How many types of projectors are there?

ByCarry

how many types of projectors

Different types of projectors are available in the market today, and each one is used in different ways depending on where you will use it.

This blog post will look at how many types of projectors are there and their features. We will also discuss what to consider while purchasing a projector.

How Many Types Of Projectors

There are multiple types of projectors available today, and these have different projection qualities. So these are

  • LCD projector
  • DLP projector
  • LED projector
  • Laser
  • LCoS Projectors
  • Pico projector

So, whether you are looking for a projector for work or want one for a cinematic movie experience at your home, we will cover it with a detailed guide.

LCD Projector

LCD projectors are mainly used in offices and classrooms. It uses a liquid crystal display powered by small, high-intensity lamps. These lamps are powered by an electrical current that passes through them to create light.

The lens focuses mainly on the screen’s image to enlarge the view. Also, the cost is not that high, and Epson is the leading manufacturer in making LCD projectors.

It also saves space because there is no need for cleaning reels due to their compact size. Some models have been known to last up to 15,000 hours before needing replacement bulbs.

Disadvantage

The downside of using an LCD projector is that it takes them at least a few seconds to turn it on, and they have a lower resolution compared to other types of projection systems.

DLP Projector

types of projector

DLP stands for Digital Light Processing chips invented in 1987 by Larry Hornbeck in texas instruments.

The DLP chip uses small mirrors to create the images, which pass to the reflection mirror, and the color wheel to pass it on to the lens, which projects the pictures on a screen.

Each mirror represents one pixel in the image, and these millions of pixels are housed inside a DLP chip projector.

The DLP projector quickly reflects green, red, and blue light so that a viewer can see the image clearly without any rainbowing effect.

DLP chips are available in 1080p resolution, which projects about 2.2 million mirrors simultaneously to display high-definition image quality.

Whereas a 4K device, it projects nearly 8.8 million pixels. The greater the resolution, the better the image quality.

The lamps that power these projectors can last up to 5000-6000 hours before needing replacement.

Cons For DLP Projector

The downside of DLP projectors is that they can be very heavy, and the lamp produces a lot of heat. Also, sometimes they reflect the rainbow effect on the screen when projected in a darker room.

Pico Projector

pico projector

This type of projector is generally made to cast from your smartphone or tablet and projects the image directly onto a surface. Some pico models are so small that they can easily fit inside your pocket.

So these are ideal for those who want to take the projector while on the go. The Pico projector work by combining two technologies and these are DLP & LED.

Firstly pico projector will generate an image on LCD (liquid crystal display), and then it will beam out the image through DLP.

Pico projectors are generally available at a lesser price than other projection systems because they use LED technologies inside the unit.

The downside of Pico Projector

One downside to the pico projector is that the image quality is below average, with a resolution of only 480p and 720p.

But if you want to run anything on this unit in the daytime, you should look for something else.

Also, most models do not have any projection audio, so speakers would need to be attached separately for sound.

If you want a portable option for viewing images, this is the perfect one for you – but if you require high-quality image resolution, go with Led projectors.

LED Projector

This type of projector uses LEDs to create its images. For example, an LED projector has three glasses which are blue, red, and green.

Each glass has millions of shifting pixels to project brighter images on the wall.

In this unit, they use a DLP chip or LCD chip to pass the light when combining all three colors to make a white light on the screen.

The great thing about using LED projectors is that they are straightforward to set up, don’t overheat even running for hours, and have no warmup time when turned on.

Their lamp life has an average life span of at least 10,000 hrs, and they produce less heat than other projector technology.

So, their fan sound will not be noisy when you are watching anything in a quiet room. You will also see many LED projectors used by gamers to play different games on their favorite console, such as Nintendo switch, ps4, Wii, Xbox, etc.

The downside of Led Projector

However, unlike other types of projectors, they cannot be used when the room is fully lit because they will create a glare that hides any images you want to see on the screen. These projectors are mainly used in dark conditions, and their lamp has a maximum power of 3000-4000 lumens. They are mainly used in either sports bars or churches.

Laser Projector

Laser technology is the newest technology in the projector field, and they are very costly to buy right now. The laser technology is worked by using an LED light turned into a laser, and then the laser is beamed onto your screen.

A laser projector consists of a laser, an optical system for beam shaping and directing the light from the laser.

A transmissive display system can be either a digital micro-mirror device (DMD), liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS), or a liquid crystal display panel.

These type of laser units are energy-efficient and uses less amount of light. Also, they start instantly like television and do not require any warmup process as required by the standard projector.

Disadvantages Of Laser Projector

The laser projector is heavier than a standard projector and takes lots of space when placed on any object. Also, they are so costly that you have to spend ten times more on a laser projector than you will spend on the standard projector.

LCoS Projectors

These projector projectors use a special kind of lens called LCoS (Liquid crystal on silicon) and use LCoS chips instead of LCD chips to project the image on the screen.

The difference between the regular projector is that LCoS Projectors use all three colors (red, blue, and green) simultaneously to make an image appear on your screen rather than using a spinning color wheel like with a DLP projector.

The best part about using these projectors is that they produce high-quality and vivid images. You will find there is always a slight rainbow effect in DLP projectors but in LCOS you will find no rainbow effect even you are using it in darker conditions.

Downside Of LCOS projector

One of the biggest downsides of using LCD or LCoS projectors is that they are not portable. Once you set them up, you have to leave them in one place because moving is difficult due to their weight. This unit lacks motion blur and they are more costly than LCD and DLP units.

Conclusion

There is six types of projectors available in the market with all the different price tags and features. We hope you get the information that you were looking for regarding how many types of projectors are there currently and their brief details. Still, if you feel we have missed something please tell us in a comment below.

Carry
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