3LCD projectors can produce amazingly bright and beautiful images with stunning color. Read on to learn about the differences between 3LCD projectors and the other major projection technology, and about how 3LCD produces such beautiful pictures.

There are two major types of projection systems: LCD (liquid crystal display) systems, such as those designed and built by Epson, and DLP systems. Epson's LCD projection systems separate the light from the light source into the three primary colors of light: red, green, and blue (RGB). Each of the beams of light passes through a different LCD, one for each of the primary colors. So, a red image is created on one LCD, a green image on another, and a blue image on the third. The three beams are recombined into a single beam with a special prism before they reach the projection lens, thus producing a faithful and vivid full-color image. The images look natural and do not suffer from an issue called color breakup or rainbow effect, which occurs when colors are presented sequentially.

There are two sets of primary colors, one for light and one for pigments. Light is composed of three primary colors: red (R), green (G), and blue (B).

PC monitors and other light-emitting devices reproduce all the colors we see with just these three colors. When there is no light, we see black. Light becomes brighter as colors are added. And when all three colors are equally combined, we see white light. Conversely, the three primary colors of pigments used in things such as magazines and paintings are perceived as colors according to how they absorb and reflect light. In the absence of pigment, objects appear transparent (white). Objects become darker as colors are added, and when all three colors are combined, we see black.

Since projectors reproduce colors by projecting light on a screen, it means that they render images using the three primary colors of light.

The white light emitted from the light source in a 3LCD projector passes through dichroic mirrors, which separate the light into its R, G, and B components. The dichroic mirrors are coated with a thin film that reflects light of a specific wavelength. These mirrors accurately separate the light into three beams, without loss.

Each beam of light is sent to its designated LCD, a high-temperature polysilicon TFT liquid crystal panel ("HTPS" panel) developed by Epson. These HTPS panels are a key determinant of projector performance. They are transmissive and use an active matrix addressing scheme. The advantages of this type of LCD are their small size, high pixel density, high contrast, and the capability to integrate driver circuitry.

The amount of light transmitted by these high-performance HTPS panels can be precisely controlled, so beautiful, natural gradations can be rendered even in dark areas of images where that used to be difficult.

A dichroic prism combines the red, green, and blue images generated by the three HTPS panels into a single image before projection. The dichroic prism is a rectangular parallelepiped made by bonding together four triangular prisms. If the triangular prisms do not fit perfectly together and there are minute gaps between the bonded surfaces, dark lines or double images will be visible in projected images. The processing and bonding of the triangular prisms thus demands extreme precision. Epson uses the optical processing technology it has developed over many years to manufacture high-quality dichroic prisms that enable our projectors to reproduce beautiful, vivid images.

Epson's 3LCD projectors not only deliver bright whites but also bright colors. The brightness of white light has so far been the standard for projector brightness, but Epson projectors achieve high numbers for color light output, i.e., color brightness. This indicates the projected images are bright and vivid, with faithfully reproduced colors and amazing clarity.

* (Screen) images for illustration purposes only.