Rear Projection TV FAQ's
Which has a better picture, LCD, DLP or CRT?
What is the approximate price range for a
rear-projection TV?
How heavy is a rear-projection TV?
What's the difference between LCD, LCoS, DLP and
CRT rear-projection TV's?
What is the 'screen door' effect?
What is the 'rainbow effect'?
Which has a better picture, LCD, DLP or CRT?
The battle for the best rear-projection image is between LCD and DLP, as the older CRT technology doesn't come close. In smaller size rear-projection TV's it is hard to tell the difference between DLP and LCD but once the screen size gets above 140cm DLP is the clear winner.
What is the approximate price range for a rear-projection TV?
Rear-projection TV's range from $1000 - $4000+. CRT rear-projections are the cheapest and DLP rear-projection are the most expensive. Quality, brand name and size all play a part in determining the price.
How heavy is a rear-projection TV?
A 100-130cm LCD rear-projection usually weighs less than 45kgs whilst a larger screen LCD rear-projection can weigh up to 80kgs. LCD rear-projection TV's are the middleweights of the group - CRT rear-projection TV's will weigh more, and DLP rear-projection TV's will generally weigh less.
What's the difference between LCD, LCoS, DLP and CRT rear-projection TV's?
The differences in the types of rear-projection TV's all relate to the different ways that these TV's project the image onto the screen.
- CRT Rear Projection has three cathode ray tubes in the TV set, one for each of the primary video colours, red, green and blue.
- Digital Light Processing (DLP) rear projection uses a DMD (Digital Micromirror Device) chip with thousands of tiny mirrors to reflect coloured light. Each mirror on the chip represents one pixel in the final image. Projecting this image through a lens produces the picture on the screen.
- LCD Rear Projection passes a light through a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) chip which contains video pixels that are magnified through a lens and then projected onto the screen.
- LCoS (Liquid Crystal on Silicon) rear projection TV is a variant of LCD Rear Projection technology.
What is the 'screen door' effect?
The 'screen door' effect is the fine grid of thin dark horizontal and vertical lines visible in the rear projection image. It is caused by the gaps between pixels in the projection unit, and is more common in LCD rear projection models.
What is the 'rainbow effect'?
DLP rear projection TV's aren't affected by the 'screen door' effect but potentially a viewer can see a brief flash of colour (like a small rainbow) when looking from side to side rapidly. This is known as the 'rainbow effect'.