Video Asylum

Posted by Some Guy on April 15, 2003 at 05:38:45

In Reply to: DLP vs. PLASMA posted by tower23 on April 14, 2003 at 12:34:28:

Well, according to this guy, plasma displays are on their way out for a few reasons. First, they're heavier than their LCD counterparts, they cost more to make per unit (more on that in a second), and they use more electricity. LCDs currently cost more, but that's because they have to build factories and pay for all the tooling to make these bigger monitors. The actual per unit cost of an LCD screen is less than the plasma display, they're lighter, they produce brighter pictures, and will be able to hit higher resolutions... but the prices are still going to be high for a while... maybe the next year or so.

As for DLP, the one problem a lot of people have with it is that you can see rainbows on the screen. This has a lot to do with the color wheel that DLPs use to produce the picture. Some people see them straight out, but almost everyone can train their brains to ignore them. You can read more about that in nearly any review of a DLP projector, but this page at www.howstuffworks.com gives an idea how DLP works.

As for the best solution, I think that that varies for every situation. DLP has a tighter projection picture than LCD, but then there's the rainbow effect to consider. You don't have to worry about rainbows with LCD, but the space between pixels gives it a screendoor effect. This usually disappears when you get to seating distance, but some people also soften the focus a little bit to make it less of an issue (which is fine since most LCD projectors are almost too sharp anyway). Then there are the flat screens where you don't have to worry about projection, but the cost is higher for a smaller picture. Basically, you're going to have to compromise somewhere, but where you compromise is the big choice.