DLP TVs

By The Manolith Team on October 17th, 2008

Thinking of how a DLP works is a little like imagining the eye of a fly. Have you ever seen the shows that depict the world from a fly’s view? DLP televisions have a Digital Micromirror Device (DMD) which is often referred to as a chip. These chips can have more than 2 million mirrors each but measuring less than the width of a human hair! Another analogy is to think of a photo mosaic, each individual little picture creates the whole of the big picture. In addition to the mirrors, the DMD includes;

• A CMOS DDR SRAM chip, which is a memory cell that will electrostatically cause the mirror to tilt to the on or off position, depending on its logic value (0 or 1) This is controlled by a transistor
• A heat sink
• An optical window, which allows light to pass through while protecting the mirrors from dust and debris

It is this technology that is found in many of the Movie theaters of today. The DMD chip has a powerful light that shines onto the many mirrors. Each mirror moves independently from the others. These then reflect into colors which are transferred onto the screen.
The advantages of a DMD TV include; low heat display and energy, rear projection DLP TVs are smaller and lighter than the CRTs, DLP TV does not have the screen door effect (pixilation) found on the LCDs, and it is a lower cost option than plasma.
There are also disadvantages to the DLP TV; the rainbow effect may be seen as a result of reflecting light. DLP may display motion artifacts that appear around high-contrast moving images.
DLP’s and LCD’s run neck and neck at retailers. The LCD has won over some video viewers, while the DLP TV has captured the attention of Samsung, who sees DLP as the future of television. DLP TVs have evolved into some of the finest big screen HDTV’s on the market. Some manufacturers of the DLP Televisions have switched to LED technology to improve the quality of the image on the screen.

The structure of the DLP makes it one of the most reliable televisions on the market. What keeps a DMD from breaking or falling apart? There are three major components that keep it together:
• The hinges that support the mirrors are made of a very thin, flexible film that is unlikely to break instead of a rigid substance
• An anti-stick layer and spring-like contacts keep the mirrors from adhering to the landing surface
• Hermetic seals keep particles of dust from getting into the DMD
Wall mounted and small screen DLP’s are becoming popular. The wall mounted DLP was introduced to compete with the LCD and Plasma TV’s. The smallest screen is only 7”. Wall mounting frees up more floor space and provides a better viewing angle.