New Chipset to Increase Picture Quality and Contrast Ratios for DLP HDTVs and Projector Products
DLP® Products from Texas Instruments (TI) (NYSE: TXN) today announced the introduction of a new chipset, DarkChip™ 4, that furthers the position of 
DLP as a leader in picture quality and contrast ratio. The new chipset is reported to deliver up to a 30% increase in native contrast ratio depending upon the application. All DLP product lines, including DLP HDTVs, DLP 1-chip projectors and DLP 3-chip projectors currently feature products with various chipset iterations of DarkChip technology. The new DarkChip4 will be available in a number of products in 2008.
"Using our current DLP chipsets, our customers have built some of the most competitive Home Theater products in the market, all with excellent picture quality," said Lars Yoder, vice president, DLP Front Projection Business Unit at TI. "We are proud to introduce the next generation of the DLP chip for future product implementations. It will provide our customers even more flexibility for designing projectors that can meet the needs of a wide range of markets."
The DarkChip 4 process was first developed for the high brightness and contrast picture quality requirements of the digital cinema industry, of which DLP Cinema® is the founder and uncontested world leader. The contrast improvements from DarkChip 4 are achieved by advances in mirror design lithography and other proprietary process changes.
DLP uses a streamlined optical system that efficiently reflects light to the screen, resulting in a stunning viewing experience – crisper whites, ultra-rich blacks and images that "pop" on-screen, making it ideal for unforgettable presentations or movies. DLP-based products are known for their native contrast ratio levels which ultimately sets minimum product contrast ratio level for all scene content. Native contrast ratio also sets the "black level" of the system.
"We are constantly searching and innovating new ways to create simply the best HDTV experience. The better the native contrast performance our mirrors can deliver, the more images will jump of the screen," said Adam Kunzman, DLP HDTV business manager. "This breakthrough, combined with our other innovations, vibrant colors, high resolution, clarity and digital imaging, gives our customers a competitive and unique advantage in the marketplace".
At CEDIA (booth #620) DLP is showing multiple demonstrations, of the capabilities of the new chipset innovation. The DLP DarkChip™ 4 Theater features a 3 chip, 1080p DLP projector featuring the new chipset producing trillions of colors combined with a native contrast ratio of 15,000:1. Additionally, there is a demonstration of a DLP HDTV with DarkChip 4 and LED illumination with a native contrast performance beyond 100,000 to 1.
