HD-ILA Technology

Instead of using conventional and aging CRT (Cathode Ray) tubes that were found on virtually all rear-projection televisions just a few years ago, D-ILA technology is placed on a small silicon chip, which measures only 1.22 inches. The D-ILA Hologram Device is capable of producing high-resolution HDTV images of more than 1,920 x 1,080 pixels. Overall, these D-ILA devices have the capability of displaying over 3,000 lines of resolution, with images in excess of 2,000 x 1,340 pixels and a high contrast ratio of up to 10,000:1. They also have the capability of producing a brightness level of up to a whopping 12,000 lumens.

The core of the HD-61FN97’s D-ILA projector is a tiny, reflective 0.9-inch CMOS chip that directly addresses a miniature Image Light Amplifier (ILA). Accordingly, the projector separates the signal from the source into red, green, and blue picture components and passes them through a thin film layer onto a reflective single LCD panel. Since it’s a reflective (rather than transmissive, like LCD) technology, the light bounces off a mirror-like layer underneath the pixels. Since the light does not have to pass through a pixel-driving transistor, it is able to achieve a higher aperture ratio (claimed to be 93 percent by JVC). Reportedly, standard LCD panels only pass about 40–60 percent of light because LCDs work by sending the light through the liquid crystal layer. Each resulting image is then converted photo-electronically and illuminated by a high-density arc lamp.

Because D-ILA is very bright, it does not require dimming the lights in the room (like all front projectors) to obtain better-contrasted images. Also, unlike the standard 3-beam CRT projectors, D-ILA is able to deliver clearly defined images from corner to corner without having to converge and focus the image. In addition, the D-ILA Hologram device uses vertically-oriented liquid crystals for better blockage of light when a pixel is turned “off,” thereby producing a more solid black and a higher contrasted image overall. And, by filtering approximately 1.32 million pixels and almost 4 million dots onto its ultra-compact 1.22-inch device, which is six times the pixel density of a conventional LCD, higher resolution images are obtained.

Image Courtesy of JVC