LED Vs DLP Vs LCD Projectors – What is the difference?

(Last Updated On: April 20, 2018)

Projectors are hot these days as everyone seems to be buying one, either for their home theater, school, office or even for their next camping venture. Yes, you heard it right, people are buying mini projectors and portable projectors to keep the fun of watching on a big screen with them. Since there are so many different types of projectors available in the market, choosing the best one for you can be confusing. Here in this guide, we will try to cover LED VS DLP VS LCD Projectors and see what are the differences.

DLP Projectors

The DLP (Digital Light Processing) projectors use DLP chips and color wheels to create an image. Single chip and 3 chips DLPs are available in the market and warry in their specifications. DLP projectors with LED technology are normally preferred as its lamp does not need to be replaced and are energy efficient.

Pros

Normal DLP projectors have up to 16.7 million colors and advanced DLPs can have up to 35 trillion colors
DLP projectors do not suffer the color decay
No motion blur issues with DLP Projectors
Most projectors in movie theaters use DLP

Cons

Low contrast ratio as compared to LED projectors and LCD projectors
DLP projectors with slower color wheels may give off a rainbow effect

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LCD Projectors

LCD Projectors uses Liquid Crystal Displays to display the picture. It gives the user the advantage of a longer throw distance and greater zoom capability, both of which are lacking in many DLP projectors. This makes LCD projectors ideal for larger environments. Most LCD projectors on the market these days, use 3 LCD technology, a patented system that combines three liquid crystal displays

Pros

LCD projectors are better for large environment, rooms, and halls
LCD projectors have better image quality than DLP projectors
LCD projectors generally cost less as compared to DLP projectors.

Cons

LCD Projectors suffer color decay
Dust can damage the performance of LCD projector

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LED Projectors

Projectors which uses LED as their light are LED projectors. These projectors either uses LCD technology or DLP technology for the images. In simpler terms, we can say that LCD and DLP projector can be LED projectors at the same time if these projectors use LED lamp are their light source to display the image.

Pros

LED lamps have much longer life and may last the entire life of the projector without ever needing to be replaced
LED projectors are much more energy efficient and result in low electricity bills.
LED projectors have low maintenance and operational costs

LED VS DLP Projector

Actually, there is no difference if the DLP projector uses an LED lamp as its light source. Though there are DLP projectors which do not use LED lamps. Here are some differences between the projectors with use LED and which do not

LED projectors are much simpler and energy efficient
LED projectors have low maintenance costs
You do not have to replace the lamp in LED projectors as LED lamps are designed to last the entire life of the projector.
LED projectors produce less noise.

DLP VS LCD Projector

LCD projectors have better contrast ratio than DLP projectors therefore when it comes to the overall picture quality, LCD is the winner.
DLP projectors are easier to maintain because of their filter-free design dust cannot settle on the chip to cause an image spot
DLP projectors with LED lamps are energy efficient
Color decay is not an issue with DLP projectors
DLP projectors are better suited for small environments while LCD projectors for large.

LED VS DLP VS LCD Projectors

Below are some of the differences worth considering while buying projectors

There is a difference between the technology used in LED, DLP and LCD projectors. DLP projectors use reflective technology while LCD projectors use transmissive technology.
The LED projectors use LED lamps and LCD projectors use standard lamps while DLP projectors can use either standard lamp or LED lamp. The cost of the lamp should also be considered as these lamps can run out of their time and be replaced.
If you plan to buy a projector for smaller venues, such as home theaters, LCD projectors cost less.
As such, they (DLP Projectors) do not offer the same high levels of brightness found in larger projectors. They typically have a brightness of less than 200 ANSI lumens, whereas larger projectors can have a brightness of 1,000 ANSI lumens, up to 4,500 ANSI lumens or more.

Summary

LCD and DLP projectors differ from each other based on the projection technology they use. DLP projectors use DLP chips to project an image while LCD projectors use transmissive liquid crystal display panels. Both LCD and DLP projectors can be LED projectors at the same time if these projectors use LED as their lamp.