TI shrinks DLP display controller by 90%

Texas Instruments (TI) has launched a new digital light processing (DLP) display controller that is 90% smaller than the previous generation, along with a new DLP chipset, for more compact 4K ultra-high-definition (UHD) projectors that can be used anywhere. The new DLPC8445 DLP display controller enables a diagonal display of 100 inches or more with high image quality and ultra-low latency.

TI claims the DLPC8445 display controller, measuring 9 × 9 mm, is the smallest of its kind, enabling the “smallest, fastest and lowest-power” 4K UHD projectors. The small size targets consumer applications, such as lifestyle and gaming projectors, and aims at augmented-reality (AR) glasses for future applications.

The combination of the smaller printed-circuit-board size and lower power enabled by the DLPC8445 controller is expected to drive the design of mobile 4K UHD projectors that can be easily moved around a home or small enough to fit in a backpack for use anywhere.

The DLPC8445 offers a 90% reduction in package size compared with the previous generation. (Source: Texas Instruments Inc.)

TI attributes the size reduction to a new display architecture and cutting-edge process technologies. “It [new display architecture] has enabled us to reduce our gate count and really shrink the size,” said Seema Deshpande, product line manager for TI’s DLP display products.

“TI continuously invests in the next-generation process technologies, and this new controller has been developed in our next-generation process technology that allows us not only to shrink the size but also get to really low power, which can enable battery-operated applications,” Deshpande added.

The DLPC84445 joins a long list of DLP display products introduced by TI over nearly 30 years, since the first commercial product launch in 1996. DLP originated with the DMD, or the digital micromirror device, in 1987 at TI’s Central Research Labs, and the technology has now extended beyond Hollywood (DLP cinema projection) and is used in a variety of applications, such as automotive, industrial, 3D printing, medical and a host of consumer applications, Deshpande said. The DMD was invented by Larry Hornbeck, whose career at TI spanned from 1973 to 2017.

These powerful programmable chipsets solve some of the most complex problems in display and light control applications, from early commercial systems and projectors to cinema and head-up displays for automotive and now to laser TVs and home cinema, Deshpande added. “DLP display products have played an innovative role in driving the growth of emerging display applications.”

Deshpande said projectors were never previously considered by consumers for watching movies, sports or gaming because of their low refresh rates and high input lag. “However, with their rapid advancement of technology in gaming and lifestyle projectors, they now offer display experiences of high-end televisions and gaming monitors but in a very small, compact form factor.”

TI’s DLP technology enables the same image quality and experience as a high-end gaming monitor, with “no warping, no grainy image quality and no more hassle of any wall mounting,” Deshpande said.

“As we think about the future of displays, superior image quality is not just a key care-about for our customers,” she continued. “It is an expectation of most consumers to have this immersive experience of gaming and entertainment in the comfort of their own home.”

The compact DLPC8445 DLP display controller, the width of a pencil eraser, delivers low latency and high frame rates for gaming. (Source: Texas Instruments Inc.)

The DLP chipset

DLP chipsets typically include a DMD, a controller and a power management integrated circuit (PMIC). The DLPC8445 is a digital display controller for TI’s new DLP 4K UHD display chipset, which is joined by the DLP472TP DMD and the DLPA3085 PMIC with LED driver. When the DLPC8445 is combined with the DLP472TP DMD and the DLPA3085 PMIC, the display controller enables designers to replicate the display experiences of high-end televisions and gaming monitors in a compact projector. This enables users to transform a wall into any screen size with 4K UHD quality for gaming or watching movies.

This chipset will support an RGB LED, laser phosphor color wheel and RGB laser illumination, and it is the first mobile 4K DLP chipset designed for battery-powered laser projectors, said Jesse Richuso, product marketing engineer for TI’s DLP display products.

A first for the chipset is the integration of variable refresh rate (VRR) support. TI said this will enable better displays for gamers by allowing designers to easily sync frame rates and eliminate lagging, image tearing and stuttering. In addition, advanced image-correction capabilities dynamically adjust for surface imperfections, which makes it possible for consumers to take their gaming and viewing experience anywhere.

Richuso said gamer requirements are even more stringent than home cinema. Their three primary concerns are frame rate, low latency and VRR support. “Maybe they don’t care about 100% color accuracy, but they do care about how fast their image gets displayed.”

With the DLPC8445 controller and DLP472TP DMD, designers can deliver the same experience as immersive, high-end gaming monitors in a fraction of the size with sub-millisecond display latency and frame rates up to 240 Hz, reducing lag time for users. The chipset supports up to 4K UHD at 60 Hz and up to 1080p at 240 Hz (for 2D) and 120 Hz (for 3D).

The DMD size has also been reduced, although the micromirror array is the same size—0.47 inches diagonal—as it uses the same micromirror technology as the previous generation, Richuso said. “We just put it in a significantly smaller package, reducing the package size by about 40%, which will save size and cost, while maintaining similar or the same brightness levels as the previous generation.”

The DLP controller is just as important, if not more important, than the DMD: It does all the image processing and controls the mirrors, Richuso said. The DLPC8445 is a leap forward from the previous-generation controller with a 90% reduction in package size, while maintaining up to a 240-Hz frame rate and adding new features, such as the sub-millisecond display latency and first-ever DLP chipset to support variable refresh rate, he added.

The lower latency is thanks to a new frame buffer architecture used in the DLPC8445. When combined with the fast switching speed of the DMD, the DLPC8445 can enable display latency at less than 1 ms.

Latency is critical for gaming, Richuso said. To date, DLP projectors have been acceptable for gaming in terms of latency, but the chipset takes it to a new level, matching the latency of gaming monitors.

“Finally, the power management chip which often gets overlooked,” Richuso said. “It manages the power of the DLP chipset and drives the illumination as well.”

The DLP chipset is part of the overall projection display solution, which also includes an applications processor as well as an array of sensors, cameras and motor controls that make the projection experience better, Richuso said. “When users move the projector from place to place, it automatically corrects focus; the image gets adjusted automatically—it can tell what the lighting environment is like and adjust the image to suit it—so all of those sensors interact with the DLP controller to provide an easier-to-use plug-and-play setup for modern 4K projectors.”

DLP projection display solution block diagram (Source: Texas Instruments Inc.)

The DLPC8445 controller is the first device in the family. Future chipsets using the new controller technology will feature DMDs of different sizes and resolutions to address new display applications, such as AR glasses.

While the first 0.47-inch-diagonal 4K chipset primarily targets mobile 4K projectors, TI designed the controller with AR glasses in mind for future applications, building in features that will help with the performance, latency and power consumption in AR glasses, he said.

Preproduction quantities of the new DLPC8445 controller, DLP472TP DMD and DLPA3085 PMIC are available for purchase now on TI.com. Pricing for the new DLPC8445 controller starts at $60 in quantities of 1,000. The technical article, “Big-screen gaming anywhere: designing portable 4K UHD gaming projectors up to 240 Hz,” provides additional information.