Rear Projection TV's Overview

Do you have a large living room and like to see movies on large screens? Or do you entertain guests on a regular basis and want to give them a different type of entertainment they aren’t accustomed to? Or are you planning on building a home entertainment system and want the luxury of a large TV to look at? Or maybe you work at a company with a conference room and are need to see information on a big screen? If your answers are yes, you need a rear projection TV. With rear projection TV’s you definitely can have the size you want and be able to see more picture. But before you go out and buy one you need to know some facts first. In order to know what you want to buy you should get an understanding as to how they are made and work. First thing to know is how they are made.

 

·        How they are made: How does the rear projection TV work? The projection TV is made of four parts: projector, screen, control panel, and sound system. Each one will be explained below:

o       Projector – The projector is the heart of the system. There are two types of projectors: transmittive and reflective.

§         Transmittive: Allows light to go through the image-forming element. This element could be either a CRT or an LCD. In newer systems today, you will see LCDs instead.

§         Reflective: The image is formed on a small, reflective chip. When light shines on the chip, the image is bounces off the image-forming element and through a projection lens to the screen.

In both of the above projectors, a lens collects the image, magnifies it, and focuses it on the screen.

o       Screen – The screen is the same as used in the movie theater. On a rear projection TV, the components are usually built-in so there you have no choice of screens.

o       Control Panels – No matter what type of system you use, they all must have a way to control the video and audio. This is where the control panel comes in. Depending on the system you are setting up (home entertainment or conference room), you could use an audio/video receiver, a computer, or even a laptop.

o       Speakers – All systems use sound. And most of them, especially the rear projection TV’s have stereo speakers.  

·        How rear projection TV’s work: Unlike regular TV tubes (CRTs), a projection TV forms a small image on a device inside the projector. And then it shines that image onto a large screen located someone else. In rear projection TV’s, light reflects off the projection display panel and is then projected on the screen.