Let’s start with understanding the meaning of the term. LCOS stands for liquid crystal over silicon. You can consider this technology as a part of same category in which LCD comes too.

LCOS is used in order to produce large and enhanced image to raise the viewing experience. For most of us, it would be a new technology but the reality is that it is not widely used in the past. Like other HD technology, LCOS too guarantees picture clarity and is used in all kinds of televisions like front and rear projection. This technology uses silicon semiconductors in order to direct electric current in one direction. In case of LCOS, there is no need of using and turning tiny mirrors on and off. Instead, it uses liquid crystals that when energized forms a path of light.

When light passes via LCD panels towards lens, it gets modulated by the liquid crystals when light passes through it. You can call it as transmissive technology. LCOS combines these two innovative concepts. Instead of using tiny mirrors, it uses liquid crystals. Opening and closing of these crystals will decide whether the light will reflect from the mirror or it will get blocked. In this way images gets displayed on the screen. It uses layers of liquid crystals that control light on individual pixels. Under basic components of LCOS technology comes lamp that provides white light, one splitter that is used to split up incoming single-color light into primary colours like red, green and blue. Mirrors are used to separate various colours that falls on separate LCOS devices. Later on these colours are combined using prism and colour image is magnified and displayed on the screen. Image produced must be magnified in case of LCOS system because it generates sharp and small image. Pixels generated using this process are natural and smooth.

Such an enhanced concept will definitely demand high price. Products using LCOS technology are much costlier than other LCD or DLP products. In terms of weight, don’t compare LCOS products with DLP and LCD units. Even the lightest LCOS product weighs 12 pounds. Due to so many factors like high price and heavy weight, this technology is not released in the market that deals with cheap portable projectors. You can notice that in today’s world, people still prefer to go for cheap and best monitors and that uses LCD and DLP concept. This is the reason why LCD and DLP get more attention than LCOS. No one can deny this fact that LCOS is the future technology in television world.

It’s not so easy to develop this technology widely for televisions but one thing is sure that whenever this technology will enter in the market, it will make LCD and DLP monitors dull.