TI Unwraps DarkChip 4 DLP Technology

Improvements from labs at Texas Instruments have yielded a new DLP chip that boasts a 30 percent improvement in contrast levels.

Ignoring, for a moment, the torrent of soon-to-be-on-sale electronic devices pouring out of CEDIA, some of the most exciting developments may actually be technology that’s further down the pipe. Texas Instruments demonstrated this with the unveiling of their DarkChip 4 DLP technology, which won’t be in new products until 2008 but may make a major splash when it debuts.

TI’s main claim to fame with DarkChip 4 is an advertised 30 percent boost in native contrast ratio. The company says the increase comes from advances in mirror design lithography and other proprietary process changes. The result should be richer blacks and images that “pop.”

“We are constantly searching and innovating new ways to create simply the best HDTV experience,” said Adam Kunzman, DLP HDTV business manager, in a statement. “The better the native contrast performance our mirrors can deliver, the more images will jump off the screen.”

TI’s CEDIA display will include a 1080p DLP-based projector with a contrast ratio of 15,000:1, and conventional HDTV that uses DarkChip 4 technology and LED illumination to achieve a native contrast ratio of more than 100,000:1.