​Enjoy big-screen gaming anytime, anywhere: Making portable 4K UHD 240Hz gaming projector a reality

Enjoy big-screen gaming anytime, anywhere: making portable 4K UHD 240Hz gaming projector a reality

The next generation of gaming monitors may not look like traditional monitors at all.

Projection-based gaming display solutions offer the performance of gaming monitors with the flexibility to be easily moved and available in different screen sizes. Just as 100- to 150-inch laser TVs have become a popular alternative to bulky 80-inch and larger TVs, as described in the white paper, “TI DLP® technology for laser TV displays,” ultra-short-throw projection-based gaming display solutions may soon become an attractive alternative to gaming monitors, especially for gamers seeking larger screen sizes and the ability to display on the go.

To make these projectors a reality, designers need to meet the high-performance requirements of modern games, including achieving higher frame rates, lower display latency, and variable refresh rates. While the challenges are similar to those of high-resolution media projectors, gaming projectors are unique in that gamers need to interact directly with the projected content. Insufficient response times or high latency can affect the user experience, especially for competitive gamers.

While meeting the high-performance demands of modern gamers, these display solutions also need to be able to support future generations of video game consoles and gaming PCs. Current projection display solutions can achieve some of these specifications; however, the trade-off is higher cost and a larger, less portable system.

This article will explore the importance of high frame rates, low display latency, and variable refresh rates for next-generation projected gaming display solutions, as well as the current challenges in meeting the requirements of such display solutions.

High frame rate

Faster frame rates provide smoother gaming with less motion blur and latency, resulting in a more immersive and responsive gaming experience.

Figure 1 compares motion blur at different display frame rates.

Figure 1 Motion blur comparison between 60Hz and 240Hz display frame rates

In the gaming monitor market, high frame rate display solutions of 120Hz and above are common. However, in the TV and projector market, only more expensive high-end TVs and projectors using higher cost chipsets and display components support frame rates above 60Hz. The new generation of DLP® display technology chipsets, including the DLPC8445 controller, supports frame rates up to 240Hz.

Low latency display

Display latency, which refers to the time it takes for the display to update after receiving a new frame, is extremely important in high-performance gaming. Whether gamers need to brake precisely in real time in a racing game or perform a series of precise jumps in an action game, they want the display to react as quickly as possible to the controller input. Display latency is usually measured by connecting a photodetector to the computer and placing it on the screen to detect changes in the display's light output, and latency of less than 20ms is considered acceptable in gaming (assuming that the system latency from user input to display is minimal in this case).

While higher refresh rates can achieve lower latency, the time it takes to update a pixel on the display also depends on the entire data processing pipeline, including the features and capabilities of the display controller. Upstream image processing of the display controller also affects display latency.

例如，到目前为止，所有以前的 DLP 显示控制器都使用了双帧缓冲器架构，这增加了一帧延迟。DLPC8445 DLP 显示控制器使用全新的帧缓冲器架构，可显著降低显示延迟。再结合数字微镜器件 (DMD) 的快速开关功能，在新帧数据进入的图像角落进行测量的情况下，DLPC8445 可以使显示延迟小于 1ms。

Support variable refresh rate

Gaming PCs and current-generation consoles support variable refresh rates, which allow a game's frame rate to change dynamically during gameplay. For example, the frame rate might run at 120Hz for most of the game, but as the action becomes more frequent and demands on the graphics processing unit increase, the frame rate might drop.

If a variable refresh rate source is connected to a traditional fixed refresh rate display, gamers will see image artifacts such as stuttering and tearing as frames are delayed and displayed out of sync with the display's fixed refresh rate. In this case, the display delay varies from frame to frame.

Display solutions that support variable refresh rates experience no delay in new frames arriving from the source to the display target, regardless of whether the source is dynamically changing its frame rate. This provides a smoother gaming experience with higher image quality and lower latency.

Variable refresh rate is a feature that has become increasingly popular in gaming monitors and TVs over the past decade. The DLPC8445 DLP display controller is an advanced DLP display controller that supports variable refresh rate. Combined with the speed of the DMD, the device can react to changes in frame rate in less than 1ms.

Conclusion

The DLPC8445 controller enables smaller printed circuit board size and lower power consumption, enabling a class of mobile 4K UHD projectors that are not only easy to move around the home but small enough to fit in a backpack.

As new, higher-performance projection-based gaming display solutions become available, designers can also imagine further reductions in size. In the near future, improvements in ultra-short-throw optics and red, green, and blue laser illumination could make laser gaming displays small enough to fit on a tabletop and create an immersive gaming display experience.

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