Are you cured of the Rainbow effect?
by Kevin C. Tofel 
posted Nov 15th 2005 at 3:59PM
I was chatting with someone today about HDTVs (yes, that's really newsworthy)
and the conversation attracted an audience of about five folks. Two of
those folks were interested in purchasing their first set so I pointed
them to our recent buyers guides. The conversation turned from performance to value and the general consensus was that DLP might be the best value in terms of size and performance over price.That's a fair statement, but I stepped up and indicated that the "Rainbow effect" of DLP is just too distracting for me. A DLP owner then shocked me by saying, "Yes, but I hardly notice it any more." Has he been "cured"? Is this something that over time you can get used to, which then diminishes this as a long-term issue?
Do we have any DLP owners with an opinion on this? Is there some nutritional supplement I should be taking to cure me of this tragic effect? I don't want to watch HDTV like the guy pictured above. Help!
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
freestufftimes.com @ Nov 15th 2005 4:23PM
I noticed it a little when I first got my projector, but I dont really notice is that much anymore, and if I do its not like something that gives me a headache or anything.
Modano @ Nov 15th 2005 5:08PM
After shopping for LCDs, I got a Sony KDFE42A10 DLP and I just love it. I've never noticed this rainbow effect, even shaking my head and trying to see it. After looking at the trade-offs and really closely comparing several models, I chose this Sony and I've never been unhappy with it. I think some people's eyes pick up on this and some people's don't- or it makes less of an impression.
Erik @ Nov 16th 2005 6:06AM
My cousin bought a 50" DLP even though he saw the rainbow effect while shopping at Tweeter because he was told he would get used to it by the sales rep. After 3 weeks it was worse, he couldn't even make it through a single football game on Sunday afternoon without getting a killer headache. He brought it back under Tweeter's 30-day money back policy and walked out with a 42" Panasonic plasma (which I recommended since I have one and love it).
To make a long story short, he no longer gets headaches, likes the better picture of the plasma, but has 8 less inches of screen and spent more money on the plasma.
So my recommendation is if you see the rainbow effect on a DLP, do not buy it unless the place you are shopping at has a great return policy.
Dan @ Nov 15th 2005 5:54PM
Sony has never made DLP tvs. The TV you have is an LCD which is why you would NEVER see the 'rainbow effect'.
Ace @ Nov 15th 2005 7:34PM
I've seen a lot of DLP TVs, and I own one of the new 58" HP 1080p DLPs. I've never seen a rainbow. So far of the several dozen tech-geek friends that have come over and watched various content on my TV, none of them have seen rainbows either. And we were *looking*. It's not that common to see rainbows - don't let it scare you off of DLPs. I absolutely love mine.
Brian @ Nov 15th 2005 8:27PM
I can 2nd that...it is TRUE! I own a 52" Mitsubishi DLP. In the store I could not see the rainbow effect for some reason. Then, I got it home and I was seeing it quite a bit...much more than I expected. Pretty much any dark scene with a bright contrast and some sort of action to cause eye movement would trigger it. It really made me second guess my decision to go with DLP. But, I decided to hold onto it to see if I could either get use to it or "train" myself to not see it by not making rapid eye movements in dark scenes.
I've had it for about 6 months now and I rarily see the rainbow effect anymore. I'm not sure if it's something I conciously did, or something my eyes just adjusted to, but it's not a problem any longer!! It's now very rare that I see the rainbow effect. It's true...somehow your eyes get use to it over time.
The ONLY LCD I would consider over my DLP is the new 1080P sony...the 720P sony's have too much of a screen door effect...and the refresh rate on the panels concerns me. But, I'd rather have a 1080P DLP than the new Sony....so DLP still wins in my book for performance and for price.
I'm one of those people that can see the rainbow effect, and after owning my DLP set for 6 months and somehow getting nearly immune to it I am 100% satisfied with my decision to buy DLP.
Alex @ Nov 15th 2005 10:25PM
Got a Toshiba 46hm94 about 8 months ago. I saw rainbows only in dark scenes with bright lights, and most of the time I was actively looking for them by swinging my eyes to and away from the TV. I don't notice rainbows anymore, but it's probably because I don't look for them anymore.
Some of you owners probably know exactly what I'm talking about. I heard about the rainbows, so I just had to see them... hence my intentional swinging of the eyes across the picture. It's like picking a scab or something. :)
Shawn @ Nov 16th 2005 12:58AM
I have also had my Panny 50" DLP for over 6 months and have never seen this ... Have I heard of it, Yes have I tried to look for it ... not really.
I like most of us here, have been more then pleased with my choosing the DLP. Basicly for cost to size ratio.
Highly recommend a DLP if it's your style of tv. Thanks for the blog Kevin, buyers need to know these things when looking for THEIR right HDTV, weather good or bad.
Josh @ Nov 16th 2005 9:09AM
It is natural to see rainbows at first. You only have 30 days to return the TV, so you TRY to see rainbows to see if it will bother you or not.
After a while, though, you just sit back and watch the TV instead of critiquing the picture.
I also have a Mitsubishi 52" DLP. The WD52525. I've had it since February. I can't tell you the last time I saw a rainbow.
Home Theater Dude @ Nov 16th 2005 10:23AM
It takes contrast for rainbows to stand out. Small, white or light colored moving objects on a black or dark background make them most evident.
A darkened room seems to worsen the effect.
I noticed them when I got my first DLP projector, but I was looking for them. They were annoying for a bit, it was very worrisome.
That was well over 2 years ago, and I rarely notice them today. I can see them if I try.
Some people are just more susceptible than others.
David Ede @ Nov 16th 2005 10:35AM
I have a brand new Toshiba 62mx195 DLP and as much as I try to see rainbows, I just can't find them. It's driving me nuts! I guess I'll have to stop looking for them and just sit back and enjoy the great picture!
Redwood @ Nov 16th 2005 10:35AM
I've had a Mitsubish 52" 52725 DLP for a year and I've never seen the rainbow effect. My friend tried to warn me away from DLP because of it and I have never seen it. Nobody else has mentioned seeing it on my TV either.
Evil D @ Nov 16th 2005 2:05PM
Is this effect more prevalent when playing video games? I'd like to hear from people who play games on their DLP sets.
daniel @ Nov 17th 2005 12:20AM
i have a 56" Samsung DLP and when i first got it, i saw rainbows... as you probably know, rainbows are generally only visible in high-contrast scenes with fast motion. in my old apartment i sat 6-10 feet wawy from it, and saw rainbows. now i moved and am nearly 15 feet away, and there are no rainbows.
FWIW i had an infocus X1 projector previously, and the rainbows drove me crasy.
To answer the video game question, no, i haven't noticed a higher/lower instance of rainbows in my xbox hooked up via component.
Brian @ Nov 17th 2005 7:01PM
I have an xbox connected to my 52" mitsubishi DLP and my best friend has one on his 60" Samsung DLP. I don't play it very often, but I've never noticed the rainbow effect with my xbox...probably because the games I play are bright highly colorful racing type games. Maybe Doom or something dark like that might cause it, but I haven't tried those games on xbox...I still prefer my PC for most games.
My best friends entire family (3 kids) play xbox all the time and none of them have ever complained about seeing the rainbow effect....ever.
Geoff @ Nov 19th 2005 1:33AM
I am using an Infocus X1 and yes I did notice it for the first month as it uses a first-gen color-wheel (newer color-wheels are faster and thus less noticeable). I still think the higher contrast ratio of the unit outweighs any deficits the rainbow effect causes, the only time it was really distracting was during the highway chases in The Matrix Revolutions--fast action with highly contrasted darks and brights.
Peter @ Nov 22nd 2005 3:41PM
I too own a new HP 58" 1080p DLP.
First HDTV ever for me. I can see the rainbow effect
when there's a scene with high contrast. For example the Sin City DVD is full of these. To see the rainbows, I have to be moving my eyes. And then it's only for a tiny fraction of a second that I see the effect. At first I was worried this would drive me crazy, but after a few days I started to get used to the TV, and was "seeing" the rainbows a lot less.
I think it helps to sit farther away, since there's less need to 'move' your eyes around.
Great TV by the way
Keldrin @ Nov 24th 2005 10:26AM
I bought a 56 inch Samsung DLP and saw no Rainbows for the first week (and I was trying t see it). Then all of a sudden I saw it once, and after that I started seeing them a LOT! It freaked me out, but after that first night of seeing it every few minutes I consiously tried to keep my eyes still and I hoenstly don't see it that often anymore. I also only tend to notice it on SDTV, I have rarely seen it on a DVD (I don't have an HD receiver yet so I can't comment). I first saw it when watching Rome, and even still I see it on Rome more than anything else, whether this is subconcious or not I don't know (It's a pretty dark show though). I also it when there is white text on black if I move my eyes too fast. Video games, I only notice the rainbow while the game is loading and they show company logos on a black background. I also tried watching Clerks to get a feel for black and white video, and I saw no rainbows. My suggestion... if you don't see them, DON'T TRY to see them! Ignorance is bliss in this case, but I guess if you have a 30 day warranty it might be in your best interest to test your eyes. Regardless, I have had my set about a month now and I rarely see rainbows, and it's not a big deal to me anymore.
mcinturf @ Dec 7th 2005 9:37PM
I am able to see the RBE on my new hlr5067.....so is my girlfriend. We were both aware of the phenomenon before the purchase but assumed it was extremely rare. I really love the tv so im trying to deal with it and hope that we can train ourselves to sort of ignore it over time, as suggested by some of these other posts. As for the question about gaming, I truly think i see the RBE less often while playing either the XBOX or the XBOX 360. And it is more prevalent with SD content than with HD in my opinion.
Ron White @ Dec 10th 2005 5:52PM
Da Nile is not just a river in Egypt ...
I wonder if most people create a self psychosematic effect to justify all that money they spent :)
I for one think LCD is better as the SDE ( screen door effect ) is solved by moving back 1.5 times the picture width problem solved .
Rainbow on the other hand is always there break out the tylenol .
oluv @ Dec 11th 2005 7:59PM
i have not seen it it when i was comparing all the dlp-sets in various stores and thought about the RBE as a pipe-dream only seen by a small percentage of people and didn't even bother my girl-friend about this problem before buying our dlp-set.
but as soon as we watched the first movie with it at home, we both could see RBE and i got surprised that i wasn't able to see it before.
it's been 3 days now that we have this tv and i can even see RBE in "normal" scenes, not only dark ones, as soon as i set out to see them. now i am a bit concerned if the decision of buying a dlp-tv was the right choice, because as for now RBE is bothering me quite a lot. i hope i get used to it, and i hope it for my girl-friend too. otherwise she will reproach me forever with the fact that i have bought a piece of c..p because apart of that the picture is beautiful and watching dvds has never been such a pleasure.