Color Brightness

Look for two brightness specifications. Color Brightness, different from White Brightness, indicates how bright projected colors are. Epson projectors have up to 3x Brighter Colors* than leading 1-chip DLP projectors.

Compare Projector Brightness for Yourself

These two images from similarly priced projectors have comparable White Brightness, but the noticeable inequality in image is due, in large part, to the difference in Color Brightness.

COMPETITOR BRIGHTNESS1

Color Brightness: 750 Lumens
White Brightness: 2700 Lumens

EPSON BRIGHTNESS1

Color Brightness: 2600 Lumens
White Brightness: 2600 Lumens

Color Brightness Explained
FETC
NAB
ISTE
Color Brightness Explained
FETC
NAB
ISTE

Color Brightness Explained

Vibrant color is important, since 91% of content projected includes color2. If Color Brightness is low, colors can look dull or dark, skin tones can be reproduced poorly and important details can be lost.

WATCH VIDEO

Color Brightness Challenge: Florida Education Technology Conference

Color Brightness matters to educators who attended FETC 2014, in a side-by-side challenge.

WATCH VIDEO

Color Brightness Challenge: National Association of Broadcasters

Color Brightness matters to attendees of the 2014 NAB Show, the world's largest electronic media show. See reactions to the Color Brightness Challenge from NAB broadcast professional attendees who are looking for high production color quality.

WATCH VIDEO

Color Brightness Challenge: International Society for Technology in Education

Educators at ISTE 2014 took the Color Brightness Challenge, and chose 3LCD projectors over 1-Chip DLP—citing bright, vibrant, true-to-life images as key to student engagement and learning in the classroom.

WATCH VIDEO

Color Brightness Explained

Vibrant color is important, since 91% of content projected includes color2. If Color Brightness is low, colors can look dull or dark, skin tones can be reproduced poorly and important details can be lost.

WATCH VIDEO

Color Brightness Challenge: Florida Education Technology Conference

Color Brightness matters to educators who attended FETC 2014, in a side-by-side challenge.

WATCH VIDEO

Color Brightness Challenge: National Association of Broadcasters

Color Brightness matters to attendees of the 2014 NAB Show, the world's largest electronic media show. See reactions to the Color Brightness Challenge from NAB broadcast professional attendees who are looking for high production color quality.

WATCH VIDEO

Color Brightness Challenge: International Society for Technology in Education

Educators at ISTE 2014 took the Color Brightness Challenge, and chose 3LCD projectors over 1-Chip DLP—citing bright, vibrant, true-to-life images as key to student engagement and learning in the classroom.

WATCH VIDEO
Color Brightness Explained

Color Brightness Explained

Vibrant color is important, since 91% of content projected includes color2. If Color Brightness is low, colors can look dull or dark, skin tones can be reproduced poorly and important details can be lost.

WATCH VIDEO
FETC

Color Brightness Challenge: Florida Education Technology Conference

Color Brightness matters to educators who attended FETC 2014, in a side-by-side challenge.

WATCH VIDEO
NAB

Color Brightness Challenge: National Association of Broadcasters

Color Brightness matters to attendees of the 2014 NAB Show, the world's largest electronic media show. See reactions to the Color Brightness Challenge from NAB broadcast professional attendees who are looking for high production color quality.

WATCH VIDEO
ISTE

Color Brightness Challenge: International Society for Technology in Education

Educators at ISTE 2014 took the Color Brightness Challenge, and chose 3LCD projectors over 1-Chip DLP—citing bright, vibrant, true-to-life images as key to student engagement and learning in the classroom.

WATCH VIDEO

Understanding Projector Lumens

Brightness is measured in lumens, but there are 2 specs. When asked, 63% of projector buyers surveyed think a single lumen number means both white and color brightness2, but it does not.

Many manufacturers provide only one specification which states the White Brightness, or White Light Output. If Color Brightness, or Color Light Output, is not listed, the actual number may be as low as 1/3 of the provided spec. Epson lists both specifications.

Epson's Advantages over 1-chip DLP Projectors

Epson Projectors have up to 3x Brighter Colors

3LCD technology uses 3 chips to deliver vibrant, true-to-life and consistent images. Epson projectors use 3LCD technology that has no color wheel and therefore does not force a trade-off between white and color brightness.

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Study shows 9 out of 10 people prefer images from Epson 3LCD projectors

Radius Global Market Research conducted a study to objectively learn which projection technology— 3LCD or 1-chip DLP—delivers preferred images. Participants across the U.S. were shown the same image projected side by side and asked which they favored, and 9 out of 10 respondents preferred images from Epson 3LCD projectors.3

The Color Brightness Specification

The New Standard

The Color Brightness specification is an authoritative standard recently developed by the International Committee for Display Metrology (ICDM).  This widely accepted standard measures the projected brightness of red, green and blue light.

3LCD Technology Explained

3LCD Engines send light continuously (not sequentially). All colors are available all the time. In 1-chip DLP, only one color is available at a time, resulting in lower Color Brightness and system efficiency. Some systems use a white segment to boost White Brightness. This approach is proven to degrade color accuracy.

Color Brightness Comparisons

Independent test results for Color Brightness can be found at www.colorlightoutput.com

Hundreds of different projector brands and models have been tested, and the Color Brightness ratings are listed.

COLOR BRIGHTNESS RATINGS

What the Experts Say about Color Brightness

Examining color performance between 3-Chip LCD and 1-Chip DLP projection technologies – Dr. Abhay Sharma

Examining color performance between 3-Chip LCD and 1-Chip DLP projection technologies – Dr. Abhay Sharma

Dr. Sharma explains two different technologies found in the majority of projectors in the marketplace: 3-Chip LCD (or 3LCD) and 1-Chip DLP. There is considerable confusion and marketing misinformation related to color capability and measurement of these different projector systems.

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Color in communication: Color Light Output white paper – Michael Goldstein

Color in communication: Color Light Output white paper – Michael Goldstein

Goldstein writes an informative paper about the Color Light Output specification and how it offers users the ability to quickly, easily and accurately evaluate color performance between competing projector models.

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Color Light Output in projectors and the new ICDM Color Brightness standard — Peter H. Putman

Color Light Output in projectors and the new ICDM Color Brightness standard — Peter H. Putman

This in-depth look at the public's growing awareness of color quality in technology explores how projector technology has matured - moving away from the emphasis on White Brightness and toward including Color Brightness.

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*Color Brightness (Color Light Output) in brightest mode, measured by a third-party lab in accordance with IDMS 15.4. Color Brightness will vary depending on usage conditions. Top-selling Epson 3LCD projectors versus top-selling 1-chip DLP projectors based on PMA Research sales data for Dec. 2015 through Nov. 2016.

1 Specifications for Color Brightness and White Brightness are provided by many manufacturers and published by ProjectorCentral.com. This manufacturer does not provide a Color Brightness specification for this model. This data was obtained from independent third party laboratory testing of a unit according to the international standard for measuring Color Brightness, IDMS 15.4.

2 Source: TFCinfo, The Projector Purchase Criteria and Image Quality Study, Total Summary. (Research conducted among business and education, retail, online, distribution, and large corporate purchasers.)

3 Leading Epson business and education projectors vs. leading 1-chip DLP projectors, selected according to NPD data as of July 2015. Based on U.S. research conducted by Radius Research.