Epson’s 3LCD projector technology celebrates 20th anniversary
Leading projector manufacturer Epson[1] recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of its 3LCD projector technology, marking two decades of innovation since the first 3LCD projector was launched in 1989.
The world’s leading projector technology, 3LCD uses pioneering 3-chip high-temperature polysilicon (HTPS) LCD systems to deliver images that are bright and natural in colour, and extremely fine in detail, with proven reliability. The technological advantages of 3LCD have also been adopted by other leading brands, which has in turn boosted the global market share of the technology to more than half.
Epson designed the 3LCD projector system by using a combination of dichroic mirrors to separate the white light from the lamp into red, green and blue light. Each of the three colours of light is then passed through its own LCD panel and recombined with a dichroic prism before being projected onto the screen. The result is fluid images that are rich and full in colour as all three basic colours are included in each pixel of the projection.
Since 1989 Epson has produced many milestone 3LCD projectors with unique technologies, including:
First Epson 3LCD projector (1989)
First Epson VGA data projector (1995)
World’s first projector to use integrator and polarisation changing technology (1996)
World’s first network projector (2001)
World’s first Home Cinema projector to add HDMI 1.3a (Deep Colour) support (2006)
World’s first 720p projector with built-in DVD player (2007)
Aside from the core 3LCD technology, a number of other technological elements differentiate Epson projectors including E-TORL, a proprietary technology used to raise light efficiency in its lamps. This allows a higher luminosity to be achieved without increasing electricity consumption, therefore limiting the environmental burden, which is something that Epson has worked to minimise over the past twenty years. Since the launch of Epson’s first data projector utilising 3LCD technology, ongoing advances in these optical technologies has increased overall energy efficiency by 90 per cent (Internal source).
