The Three Types of Projectors
There are three major types of projectors: Standard LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), Polysilicon LCD, and DLP (Digital Light Processing) projectors.
Standard LCD - Standard LCD projectors have one panel of LCD glass that controls the three primary colors. Standard LCD projectors are becoming less common as polysilicon LCD and DLP projectors gain popularity. They usually display a much brighter image than DLP. However, their transmission design limits the amount of time they can be used. LCD-based projectors often operate effectively only a short time, with image deterioration present after 8-10 hours. Because LCD projectors transmit light through LCD chips, then through the optics and onto the screen, heat is transferred to the LCD chips from the light source. This causes the LCD chip to deteriorate and will probably result in severe image loss and can permanently damage the LCD projector.
Polysilicon LCD - These projectors control colors through three panels and are higher in quality than standard LCD projectors. Projecting through 3 panels allows polysilicon LCD projectors to have higher color saturation than a standard LCD projector.
DLP (Digital Light Processing) - The most common type of projector on the market, DLPs use a single chip with thousands of micro mirrors to modulate the lamp's light and project it through the lens. DLP systems are composed of over 400,000 tiny mirrors, which modulate light from a lamp and project the "modulated" signal out through the lens onto a screen. This technology is also referred to as DMD (Digital Mirror Device). This mirror configuration prevents heat from having an adverse effect on the projector's components. Thus, DLP projectors can operate continuously with no discernable loss in performance. The only loss comes from slow bulb decay, which gradually reduces brightness. Simply replacing the bulb will generally return to the DLP projector to its original quality.
How to Choose the Ideal Projector for Your Needs
It's All About Resolution, Brightness and Weight & Size
Although projector technology is complex, deciding what kind of machine you need should be a relatively simple process involving three major considerations: resolution brightness, and weight (and size). Other factors such as contrast ratio, color reproduction, inputs for composite and S-video, DVD, and extra innovations, will also play a role in your decision. Please see our glossary below for more information on these extra features.
Projector Resolution
The sharpness and clarity of the picture on screen is determined by a projector's resolution, which is the sharpness of the image projected based on the number of pixels. The higher number of pixels, the better. However, the higher the resolution, the more expensive the projector. High-resolution projectors can show more picture details than low-resolution projectors. Low-resolutions projectors are much less expensive and can produce images that arte just as bright and attractive as higher resolution machines. Unless you must display fine details, lower-projection units are your most cost-effective value.
Categories of Resolution
Projectors come in four categories of resolution:
UXGA (1600 x 1200) - For very high-resolution workstation applications that are detail or information intensive. Very expensive.
SXGA (1280 x 1024) - High-resolution; more expensive than XGA. Used for high-end personal computer users and low-end workstation users.
XGA (1024 x 768) - Ideal for relatively high-resolution images from videos, spreadsheets and graphics. More expensive than SVGA. XGA has become the most popular resolution for business applications.
SVGA (800 x 600) - Very popular because of low price and great images. Excellent for projecting simple graphics and presentations. SVGA is excellent for watching movies, DVDs or TV, but not optimal for computer graphics or PowerPoint slides.
Case in point...I bought a DLP XGA projector and I am loving it, I use it for an external display for my PB, and for my home theatre(I now have HD because of my projector). My paticular projector goes to 200 inches, but I have it at 82" for right now, and I love playing my Xbox on it. Choose wisely, and there is more info out there on the net...thats how I chose mine, I have to have the best(that I can afford). This was an except from one of the guides I looked at before purchasing mine. Good luck on your purchase!
