Rear-projection DLP HDTVs have tabletop cabinets that are slimmer, shorter, and lighter than old-fashioned tube-based projection TVs.

Although super-skinny flat-panel TVs continue to grab most of the headlines, plenty of savvy shoppers are discovering the outstanding picture quality — and value — that today's big-screen rear-projection HDTVs offer.

If it's been a while since you looked at rear-projection TVs, current models may surprise you. Those enormous old-fashioned projection TVs that use CRT picture tubes have virtually disappeared. Picture tubes have been replaced by more compact and advanced digital "microdisplay" TVs. Today, DLP® (Digital Light Processing) is the most common microdisplay technology.

Rear-projection TVs: the basics

Microdisplay probably seems like an odd term to describe TVs with screens up to 72 inches or even larger. It actually refers to the postage stamp-sized image chip that produces the picture. Inside every microdisplay HDTV is a compact "light engine" composed of an illumination source (usually a high-powered lamp or series of LEDs), one or more digital imaging chips, and the optics system that magnifies the image to fill the screen.

DLP TVs create beautifully filmlike pictures. When it comes to image detail, color, contrast, and motion-handling, they perform as well as most flat-panel plasma and LCD TVs. We'll take a look at the inner workings of a DLP TV on the next page.

Reasons to consider a rear-projection HDTV:

• Manageable size and weight: As mentioned above, current projection TVs are much slimmer and lighter than old-school tube-based TVs — some aren't much deeper than a flat-panel TV on its stand. And microdisplay models typically weigh less than a flat-panel TV with the same screen size.
• Sharp, vivid picture with excellent contrast and black level: DLP-based TVs can produce much brighter images than tube projection TVs ever could. And brightness and focus are spot-on from the screen's center all the way out to the edges, so the picture looks consistent from corner to corner.
• Not vulnerable to screen burn-in: DLP TVs don't use a phosphor-coated screen, so there's no chance of screen burn-in from sustained videogame or PC images, scrolling news tickers, etc.
• For lamp-based models, replacing the lamp restores like-new picture quality: The average consumer can easily replace the special high-powered bulb in a lamp-based projection TV in just a few minutes. These bulbs typically have a rated life ranging from 5,000 to 10,000 hours of viewing, which works out to several years of normal use.

Rear-projection HDTV disadvantages:

• Viewing angles aren't as wide as for flat-panels: Rear-projection DLP TVs are best viewed straight-on or from just a slight angle, because brightness, color, and contrast tend to look dimmer if you're sitting off to one side. The vertical viewing range is limited as well — the picture isn't as vivid if you're standing up or stretched out on the floor.
• A few viewers see "rainbows" with DLP TVs: Most DLP-based models create their bright, full-color images using a high-output lamp and a fast-spinning "color wheel." Colors are projected sequentially rather than all at once, and a few people occasionally see "rainbows" — brief multicolored flashes of light on the screen. Most people never see rainbows, but viewers who are sensitive to them should consider an LED-illuminated DLP TV, or one of Mitsubishi's laser-based models.
• Lamp-based TVs require periodic lamp replacement: A replacement lamp typically costs at least $200. (In LED-illuminated TVs, the LEDs are designed to last the lifetime of the TV.)