See It Now:

A Primer on LCD, DLP, LCoS, and

Plasma Technologies
Pete Putman, CTS, ISF

Publisher, HDTVexpert.com
Contributing Editor, Pro AV
 The CRT is Getting Old
Technology is over 100 years old
Monochrome CRTs used from 1910s
Color CRTs developed in early 1950s (RCA)
Monochrome tubes were used in front
projectors in 1980s 90s (7, 8, 9)
Manufacturing has largely moved to China
High-volume, low-margin product
Thomson TTE, TCL, and others make them
 CRT Imaging Process
Low-voltage emission of electrons
High-voltage anode attracts electrons
Electrons strike phosphors, causing them
to glow brightly
Color CRTs use three electron guns
Projection CRTs use single-color phosphors
Response of CRT is linear for wide
grayscales
CRT Imaging Process
 CRT Performance
Advantages:
CRTs can scan multiple resolutions
Wide, linear grayscales are possible
Precise color shading is achieved
CRTs have no native pixel structure
Drawbacks:
Brightness limited by tube size
Resolution (spot size) linked to brightness
Heavy, bulky displays for small screen sizes
 What Will Replace The CRT?
Contenders for direct-view applications:
Liquid-crystal displays (LCDs)
Plasma display panels (PDPs)
Contenders for front/rear projection applications:
Liquid-crystal on silicon (LCoS)
Silicon Xtal Reflective Device (SXRD)
Digital Image Light Amplifier (D-ILA)
Digital Light Processing (DLP)
Transmissive Liquid-Crystal
(LCD) Displays
 LCD Display Technology
Liquid-crystal displays are transmissive
LC pixels act as light shutters
Current LCD benchmarks:
Sizes to 82 (prototypes)
Resolution to 1920x1080 pixels
Brightness > 500 nits
Power draw < plasma in same size
Weight < plasma in same size
 LCD Imaging Process
Randomly arranged LCs pass light (off )
Aligned LCs block light (on)
This effect is called birefringence
Principle is the same for low-temperature
and high-temperature polysilicon LCDs, and
liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS) panels
LCD Imaging Process
 LCD Imaging Process
Building a Better Mousetrap

The Sharp Approach The Samsung Approach

The LG Philips Approach

 Real-World LCD Benchmarks
A review sample 45-inch LCD monitor
delivered 304 nits (89 foot-Lamberts) with
ANSI (average) contrast measured at 217:1
and peak contrast at 234:1
Typical black level was 1.6 nits (8x CRT)
Native resolution 1920x1080
Power consumption 284.2 watts over a 6-
hour interval (total of 1.726 kWh)
 Real-World LCD Benchmarks
Color Rendering
Test panel uses CCFLs
Gamut is smaller than
REC 709 coordinates
Green way
undersaturated
Red, blue are closer to
ideal coordinates
 LCD Display Technology
Technology Enhancements:
Better color through corrected CCFLs, LEDs
Improved black levels (compensating films)
Higher contrast (pulsed backlights)
Wider viewing angles (compensating films)
Higher resolution (1920x1080 @ 37)
Improved LC twist times (various)
 Emissive Imaging:
Plasma Display Panels (PDPs)
 PDP Technology
Plasma displays are emissive
Current PDP benchmarks:
Sizes to 103
Resolution to 1920x1080
Brightness >100 nits (FW), 1000 nits peak
Power draw 15%-20% > same size LCD
Weight 20%-25% > same size LCD
 Plasma Imaging Process

Three-step charge/discharge cycle

Uses neon xenon gas mixture
160 - 250V AC discharge in cell stimulates
ultraviolet (UV) radiation
UV stimulation causes color phosphors to glow
and form picture elements
Considerable heat and EMI are released
Plasma Imaging Process
PDP Rib Structure (Simple)
 Deep Cell Structure (Advanced)

Waffle-like structure
Higher light output
Less light leakage
between rib barriers
Developed by Pioneer
 Plasma Tube Structure (Future?)

Phosphors, electrodes,
and Ne/Xe gas combined
into long tubes
Reduces cost of larger
screens
Flexible displays?
Developed by Fujitsu
 Real-World Plasma Benchmarks
A review sample 50-inch plasma monitor
measured from 93 nits (full white) to 233 nits
(small area), with ANSI (average) contrast
measured at 572:1 and peak contrast at 668:1
Typical black level .21 nits (closer to CRT)
Native Resolution - 1366x768
Power consumption 411.3 watts over a 6-hour
interval (total of 2.089 kWh)
 Real-World Plasma Benchmarks
Color Rendering
Gamut is smaller than
REC 709 coordinates
Green somewhat
undersaturated
Red, blue are very
close to ideal
coordinates
 Plasma Display Technology
Technology Enhancements:
Wider color gamuts (films, phosphors)
Improved lifetime (gas mixtures)
Higher resolution (1920x1080 @ 50)
Resistance to burn-in (change in gas mixture)
 Reflective Imaging:
Digital Light Processing (DLP)
Displays
 DLP Imaging

Digital micromirror device (DMD) used

Rapid on-off cycling of mirrors (pulse-width
modulation) builds grayscale image
Color added and blended:
With color wheel (single chip)
With polarizing beam splitter (3-chip)
Lens projects image to screen
Pulse-Width Modulation

Technique to re-create
grayscale intensities digitally
with DMD
DMD mirror positions are ON
(1) and OFF (0)
Rapid cycling between ON
and OFF mirror positions
produces grayscale values
Total mirror tilt is 12o
 Pulse-Width Modulation

PWM grayscale values

related to on/off ratios
In a given interval:
If more ON DMD tilt
positions than OFF,
lighter value results
If more OFF DMD tilt
positions than ON,
darker value results ON > OFF OFF > ON
DLP Imaging Single Chip
DLP Imaging Three-Chip
 Three-Chip Imaging

Uses Polarizing Beam

Splitter (PBS) for high-
power three-chip DLP
projectors
Light travels in both
directions through it
Red, green, and blue
colors added in PBS
 Digital Micromirror Devices

DMDs can be made in

many sizes
4:3 - 16:9 aspect
ratios are supported
Simple light path with
single chip
Pure digital light
modulator
SXGA (left) and XGA (right) DMDs
 Reflective Imaging:
Liquid-Crystal on Silicon (LCoS)
Displays
 LCoS Imaging

LCoS is a reflective imaging system

Switching transistors are on backplane
Greater imaging surface available higher
fill factor than HTPS LCD
Easier to achieve high pixel density in small
panels than with HTPS LCD
LCoS Panel Cutaway
LCoS Optical Engine
 LCoS Panels

JVC Direct Drive Digital

Light Amplifier (D-ILA) is
LCoS technology
Resolutions to 4K
High fill factor (>90%)
Used in front and rear
projection systems
JVC 4096x2160 D-ILA Panel
 LCoS Panels

Sony Silicon Xtal

Reflective Device (SXRD)
also LCoS technology
Panels made with both
2K and 4K resolution
Used in front/rear
projection systems Sony 4096x2160 SXRD panel
Image Quality Parameters
 Brightness/Contrast/Grayscale

Pixel-based imaging breaks the link between

brightness and resolution
Peak brightness levels to 1000 nits in LCD
and plasma achieved, > 10,000 lumens in
LCoS and DLP projectors
Average contrast to 500:1 (LCD, LCoS)
Average contrast > 1000:1 (DLP, plasma)
 Color and White Balance
CRT offers pure RGB color blending and clean
white balance
Plasma color balance affected by gas mixture
and UV emissions
LCD, LCoS, DLP projectors dependent on light
source (short-arc lamps)
UHP/UHE less expensive, color is tricky
Xenon more costly, color quality is superior
 Illuminants:
Projection Lamps
Short-arc mercury vapor
lamps
UHP, UHE, SHE are
common designations
Uneven spectral output
Life 10003000 hours
150W UHP Lamp
 Illuminants:
Projection Lamps

Short-arc xenon lamps

Higher wattage than
comparable UHP lamps
Evenly-distributed
spectral output
Life 500-2000 hours
325W Xenon Lamp
 Illuminants:
Cold-Cathode Backlights

Compact design
Uneven spectral energy
high in green/blue
Bright sources of diffuse
lighting
Life 50,000 60,000 hrs
Not green! (contains Hg) Two CCFL Lamps
 Illuminants:
LED Backlights
Compact design
Evenly-distributed spectral
energy
LED matrix is weighted
LED life estimated at 50,000
100,000 hours
LEDs are current hogs
GRB LED Array
 Illuminants:
Plasma Phosphors

Rare earth formulations

similar to CRT
Red, blue easy to
saturate; green is tougher
Ne/Xe mixture affects
color balance and life
(estimated 40,000
60,000 hrs) Close-up of RGB Phosphors
 See It Now:
A Primer on LCD, DLP, LCoS, and
Plasma Technologies
Pete Putman, CTS, ISF

Publisher, HDTVexpert.com
Contributing Editor, Pro AV