Are DLP TVs laser-friendly?

[bezeek]

Hey all, I'm new to the forums and don't know very much about lasers, (but enough to know better then to put my TV in harm's way.)

I've got a DLP TV and a copy of L.A.S.E.R. Tag 2002. If there's any promise to it I intend to tweak LASER Tag to control my mouse, but in the meantime I simply want to "tag" my TV.

(Just in case anyone hasn't heard of LASER Tag before, it's software used in conjunction with a camera, projector, and laser pointer to project graffiti onto massive surfaces, like the side of a building.)

So that brings me to my question, namely is it safe to shine a laser (just a 5mW red I'll probably buy at Walmart) at my DLP TV?

I know lasers damage DLP chips themselves, presumably starting at 500mW, but I couldn't Google up any answers to my specific question.

Regardless, is there anywhere I could purchase a roll of high-VLT filter film to stretch over the screen?

Thanks to anyone who can help sort out my curiosity!

 

[inuboi8]

Honestly I don't see how a 5mw laser shouldn't be any more damaging then shining a mid level flashlight at the tv, so using that logic it should be utterly harmless...altho I'm no tv expert by any means, unless someone who knows more about this can correct me if I'm wrong you should be fine

 

[qumefox]

A low power laser won't hurt a DLP TV.. Heck even a high power laser won't either in this application. At worst you'll melt the lenticular or fresnel, both of which serve to diffuse the light coming from the light engine... and they'll also diffuse incoming light as well. Even if you managed to burn through both layers of the screen, you would still have to get the angle perfect to actually get a bounce off the mirror and down into the output lens.. which is going to defocus the beam anyway..

The only way a laser will actually damage a DMD, is if your dealing with an exposed chip and an extremely high powered laser... since burning a DMD with a laser would be similar to trying to burn a mirror with a laser... Certainly a challenge indeed.

 

[Things]

I doubt a 5mW laser will work very well. I've hit my TV with 1W blue and it's not even close to bright, they absorb a lot of energy. Luckily it was fast enough to not cause any damage.

 

[KGB_Productions]

Shouldn't hurt the tv, but you really need to use a projector to get the full effect. I have a tiny desktop projector that works great on a 2 story house or small building.