DLP Projectors Test

Reviews on DLP Projectors

"Acer H5350 DLP projector"

Published on: 6/2008

On test: Acer H5350

Offering 720p pictures at a very tempting price, Acer's new DLP projector could be the one tempt consumers away from LCD or plasma. → More

"Projectiondesign Action! Model Three 1080 Projector"

Published on: 5/2008

On test: Projection Design Action Model Three 1080 + Crystalio II

A full HD DLP projector but can it give you what you want for the money? → More

"InFocus IN81 DLP Projector"

Published on: 2/2008

On test: InFocus IN81

Supremely excellent though it undoubtedly is, the InFocus IN82 projector we reviewed a few weeks back was hardly within the grasp of your average AV-loving man on the street. Despite the fact that in many ways its £3,000 asking price actually represents very good value. We also couldn't help but notice that it left a rather hefty gap in InFocus's latest projector range between itself and its lower-spec IN78/76/74 models. So it's no surprise to find InFocus plugging that gap and trying to cater for a larger HD-loving audience with the £2,000, full HD IN81. → More

"InFocus IN76 Projector"

Published on: 10/2007

On test: InFocus IN76

Everybody is so focused on the flat TV world and its crazy price wars that another, possibly even more cut-throat war seems to be going largely ignored - even though that other war is arguably of greater interest to the really dedicated home cinephile. We're talking about the world of home cinema projection, where the rate of price erosion is such that we're looking today at a really excellent DLP projector selling for under a grand. Strewth! With the InFocus IN76 able to project images more than 200in across, suddenly that puny 50in TV doesn't seem such great value at £1,500, does it?! → More

DLP Projectors

Projectors are used to display images from various sources such as DVD players, computers or video recorders, onto a screen or wall at sizes much larger than a standard television can achieve.

Traditionally projectors were mainly used in business presentations or during university lectures, but have also become increasingly popular in homes with the advent of true home cinema systems.

Alongside LCD and LED projection techniques, DLP (Digital Light Processing) projectors offer a brighter, higher resolution image with a better contrast ratio. To achieve this, DLP projectors use a series of tiny mirrors to redirect light at different brightness levels. Because there is no static image used, DLP projectors do not suffer from 'burn-in' or image lag like LCD based models. To create colour, a colour wheel, placed between the light source and the lens, rotates at high speeds and fools the eye into thinking that an extremely fast series of primary colours are in fact one mixed colour. The spinning of the colour wheel adds to the noise of the fan and makes a DLP projector somewhat louder than the other types on the market. DLP also suffers from the so-called 'rainbow effect' wherein some people can perceive the component colours of the image when moving their eyes across the screen quickly. The rainbow effect is however eliminated in newer three chip projectors which use either three LEDs or a prism to split light into the three primary colours, instead of using a colour wheel.

DLP projectors are currently the most expensive projectors with prices reaching up into the many thousands of pounds. However, a decent budget system can often produce better results than a similarly priced model using other projection technology.