History Since the first days of commercially available digital projectors, I have been a convert. A mere four years ago, I owned an older Sony seven-inch CRT video projector paired with the all-time classic video processor, the Faroudja LD100. The picture looked smooth and film-like. It also had no brightness, barely being able to light up a 100-inch 4:3 Stewart Filmscreen StudioTek 130 screen, and switching inputs was a nightmare. Working on the projector required a professional technician, which means that in order to keep the sucker converged, I needed a trip from Dr. Feelgood every three to four months. While having a big screen to watch hockey games was cool, the work needed to get such a video picture was trying, to say the least. All of this changed in 2002, when I invested in a Madrigal Imaging MPD-1 video processor from Madrigal (parent company of Mark Levinson, Lexicon and Proceed). The projector ...

Introduction One of the most exciting sectors in the audio-video marketplace right now is the realm of the new fixed-pixel digital projectors, powered by technologies such as DLP and D-ILA. For years, analog CRT projectors have ruled supreme for video enthusiasts, but the size, cost and constant need for maintenance made it hard to say "yes" to the devices. The new fixed-pixel projectors use chip(s) and very bright lamps to create a video picture that is exponentially brighter than a CRT by means of a physical projector that is a fraction the size and weight of the old models. The added convenience has made large-scale front-projection video possible for more and more people who are now building real home theaters into their homes. Madrigal Imaging's MPD-1 video projector is a $26,000 projector based on the D-ILA technology created by JVC. In fact, the MPD-1 is a modified projector from JVC with both cosmetic and performance enhancements. ...