4KUHD on the way

Much has been made of 4K UHD display technology and rightly so. The rich, vibrant detail that 8.3 million pixels on a screen can display is truly breathtaking.

Now that more and more 4K UHD content is becoming available and the cost of 4K UHD displays has come down, demand for 4K UHD equipment is increasing rapidly and so are the claimsof technology providers. To reap the full benefits of 4K UHD, certain criteria must be met—8.3 million pixels must be displayed on the screen. Some supposed 4K UHD displays come up short, displaying as few as 4 million pixels. Each DLP technology 4K UHD solution exceeds the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) definition for 4K UHD technology.

Contrast is another critical parameter. Simply comparing a full white screen to a full black screen doesn’t demonstrate the contrast the display is capable of, but a more accurate measurement of contrast can be made when both bright whites and dark blacks are both in an image on the screen.

This value can be found by looking for the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) contrast. Precise pixel alignment is also essential. Some 4K UHD projection systems have multiple imagers, one for each of the three basic colors. Aligning 8.3 million pixels with three different imagers can sometimes be problematic; however, TI’s 4K UHD DLP technology alleviates these concerns using a single display chip.