Compact tiled display with uniform illumination

Nicole S. Bordes; Bernard A. Pailthorpe; William P. Bleha Jr.

doi:10.1117/1.1607965

1 October 2003 Compact tiled display with uniform illumination

Nicole S. Bordes, Bernard A. Pailthorpe, William P. Bleha Jr.

Journal of Electronic Imaging, Vol. 12, Issue 4, (October 2003). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.1607965

The demand for more pixels is beginning to be met as manufacturers increase the native resolution of projector chips. Tiling several projectors still offers a solution to augment the pixel capacity of a display. However, problems of color and illumination uniformity across projectors need to be addressed as well as the computer software required to drive such devices. We present the results obtained on a desktop-size tiled projector array of three D-ILA projectors sharing a common illumination source. A short throw lens (0.8:1) on each projector yields a 21-in. diagonal for each image tile; the composite image on a 3×1 array is 3840×1024 pixels with a resolution of about 80 dpi. The system preserves desktop resolution, is compact, and can fit in a normal room or laboratory. The projectors are mounted on precision six-axis positioners, which allow pixel level alignment. A fiber optic beamsplitting system and a single set of red, green, and blue dichroic filters are the key to color and illumination uniformity. The D-ILA chips inside each projector can be adjusted separately to set or change characteristics such as contrast, brightness, or gamma curves. The projectors were then matched carefully: photometric variations were corrected, leading to a seamless image. Photometric measurements were performed to characterize the display and are reported here. This system is driven by a small PC cluster fitted with graphics cards and running Linux. It can be scaled to accommodate an array of 2×3 or 3×3 projectors, thus increasing the number of pixels of the final image. Finally, we present current uses of the display in fields such as astrophysics and archaeology (remote sensing).

©(2003) Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE)

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Nicole S. Bordes, Bernard A. Pailthorpe, and William P. Bleha Jr. "Compact tiled display with uniform illumination," Journal of Electronic Imaging 12(4), (1 October 2003). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.1607965

Published: 1 October 2003

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