As we all know, contrast ratio is undoubtedly an important indicator of a projector's performance. The level of contrast is directly related to the brightness and darkness level and detail performance of the projection picture. Recently, the HEP800 package smart color E80 series projector launched by Seemele has achieved a 40% increase in contrast compared to the 0.67" VSP package projector. Compared to the 0.47" TRP package projector, it is an amazing 100% improvement! How did this leap come about? Next, we will uncover the secret weapon for you from the perspective of professional optics.
First of all, we need to make it clear that the so-called contrast ratio is the ratio between the brightest white and the darkest black in the light and dark areas of an image. From a visual point of view, the greater the contrast, the greater the number of black, white and gray scales that can be recognized on the same screen, the more dark details can be displayed, and the more comprehensive the content display of dark scenes.
When playing a large movie with a lot of dark scenes, the details of the dark scenes are more complete, so the average home projector pays more attention to contrast parameters than brightness. In the projection fusion project, the lower the brightness of the dark field of the projector with higher contrast, the lower the brightness of the dark field superimposed in the fusion zone area, and the less obvious the fusion band is in the dark scene.
For projectors of the same brightness, the brightness of the white field is the same, and if you want to improve the contrast, you can only reduce the brightness of the dark field in a variety of ways, and the core is to eliminate stray light to the greatest extent. In this regard, the new product of Seemeile has delivered a satisfactory answer.
With the release of Texas Instruments' new HEP800 packaged DMD chip, Seemele took the lead in sniffing the opportunity, combined with the brand's patented unique SLPL laser light source technology, perfectly "digested" and gave full play to the performance advantages of this series of chips, and launched the first complete product equipped with HEP800 packaged DMD chip in April - intelligent color E series.
Why is the contrast ratio of the HEP800 model so much improved? First of all, the deflection angle of the HEP package DMD micromirror increases, resulting in the reflected OFF light being farther away from the projector lens, thereby greatly reducing the proportion of stray light reflected by the light-absorbing part of the optical machine through the lens spill over, which also greatly reduces the brightness of the dark field.
Secondly, the size of a single micromirror of a 0.8" large chip has increased from 7.6μm of a 0.67" chip to 9.0μm, and the spacing between micromirrors (pixel border size) has not increased significantly, so that the proportion of pixel borders (invalid reflection area of micromirrors) has been greatly reduced, which greatly reduces the proportion of light incident on the DMD imaging area into the DMD structure and becomes stray light or is absorbed by the internal structure of DMD, and the effect fed back to the projection screen is also an effective reduction in the brightness of the dark field.
Thirdly, in order to match the large 0.8" DMD chip, Seemele has greatly increased the clear aperture (F/#减少到2.0) of the opto-mechanical system in the opto-mechanical design. In this way, the efficiency of the opto-mechanical system is improved, and the proportion of invalid stray light inside the opto-mechanical system is also reduced, which further reduces the brightness of the dark field.
In addition to the innovation of chip application, Seemele also quickly designed a special lens for HEP based on its industrial supporting advantages in full-stack R&D and manufacturing of optical systems. Matched with a 0.8" large DMD chip, the lens aperture is increased, the light transmittance of the lens is greatly improved, and the most effective diaphragm scheme is also designed, which greatly improves the ability to intercept stray light, thereby ensuring the brightness of the projection dark field and ensuring the product experience of excellence for users.
In the future, we have reason to believe that Seemelo will continue to innovate and bring more surprises to users!