data projector

A device that projects computer output onto a white or silver fabric screen that is wall, ceiling or tripod mounted. Data projectors typically accept resolutions of 800x600, 1024x768 or 1280x1024 and may also support standard video from a VCR, DVD or cable box. Widely used in classrooms and auditoriums, there are many units that are equally capable for home theater (see front-projection TV).

They've Come a Long Way
In the 1980s, the first data projectors were huge, weighing more than 40 pounds and using CRTs to create only a monochrome image. Later, projectors were made as see-through LCD panels placed on top of an overhead projector for illumination. In the mid-1990s, they began to use microdisplays and combined illumination and imaging in a device that shrank to a few pounds. However, CRT-based data projectors are still made. These heavy, large, high-end units are designed for large rooms and auditoriums with screens 20 feet wide. See LCD panel, microdisplay, microprojector and rear-projection TV.

The Good Old Days

Starting in 1980, Alan Freedman, editor-in-chief of this Encyclopedia, used to lug a monochrome data projector to his computer literacy classes in order to show examples to non-technical managers. Projector, computer equipment and rolling cases together weighed more than one hundred pounds.

Twenty Years Later

In 2000, Compaq introduced one of the first ultra-lightweight data projectors. Using the DLP technology from Texas Instruments, the MP1400 weighed slightly more than four pounds. (Image courtesy of Compaq Computer Corporation.)