A rear projection TV is one that uses a projector to take a small image source and project it onto a large screen--in this case, the screen of the television. The Cathode Ray Tube, or CRT, is one of the three types of rear projection televisions on the market. To create the television image, the CRT projector inside the TV hits a screen coated in phosphor with beams of electrons. This is essentially the same way a regular CRT television works, though those sets usually have a 40-inch size limit. To get around this, the larger rear projection CRT sets then project this image directly onto the larger screen of the television.
LCD Projection Televisions
A Liquid Crystal Display or LCD projection television utilizes small LCD chips to create an image. The LCD projector located in the TV uses mirrors to transmit light through a series of LCD chips. The chips are manipulated with a varying amount of electrical current to control the brightness of the image as well as the colors being displayed. The image is then projected onto the screen of the television.
DLP Projection Televisions
In a Digital Light Projection or DLP rear projection televisions, the image is taken from the video source and created by a series of incredibly tiny mirrors. Each mirror represents one pixel from the image source. The number of mirrors is in direct proportion to the resolution of the television. This allows for incredibly detailed picture quality depending on the quality of the source and the resolution of the television. Once the image is being projected onto the mirrors, a semiconductor chip then projects it onto the screen of the television.
