<s>
3LCD	B-General_Concept
is	O
the	O
name	O
and	O
brand	O
of	O
a	O
major	O
LCD	B-Device
projection	I-Device
color	O
image	O
generation	O
technology	O
used	O
in	O
modern	O
digital	B-Device
projectors	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
3LCD	B-General_Concept
technology	O
was	O
developed	O
and	O
refined	O
by	O
Japanese	O
imaging	O
company	O
Epson	O
in	O
the	O
1980s	O
and	O
was	O
first	O
licensed	O
for	O
use	O
in	O
projectors	O
in	O
1988	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
January	O
1989	O
,	O
Epson	O
launched	O
its	O
first	O
3LCD	B-General_Concept
projector	O
,	O
the	O
VPJ-700	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
Epson	O
still	O
owns	O
3LCD	B-General_Concept
technology	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
marketed	O
by	O
an	O
affiliated	O
organization	O
simply	O
named	O
after	O
the	O
technology	O
:	O
""	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
organization	O
is	O
a	O
consortium	O
of	O
projector	O
manufacturers	O
that	O
have	O
licensed	O
3LCD	B-General_Concept
technology	O
to	O
be	O
used	O
in	O
their	O
products	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
date	O
,	O
about	O
40	O
different	O
projector	O
brands	O
worldwide	O
have	O
adopted	O
3LCD	B-General_Concept
technology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
electronics	O
industry	O
research	O
company	O
Pacific	O
Media	O
Associates	O
,	O
projectors	O
using	O
3LCD	B-General_Concept
technology	O
comprised	O
about	O
51%	O
of	O
the	O
world	O
's	O
digital	B-Device
projector	I-Device
market	O
in	O
2009	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
3LCD	B-General_Concept
technology	O
gets	O
its	O
name	O
from	O
the	O
three	O
LCD	B-Device
panel	I-Device
chips	O
used	O
in	O
its	O
image	O
generation	O
engine	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
projector	O
using	O
3LCD	B-General_Concept
technology	O
works	O
by	O
first	O
splitting	O
the	O
white	O
light	O
from	O
the	O
lamp	O
into	O
its	O
three	O
primary	O
colors	O
of	O
red	O
,	O
green	O
and	O
blue	O
by	O
passing	O
the	O
lamp	O
light	O
through	O
special	O
dichroic	O
filter	O
/	O
reflector	O
assemblies	O
called	O
“	O
dichroic	O
mirrors.	O
”	O
Each	O
dichroic	O
mirror	O
only	O
allows	O
specific	O
colored	O
wavelengths	O
of	O
light	O
to	O
pass	O
through	O
while	O
reflecting	O
the	O
rest	O
away	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
this	O
way	O
,	O
the	O
white	O
light	O
is	O
split	O
into	O
its	O
three	O
primary	O
color	O
beams	O
and	O
each	O
is	O
directed	O
toward	O
,	O
and	O
subsequently	O
through	O
its	O
own	O
LCD	B-Device
panel	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Image	O
Generation	O
at	O
the	O
LCDs	B-Device
:	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
three	O
LCD	B-Device
panels	I-Device
of	O
the	O
projector	O
are	O
the	O
elements	O
that	O
receive	O
the	O
electronic	O
signals	O
to	O
create	O
the	O
image	O
which	O
is	O
to	O
be	O
projected	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Each	O
pixel	B-Algorithm
on	O
an	O
LCD	B-Device
is	O
covered	O
by	O
liquid	B-Device
crystals	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
changing	O
the	O
electrical	O
charge	O
given	O
to	O
the	O
liquid	B-Device
crystals	I-Device
,	O
each	O
pixel	B-Algorithm
on	O
an	O
LCD	B-Device
can	O
be	O
darkened	O
until	O
it	O
is	O
totally	O
opaque	O
(	O
for	O
full	O
black	O
)	O
,	O
lightened	O
until	O
it	O
is	O
totally	O
transparent	O
(	O
allowing	O
all	O
the	O
lamp	O
light	O
to	O
pass	O
through	O
for	O
full	O
white	O
)	O
or	O
shaded	O
in	O
varying	O
degrees	O
of	O
translucence	O
(	O
for	O
different	O
shades	O
of	O
gray	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
is	O
similar	O
to	O
how	O
a	O
digital	O
watch	O
’s	O
characters	O
appear	O
bold	O
and	O
black	O
on	O
its	O
LCD	B-Device
when	O
its	O
battery	O
is	O
new	O
,	O
but	O
start	O
to	O
fade	O
gradually	O
as	O
its	O
battery	O
weakens	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
this	O
way	O
,	O
the	O
brightness	O
level	O
on	O
every	O
pixel	B-Algorithm
for	O
each	O
primary	O
color	O
can	O
be	O
very	O
precisely	O
controlled	O
to	O
produce	O
the	O
final	O
pixel	B-Algorithm
's	O
specific	O
color	O
and	O
brightness	O
level	O
required	O
on	O
the	O
screen	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
each	O
colored	O
light	O
is	O
filtered	O
through	O
its	O
individual	O
LCD	B-Device
panel	I-Device
,	O
the	O
beams	O
are	O
recombined	O
in	O
a	O
dichroic	O
prism	O
that	O
forms	O
the	O
final	O
image	O
which	O
is	O
then	O
reflected	O
out	O
through	O
the	O
lens	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
mainstream	O
projectors	O
,	O
the	O
competitors	O
to	O
3LCD	B-General_Concept
technology	O
are	O
single-chip	O
DLP	O
technology	O
(	O
developed	O
by	O
Texas	O
Instruments	O
)	O
and	O
to	O
a	O
much	O
lesser	O
extent	O
,	O
LCOS	B-Device
projection	O
technology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Proponents	O
of	O
3LCD	B-General_Concept
projection	O
technology	O
claim	O
that	O
it	O
has	O
the	O
following	O
advantages	O
over	O
it	O
closest	O
competing	O
technologies	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
3LCD	B-General_Concept
projectors	O
can	O
have	O
higher	O
color	B-General_Concept
light	I-General_Concept
output	I-General_Concept
than	O
single-chip	O
DLP	O
projectors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
is	O
because	O
3LCD	B-General_Concept
projectors	O
mix	O
and	O
project	O
the	O
light	O
beams	O
from	O
all	O
three	O
colors	O
to	O
form	O
each	O
individual	O
pixel	B-Algorithm
's	O
color	O
,	O
while	O
single-chip	O
DLP	O
projectors	O
create	O
colors	O
by	O
projecting	O
them	O
in	O
sequence	O
one	O
at	O
a	O
time	O
and	O
rely	O
on	O
human	O
color	O
perception	O
to	O
mix	O
and	O
interpret	O
the	O
correct	O
colors	O
for	O
each	O
pixel	B-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
<s>
3LCD	B-General_Concept
projectors	O
typically	O
use	O
less	O
power	O
compared	O
to	O
a	O
single-chip	O
DLP	O
projectors	O
of	O
the	O
same	O
brightness	O
rating	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
all	O
three	O
primary	O
colors	O
are	O
displayed	O
all	O
the	O
time	O
by	O
3LCD	B-General_Concept
projectors	O
,	O
they	O
do	O
not	O
suffer	O
from	O
this	O
effect	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
3LCD	B-General_Concept
projectors	O
are	O
able	O
to	O
display	O
finer	O
image	O
gradations	O
by	O
giving	O
each	O
pixel	B-Algorithm
on	O
the	O
projected	O
image	O
a	O
smooth	O
variation	O
in	O
brightness	O
levels	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
is	O
because	O
the	O
liquid	B-Device
crystals	I-Device
for	O
each	O
pixel	B-Algorithm
on	O
an	O
LCD	B-Device
panel	I-Device
can	O
be	O
given	O
fine	O
levels	O
of	O
opacity	O
by	O
varying	O
the	O
electrical	O
charge	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
the	O
other	O
hand	O
,	O
a	O
single-chip	O
DLP	O
projector	O
has	O
a	O
single	O
mirror	O
reflecting	O
the	O
lamp	O
light	O
to	O
the	O
lens	O
on	O
its	O
DMD	O
chip	O
for	O
each	O
pixel	B-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
varies	O
the	O
brightness	O
of	O
each	O
pixel	B-Algorithm
by	O
vibrating	O
the	O
mirror	O
between	O
its	O
on	O
or	O
off	O
state	O
in	O
varying	O
frequencies	O
and	O
relies	O
on	O
human	O
perception	O
to	O
interpret	O
the	O
brightness	O
of	O
each	O
pixel	B-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
<s>
3LCD	B-General_Concept
projectors	O
are	O
typically	O
more	O
affordable	O
than	O
those	O
using	O
LCOS	B-Device
or	O
3-chip	O
DLP	O
technologies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Single-chip	O
DLP	O
projectors	O
typically	O
have	O
higher	O
contrast	O
ratios	O
compared	O
to	O
older	O
3LCD	B-General_Concept
models	O
of	O
similar	O
price	O
or	O
brightness	O
rating	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
smallest	O
single-chip	O
DLP	O
projectors	O
are	O
smaller	O
than	O
the	O
smallest	O
3LCD	B-General_Concept
projector	O
models	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Current	O
LCOS	B-Device
projector	O
models	O
typically	O
deliver	O
sharper	O
images	O
at	O
higher	O
resolutions	O
than	O
3LCD	B-General_Concept
projectors	O
.	O
</s>
