Can projectors also comfortably play 3A masterpieces? TI's new generation DLPC8445 helps innovate projection equipment

With the popularization of 4K ultra-high-definition display technology, the demand for projection equipment in many fields such as home, industry, film and television, and education has grown rapidly. However, in the eyes of some professional gamers, the delay, brightness, and refresh rate of projection equipment have always been criticized.

Major projection manufacturers have therefore made various optimizations to reduce projection latency. Currently, with the newly launched DLPC8445 controller and DLP472TP DMD from Texas Instruments (TI), designers can provide projection equipment with sub-millisecond display latency, which is comparable to or even better than the world's high-end gaming monitors, shortening the lag time for players.

"For many years, the gaming and home entertainment fields have been the focus of technological breakthroughs in the display industry. Many consumers tend to choose large-screen LCD TVs when watching movies or playing games. Projectors are relatively less popular due to technical limitations such as insufficient refresh rate and latency. Although its growth rate is not as fast as everyone imagined, projectors are still showing a trend of gradual penetration in the home market." said Seem Deshpande, product line manager of Texas Instruments' DLP display products department.

DLP system composition

DLP technology is centered around a digital micromirror device (DMD), which is an array of individually addressable, highly reflective aluminum micromirrors. The DMD enables developers to quickly, efficiently and reliably perform spatial light modulation. Using TI's proven semiconductor manufacturing technology, each DMD contains up to 8 million independently controlled micromirrors built on corresponding CMOS memory cells.

DMDs can be paired with visible LED, laser or lamp illumination for displays, and can also support UV or IR wavelengths for light control applications. Synchronize light sources and micromirrors to achieve projection output.

DLP chipsets typically include a DMD, a controller, and a power management integrated circuit (PMIC) driver to achieve higher graphics rates and excellent image quality. Chipset design can be implemented using TI's extensive knowledge of how to reliably drive micromirrors under a variety of operating conditions. Chipsets can also be synchronized with external sensors, cameras, motors, or other devices.

DLP chipsets include:

DMD – Digital Micromirror Device

DMD Controller – Provides a convenient interface for reliable and high-speed control of micromirrors

DMD micromirror driver – provides analog clock, power drive and reset signals

Configuration PROM – configures selected DMD controllers

The DMD is of course the core of the system, but the controller is the brain of the system, relying on the controller to achieve data processing and control, integrate image data, sensor information and peripheral input, and flexibly adjust the control strategy according to the application environment. The improvement in latency and the increase in refresh rate are mainly due to the upgrade of the controller.

DLP chipsets for 4K display applications

Low latency brings smooth experience

For projection display devices, latency has always been a core issue affecting user experience, especially in games and high-dynamic video content applications, where latency can seriously affect image smoothness and user experience. DLPC8445 combines revolutionary cache technology with the fast switching speed of DMD to achieve sub-millisecond latency between image input and display output, which is much lower than the latency of traditional projection devices.

Specifically, DLPC8445 cancels the traditional double-frame buffer architecture and adopts a more streamlined single-frame buffer architecture, which, combined with the high-speed data processing capability of the DLP chipset, significantly reduces the waiting time from data input to display. With this innovative architecture, DLPC8445 achieves a display delay of less than 1ms, ensuring stable synchronous display under high-speed motion pictures, and can bring an extremely smooth experience whether it is a dynamic scene in a game or a high-frame rate movie playback.

DLPC8445 also has a built-in image fusion algorithm that can automatically perform image correction, color correction, etc. in conjunction with external sensors to ensure optimization and calibration of each frame of the image.

Innovative experience of variable refresh rate

Gaming PCs and current-generation consoles all support variable refresh rates, which allow a game's frame rate to vary from game to game. For example, most games might run at 120Hz, but as the action gets more intense and places more demands on the graphics processing unit, the frame rate may drop.

When connecting a variable refresh rate video source to a traditional fixed refresh rate display, gamers will see image artifacts such as stuttering and tearing because frames are delayed and not displayed in sync with the display's fixed refresh rate. This causes the display latency to vary with each frame.

When a new frame from a source is sent to a variable refresh rate monitor, it is displayed without delay, regardless of whether the source is dynamically changing its frame rate. The result is a smoother gaming experience with higher image quality and lower latency.

Over the past decade, variable refresh rates have become an increasingly popular feature in gaming monitors and TVs. The DLPC8445 DLP display controller is the first DLP display controller to support variable refresh rate (VRR). Combined with the speed of the DMD, it can react to frame rate changes in less than 1ms.

VRR also leverages the improved cache architecture and algorithm optimization of the DLPC8445 controller, achieving a milestone in the projection industry.

In addition, DLPC8445 also supports a refresh rate of up to 240Hz, making it a highly competitive projection display controller in the current market. Compared with the traditional 60Hz refresh rate, the 240Hz refresh rate can bring smoother picture effects, especially in fast-paced games and video playback, this feature can significantly enhance the user's immersion.

Image clarity at different frame rates

DLPC8445: The perfect balance of compactness and performance

The DLPC8445 display controller measures only 9mm × 9mm, which is 90% smaller than the previous generation. It can greatly reduce the size of the PCB board and the size of the device, allowing for the design of a more compact projector. In addition, the smaller size also results in lower power consumption.

Innovation keeps DLP technology evergreen

On May 16, 1999, the premiere of "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace" marked a turning point in the film industry's transition from the film era to the digital cinema era. It was the first film to be publicly screened using digital projectors using DLP Cinema technology.

Today, DLP technology is moving from cinemas to a wider range of interactive fields. "Displays based on DLP technology are eye-catching because of their bright colors, high contrast and clear images. DLP technology has always been committed to providing an immersive and magical experience." Jeff Marsh, vice president and general manager of DLP products at Texas Instruments, said. In many industries and fields such as automobiles, education and games, DLP technology can help improve users' visual experience.

In the automotive sector, DLP technology can enhance communication between vehicles and pedestrians, and between vehicles, helping to provide a safer driving experience. Light-guiding headlights help drivers detect pedestrians and adapt to road conditions, turning off headlights or increasing/decreasing light brightness as needed.

In the classroom, technologies such as interactive whiteboards allow only one or two students to interact with content, but DLP projectors can turn an entire wall into an interactive display, creating a more engaging and inclusive experience for more students and teachers.

For processes such as industrial 3D printing and PCB manufacturing, DLP technology can project multiple wavelengths of light to melt or harden media, achieving high-precision exposure, fast updates, and reliable operation. Using DLP products in manufacturing can shorten design cycles, help to adjust prototypes faster, and ultimately print production devices.

DLP technology is even changing the way we interact with video games. New display products can now achieve lower latency than ever before, allowing projectors to compete with the fastest gaming monitors.

In the chip industry, due to the existence of Moore's Law, it is difficult for a company or a product to continue to shine in the market for several years, but DLP technology continues to lead the market. When asked about the reason, Deshpande said: "Innovation is our core quality. In the past 30 years of DLP development, we have gained the trust of our customers. DLP continues to bring you higher performance, more stable systems and products, and continues to solve the demands and problems raised by customers. In addition, TI's own continuous investment in production and manufacturing and the process nodes of factory production process research and development can enable DLP to maintain long-term competitiveness."