Is DLP a type of screen, like plasma or LCD?

Question

I'm researching a new flat panel TV and found a great deal on a Mitsubishi WD-60735 DLP HDTV - 60", 1080p, but it doesn't say if it's LCD or plasma.

It does have quite a bit of information about DLP, but I'm not familiar with what that means, other than it's a newer technology from Texas Instruments.

Is this a new type of screen that is different from either plasma or LCD. If not, how can I tell what type of screen this is. I'm assuming plasma, since it comes in sizes up to 72 inches, but can anyone clarify this for me?

Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

DLP is "Digital Light Processing" and is also a trademark owned by Texas Instruments and competitive to LCD projection, CRT projection, LCoS (Liquid Crystal on Silicon), SXRD (Silicon X-tal [short for crystal] Reflective Display), and D-ILA (Digital Direct Drive Image Light Amplifier).  

Please note that, although LCoS, SXRD and D-ILA are LCD technologies, they work similar to DLP in that light is reflected off the imaging devices instead of having light shone through it like in regular LCD projection.

Anyways, DLP is a projection technology where a light shines on an array of oscillating mirrors.

There are single mirror systems and three mirror systems.  Single mirror systems employ a color wheel that alternates between the primary colors while three mirror systems do not since each array is for each primary color.

Disregarding the source, image quality and viewing angles can vary quite drastically as this depends on the quality and type of design and on whether it uses a traditional incandescent light engine, LED light engine or, in the case of Mitsubishi LaserVue, a laser light engine.

Answer 2

Yup!  DLP is digital light projection.....It's MUCH larger than lcd/plasma, but has a good picture...they wach have their own benefits!

Answer 3

Yes - projection. They're bulkier/not thin and images aren't as good as LCD or Plasma.  They have a limited view angle - from straight on only, not 45 degrees like the others.

Answer 4

DLP is a projection TV, so it's not a flat panel, however it will still be relatively narrow, but you can't hang it on a wall or anythign like that. They often don't have great contrast ratios though, meaning your blacks would look grey, etc, the higher the contrast ratio the better. A lot of LCDs are 1:10,000, which is decent but I've seen plasmas at 1:1,000,000. I'm not sure about DLP.

Yes, viewing angles aren't as good, but in my experience they are still fairly good, you should be fine assuming you have enough space between you and the TV