DLP

:For political parties using this acronym, see Democratic Labour Party.

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Digital Light Processing (DLP) is a technology used in projectors and projection televisions. DLP was originally developed by Texas Instruments, and they remain the sole manufacturer of such technology, though many licensees market products based on their chipsets.

Related Topics:
Projector - Texas Instruments - Chipset

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In DLP projectors, the image is created by microscopically small mirrors laid out in a matrix on a semiconductor chip, known as a Digital Micromirror Device (DMD). Each mirror represents one pixel in the projected image. The number of mirrors corresponds to the resolution of the projected image: 800×600, 1024×768, and 1280×720 matrices are some common DMD sizes. These mirrors can be repositioned rapidly to reflect light either through the lens or on to a heatsink (called a light dump in Barco terminology).

Related Topics:
Mirror - Digital Micromirror Device - Heatsink - Barco

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The rapid repositioning of the mirrors (essentially switching between 'on' and 'off') allows the DMD to vary the intensity of the light being reflected out through the lens, creating shades of grey in addition to white (mirror in 'on' position), and black (mirror in 'off' position). There are two primary methods by which DLP projection systems create a color image, those utilized by single-chip DLP projectors, and those used by three-chip projectors.

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