Business Week
has an article discussing DLP technology with Texas Instruments CEO,
Rich Templeton. Being the developers of the DLP technology, he is of
course rightly proud of it. There are some interesting observations
about where the technology is, and where it can get to.
While I personally believe that the DLP picture is about the best
offered in the larger sizes at a reasonable cost, the future promises
some great improvements. They talk about the use of LED lighting to
replace the bulb. That will be a big improvement for a few reasons.
- No bulb to replace, at least not regularly.
- No warm up time since the LED’s turn on instantly.
- If lit with three different color LED’s, there would be no more
rainbow effect, though I have to say that I have never seen it anyway.
- Lastly, the brightness would be increased for even more dynamic
colors. Looking even further ahead, they are looking at possibly using
lasers to light it, which would be an almost flawless source.
They also discuss the possibility for 3D effects using the
technology, both requiring 3D glasses and in-picture 3D. I guess that
would leave us on the verge of true 3D video, which I expect to see in
my lifetime, about the same time as flying cars, hopefully. While
plasma today has a definite advantage over DLP, at least in sizes below
50″ where it is still reasonably priced, I think that DLP has a lot
more possibilities for the future.
