on light pictures to the point of being distracting from what I was trying to watch.

2) The input lag using a video game console was unbearable. Even with all options for "Game mode" turned on, the processing delay from moving my controller stick and then waiting for my character to move was not tolerable and would've made competitive gaming impossible.

I'm not quite sure what dlp you were looking at, but it was either crap or an older model. The new Samsung we just got is amazing for gaming. I experienced no lag whatsoever plus it was 2k less than the plasma we were looking at. I know that DLP had problems like 2-3 years ago, but those have been fixed (at least by Samsung and Mitsu sets).
Quote Trekari 23rd January 2008, 05:29
Actually the DLP in question was the 42" Samsung, along with the 4676S Samsung with the slim depth. They were both not acceptable for gaming in any way, shape or form as far as I was concerned.
Quote CanadianViking 23rd January 2008, 05:51
500,000:1?!

I thought the 2000:1 on my LCD TV was decent.
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