While LCD projectors offer a sharper image and higher image quality, DLP projectors are lighter, portable and considered more reliable.
DLP (Digital Light Processing) technology:
Uses micro-mirrors to project images from a monitor onto a large screen. DLP technology is used in stand-alone projection units, rear-projection televisions and the majority of digital cinema projections.
LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) video projectors:
Send light from a metal halide lamp through a prism to display videos, images or computer data on a screen or flat surface.
What to look for when choosing a projector
The ideal choice of your portable video projector depends on several factors: whether you intend it for a home theater or office presentations, whether it has a dedicated slot or whether it will be used during frequent travel and, of course, the budget. Other factors like sharpness, clarity, image quality, etc. are constant and non-negotiable.
Advantages and disadvantages:
Advantages of DLP projectors
DLP projectors offer many benefits to travelers and home theater enthusiasts:
Portability: DLP projectors are generally smaller and easier to transport because they have only one chip, compared to three panels for LCD screens. DLPs using LED or pico technology are even more portable and can connect to smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices.
Higher Contrast: The deep blacks that DLP projectors can achieve make them popular for home theater applications.
Reduced Pixelation: DLP projectors have a reduced pixel structure when viewed from a normal distance, which may not affect a PowerPoint presentation, but will affect smooth video presentations.
Reliability: DLPs have fewer parts and are less expensive to repair. Sealed optics are well suited to dusty environments.
Advantages of LCD projectors
LCD projectors have three main advantages over DLP projectors:
Better image quality: Image quality is much better with LCD projectors than with DLP projectors for the following reasons
More accurate colors: DLP projectors can have a light section in the color wheel, reducing saturation. LCD projectors do not have a color wheel.
A sharper image: At the same resolution, LCD projectors offer a sharper image than DLP projectors.
Better light efficiency: A lamp of the same power in an LCD and a DLP will produce a brighter image in the LCD.
Disadvantages of DLP projectors:
The rainbow effect: Looking from a distance at an image projected on an old DLP or on one side of a screen, you can have a "rainbow" effect, or a moment of color bands of the rainbow around the brightest objects.
Light leak: The gray band outside the image can cause stray light reflecting off the edges of the DLP chip mirrors. This phenomenon can be avoided by installing black borders around the screen of older DLP projectors.
Disadvantages of LCD projectors:
The disadvantages of LCDs relate more to video:
The Screen Door Effect : Sharper images can be a disadvantage, as fine focus makes pixelation more obvious.
Contrast: LCD contrast cannot produce completely black images with older models.
Bulky: The number of parts makes LCDs more bulky and less portable than DLPs.
Image Degradation: The larger number of parts may cause image degradation if the color balance is altered and the contrast reduced.
Dead pixels: One or more pixels turn on or off constantly. Clusters of affected pixels adversely affect image quality and experience.
