Texas Instruments has announced a new DLP display controller that's markedly smaller than previous iterations, and is designed to cater to a new wave of compact 4K UHD projectors as well as augmented-reality glasses.
We regularly feature home and business projectors here at New Atlas, and we've even tried a bunch of them ourselves to see in person what all the big-screen fuss is about. Many of them are built around Digital Light Processing (DLP) technology from Texas Instruments.
The company's new DLPC8445 display controller is reported to be the smallest of its kind – at just 9 x 9 mm (0.35 x 0.35 in) – and comes in some 90% smaller than previous generation chips. This clearly means that consumers can expect projection gadgetry to be made even more compact in the near future, without sacrificing image quality.
In fact, the chip is designed "to replicate the display experiences of high-end televisions and gaming monitors in the form of a compact projector." Working with a compatible digital micromirror device (DMD) and a suitable light source, the technology enables 4K visuals at 100 diagonal inches or more while also including measures to eliminate lagging, image tearing and stuttering.
This last bit is thanks to support for "sub-millisecond display latency, matching or exceeding the world's most high-end gaming monitors and reducing lag time for gamers" in addition to frame rates up to 240 Hz.
The new chip is also the first to integrate variable refresh rates, to "show new frames without delay as they arrive from the source, regardless of whether the source is dynamically changing its frame rate." Again, this will be particularly welcome to current-gen console gamers – with Texas Instruments confirming that "combined with the speed of the DMDs, it can react to changes in frame rates in less than 1 ms."
The DLP controller is reported to be the first to be designed for battery powered laser projectors, and includes image correction chops to dynamically adjust for surface imperfections for setup flexibility. The first outing for the new chip will likely be with a 4K DMD, but the company is planning to match the technology to DMDs of different sizes and resolutions "to address new trends in display applications such as augmented reality glasses."
The DLPC8445 controller is available to manufacturers now, so we won't have to wait too long for the next batch of compact high-res projectors to appear.
"Immersive display entertainment is now sought out by everyday consumers, not just movie enthusiasts and gamers," said the company's Jeff Marsh. "Where consumers once needed a big TV or monitor for a crisp and clear display, they can now use a lifestyle or gaming projector and transform a wall into the screen size of their choosing with 4K UHD quality. Our new controller is the latest example of how TI DLP technology is helping engineers develop epic displays for entertainment that can be taken anywhere."
Source: Texas Instruments