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Sony Projector Gets Bright Images From Black Screen

da_foz writes "Sony has developed a new projector that can give a bright, unfaded picture without the need to eliminate ambient light. The secret is that they project onto a black screen instead of a white one. Their screen uses species filters so that white ambient light is absorbed, but the red, green, and blue light from the projector is reflected. Sony sees a possible use in home entertainment systems because of the ability to have a much bigger picture than conventional TVs as well as businesses adopting the projectors for presentations."

17 of 357 comments (clear)

  1. Black? by julesh · · Score: 2, Interesting

    If it reflects _anything_, it isn't black.

    It seems this is a surface that reflects only very selective frequencies, those used by their emitters. An interesting idea, but calling it black is deceptive.

    1. Re:Black? by Flaming+Foobar · · Score: 3, Interesting

      It seems this is a surface that reflects only very selective frequencies, those used by their emitters. An interesting idea, but calling it black is deceptive.

      If it looks black to the naked eye, isn't it then... black?

      I wonder if it works with any projector, or just some specific kind. I always liked the picture quality of LCD projectors, but the fact that they require a very dark room to get any kind of reasonable contrast has kept me from buying one. Now this might change that.

      --
      while true;do echo -e -n "\033[s\n\033[u\134_\033[B";done
    2. Re:Black? by baxissimo · · Score: 4, Interesting

      The red green and blue of projectors or monitors or whatever are not a single frequency of light. LEDs don't give you pure frequencies either. Lasers are the only thing that give you light at a pure, single frequency I think. On the other hand, this page seems to indicate that DLP light consists of sharper spectral peaks than either LCD or CRT (3rd paragraph).

      But still I suspect that their filters probably filter out some of the visible light coming out of the projectors, making this black screen not quite as bright as a comparable white reflective screen. After all it has to be easier to make a material with close to 100% diffuse reflectance across the whole spectrum than to create something that's near 0% everywhere except for three narrow notches which are near 100%. But I'm no expert on light

      So I'm thinking it's highly unlikely that the the filters come anywhere near 100% black in the non-reflected parts of the spectrum. No doubt this is the blackest projection screen you've ever seen, but I really doubt it will be the blackest thing you've ever seen. Especially if you've seen Undercover Brother

      Still it's a pretty neat trick. Anyone know how they make passive filters with such sharp tuning to specific frequencies. Is it some kind of diffraction thing?

  2. Now if only... by Insomnia · · Score: 4, Interesting

    ...they could come up with a lamp that would actually last. I've gone through at least 6 InFocus projectors in the last 1.5 years due mainly to bulb failure.

    This technique sounds really cool though, perhaps I won't need to have all my windows boarded up anymore. ...hey, what's that bright thing in the sky outside?

    1. Re:Now if only... by artemis67 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      How does one go through 6 projectors in 1.5 years? I bought a Toshiba projector 5 years ago, and have yet to replace the bulb. You must be running this thing 24/7. Also, when you turn off the bulb, do you let the fan run until it stops on its own before you unplug the projector? Not letting the fan run after you turn off the bulb will also shorten the bulb's life.

    2. Re:Now if only... by mbourgon · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I'm looking at getting an X1 or equivalent later in the year. When you say "leave the projector on" do you mean with the bulb burning and everything? I assume so, but want to be sure.

      If so, my wife will love you - I tell her to turn off the TV if she's away from it for more than 30 minutes.

      --
      "Sometimes a woman is a kind of religion, she can save your soul & set you free from all your sins" - Bad Examples
    3. Re:Now if only... by Lumpy · · Score: 4, Interesting

      yes bulb on and going strong....

      turning that bulb on and off does more to it's life than leaving it on... now leaving it on 24/7 will get you to the diminished light output and dead point far faster, but you can easily triple your bulb's typical life by leaving it on when you are not going to be watching it for short peroids of time.

      also don't even be tempted to enclose the projector. it must have free air flow from all sides and NOT be located near a AC/heat vent.

      --
      Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
  3. Are three colors protected by patents? by ironring · · Score: 5, Interesting
    This appears to be a very cool technology. I have wanted to put a front projection system into my home, but have no way to control ambient light during the day. When this screen becomes available, it will probably push me over the edge.

    I assume the three frequencies that are reflected are fairly well tuned. I wonder if this means I will be stuck purchasing a Sony projector to match these? I also wonder if Sony may be able to stop others from making matching projectors since they probably own some Patents around this technology?

    1. Re:Are three colors protected by patents? by mm0mm · · Score: 2, Interesting
      I also wonder if Sony may be able to stop others from making matching projectors since they probably own some Patents around this technology?
      Sony is no Redmond company. they will most likely license the technology to competitors, or Sony's competitors will come up with something similar or better. I don't know if Sony has any type of deal with this "Stewart Filmscreen" company, but Sony knows how risky it is to play "exclusive" in the market and make things incomatible from rest of the world. Sony will probably need allies to promote this one.
  4. not the best for traveling by joel2600 · · Score: 1, Interesting

    the majority of companies that have projectors tend to use them for giving demonstrations outside of their own facilities.
    this is going to mean that the place you are going to be using the projector is going to have a white screen instead of a black screen. not to mention, if someone else comes to your facility to do a demonstration, how well are other people's projectors going to work on your black screens?

  5. Screens that Heterodyne Infrared Light by ironring · · Score: 3, Interesting
    This reminds me of a technology I read about a while ago. You can dope crystals with rare earth elements in such a way that when they are illuminated with infrared light, they up-convert (heterodyne) it to some part of the visible spectrum. The doping of the crystals can be controlled to produce red, green or blue light.

    These crystals can be ground up and painted onto a screen or even the side of a building. Then all you need is an infrared laser to scan the the sreen and you have an extremely bright and cheap full color display.

    I haven't heard much lately about their progress so I assume they are having some technical or financial delays.

  6. Fan Noise by thpdg · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Even with the best surround sound, there is still the issue of fan noise. If you enclose your projector in a cabinet, you shorten the bulb life due to heat. I've used various projectors over the years, and always end up back at my HD flat-tube system, because it has good contrast and is quiet. If they fix the contrast problem, I may give projectors another look, but the fan noise should become top priority.

    --

    -Patrick

    "They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we."

  7. Re:100.. 160 inches? by BlackHawk-666 · · Score: 2, Interesting
    It's useful in the same way a CRT is useful...you can watch TV on it. I've been saving up for a while in the hope of buying a projector and screen, and this is just the icing on the cake. The advantage of a screen and projector is:

    Huge picture

    You can roll the screen up when it's not in use

    This is pretty much perfect for someone like me who lives in a small London flat, but would like to see a decent sized image when watching their DVD collection.

    --
    All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain.
  8. What about laptop screens? by therealtroff · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Never mind about the projectors. I want to be able to use my laptop outdoors. There must be a reason I have wireless lan and a balcony. Since the root of all problems is that screens have luminosity instead of reflecting existing light selective reflection seems very interesting.

  9. Re:It needs less power... by Suidae · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Unfortunately, this is only true if you are running your bulbs extra-bright so you can watch in an undimmed room. In a dark room the screen is no brighter than a white screen, and so requires the same brightness of bulb.

  10. Re:black != "black body" by Dr.+Evil · · Score: 2, Interesting

    This is all about the difference between the additive and subtractive colour models:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_space#Commonly_ used_color_models

  11. Re:DLP or similar by Aidtopia · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Some of the cheaper DLP projectors use a clear segment in their color wheels in addition to red, green, and blue. This is done to get an overall brighter image at the expense of saturation. I suspect these projectors wouldn't look so good with a screen like this.

    I suspect the screen will be expensive, so people spending that kind of money on the screen will have a "pure" RGB projector.

    Does anybody know if LCDs and DLPs use exactly the same RGB primaries?