DLP TV technology stands for digital light processing. It uses an optical semiconductor as a means of digitally manipulating light. DLP TV is considered one of the most reliable technologies in the world. It is the only display solution capable of mapping a digital connection between a graphic or video source and the screen in front of you. This result? Very high picture quality.

The magic bullet of DLP television technology is the Digital Micromirror Device. Dr. Larry Hornbeck of Texas Instruments invented this device in 1987. Think of the DMD chip as a highly sophisticated light switch. The chip contains about 1.3 million hinge-mounted microscopic mirrors.

Each of these micromirrors is less than one-fifth the width of a human hair. When you coordinate a DMD chip with a digital video or graphic signal, a light source, and a projection lens, these mirrors reflect an all-digital image onto the screen. The result is superior picture quality. Currently, Samsung DLP and Samsung HDTV are industry front-runners in the use of this technology.

Since most people's eyes are capable of blending colors, individual red, green, and blue pixels that appear on a DLP TV screen will usually go unnoticed. However, some people see rainbows when they watch a DLP projection. The rainbow effect only occurs in DLP systems that use a segmented color wheel. It will not happen if you use a system that uses one DMD for each primary color. Many home theater systems use color wheels that contain segments in order to reduce the rainbow effect. Some also add a dark green segment, which can often improve the overall color quality.