Ok, a n00b question regarding home theater LCD projectors...

[Jugernot]

I'm thinking of buying a projector (probably the Dell 2100) for my living room and was wondering about the details of a how a projector works. I can only assume that the blackest black will be limited to the surface color of your screen, correct? So If I have a light on in the room and the screen is a light grey, that will be the darkest color on the screen.

I mean, it's not possible for it to project black on the wall as it's an additive color style.

Am I right?

Jugs

 

[Ryan]

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=27&threadid=1002454&FTVAR_MSGDBTABLE= For some reason I remembered this thread when I read yours

 

[Jugernot]

Ok, I read through the thread, but it really doesn't answer my question on lighting... thanks though.

 

[Xionide]

I am going to say that it HAS to emit black as a color, onyl because people dont project onto a black screen. I think its the only way to get black.

-Xionide

 

[gsaldivar]

"...the blackest black will be limited to the surface color of your screen, correct? So If I have a light on in the room and the screen is a light grey, that will be the darkest color on the screen..."

Your assumptions are correct. The reason why lights in a movie theatre are dimmed, is to allow for the absence of projected light on an area of a highly reflective screen to emit little-or-no color - also known as the color "black".

For home-theatre setups, achieving a true black-point will be made easier as ambient light in the room is decreased. If it's any consolation, this is also true for all other types of displays such as televisions and LCD screens.

Increasing the strength of your light source, will work to preserve the range of viewable colors when ambient light is increased.

So, if you expect your home-theatre to have a problem with eliminating ambient light, look for a projector with a high-power light source (measured in "lumens").

Hope this helps!

 

[Jugernot]

In a dark room, even white appears as blackish grey. It's called an additive color model, which TVs, monitors, and projectors use.

Light cannot appear as black, as that would be subtractive color... such as a printout from a printer. You cover the white paper with black ink.

To create color on a projector, color are added together and light is applied. If you want black, no light is shown through.

I guess, I've answered my own question...


http://www.adobe.com/support/techguides/color/colormodels/rgbcmy.html

 

[Jugernot]

Thanks gsaldivar!