facts, myths and our selling points UHP vs Xenon facts, myths and our selling points

a light source is a light source is a...? in the fierce projection market you have several illumination technologies available UHP (Ultra High Performance) Xenon LED Laser the UHP and Xenon lamps are by far the most popular the lamps differ quite a lot and you will find arguments for both lamps

UHP™ (Ultra High Performance) Mercury arc lamp Same principle as Metal Halide lamp, but uses gas for stable light excitation The arc gap is 1-1,3mm across (2,0 or more for Metal Halide) which yields greater efficiency (“point source”) a 100W UHP lamp is capable of delivering more brightness than a 250W MH lamp Advantages of a small arc gap increases as the imaging devices (DMD) become smaller

Xenon Xenon arc lamps Traditionally used in film projection Native Colour Temperature is close to the noon sunlight Chromacity closely approximates a heated Black Body radiator Perfect for use in Ultra violet radiation systems as well as near Infra Red due to the Xenon wavelength

UHP selling points Colour benefits Cost Lamp Life Environmentally great and stable colours over time dual lamp systems yields better brightness uniformity (if light engine is designed properly) Cost the UHP lamps are far cheaper than the Xenon lamps Lamp Life the UHP lamps has generally a much longer life span than Xenon (up to 5000 hours, eco mode) Xenon lamps lose brightness faster than UHP Environmentally a UHP lamps give you more brightness per W consumed compared to the Xenon lamps Flexibility 24/7 and uptime; It is preferrable to have a system of 2x300W lamps than a single lamp system (hot swapping of single lamp!) (Low) Operational Hazards the UHP lamps has low pressure and represents a smaller hazard to the user when handling the lamps compared to the Xenon lamps

Xenon selling points Colour benefits High power! DC operation native colour spectrum close to Noon Sunlight, or D65 High power! yields very bright projection systems DC operation Better colour wheel control with DC compared to AC operation Instant OnOff supports on/off (restrike) with minimal effect on colour projection less than 60 seconds warm up time Single lamp design advantages no color balancing easier lamp replacement reduced optics for light coupling

UHP counter arguments for Xenon’s USP Colour benefits Solved with optical filters! The UHP lamp has a decent colour spectrum, no IR and no UV with proper designed optics High power! UHP lamps increases in power and efficiency all the time! For mainenance cost and lamp hours a system of 2x or 4x UHP lamps is clearly preferrable. But to reach 20-30K Lumens you need Xenon! DC operation Philips VIDI’s digital lamp driving solves the major challenge about colour timing related to colour wheel spin cycle (see VIDI slide later) Instant OnOff Who cares? Who really need to use the projector within 30-60 seconds after you turn it on – if you care about image quality? Single lamp design You have single lamp UHP systems too... ;) A good designed dual lamp system allows you to hot swap lamps and to have better brightness and colour uniformity

UHP vs Xenon Colour Spectrum Xenon is much better ”out of the box” UHP with filters and a good optical design provides D65 brightness (noon sunlight) and stable colour performance over time! Yellow: peak performance of UHP lamps Blue: Flat spectrum of solar light Red: Solar-like spectrum of the Xenon lamp

Xenon hazards (an extract) Source: USHIO (lamp manufacturer) Xenon Arc Lamps could burst when not in operation causing serious injuries! Xenon Arc Lamps have a high internal pressure. Depending upon the lamp, the internal pressure can exceed 10 ATM or 147 PSI, even when not in operation. .Always wear eye/face and body protection when handling Xenon arc lamps! Never bump, drop, apply excessive stress, or scratch the lamp. This could cause the lamp to burst! Xenon arc lamps should not be used beyond their rated service life. Operation beyond the rated service life will cause the lamp to burst.

Philips VIDI™ A variation of UHP technology, with new lamp driving technology Lots of benefits due to improved control of the pulsing: Brilliant Pulse allows us to peak segments of the colour wheel Dark Pulse allows us to lower brightness to a 25% level results in gray scale improvement (up to 2 bits) Tuned Plateau allows us to set controlled brightness in all colour segments to boost white or to boost red, etc Improved BrilliantColor™ performance over lamp life time Improved RealColor™ handling

Philips VIDI™ lamp technology