Texas Instruments Digital Light Processing The Digital Display TechnologiesCES ëCinemaí Showcases Image Quality of DLP Projectors

At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada Texas Instruments (TI) showcased its unique Digital Light Processing (DLP) Technology. In a 60-seat theatre located in the TI booth, visitors were able to see a selection of HDTV and digitally-captured source materials and experience for themselves the display technology which it sees as the industry standard for accurate, bright, sharp realistic images.""Since CES last year, DLP usage has continued to grow"", said Bob England, Senior Vice President and Manager of TIís Digital Imaging division. ""We have shipped over 75,000 DLP subsystems in the past twelve months, many of which are being used in entertainment applications. Projectors featuring DLP technology have continued to win industry awards, and in June 1998 we were honored to receive an Emmy form the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in recognition of what we have achieved with DLP. DLP-based projectors are increasingly becoming the choice of the worldís most ëimage-consciousí users, with many DLP projectors now installed in leisure and entertainment facilities around the world.Also features at the Texas Instruments booth was a selection of projectors which feature DLP technology. These ranged from the industryís smallest brightest ultraportable projectors capable of filling a large screen with vibrant, compelling images.""Weíre interested to gauge the reaction to DLP of those visiting CES,"" said Sherel Horsley, Senior vice President and Manger of Marketing for TIís Digital Imaging division, ""because we feel there may be an opportunity for DLP to become a key enabling technology for a High Definition Multimedia Display (LCD) - have what we believe are important limitations, not least because they are analog, rather than digital, technologies: as such, they will always struggle to deliver optimum quality images with material that has been captured, edited and transmitted digitally Form that point of view alone, DLP is a ënaturalí"".In October 1998, TI took part in a cinema first which illustrated this ënaturalí connection. ""The Last Broadcast"", a film by Stephan Avalos and Lance Weiler which had been shot using digital camera technology and edited using a personal computer, was digitally simulcast by satellite to five North American cities, where it was shown using a DLP-based projector: as such, it was the first time that a movie had been created digital, edited digitally, transmitted digitally and projected digitally.Earlier in 1998, TIís Digital Imaging division was also involved in another ëdigital firstí when a DLP-based projector was used in the first ever HDTV broadcast of a professional sports event in the southwest. That occasion marked the very first time that digital technology had been used at each stage of the broadcasting process -from the use of digital cameras through digital transmission to digital display.Today, TI supplies DLP subsystems to over twenty of the worldís top projector manufacturers, who then design manufacture and market DLP-based projectors. Over the past tow and half years, DLP-based projectors have consistently won some of the audio-visual industryís most prestigious awards, including in June 1998, and Emmy Award form the American Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Since shipments began early 1996, TI has delivered over 140,000 DLP subsystems to its customers.At the heart of TIís digital Light Processing technology is an optical semiconductor chip that has an array (of 508,000 (SVGA) or 786,000 (XGA) hinged, microscopic mirrors on a standard logic device These tiny mirrors operate as optical switches to create a high resolution, full color image.ReflectiveAs the DMD is a reflective device, it has a light efficeincy of greater than 60 percent, making DLP systems more efficient than LCD projection displays. This efficiency is the product of reflectivity, fill factor, diffraction efficiency and actual mirror ""on"" time. LCDís are polarization-dependent, so one of the polarize light components is not used. This means that 50 percent of the lamp light never even gets to the LCD because it is filtered out by polarization. Other light is blocked by transistors, gate and source lines in the LCD cell.Seamless PictureBecause of the close spacing of the micromirrors, ninety percent of the pixel/mirror area can actively reflect light to create a projected image. Pixel size and gap uniformity are maintained over the entire array and are independent of the resolution. LCDs have, at best, a 70 percent fill factor. The ;higher DMD fill factor gives a higher perceived resolution, and this combined with the progressive scanning, creates a projected image that is much more natural and lifelike than conventional projections displays.DigialDMD is the only technology that permits digital processing and digital display of video. Images can be created, processed, distributed, stored and displayed all in completely digital form. The inherent digital nature of DLP dramatically improves performance by providing noise-free, precise image quality with digital gray scale and color reproduction. And once the image is created, ;the digital advantage ensures a consistent display, which is essential for such applications as cube-to-cube video walls. This performance is unraveled by LCD projectors where temperature, humidity, and vibration are all factors in reducing image quality.According to TI, its DLP technology provides a uniquely flexible and highly scaleable architecture for consumer, business and professional projection system applications. This one-chip DMD subsystem combines price and performance for lightweight portable projectors that are ideal for small audience projection systems. The two-chip subsystem extends the power and performance of the single chip for home and office theatre and video wall applications. TIís flagship three-chip subsystem is for the professional user whose primary concerns are image quality and high brightness and high resolution for fixed site large audience applications.Projection system manufactures currently using TIís DLP technology include AmPro, ASK, Davis, Digital Projection, Electrohome, IN Focus, NEC nView, Liesegang, Plus, Projectavsion, SIM2 Multimedia, Sony, Synelec, and Vidikron.