A new level of LED projection

Projectors benefit from light engines that combine powerful blue and red LEDs with green sources based on phosphor pumping

BY ALEXANDER MARTIN FROM OSRAM OPTO SEMICONDUCTORS

IF YOU ATTEND fairs like this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, you’ll know that if you want to deliver a presentation to your peers, you have plenty of viewing options available. The leading manufacturers are showcasing ever bigger, often scalable and even foldable screens, based on either OLED or micro-LED technologies.

Unfortunately, both these technologies have one major problem – the bigger the screens get, the more expensive they get. And for microLED-based technologies there is another sticking point – the challenge of affordable, high-throughput mass production, which the makers of these screens will try and tackle over the next few years.

While developments in screen technology have grabbed the headlines, progress in modern projection is often unnoticed. Many will have missed the strides that have been made to enable LED projection to become a viable alternative offering a higher brightness than conventional LCD and OLED screens. Gone are the days when you have to darken the meeting room so that the audience can view the presentation.

Another strength of the LED projector over LCD and OLED screens is its increased flexibility. With this technology, scalable picture sizes can be projected on any rigid or flexible surface, freeing up room space.