In a bid to assure you, the prospective customer, that Texas Instruments' DLP chip is "bullet-proof" (its word, not ours), said outfit is stretching the warranty on any single-chip DLP module to five full years. Of note, this announcement covers chips within education, business, and home theater projectors only, and each manufacturer will be responsible for "providing details regarding their warranty programs, taking into consideration this new five year extension." Curiously enough, we can't decipher whether units that have already been purchased will be covered under the extension or if only new units purchased post-July 1, 2008 will be affected. If we owned one such device, we'd sure be on the phone with our manufacturer with this press release (in the read link) in hand.

InfoComm is in full swing down in Vegas, and Texas Instruments isn't wasting any time showcasing its latest gear. First up is a prototype 1080p beamer hailed as the industry's first with a lamp-free design. Said unit also utilizes a PhlatLight LED light source and a BrilliantColor chipset, and if TI is to be believed, certain vendors will be shipping wares based on this stuff later this year. Moving on, we're being (re)treated to the planet's "first" 3D front projector (also known as the F10 AS3D), designed in cooperation with projectiondesign. Hidden beneath the big boys is the DLP Pico chipset for mobile applications, which will unsurprisingly pop up in pico projectors from companies like Optoma in late 2008 (Europe and Asia) / 2009 (the rest of us). Peek the full release after the break.

DPI, or Digital Projection International for the anti-acronym crowd, isn't much on pumping out low-end consumer projectors. It would rather focus on crafting beasts such as the one you see above: the iVision 30-WUXGA. As the title so eloquently explains, this beamer packs a spectacular 1,920 x 1,200 native resolution and the latest DarkChip DMD technology from Texas Instruments. Amazingly, the whole thing only weighs 6.5-pounds, and other specs include a 4,000:1 contrast ratio, 3,100 ANSI lumens and HDCP-compliant HDMI / DVI inputs (among other analog jacks). 'Tis a shame there's no price mentioned, but it's safe to assume bargain hunters won't find much to love here.

[Via AboutProjectors]

Although Computex has largely delivered a slew of netbooks to digest, a handful of new pico projectors have also managed to get a little face time. The latest is Foxconn's PD-W1001, which features a 0.3-inch Texas Instruments DLP chip, WVGA (854 x 480) resolution and 25 Lm -- all within a 55- x 46- x 26-millimeter package that weighs just 65-grams. In its current form, we can't see this being much more than a novel concept, but when these critters start inching closer to 1080p, you can color us very much interested.

[Via AboutProjectors]

We should probably preface this by reiterating that when Sharp says "professional," it means precisely that. The firm's latest beamer -- the June-bound XG-P560W (or XG-P560WN sans lens) -- features a modest WXGA (1,280 x 800) resolution, but includes Texas Instruments' .65-inch 3-chip DLP technology along with Sharp's own CV-IC II System for smoothing jaggies and minimizing image noise. Additionally, it features a 1,800:1 contrast ratio, seven interchangeable lenses, a dual-lamp lighting system, DVI / HDMI inputs and a built-in Ethernet port for remote access and control. Remember that whole spill we made at the onset? Yeah, here's proof: $16,995 for the XG-P560W, $15,995 for the XG-P560WN.

Electrosonic's MS9600 isn't the only thing flying out of ShoWest this week -- oh no, we've also learned that Texas Instruments will have quite a bit to do with forthcoming IMAX deployments. Apparently, the aforementioned outfit has inked a deal that will land its DLP Cinema projectors in "each IMAX Digital projection system to be deployed to commercial exhibitors around the world from mid-2008." Unfortunately, all the gory details we crave were left out -- starting with a list of cities in which to expect these DLP-powered venues -- but thankfully, the release did manage to spare the whole "it's the mirrors" tagline when getting the point across.

[Via AboutProjectors, image courtesy of Pathe-IMAX]

You've already had a chance to see the DLP DualView technology in action, but just in case you needed an official word that it was here to stay (for now, at least), Texas Instruments has doled out just that. Essentially, the system enables two viewers to see two completely different images on the same screen so long as they're both rockin' a set of specialized glasses. Reportedly, TI hopes to make multiplayer gaming a whole lot more fun (and fair, we suppose), but you will need "a compatible source," a 3D-ready DLP TV and a pair of DualView glasses to get things up and running. 'Course, we've no idea how soon this stuff will hit the mainstream, but hey, there's nothing like fraggin' it up with a set of specs that just reek of 1980, right?

We've always heard that too much work and not enough play drives the brain insane, so it's about time InFocus saved us all from falling off the deep end. Amidst the recent barrage of Work Big projectors, InFocus has finally unveiled a Play Big iteration that becomes the company's first foray into the single-chip DLP, 1080p-capable PJ realm. The Play Big IN82 is armed with the latest DLP DarkChip3 technology from TI, and also features a native 4,000:1 contrast ratio, 1,500 ANSI lumens, a Color Gamut Calibrator, ISF Day / Night presets, Pixelworks DNX 10-bit video processing engine, and HDMI 1.3 to boot. Get ready for an extended vacation when this one lands next month for $5,499.

Sure, Epson and Philips' endeavor to create a mini projector may be novel, but projectiondesign's forthcoming device packs the power we AV freaks admire. Touting an almost unbelievable assortment of niceties, this 3.7- x 9.2- x 10.8-inch DLP machine is reportedly the "world's smallest" Full HD projector to date, and if that wasn't inspiring enough, it also uses TI's 0.95-inch 1080p DMD, the firm's proprietary RealColor technology, and plays nice with home automation systems with RS-232 and IP interfaces. Additionally, it sports a 10-bit video processing engine, HDMI 1.3 compatibility, 1,000 lumens, and a even-segment, 5x color wheel. Best of all, this HD-lovin' projector is available for purchase as we speak, but we're assuming that the unlisted price is a good sign that we common folk should just keep on looking.

[Via Slashgear]

BenQ's internal quibbles haven't exactly remained behind closed doors, but rather than harp on who's leaving or what division is shutting down next, we'll just focus on the (literally) brighter side of things. The outfit is announcing today a duo of svelte projectors that not only sport TI's DLP technology, but also boast the ability to "receive two source / inputs in order to project two independent visuals with a single attachable lens." Put simply, the SP830 and SP831 can both output split-screen action through a single lens, and apparently, it's all handled with "a simple push of one button." Furthermore, both 720p units feature HQV (Hollywood Quality Video) Detail Enhancement Technology, TI's BrilliantColor, six-color adjustments, 4x digital zoom, uber-quiet operation, 2000:1 contrast ratio, and a 1,366 x 768 native resolution. While the SP830 doesn't appear to differ much from its higher-priced sibling, it does tout "just" 3,500 ANSI lumens while the SP831 pumps out 4,000, and both of these two-faced PJs should soon be hitting the Malaysian market for 9,999.00 MYR ($2,889) and 12,999.00 MYR ($3,755), respectively.

[Via Electronista]

It's not terribly uncommon to see a manufacturer try to push a product (or platform) into every crevice of your life, and it seems that Texas Instruments is diverting quite sharply from its calculatorish ways of old and making an aggressive push to get that DLP logo slapped on everything you own. While we've seen (literally) the diminutive Microvision display do its thang here at CES, TI is hoping to steal that thunder away by talking up its forthcoming palm-sized DLP projectors. The "fully featured" Pocket Projectors, which are co-developed by OMAP, would weigh "less than one pound," use the .55 DLP chip, and could purportedly connect to handsets or PDAs to beam up that big(ger) screen imagery for a crowd to see. Unfortunately for TI, these devices are not (at least initially) supposed to be integrated units, which could easily get overlooked if those built-in alternatives can muster acceptable quality. Additionally, TI is hoping to get that DLP logo stamped on your brain even when you visit the cinema, as the company now has its technology in 3,000 theaters worldwide and is frequently throwing logo-clad splash screens onto the canvas during pre-show advertisements. So if you wonder why you're strangely drawn to the DLP sets during your next HDTV shopping trip, trust us, it's not the mirrors, it's the marketing.

[Via AboutProjectors]

In an interview with BusinessWeek, Texas Instruments CEO Rich Templeton talks all things DLP (except wobulation), and where the technology is going: 1080p, 3D displays, LED light sources, and how Moore's Law applys to TVs. He also remarks on the rapidly dropping prices for the technology, saying we will likely see prices dip under $1200 this year. which isn't that surprising as a quick Froogle search will find you a few already in the $1450 area brand-new. It will be interesting to see how the technology will improve and compete against flat-panel displays that are also dropping prices and adding features.