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Different Types of Projectors

If you are new to digital projectors, you won't have to shop around very long before discovering that the terms "LCD" and "DLP" somehow refer to two different kinds of projectors. You might not even know what LCD and DLP are before asking the question "which one is better?"

The answer is fairly simple. LCD and DLP each have a unique advantage over the other. None of them are perfect. It's important to understand what each gives you. Then you can make a good decision about which will be better for you.

LCD (liquid crystal display) projectors usually contain three separate LCD glass panels, one for red, green, and blue components of the video signal that's fed into the projector. As light passes through the panels, individual pixels can be opened to allow light to pass or be closed to block the light, as if each of the pixel were fitted with a Venetian blind. This activity modulates light and produces the image you see on the screen.
Choosing a LCD or DLP all depends on the technology you need for your personal uses. LCDs will usually produce more highly saturated colors and sharper images; most DLP projectors will offer deeper blacks and higher contrast. The resolution and size of your image makes a difference, you may find LCD screens too pixilated, meaning that you notice each individual point of light. However, when you display very detailed images, you may find the softness of DLP projectors to be a problem.

As a newer technology, DLP projectors were initially more expensive than similar LCD models, but that difference has largely disappeared.