Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Technical Questions DLP Technology and Rainbows Question

I’m looking at projectors again and there are a few single chip DLP units that are getting some serious praise. In the past, I have intentionally left DLP units off my shopping list because I keep reading stories about these Rainbows that some folks are sensitive to. I'd rather not eliminate DLP before I know if I am sensitive or not this time.... To try and find out if I am or not, I recently spent about a half an hour in front of a DLP TV at Best Buy looking for these rainbows, but I didn’t see any sort of color oddity at all, and definitely did not see any rainbows. If it matters, the TV I was watching was a Mitsubishi 73” Diamond. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8454745&type=product&id=1183767793279

I am wondering what it is that folks who are sensitive to RBE actually see? I’d hate to spend a few grand on a projector to only get raging headaches.

Mike we've had our 73" Mits RP DLP for over two and a half years and have never noticed the rainbow effect at all, I've tried to look for it but can't find it. I surly wouldn't hesitate for a millisecond buying another DLP or a Mitsubishi set again ... just how thin is the 73" TV you are looking at?

I believe the higher speed color wheels are less prone to this issue. For example, a 2 or 3x wheel is more likely to show the rainbows, then a 5x or higher wheel projector. Also, I'm not sure all people suffer from "Over the Rainbow" issues.

We have a 61" Samsung DLP. In almost 2 years we have never noticed the "rainbow effect". If you didn't see it in the store (especially with the florescent lights), you won't see it at home.

We just bought a replacement bulb but have not used it yet (4500 hours on the original bulb).

When we first got our infocus DLP projector I immediately noticed rainbows. I could see them everywhere. After a couple of months though i had a hard time seeing them even when I was looking. Not sure if everybody gets used to it like I did but like i said now I dont see them at all. An easy way to find out if you see them is watching the credits or something such as that.

I have a ~3 year old 61" Samsung DLP RP too. I've seen the rainbow briefly 2-3 times. For me to see it, I have to move my head left<-> right without rotating, something that rarely happens when watching. I'm still on the original lamp too -- haven't braved the service menu to see the hour count.

I'd kind of written off DLP, but this technology does have me excited:

Audioholics - TI Intros Lamp-free LED DLP Projector

I'm probably a year or two away from getting a projector, so we'll see how this goes.

As for your question, I never saw the rainbow effect with any DLP units I've looked at, but I have to admit I never gave them serious time, since even if *I* don't see the rainbows, I didn't want to have people over for a movie and find out one of them was sensitive. Personally, I'd continue to leave single-chip DLP off my list, but maybe I'm being overly cautious.

Rick,

The Mitsubishi was about 20” thick, or so… It uses LED. I thought the picture was very, very nice. They also run at 120hz. I’m not actually looking for a TV, but that’s the only thing I was able to find with DLP.

So from you guys who do see these rainbows, would it be safe to assume that if I didn’t see any on the TV in the store then I’m safe?

I’m looking to get a new projector in a couple months. The DLP machines I’m considering are:

Marantz VP-15S
BenQ W20000
Planar PD8150

There's no way I can afford a three chip DLP projector.

Modern DLP's are better than older ones, as I understand it. They sped up the color wheel and put more segments on it. Well, at least for RP sets. Just saw you're talking projector, which I imagine is an entirely different ballgame.

higher spin speeds and the insertion of a "white" color segment (which is obviously used to make the color white instead of having to solely rely on the combination of blue, red and green to make white) have all led to a reduction in the rainbow effect.

I notice is occasionally on my DLP projector, but less now than I did when I first bought it. The LED DLP seems almost like a perfect technology, by the way - small form factor, big size, no bulb burn outs...