Digital Light Processing (DLP) is a trademark owned by Texas Instruments, representing a technology used in projectors and video projectors. It was originally developed in 1987 by Dr. Larry Hornbeck of Texas Instruments.

Digital light processing (DLP) is a almost impossibly complex, even magical -- millions of tiny mirrors on a chip the size of your thumbnail, each of them capable of moving thousands of times per second to create a digital image.

The key to DLP is the DMD (Digital Micro-mirror Device). In essence, every pixel on a DLP chip is a reflective mirror, which amplifies the light generated from the chip.

Dr. Larry Hornbeck begins exploring how the principles of reflection can be used to manipulate light.

1977

Dr. Hornbeck develops the Digital Micro-mirror Device, or DMD.

1987

Texas Instruments forms the Digital Imaging Venture Project to explore the commercial viability

1992

Imaging division is established to unlock its potential for commercial projection.

1993

Prototype projectors are used to publicly demonstrate Digital Light Processing technology for the first time.

1994

The DLP Products division of TI announces its first customer agreements.

1995

The first commercial DLP systems are shipped to InFocus, nView and Proxima. Digital Projection signs on to manufacture DLP projectors

1996

The Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences chooses DLP technology to project the Oscars

1997

DLP Products receives an Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Engineering Development from the Academy of Arts and Sciences.

1998

DLP Cinema projector technology is publicly demonstrated for the first time on two screens in Los Angeles and New York for the release of Lucasfilm's Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace

1999

TI ships its 500,000th DLP system. Digital China launches the first China-branded DLP® projector.

2000

Sharp announces the first 16:9 projector, greatly anticipated by home theater

2001

Samsung announces their first DLP HDTV. HP enters the projector market with DLP technology. Dell enters the projector market with DLP technology.

2002

DLP Products receives 2nd Emmy Award for Technology and Engineering in Consumer Rear Projection Television. TI ships its 2 millionth DLP system.

2003

LG Electronics introduces a DLP HDTV. Toshiba introduces a DLP HDTV.

2004

The first 1080p DLP HDTV hits market from Mitsubishi.

2005

Technology achieves greater than 50% market share in the worldwide front projection market for first timeTI introduces DLP HDTVs with LED technology. TI announces 10 Million DLP systems shipped in 10 years.

2006

DLP is a nano-technology implementation of the old survival technique of using a mirror to signal for help -- its purpose is to shine a controlled series of light flashes on a target to send a message.

A Digital micromirror device, or DMD, is an optical semiconductor that is the core of DLP projection technology.

DLP devices come in either one or three-chip models.

Single-chip projectors

Three-chip projectors

One-chip DLP systems use a projection lamp to pass white light through a color wheel that sends red-green-blue colors to the DMD chip in a sequential order to create an image on-screen. Only one DMD chip is used to process the primary RGB colors.

Three chip projectors systems use a projection lamp to send white light through a prism, which creates separate red, green, and blue light beams. Each beam is sent to their respective red, green, and blue DMD chip to process the image for display on-screen.

Famous "Hollywood" picture quality

Ideal for watching sports

True 1080p technology

Stunning picture quality that lasts

Images so real, you're there 100% digital DLP chip for accurate picture

DLP low maintenance, filter free projectors DLP brilliant colors

Superior readability, high quality projectors

DLP projectors: high picture quality