Projector manufacturers have long sought to develop products that provide the best possible picture on a screen or surface. Lamps – whether large Xenon short-arc lamps or small mercury halide bulbs — have served well and provided the best solution for many years. But they have drawbacks, including: handling safety hazards, high-temperatures, relatively-short lifetimes and difficulty of transportation and disposal.

Theoretically, lasers are superior illumination sources to lamps and bulbs, due to several factors, including:

• Brighter pictures
• Lower power consumption
• Longer life and less-frequent changes
• Lower total cost of ownership
• Fewer heavy metals
• Expanded color gamut
• More flexible systems
• (see the differences here)

Harnessing these advantages, and bringing them to market, has taken time as solid-state laser development is constantly advancing. Since 2000, (and possibly earlier, depending how its defined) lasers, and the necessary optics, have been steadily-developing specifically for projection applications. Now, products are rapidly coming to many markets for all projector sizes.