This Blog Series is written by Exertis Almo's Business Development Managers: 
Ashley Nichols, CTS, DSCE, and John Borns, CTS, DSCE.

Welcome back to the 3rd installment of “This may be a dumb question, but…” In Edition 2, we began exploring the vast world of projection and it’s many facets, but specifically, we went over the differences in Laser vs. Lamp projection, as well as the foundation for choosing the best projection screen, so if you want to start there, here is a link to Edition 2.

Since projection has so many layers to picking the right solution, we are going to continue drilling down. On to the questions!

QUESTION
What is the difference between all the different projector technologies? I see 3LCD, DLP, LCOS, Laser, Lamp, etc., and I don’t understand what the difference is and when to use them.

ANSWER

In every technology installation, it is important to know the full scope of what your client is trying to accomplish. Seems simple, but you would be surprised how often the details do not come with the request. It’s not just about if you can rattle off all the projector specs. What sort of experience do they want? Do they need color accuracy because they need the best possible picture? Are they just looking at random power points and are looking for a budget option? Is it in a setting where they need a very quiet projector? There are MANY more questions involved in this decision, which we will look into more in the next few editions, but the answers to some of these questions could narrow down or determine which ‘color source’ or ‘chipset technology’ you will go with once you have decided on the laser or lamp dilemma. Before we move on, I’d scoot down to the ‘Vocab Test’ and refresh your memory on the 3 main projector technologies we see today in the Pro AV space.

Alright, on to the cheat sheet. To break it down as simply as possible, we’ve created a brief guide below.

Note: this is not the most comprehensive list of Pros and Cons, and like everything else in AV, it is subject to interpretation and experiences, but this can help those little light bulbs go off in your head when your customer starts describing their upcoming projects:

In Edition 4, we will discuss the next step in our process once we determine lamp or laser, and which projector type (DLP, LCD, or LCoS) – which is determining placement of the projector, how bright we need it based on our room, and screen size. It will require some math, so bring your scratch paper. ✍️

QUESTION
I’ve noticed that sometimes projection screens aren’t always white. Sometimes they’re off-white, or gray. Why would that be?

ANSWER

I’ll answer your question by starting with a fun fact!The term “silver screen” was coined in 1920s when projection screen manufacturers and theater houses started using silver paint on screen surfaces. At the time they found that a silver screen made the images “pop” more, provided better contrast⁴ (very important in black and white films), and reduced blurriness and washing out of the images. This makes sense if you really think about how reflective the color white can be. If you’ve ever walked outside on a sunny day when the ground is covered in snow, you know how incredibly reflective and blinding pure white snow can be. Have you ever been blinded by the gray snow on the side of the road after the plows?

There’s really two advantages that come from using a screen that is gray instead of white. Firstly, by reducing the overall reflectiveness/reflectivity/reflection-factor of a screen, you can avoid the projected image from being blindingly bright (washout⁵). Well, in addition to combating washout, it can also help with ambient light issues. In the last issue, we covered how ambient light in the room can interfere with the projected light you actually want to see.

Vocab Test Time!

Are these the most detailed definitions? No – we are not a dictionary, nor the AVIXA CTS Prep book. Will someone message us after still telling us how much we missed? Possibly. Will these get you a basic working knowledge of these terms and why they matter? We hope so. Plus, we are 99% sure they will help you impress your grandparents when you reset their WiFi.

1. DLP – Stands for ‘Digital Light Processing,’ a type of chipset in display and projector technology that uses reflective surfaces/mirrors and color wheels to project light and color onto the screen.
2. LCD or 3LCD – Stands for ‘Liquid Crystal Display,’ or ‘3 [Chipset] Liquid Crystal Display,’ which is a type of chipset that uses the white light from the source (lamp or laser) and reflects them through 3 light panels. The projector controls how much light passes through these panels to then create the image on the screen.
3. LCoS – Stands for ‘Liquid Crystal on Silicon,’ which is a little bit of a mix between LCD and DLP technology. LCoS projectors use the mirrors of a DLP projector with the liquid crystal panels of an LCD to create bright, beautiful images, but without the ‘rainbow effect’ of DLP from the spinning color wheel.
4. Contrast – A measurement/description of the differences between the white and black colors in a projected image.
5. Washout – When the projected image is too bright or has too much white light is reflecting, detracting from the overall image quality.
6. Wipeout– America’s Largest Obstacle course game show.

Thanks for Reading and Asking Your Questions!

Do you have more ‘dumb’ questions? Share your questions here and we will get you an answer.

Did you find this blog post helpful? Connect with us and #TeamExertisAlmo over on LinkedIn.

Ashley Nichols | CTS, DSCE

Director of Business Development

Supported Manufacturers: Sony

John Borns | CTS, DSCE

Business Development Manager

Supported Manufacturers: Legrand AV (NE, SE, MW) – Chief, C2G, Da-Lite, Luxul, Middle Atlantic, Vaddio, Wiremold

This Blog Series is written by Exertis Almo's Business Development Managers: 
Ashley Nichols, CTS, DSCE, and John Borns, CTS, DSCE.

Welcome back to the 2nd edition of “This may be a dumb question, but…”, a now recurring blog series where two industry ‘veterans’ (or newbies, depending on who you talk to) help you find useful answers to the questions you’re too afraid to ask. Our 1st edition went over AV over IP, HDBaseT and RS-232, so follow this link if you want to learn more about those topics. This edition is all about Projection, so let’s get to the questions:

QUESTION
What is the difference between all of the different projector technologies? I see 3LCD, DLP, LCOS, Laser, Lamp, etc., and I don’t understand what the difference is and when to use them.

ANSWER

Hot Take: Projection is more complicated than your basic digital signage display. Yep, I said it. So many variables go into projection and choosing the right fit for your application, so it is no wonder we received so many questions around this topic. First, we need to separate the two parts of this question: the light source or light engine, and what I will refer to as the ‘color source’ or chipset¹ for the purpose of this blog. I will keep this as short and simple as possible, but the two parts of this question will be broken up in this edition, and then in edition 3.

The light source, in this instance, is when you are looking at a lamp vs. a laser projector. Though there are still lamp projectors manufactured today, many of the top projection manufacturers in the professional space are moving to a laser light source. Why is this? Though lamp projectors are typically less expensive up front, the overall cost and maintenance of replacing lamp bulbs over the life of the projector brings the cost near equal. For reference, let’s say ‘Lamp-Based Projector A’ is $1,500 MSRP, and ‘Laser Projector B’ is $2,600 MSRP. The average projector lamp bulb only lasts 2,000 hours (8 hours a day, 5 days a week for about a year), so you will be paying to change the lamp bulb almost yearly. Additionally, the brightness (or lumens²) begins to fade over the lifetime of the bulb, which negatively affects the image and overall color accuracy. I have broken a light bulb that was $1.50 when trying to change it in my ceiling fan, so I also would not trust myself as a client to change a $900 bulb in a $3,000 projector every other year, which means someone has to roll a truck⁴ to change the bulb, further adding to the overall cost of ownership.

Laser projector brightness, or lumens, will eventually fade as well, but it is a much slower transition, and typical laser projectors are made to run 8 hours a day, 5 days a week for around 10 years (or 20,000 hours) with as little degradation as possible. Laser projection also runs physically cooler than a lamp bulb, which allows for higher brightness projectors to have longer lifespans, since heat and electronics don’t typically play nicely together over a long period of time. In commercial settings (read: anything other than your backyard projector movie night) I’d recommend going with a laser projector for the cleanest, longest lasting option possible.

QUESTION
I’m overwhelmed by the screen options out there. How do I know when to use each type of screen?

ANSWER

This is a great question. I was also completely dumbfounded when I first learned that projection screens were anything more than just a piece of blank white fabric. There’s actually a surprising amount of chemistry and sorcery that goes into each screen surface. If you’re going to buy tires for your car, you need to consider several factors to come to the right choice. Are you going off-road a lot? Do you need tires that can handle the snow? How often do you compete in underground drift races? Choosing the right screen requires a similar approach. Only by knowing the intended purpose of the projection system can you come to the right surface. In some cases, a standard Matte White⁵ screen will work fine. However, in many cases, using those screens will create some undesirable outcomes. I’m going to highlight two of the most common challenges we face in screen surface selection below. In a future post, we will look more into optimizing your screen surfaces to really get the best results possible.

1. Laser Projection. Ashley just described all of the advantages of laser projection above. It’s not uncommon for an end user to upgrade to a laser projector without also upgrading their screen. This is a common mistake, and it can create some unfortunate consequences. A key concern is that here is an unwanted speckling effect when you use a laser projector on an older textured matte white screen (see image below). To solve this problem, many manufacturers have created tensioned screens with very flat surfaces. When upgrading to a new projector technology, it’s critical to also update your screen to one that is designed for that type of projection. Thankfully, our friends at Da-Lite have a screen surface technology chart available to help you with these questions.
2. Ambient Light. Probably the biggest concern in projection is getting the system to be bright enough to get a quality image. You’re probably thinking that the best way to solve this issue is to just get a bright projector, and you’re not necessarily wrong. However, unless you have an unlimited budget (if you do, call me, I have some great ideas), that may not always be on the table. Other options here either are to use a screen that adds gain⁶ or to use an ambient light rejecting screen⁷. Screens that add gain use chemistry and witchcraft to make the screen actually appear brighter (usually done at the cost of limiting the viewing angle⁸). Ambient Light Rejecting Screens will block other wanted light sources (such as overhead light above the screen) from washing out the image. See Da-Lite’s Parallax screen below as an example. These are great options in rooms where there is a lot of sunlight or no controllable lights. Luckily, our friends at Da-Lite have a very handy screen brightness calculator to help you figure out the best screen for your space (notice a trend?). Again, we’ll explore some of the more application specific surfaces in a future post. There’s obviously a lot more to consider here.

example of ambient light on Parallax screen

Vocab Test Time!

Are these the most detailed definitions? No – we are not a dictionary, nor the AVIXA CTS Prep book. Will someone message us later telling us how much we missed? Possibly. After reading this post, will you have a basic working knowledge of these terms and why they matter? We hope so. Plus, we are 99% sure they help you school your uncles while you play Trivial Pursuit during the holidays. 🎄

1. Chipset – Another widely-used term that vaguely means a set of electronic components that are wired together on a circuit. You will hear this term in regard to projectors, displays, but also anything from PCs to cars, to the fancy $400 toasters on Amazon that have a screen to show you how ‘toasty’ your bagels can get. You will hear this term more in Edition 3 if you want to Google it now.
2. Lumens – Basically, this is a measurement of the light visible to the human eye. If you Google it, you will see some of the below terms, as well as more knowledge into the specifics of this term.
3. ‘Lumière – Talking candle that lives in a mansion with a reclusive beast. 🕯️
4. Roll a Truck – Fun way to say send out a technician to do a task in person, which translates into $$.
5. Matte White – The most common, basic, and boring form of a projection screen. Probably what you had in your high school classroom.
6. Screen Gain – The amount of additional brightness that a screen can add to the system. Usually measured as something like 1.1 or 1.3, which means that it can reflect back an additional 10% more brightness or 30% more brightness.
7. Ambient Light Rejection (ALR) – Screens that have the ability to block out some or all light coming from top the screen. This means that sunlight or overhead ceiling light will not affect the projected image.
8. Viewing Angle – A measurement of how far off to either side of the screen you can stand and still be able to see the projected image well.

Thanks for Reading and Asking Your Questions!

Do you have more ‘dumb’ questions? Share your questions here and we will get you an answer.

Did you find this blog post helpful? Connect with us over on LinkedIn.

Ashley Nichols | CTS, DSCE

Director of Business Development

Supported Manufacturers: Sony, Panasonic and our OWN brands – Mustang

John Borns | CTS, DSCE

Business Development Manager

Supported Manufacturers: Legrand AV (NE, SE, MW) – Chief, C2G, Da-Lite, Luxul, Middle Atlantic, Vaddio, Wiremold