May 6th, 2011
Here we are with another installment in our series called “Projectors: Your Technical Questions Answered.” In this segment, we answer the most basic of commonly asked questions: how exactly does a projector work? Remember, if you have a question about projectors, email us at Projector123.com or post a comment here on our blog and we’ll answer it for all to read.
Chances are, even if you haven’t personally used a projector you’ve seen one at work at some point. After all, you’ve been to the movies, haven’t you? While a film projector is different from an LCD projector, the basic concept is rather similar. Let’s explore exactly how these projection machines work.
Essentially, there are two basic types of projectors: LCD and DLP. Let’s take a look at LCD technology first.
LCD stands for Liquid Crystal Display, and is probably the most common type of consumer grade projectors on the market today. If you rent a projector from a rental company, odds are it will be an LCD projector.
Essentially, in an LCD projector, a light is shined through a prism, which splits the light into the three basic colors of light, which then pass through various panels, followed by a lens. The panels are like small LCD screens, which receive encoded signals instructing them on how much of each light should be let through, and at what specific pixel coordinates. The lens focuses the image and projects it onto a surface, where it can then be viewed by the human eye.
Next, let’s explore a newer type of projector technology.
The other major type of projector is DLP, which stands for Digital Light Processing. Generally speaking, DLP projectors are considerably more expensive than LCD projectors, and are typically used in commercial operations, such as theaters, museums, universities, etc. DLP technology was created by Texas Instruments, and is a newer, more complex type of technology than LCD; however LCD technology is the standard among consumer users (and even in most corporate settings).
In a DLP projector, light is directed through a spinning color wheel, onto a mirrored chip. This tiny chip is covered without countless miniscule mirrors, which are turned on or off, depending on the signals sent for each corresponding image. This is all done instantaneously, via electrical impulses. Believe it or not, only one color is shown at a time! However, the process is conducted so rapidly in sequence that the human eye cannot detect the separation of colors. In other words, red can be immediately followed by blue so quickly, that all you see is purple! Despite the constant flickering, the final image appears to be constantly lit.
Generally speaking, LCD is the technology of choice for static images and those with a very high contrast, whereas DLP technology is preferred for video because of its inherently vivid colors.
If you need to rent a projector for an upcoming social gathering or business meeting, trust the professionals at Projector123.com. Our LCD rental projectors are versatile and reliable — click here now to reserve a rental projector today.
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