Below are a list of common technical terms used in projection. Click on the term to read a more in-depth definition and further information on the topic.
The XPR Technology allows a DLP to display a 4K image. Texas Instruments states that “XPR Technology achieves true 4K by producing 8.3 million distinct pixels regardless of the DMD chip’s number of native pixels. XPR quadruples the 0.47-inch DMD chip’s native1920x1080 pixels to generate true 4K, 8.3 million pixels with lightning-fast pixel shifting speed”. This is why Projector Reviews list the native resolution of many 4K DLP projectors as 1920x1080x4.
Ambient light is a term that refers to the amount of light that is present within a room environment, which interferes with the contrast of the projector.
Ambient Light Rejecting screens allow users to project in rooms with ambient light with far less loss of contrast and color saturation than with traditional screens.
ANSI Lumens are the industry standard for measuring brightness.
If a projector is not perpendicularly aligned with the screen “Keystoning” can occur which means the image looks trapezoidal rather than square.
DLP (Digital Light Processor) works when light passes through a spinning RGB color wheel then bounces off a single DLP (or DMD, Digital Micromirror Device) chip that is covered with micro-mirrors.
Edge Blending splits an image over multiple projectors and display it as one large image while reducing the hard transition from one projector to another.
Virtually every LCD projector on the market has at least one filter which eventually will need to be replaced.
HDBaseT and 3G-SDI are two solutions If you need to run a video signal hundreds of feet.
One of the most common types of video connections is HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface).
Input lag is an important term in the world of projector gaming. It is a word that relates to the gaming speed performance on projectors – the time between when the gaming system sends out its signal, to the time it is received by the projector, and is measured in milliseconds.
Interchangeable lenses provide the user with more flexibility and options than a fixed lens.
Laser-based light engines are incredibly reliable and are super bright. They tend to be the best option for projecting on large surfaces and are a mostly maintenance free option.
For higher brightness, some projectors use a dual blue laser light engine. One blue laser ultimately hits phosphor wheels to generate red and yellow beams, while the other blue laser handles the solely the blue component.
The technology behind LCD (Transmissive Liquid Crystal Display) starts off with a single light source, the single light source is split into 3 beams — one each for red, green, and blue – the primary colors. Once the light is split, mirrors send the beams to different locations inside the projector box. At that point, the light passes through one of the LCD panels (or three panels if it is a 3LCD projector). The end
LCoS (Liquid Crystal on Silicon) is a reflective panel (like DLP) rather than transmissive (light passing through it), like the 3LCD panels. Light bounces off of the LCoS panels, then to a dichroic prism (like 3LCD) to recombine the light into a single, full-color image.
LED light engines use inorganic LED light-sources in place of a consumable lamp. Like laser light sources, LED light engines are also highly reliable and can offer up to 20,000 hours of use with no maintenance needed resulting in lower-cost operations. Using LED as a light source has been growing in popularity, mainly due to their small size, low heat, and affordability
Lens shifting moves the lens itself up and down and left and right within the projector’s chassis to align the projected image to the screen.
Monitoring and control are used when you need to control multiple projectors simultaneously (such as in a business or education setting).
Projection mapping is masking the image digitally to light up non-traditional, often three-dimensional objects.
A traditional bulb is one of the light sources available on projectors. Depending on usage, a bulb will have to be replaced after several thousand hours.
Resolution is a term that refers to the number of horizontal and vertical pixels of the projected image. The higher the number of pixels, the higher the resolution, and the sharper the image.
Discrete RGB laser light engines are considered to be the best projector light source available, but this performance comes at a price and they tend to be physically larger. However, they offer the best brightness, so for installations requiring a huge projection screen, this would be the best solution
Short throw projectors can usually be mounted very close to the screen and still display an excellent picture.
Standard throw projectors are the majority of the market, and, on a feature for feature basis, brighter, and offer more per dollar invested.
