Why Buy an LCoS TV?

The newest entry to the micro device projection TV category is LCoS. LCoS TVs, like their LCD and DLP cousins, are lighter and slimmer than conventional rear projection televisions. They also produce much brighter pictures with better viewing angles. Anyone who has owned a CRT-based rear projection set knows what a pain it is to set the TV’s convergence. This issue has also been eliminated with micro device television sets, since convergence occurs before the image is displayed on the screen.

LCoS TVs, like DLP and LCD rear projection TVs, use a lamp as the primary light source. This allows the user to replace the lamp once the old one goes bad. Once the new lamp is in, the TV will be as bright as it was the day it was purchased. A new lamp will cost between two and three hundred dollars. Some will view this as a bad thing, but look at it this way: Every 3 to 5 years, for a few hundred dollars, you can virtually have a new television. The brightness on both LCD and plasma sets will continually decrease over the life of the set.

LCoS TVs combine the best of both LCD projection, and DLP TVs. The light from the lamp reflects off the chip, like DLP, allowing the pixels to be moved closer together and eliminating the “screen door” effect. It also uses 3 panels, like LCD, allowing it to display all 3 colors on the screen simultaneously, eliminating the “rainbow effect.” LCoS doesn’t use a color wheel like DLP, reducing the number of moving parts, and thus reducing the chance of that part failing.

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Since LCoS is a relative new comer to the micro device television market, there aren’t as many models to choose from. However, there are differences in the models available. The biggest players in the market are Sony and JVC. Sony refers to their LCoS TV lineup as SXRD. JVC calls it H-DILA.

Below are the criteria TopTenREVIEWS used to evaluate LCoS TVs:

Connections: You need a TV with plenty of hookups for DVD players, VCRs, camcorders, video game consoles, cable boxes, etc. Having inputs on the front of the set is a big help as well.

Resolution: The picture quality of your LCoS TV is largely determined by the resolution of the set.

Contrast Ratio: TVs that have a good picture will always have a good contrast ratio. While contrast ratio measures the difference between black and white colors, it also makes all the other colors appear more vibrant.

Brightness: Obviously you want a TV that is bright, and is easy to see even in bright room conditions.

Digital Tuner: If you haven’t heard, you need to have a digital tuner after February 2009. Most TVs have one built in now, but not all.