Abstract: A projection engine architecture for use with liquid-crystal-on-silicon semiconductor imager devices is described. The optical architecture disclosed includes a high speed light collection stage wherein luminance from an arc lamp is collected and condensed, an illumination stage wherein the luminance is ideally transformed for presentation to an imaging stage comprised of a triad of three perpendicular polarization beamsplitter cubes and attendant color processing components that form a solid prism assembly. Central to the architecture are an arrangement of optical components that eliminate the deleterious effects of waste light created by polarization and color separation components within the imaging stage.