Accurate color with no ‘rainbow effect’ can be seen in the image above.
1-chip projectors use a rotating color wheel that spins at a rapid speed, only displaying colors one at a time sequentially. A viewer’s visual system combines the series of colored images into a full-colored picture. With this, viewers will sometimes see an artefact known as the “rainbow effect”.
The rainbow effect is most noticeable with fast moving video, especially bright objects on dark backgrounds. It is also apparent when moving your eyes from side to side, such as when reading text.
The image below is an example of the rainbow effect that was captured by a moving camera while the shutter was open. This is equivalent to what you will see when your eyes move quickly across the screen.
Epson’s 3LCD technology avoids this visual artefact by using mirrors to separate white light from the projector lamp into red, green and blue light. Each of the three light colors is then passed through a LCD panel and recombined using a prism before being projected onto the screen.
The result: accurate color that’s easier on the eyes.
High color brightness, wider color gamut
Many projector vendors only indicate the white brightness levels of their projectors. This does not give users the full picture, as many projectors’ colored light is significantly dimmer than their white light.
On the other hand, Epson measures and publishes the brightness of both white and colored light emitted by its projectors. To ensure customers enjoy rich, natural-looking color, all Epson 3LCD projectors deliver the same white and color light output.
In addition, 3LCD projectors can deliver up to 3 times higher color brightness and up to 3 times wider color gamut than 1-chip projectors.
Projector buyers should look out for white brightness and color brightness levels when choosing a projector. They can also visit www.colorlightoutput.com to compare the color and white brightness levels of different projectors in the market.
Energy efficiency
On average, 3LCD projectors are also more energy efficient than 1-chip projectors, helping to reduce energy bills and impact on the environment.
Nine out of 10 people prefer images from 3LCD projectors
According to Radius Global Market Research, 9 out of 10 respondents in a quantitative study preferred the image from a 3LCD projector to that of 1-chip projectors.
And of those, 87 per cent strongly preferred 3LCD images. The preference study included side-by-side comparisons of 3LCD and 1-chip projectors with similar resolution and white brightness specifications.
