DLP Projectors – When Mitsubishi and Texas Instruments Work Together.

DLP, from Texas Instruments, is the world's first and only all-digital display chip that uses an optical semiconductor to recreate source material and is featured in many of Mitsubishi's models. The introduction of the technology inside our projectors helped sparked an industry-wide trend of more powerful and efficient business and home theater systems.

DLP Projectors – A Look Inside

At the heart of DLP Projectors is an optical semiconductor known as the DLP chip, invented by Dr. Larry Hornbeck of Texas Instruments in 1987. The DLP chip is arguably the most sophisticated light switch in the world. It contains a rectangular array of up to 2 million hinge-mounted microscopic mirrors, each less than one-fifth the width of a human hair.

These micro-mirrors are mounted on tiny hinges that enable them to tilt either toward the light source in a projection system (ON) or away from it (OFF), creating a light or dark pixel on the projection surface. A bit-streamed image code entering the semiconductor directs each mirror to switch on and off up to several thousand times per second. When a mirror is switched on more frequently than off, it reflects a light gray pixel; a mirror that's switched off more frequently reflects a darker gray pixel. In this way, the mirrors in a DLP® projection system can reflect pixels in up to 1,024 shades of gray to convert the video or graphic signal entering the DLP chip into a highly detailed grayscale image.

DLP Projectors – And Then There Was Color

White light generated by the lamp in a DLP projection system passes through a color wheel as it travels to the surface of the DLP chip. The color wheel filters the light into red, green, and blue, from which a single-chip DLP® projection system can create at least 16.7 million colors.

The on and off states of each micro-mirror are coordinated with these basic building blocks of color. For example, a mirror responsible for projecting a purple pixel will only reflect red and blue light to the projection surface; our eyes then blend these rapidly alternating flashes to see the intended hue in a projected image.

DLP Projectors – Performance

Video and graphics produced by DLP Projectors are crystal clear and razor sharp because the DLP chip minimizes the gaps between pixels in an image. Spaced less than one micron apart, its mirrors create a smooth film like image that literally immerse you. In fact, DLP technology is capable of extremely high contrast ratios, for a stunning viewing experience in movies, sporting events, business presentations, and gaming.

These features and more make DLP Projectors an ideal solution for all your presentation needs. To visit the Mitsubishi Projector Showroom, where you can view our full line of DLP Projectors, click here.