DLP Technology

DLP integrates a Digital Micromirror Device (DMD). This is a chip with tiltable mirrors (pixels) that can be illuminated or not by a colour wheel. As a result, up to 16 million colour shades can be displayed. The speed of the colour wheel determines the brightness of the image. Digital Light Processing (DLP) technology from Texas Instruments is widespread and has various applications.

The more expensive versions are equipped with three DMDs, each with its own colour filter instead of a colour wheel, and generate up to 35 trillion colours. Professional cinemas like to use them.

Pros and cons:

+ Ideal for mobile use, also much smaller in size

+ Wide range of resolutions, brightness levels, screen sizes and price categories

+ Greater colour fidelity and higher contrast values

+ No alignment required: fast installation and long-lasting image quality

+ Less prominent pixels: due to speed of microchip

- Slightly more expensive

- Darker image than LCD sets, especially in bright rooms

- Rainbow effect can occur because the different colours are projected one after the other at high speed. This can be disadvantageous with light objects and a dark background.

Solution: Increasing the wheel's rotational speed annihilates this negative rainbow effect.