Charlie, you said..
"Also when things are moving on this scale they really are not behaving in the same manner as other 'moving parts' we are more accustomed to."
Hmm... We're are talking VERY SMALL, but not like it's so small that it's in the realm of quantum mechanics or things like that. (like atomic computer circuits that're in the works -stuff like that).
Not that I understand quantum mechanics, but the DLP mirrors are just tiny metal squares on hinge pins and static electricity makes them pivot back and forth. I 'think' that's all there is to the actual micro-mechanical element to the display chip. TI has some good pics on their web site showing the process.
"Even at this early stage these tiny guys are able to display incredible reliability."
DLP isn't very new. It's ~10 years old now I think? I think the early 90's it went from R&D to actual production? ...but I'll have to double check.
I know they've been supplying projector companies with chips for 'many' years though.
I guess I'd reserve the term 'early stage' and 'very new' to designs that don't have many years of full scale market production behind them.
Iggy, you barked,
"GLV is finally going to be shown, or so we hear, at CES."
About time! Sony had it in their hands for 2 years now. And this is 2 years after developer 'Silicon light machines' had a working prototype 1080P projector. They've had it built I think 4 years ago!
I forgot to mention some other cool things about the GLV system....The micro ribbons of the chip don't have to be either 'on or off' like DLP has to do.
They can 'partically deflect light' to create grayscale whereas DLP has to turn on/off super fast to do this. Not that the DLP chip doesn't do a good job on grayscale, just that it physically works WAY harder to do it.
The GLV ribbons aren't on hinges either so they can't ever get 'stuck' like DLP pixels can (and do).
www.siliconlight.com "By the way, GLV uses a laser as the light source, since, as noted, it is a line-scanned device."
(the prototype didn't use lasers though, so it's not a 'must' I don't think).
I've heard that using lasers was the ultimate 'goal' though, and I really hope this has been what Sony's been working on this whole time, 'cuz it should be easy to downscale a laser based system for home use if they've got it to be bright enough for movie theaters!
Maybe it's gone hand in hand w/ developing the blue lasers for Bluray HD-DVD? Red, Green and Blue laser that's bright enough. That's all you need!
No more lightbulbs! Oh to dream.
If a three color laser system is developed it could be used in LCoS chips too. The lasers could get scanned across the 2D chips? 3 LCoS chips might be as cheap to make as a 3 row GLV chip? Not sure of course, but I could imagine them not being so far apart if both were in ramped up production.
Charlie you said -"I hope the 'rainbow' issues can be fixed without resorting (once again) to a three source solution that brings back the convergence issues the current DLP systems so neatly fix.
3 chip systems don't have any convergence issues (other than CRT which isn't 'chips'). CRT need's occational 'tweaking' 'cuz the guns heat and cool moving them out of sync just slightly (my dual subs probably help too!!).
3 chip systems are mounted together and do not ever move or need adjusting. 3 chip DLP is what the Tex. Inst. movie theaters systems use, and the best (most costly) home DLP front projectors.
All LCD projectors are 3 chip designs. Also w/ no convergance probs either.
A (laser-based) three element GLV system could actually place all three rows of ribbons on the same chip.
The benfit of 3 sepp. colors is that you can tweak each one on it's own. LCD almost always beats one chip DLP's in color -though now both are so refined both technologies are pretty great in almost every respect. You also eliminate having to have a spinning color wheel. No moving parts in a LCoS system.
Each DLP chip costs a fortune so a 1-chip that works as well is just a cost benefit. 3 chip LCoS should be about as cheap as LCD chips to make, and LCD is WAAAY cheaper than DLP. The cheapest projectors have always beem LCD, and they use 3 times the pixels as DLP (not that that makes them higher res of course since the pixels are RGB and overlap).
"I'm waiting on the latest colorwheel stuff, hoping the switching speed and sequencing can be done well enough that a single source can be made to work."
Yeah, that spiral colorwheel you mean? Is that in anything yet? They announced it over a year ago.
I hope it eliminates rainbows for everyone who's had a problem with them, but I'd really much rather have a fixed 3 color system where there can never be rainbows and you have full color control.
"In all honesty the newer DLP systems seem much better already, and I just hope they continue to improve it."
Yeah, I think it just comes down to 'refinement' and price dropping.
They'll be able to make higher and higher res chips over time, but for home HT use there's almost no point IMO. Don't get me wrong... "better's better" of course, but....
We're all still waiting for everything on TV being in 720P or 1080I (and w/o crappy blurry broadcast upcoverting standard def either!).
And Hollywood and the DVD group deciding on MPEG-4 or Bluray HD-DVD's (and a digital out) and then getting all the new releases into our local blockbusters on these formats.
Too bad this is what's going to hold us all back and the displays we own.
[This message has been edited by azryan (edited November 17, 2002).]