Sony technology at its worst

This is a Sony light engine. It showcases the liquid crystal display panels discussed here.



This a traditional color wheel.

A warped lcd panel.







Most light engines use a color wheel but Sony developed colored liquid crystal display panels that did not aim to please. Here is why.

Digital Light Processing technology was invented in 1987 by Dr. Hornbeck of Texas Instruments, Inc. He invented the Digital Micromirror Device (DMD), which is a semiconductor that can accurately direct photons like nothing known to man.

The DMD is used in DLP televisions in congruence with a lamp, a prism, a projection lense, a light funnel and initially, a color wheel to project a picture on a screen.  Here is where the problem lies. 

Sony replaced the color wheel with six colored lcd panels. Sony chose to be different.

Sometimes different isn't a good thing. Not in this particular case.

"Sony is always ahead," said Mr. Pickett.



However, by leaving out the "wheel" part, it left out the option of having a fan. The idea behind the color "wheel" was to have a cooling device to deter the amount of heat produced by the ultra violet rays and polarized blue light. Without the fan, the light engine overheats.

Once the light engine has overheated the lcd panels become warped and this is reflected across the television screen as large multi-colored blobs.

Due to the defects caused by Sony, there was a class-action lawsuit. It was eventually settled  October 23, 2007 but we are still seeing the effects of their poor technology to this day.



Today if one of these light engines fail the extended warranty has expired but we are still able to order the lcd panels from different distributors.

For information regarding the lawsuit, visit http://sites.google.com/site/sonylcdrptvproblems/sonyrearprojectionlcdtv-opticalblock