Texas Instruments wants you to say hello to its little friend: the DLPC8445. The name might not be very exciting, but what it promises is: ultra-small 4K projectors with super-fast refresh rates. The most portable one we’ve seen so far is the LG CineBeam Q, but it’s basically in a class of its own right now – and that could change.
The DLPC8445 is a new digital light processing (DLP) controller, and according to Texas Instruments, it's the smallest of its kind, roughly 90% smaller than previous generations. According to the manufacturer, it's been created “to replicate the viewing experiences of high-end gaming TVs and monitors in the form of a compact projector.” That means 100-inch 4K projection with the promise of low lag, low image distortion, and refresh rates up to 240Hz for gaming.
Not only that, but Texas Instruments claims it will offer “sub-millisecond latency that matches or exceeds the world's high-end gaming monitors.”
That’s the good news. The bad news is that we’ll have to wait a little longer for it to make its way into the best portable projectors – the chip has only just been launched, so manufacturers now have to use it. But they will use it, and that means some seriously impressive projectors are about to hit the market – we’re expecting to see some new ultra-small additions to the world of the best 4K projectors at CES 2025 in January. A 4K version of the Samsung Freestyle? Let’s hope so.
What's so great about Texas Instruments' new DLP chip?
There’s plenty to delight home entertainment fans and gamers alike – as New Atlas reports, specs include variable refresh rates, dynamic image correction, and a range of potential applications that aren’t just limited to projectors. While 4K projectors are the most obvious applications for the new chip, and it’s been designed with battery-powered portable projectors in mind, Texas Instruments also says it’s been designed for a range of different applications, resolutions, and hardware – including augmented reality glasses.
One reason this is such a big deal is TI’s huge popularity – it invented DLP in the 1980s and its chipsets are found in stacks of projectors today, including professional cinema projectors and home cinema options. So a completely new, more powerful and significantly smaller DLP is big news.
According to TI’s Jeff Marsh, “where consumers once needed a large TV or monitor for a crisp, clear picture, they can now use a lifestyle or gaming projector and transform a wall into the screen size of their choice in 4K UHD quality”; and this new chip means it will be easy for engineers to “develop epic entertainment displays that can be taken anywhere.”
Rather than hunting down one of the best TVs for your next bedroom or office display, perhaps a super-portable projector is a more flexible option, especially if you mostly watch content from the best streaming services. We wouldn’t bet on projectors replacing 4K TVs any time soon (they’ll still struggle in bright rooms), but a small, gaming-friendly 4K projector could tempt many people away from buying a big TV.
