Patent ID: 8823885

Claim:
A projector comprising: an illuminator that outputs light having a central axis; and a light modulator including a liquid crystal panel and a structural birefringent polarization separation element having a polarization separation surface inclined away from the central axis of the light, the light modulator modulating the light from the illuminator, the light outputted from the illuminator having an angular distribution in a first direction that is perpendicular to the central axis of the light and an angular distribution in a second direction that is perpendicular to the first direction and to the central axis of the light, the angular distribution in the first direction being smaller than the angular distribution in the second direction, and the polarization separation surface of the structural birefringent polarization separation element having a structure that is not periodic along the first direction but is periodic along the second direction, wherein the illuminator includes a light level adjuster having a movable light blocker that adjusts the angular distribution of the light and wherein the light blocker has an opening with a width that increases in the first direction as the position in the opening changes from one side to an another side of the light blocker along the second direction, and the opening is asymmetrical in the second direction.