How Do Rear Projection TVs Work?

A video image is projected inside a box, then a system of mirrors and lenses direct the picture onto the inner surface of a translucent screen. When this technology was first developed, CRTs (cathode-ray tubes - the things that made traditional TVs so bulky) were used, and it worked very well. The down side was that the tube made the chassis very heavy and, typically, a floor-standing cabinet was needed to house it.

So, as screens grew in size, and the industry began to adopt the new, wider 16:9 aspect ratio (the ratio of width to height), those old CRT monsters gradually became replaced by newer, sexier models which deliver high-quality performance in light, compact enclosures.

Rear-projection TVs have built-in high-definition capability these days. This is a very important point - they are equipped to handle everything HDTV broadcasting and discs can throw at them. And make no mistake - HDTV will deliver wide-screen images in much greater detail and clarity than we are used to from traditional TV. As well as tuners for analog and cable TV - not to mention the ability to receive unencrypted digital cable signals without requiring a set-top box - high definition tuners come as standard with modern rear-projection TVs, which means they can take full advantage of all the exciting broadcasting improvements which are just around the corner.