Multimedia projectors (90, 120) include a light source (32) for propagating illumination through a color modulator (42) and a light integrating tunnel (94). Lenses (100, 106) image the integrated light through a patterned-silvered mirror (104, 126) and onto a micromirror display device (MDD) (76, 122). Micromirrors in the MDD that are tilted to an image-forming angle, reflect the image-forming light back toward the patterned-silvered mirror, which propagates the image-forming light toward a projection lens (110). The patterned-silvered mirror includes an accurately positioned boundary separating transparent (102, 116, 128) and reflective (108, 124) portions, resulting in improved contrast of the projected image.

A projection device comprising at least one light source, at least one light-modulation panel preceding the light source, and polarization-separating means arranged between said light source and said light-modulation panel for separating light from the light source into first and second light beams having a first and a second direction of polarization, respectively. The projection device also comprises first and second integrator plates comprising lens elements which are arranged between said polarization-separating means and said light-modulation panel, and polarization-converting means arranged opposite the second integrator plate. Each lens element of the second integrator plate includes a first portion on which a first light beam is projected by the first integrator plate, and a juxtaposed, second portion, on which a second light beam is projected. The polarization-converting means are arranged at least opposite said first portions.

An image projection system includes an illumination system and an image display system with at least one reflective image display panel for modulating. An illumination beam is supplied by the illumination system with image information and a projection lens system. The illumination system has an extra optical system that at least partly re-illuminates the image display system with light reflected by the reflective image display panel to the illumination system. The extra optical system redistributes light coming from a pixel of the image display system across a plurality of pixels of the image display system.

An image display apparatus of a projection-type is provided which includes an illuminator with a light source, an optical modulator illuminated by light illuminator and which makes spatial modulation of the illumination light according to a to-be-displayed image for either transmission or reflection, and a projection lens to form an image of the optical modulator. The apparatus includes also a first reflecting element to reflect, towards the light source, the unwanted light of the light beam emitted from the illuminator and which will not illuminate the optical modulator, and a second reflecting element to guide, by reflecting, the unwanted light once reflected by the first reflecting element. In the apparatus, the combination of the light source and illuminator, which can recycle the unwanted light efficiently in the projector, makes it possible to inexpensively separate and recombine polarized components of the light beam. Use of a single-plate optical modulator formed from a color filter permits to utilize the light with an improved efficiency. Also by adopting a single-plate optical modulator of a sequential color-type, it is possible to attain an improved efficiency of light utilization. Thus, the efficiency of light utilization of an optical modulator whose numerical aperture is small can be improved and the peak brightness on a dark screen can be elevated.

A projector is mainly composed of a polarized light beam illumination device, a collimating lens, polarized beam splitter, a reflection-type liquid crystal device, and a projection optical system. The polarized light beam illumination device includes a light source, a first optical element, and a second optical element. Light emitted from the light source is divided into a plurality of intermediate light beams by the first optical element, and then converted into polarized light beams having substantially one polarization direction by the second optical element. The polarized light beams enter the collimating lens, are transmitted by the polarized beam splitter, modulated by the reflection-type liquid crystal device, reflected by the polarized beam splitter, and then projected on a projection plane via the projection optical system.