I am looking at spec-ing out a projector and have come to the point when I am considering some 720P DLP units, which all seem to come with manual zoom/focus in the specs.

How important is this? Does "manual zoom" mean that one has to manually change between aspect ratios (eg 4:3 and 16:9) or is that something else? I understand that manual zoom means the initial setup will be some work, which is not a problem, but need to now about switching of aspect ratios.....

I am looking at spec-ing out a projector and have come to the point when I am considering some 720P DLP units, which all seem to come with manual zoom/focus in the specs.

How important is this? Does "manual zoom" mean that one has to manually change between aspect ratios (eg 4:3 and 16:9) or is that something else? I understand that manual zoom means the initial setup will be some work, which is not a problem, but need to now about switching of aspect ratios.....

No, it means there is a dial on the projector that you need to manually turn to adjust the size of the picture. It does not affect aspect ratio. Manual zoom means you cannot adjust the zoom using the remote control.

However, you may still need to adjust the aspect ratio - depending on what video sources you are using.

need to now about switching of aspect ratios.....Aspect ratios have nothing to do with zoom or focus adjustments on the projector.

Generally speaking (and ignoring 'constant height' setups) you simply set the projector and your sources to 16:9 and never touch them again.