Choosing Home Theater Projectors: LCD vs. DLP Projectors 

Projector Reviews is pleased to provide this overview to help all you home theater projector shoppers to determine which type of projector will best suit your needs.

You should find this home theater projector overview useful in conjunction with the many home theater projector reviews posted on the site.

This article will link out to multiple additional projector advice articles and projector reviews, in order to assist you in your home theater projector and home theater projection screen choices.

Overview:

Inherent advantages of each technology:

Home theater projectors: DLP projectors - Advantages:

1. Highest contrast ratios: DLP home theater projectors typically have contrast ratios from 2000:1 up to 5000:1 or more, and generate the the best "black levels" - which means more detail in very dark areas "shadow details". Now, we are starting to see significantly higher contrast ratios on LCD projectors, in part thanks to "AI" circuitry, and dynamic apertures, and variable lamp intensity, and thanks to those technologies, many home theater LCD projectors now claim 2000:1 contrast and some higher, performance they sorely needed in the past. However, the lastest crop of DLP projectors are also adding these technologies, and should continue to maintain the edge in contrast, black levels, and shadow detail.

2. Natural looking image: Generally - (it really comes down to how well its done), DLP projectors are known for being "more film-like". I would agree with this assessment. There are various technical issues involved, but lets just say, that DLP projectors done right, are superior to LCD models, in terms seeming natural. (The tradeoff is normally price - 720p resolution DLP projectors typically cost 50% to 500% more than 720p resolution LCD projectors. This advantage is due to any number of issues, but the end result is what counts, DLP normally gets the vote for better picture. I will mention two possible reasons: First, the typically superior contrast and black levels of DLP projectors, and second, the pixel structure of LCD projectors is far more visible than DLP projectors. Even if you are sitting far enough back that you don't notice the pixels conciously, that doesn't mean that sub-conciously, your brain isn't aware of them. With business projectors it is often said that LCD projectors look sharper than DLP projector because of the pixel structure. That may be a good thing for business presentations, but in the home you want a smooth image not one that might be artificially hard looking due to the pixel structure.

3. Long life of DLP technology: Generally DLP projectors have more moving parts - in the form of a spinning color wheel, than LCD projectors. While this means something else that can break, generally this is not a reported problem (although in the last few years there have been a couple of models that did seem to have filter wheel motor problems). The DLP chip itself, that is the heart of a DLP home theater projector, doesn't show any signs of problems over many, many thousands of hours.

This is different than LCD projectors, where there has been a study (interestingly - sponsored by Texas Instruments - the manufacturer of DLP chips), that shows that LCD projectors may have deteriorating color quality as the projectors hit around 5000 hours of use or more.

Note: the lcd testing was done on business projectors, and under 24/7 (continuous) operation. Hardly typical home theater use! In part the problem could be attributed to heat issues, and since LCD home theater projectors are not anywhere as bright as business projectors (and therefore shouldn't run as hot), whether there is really a potential reliability issue, is uncertain. LCD projectors, however often come with one or more pixels which don't work properly. This problem has diminished in recent years, but we still hear about users, on rare occasion, getting a projector with a pixel (or two) stuck on (always doing red, or blue, or green) even when its not supposed to, or a pixel or two that stays dark. Additional pixels can fail on an LCD projector, but that is supposedly rare. Overall, though, because of the color shift (on the blue panel of an LCD projector) over time, DLP should have the advantage of producing the same color for years, whereas with LCD there is a question.

4. Sealed light path - Most DLP projectors are designed with a "sealed light path". Basically, it means that the path from the DLP chip past the color wheelt and through the lens, is sealed. This prevents dust from getting in where it can create visible smudges that are visible on the screen. While this doesn't improve performance, it does mean you won't have to have th projector cleaned occasionally, just change or clean the filters, which is required on all projectors.

5.. Limited pixel visibility, virtually no screen door effect. Let's face it - when watching a movie (TV, or HDTV, etc.), you don't want to be noticing the pixels on the screen. One of the goals of a good home theater projector is to have the pixel structure of the projector to be invisible at your normal seating distance. This is an area where DLP projectors have a distinct advantage over LCD projectors.

For any given resolution projector with a given projector screen size, a DLP projector will allow you to sit about 25% - 40% closer to the screen.

QuickTip: How to calculate projector screen width, screen diagonal, or screen height, if you have either the diagonal or screen width? Click here for the simple screen calculations and examples.

If you you have a entry level DLP home theater projector - WVGA (854x480), you can typically sit back 1.5 to 1.75 times the width of your screen, with the pixels being rarely detectable (on text credits, perhaps on very bright stationary areas - such as clouds). At these distances, with the vast marority of what you view, you will not notice the pixels on DLP projectors of this resolution.

Just one example: you have a room that is 10 x 16 feet, with the screen on the 10 foot wall. If you go with a 100" diagonal screen (87" wide), I would recommend sitting at least 1.5 x 87" = 10.9 feet away - or up to 1.75 x 87" = 12.7 feet back. Of course you are always welcome to sitt further back. Based on this you would have just enough room for two rows of seating if needed.

The next step up in resolution is 1024x576 DLP projectors. The extra resolution works out to about 30% more pixels on the projector screen, and that means they are that much smaller. As a result seating 1.25 to 1.5 times screen width with these DLP home theater projectors means again, pixels rarely visible.

720p DLP projectors (1280x720) are the mainstay of the home theater projector industry. With approximately 1 million pixels on the projector screen (that's 2.25 times as many compared to the entry level projectors, you can sit even closer. I would put the range at 1.0 to 1.3 times projector screen width.

As an example, I like to sit close (at a theater in terms of the seating, I like about 1/3 back - many like to be further). That said. With my 128" diagonal Firehawk projection screen, and a 720p projector (currently a BenQ PE8700+):

My seating puts my eyes 124" inches back from the screen surface. My screen width is approximately 112 inches. So I am about 1.1 times screen width. I can see pixels when looking for them, etc. But in the normal watching of a movie or HDTV I just don't notice them. Some will find this true at 1.0 x screen width, others will prefer further back. The furthest back seating in my room is 19 feet from the screen. You'll need binoculars to detect pixels at that distance, since that is a full 2x screen width.

If you are completely adverse to ever seeing pixels when watching (credits notwithstanding), add 0.25 to the long settings for each resolution projector. (So for 720p figure 1.25-1.5 x screen width, for WVGA, use 1.75 - 2.0 x screen width, etc.)

Home Theater Projectors: LCD technology

1. Perhaps the biggest advantage of LCD projectors is that (except for very entry level) you get higher resolution for the dollars you spend. The best way to put this in perspective, is to look at pricing at the sweetspot of the market. That would be 720p resolution projectors. At least for the online sales (you will pay more from your local dealer) of home theater projectors, you can find popular 720p projectors like Panasonic's PT-AE700u and Sanyo's PLV-Z3, in the $1500 - $2200 price range. Some closeouts with the same resolution (such as Sanyo's older - and significantly less desireable - Z2) are down around $1100-$1400.

By comparison, the least expensive popular 720p DLP projector today (8-05) is BenQ's PE7700 (the replacement model to my own PE8700+). This projector seems to have a rock bottom price of $2500, however the competition out there is typically $3000 - $5000. That's a big difference between LCD and DLP projectors for the same resolution.

2. LCD projectors should be (but aren't necessarily) quieter. First they don't have a spinning color filter wheel (which can often be heard as a soft whine on DLP projectors). Second, LCD projectors will produce more light output from a lamp of the same wattage. As a result, to have a DLP projector as bright as an LCD projector, expect a brighter lamp, and that means more heat to cool with exhaust fans. The result - with proper design - in the same sized box, the LCD projector will be quieter. Since box size matters, you will note in the 720p projector catagory, LCD models are typically smaller than DLP. The Panasonic, Sanyo, Mitsubishi and others are definitely smaller than BenQ, Optoma, and other brands using DLP.

3. Ease of placement/setup. This is truly a big advantage for most LCD projectors at least relative to price. Given pricing, you will find that most LCD home theater projectors have zoom lenses with far more range than DLP models. Consider:

Typical home theater LCD projectors:

Panasonic AE700u 2:1 zoom (from the closest you can place the projector to your screen, you have the option of placing it twice that distance.
Sanyo Z3 1.3:1 zoom (a 30% placement range)
Epson Home 10+ (entry level model) 1.54:1 zoom (a 54% range)

Typical home theater DLP projectors:

BenQ PE7700 1.2:1 zoom (20% placement range)
Optoma H78DC3 1.35:1 zoom
InFocus Screenplay 7205 1.25:1 zoom
Optoma H27 (entry level model) 1.2:1 zoom

Get the picture (sorry no pun intended).

The other half of setting up your home theater, is ceiling mounting, shelf mounting or placing your projector on a table. While all projectors have keystone correction to keep the image rectangular, despite the angle, keystone correction degrades the image quality!

Bottom line. You don't want to use keystone correction!

Lens Shift: So you have two choices, either place the projector at the exact height (relative to the top of the projector screen) if ceiling mounting, and one for the height if you are on a table or low shelf, or, get a projector with Variable Lens Shift (often referred to as just "lens shift").

With variable lens shift you can set the height of the projector relative to the screen, over a very wide range. This is where LCD projectrors have the advantage. Generally due to the internal design of an LCD projector "engine" vs a DLP projector "engine", it is much easier to implement lens shift in an LCD projector. As a result, popular, affordable 720p LCD projectors like the Sanyo Z3 and Panasonic AE700u have it, while in the DLP world the least expensive 720p projector with lens shift is Optoma's H77, which sells for around $3000 online. That's almost twice the price of the LCD projectors.

4. No rainbow effect, blurring. These are two limitations of the standard DLP design, using a color spinning filter wheel. Because of the wheel a strobe effect is created. Now, on business projectors, where most projectors have 2x speed wheels and 4 segments (red, green, blue, and clear), this is seen by a small percentage of the population. Home theater DLP projectors (excepting the entry level ones), are typically 5x speed wheels and 6 to 8 segments, effectively eliminating the problem for all but an exceptionally tiny percent of viewers (there's no published data, but based on the rarity of people returning DLP home theater projectors because of this problem, its probably in the range of 1%. It is much higher with entry level home theater dlp projectors, some of which have 2x wheels, although most of the newer home theater entry level projectors now sport 4x wheels, and should not be a problem to worry about.

5. Entry level LCD home theater projectors are typically brighter than their DLP counterparts, often, very significantly so. If you plan to use your home theater projector in a room with some ambient light, or if you are more into regular TV and especially sports, than movies, or if you are into computers or gaming, the entry level LCD projectors have a significant edge in brightness. Some examples:

LCD projectors:

• Mitsubishi HC-3 Projector: 1300 lumens
• Epson Home-10+ Projector: 1200 lumens

DLP projectors:

• BenQ PE5120 Projector: 1100 lumens
• InFocus Screenplay 4805 Projector: 750 lumens
• Optoma H27 Projector: 850 lumens
• Optoma H31 Projector: 850 lumens
• NEC HT410 Projector: 1000 lumens

As a result, for sports, TV, gaming, etc., entry level LCD projectors may be the better choice for your family room, and simply for the fact that if you have a bunch of friends over for a football game, who wants to watch in in the dark?

6. High power, expensive home theater projectors - without getting into extremely ($10,000+) three chip DLP projectors, if you really want a bright home theater projector, the action is all LCD. Notably Sanyo offers two WXGA projectors - the PLV70 with 2200 lumens, and their massive (50 lbs.) WF10, with 4000 lumens. Both of these are extremely suitable for rooms with more than minimal ambient light. In fact, the WF10 with the right screen can function in moderately bright rooms.

Summary

So, which to buy? If your budget is under $2500 dollars, you have plenty of both DLP and LCD projectors to choose from. At the lowest price range, if movies are your thing, and lighting is under control, look to the DLP projectors. As you move closer to $2000, though, you can buy higher resolution LCD projectors than DLP models for your dollar, and units like the Pansaonic PT-AE700u (and its soon to be replacement - the PT-AE900u), offer 720p resolution and extremely exceptional performance.

And if placement issues are not a problem from $2500 up, DLP is king, (unless you need 4000 lumens!). Note, the big choice as you move up from $2500 lumens, is not DLP vs LCD, but DLP with the HD2+ chip (like the BenQ PE7700) vs. the newer, more expensive, higher performance (and contrast) Darkchip3, found in projectors like the Optoma H78DC3, the InFocus Screenplay 7210, and Marantz VP12S4.

We won't get into 3 chip DLP projectors for home theater, in this review, as they start around $20,000.

So enjoy your decision making process. The great news is that many home theater projector buyers, find that, once they make up their minds and get it set up, that their home theater projector not just meets, but exceeds their expectations!