LCD and DLP Projectors: What is the Difference?

The two types of projectors in use today are liquid crystal display (LCD) projectors and digital light processing (DLP) projectors. LCD projectors are most commonly used in households, while DLP projectors are mainly used for commercial purposes. LCD projectors use a combination of projector bulbs, prisms and lenses to direct light to the screen.

How LCD Projectors Work

LCD projector bulbs shine a powerful white light through a set of mirrors which splits the light into three different colors, red, blue, and green. This colored light is then sent through small LCD screens, called panels, that are made up of thousands of tiny pixels. As the red, blue, and green lights pass through the panels, they are separated into minuscule pixels and enter a prism. Once in the prism, the colors combine again and are sent through a lens and onto the projector screen where you can see the image.

How DLP Projectors Work

DLP projectors are a bit more complicated, but still not hard to understand. Instead of the light passing through mirrors and a prism, the light is shined through a color wheel and onto a tiny chip- like a computer chip. Unlike a computer chip, however, the DLP chip is covered with hundreds of thousands of minuscule mirrors. Electrical impulses cause the appropriate colors to pass through a lens onto the screen. Though you can't see it, the screen is constantly flickering as the electrical impulses change the colors.

Learning how projectors work is very straightforward. After reading this article, the technology used to create projected images is no longer a mystery.