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LCoS:
Looking at LCoS
Another “projector-on-a-chip” system that has hit the market in recent years is
the LCoS (Liquid Crystal on Silicon) system. A couple of different manufacturers
are making LCoS systems, but the most prominent to date have been JVC,
with a system called D-ILA (Digital Direct Drive Image Light Amplifier) — we’re
puzzled by the acronym, but we guess DDDILA is too hard to remember — and
Sony, with its SXRD (Silicon Crystal X-tal — for acronym purposes — Reflective
Display) projection TVs.
LCoS systems are basically a new variant of LCDs. LCoS systems still use
liquid crystals, but instead of transmitting light through the liquid crystal
(like an LCD does), LCoS reflects the light like a DLP, resulting in a significantly
brighter image.
There aren’t a lot of LCoS projectors on the market yet, but those that are
available — that is to say, JVC’s D-ILA models, Sony’s SXRD models, and a few
others — have perhaps the finest picture quality of any projection displays
available.
LCoS systems offer true 1080p resolution (with no tricks like the wobbulation
we discuss in the “Weebles wobble” sidebar) and an incredibly smooth, filmlike
image. LCoS beats out LCD projection systems in the brightness game,
while avoiding the rainbow effects found in DLPs.
LCoS is also known for exceptional black reproduction, rivaling, if not quite
matching, the blacks displayed by the super-expensive CRT projection systems
that used to be the high end of the market.
What’s the catch? Well, LCoS projectors are more expensive than LCD or DLP
projectors — there simply isn’t the kind of volume production of the LCoS
microdisplay components to bring the prices down to those levels yet. You
can expect to pay about 30 percent more for a 1080p LCoS display than you
would for an identically sized DLP display.
The good news here is that the prices are coming down rapidly. For example,
Sony’s first generation of SXRD RPTVs cost about twice what a similarly sized
DLP projector would have cost. The models currently shipping as we write
(less than a year into the technology’s life span) are only about $1,000 more
than a similarly sized DLP and offer a better picture. So keep your eye on
LCoS, as it may very well give DLP a run for its (and your) money!
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