This may not be a practical question, given the price limit.. but here is the situation..

We have laptops which range in resolution from 1440x900 to ~1600x1050 or higher...

Ideally, we would like these to be able to hook up to a projector without having to reduce the resolution to 1024x768..

This is mainly for business, but most of the laptops are widescreen.

I had price checked projectors for home use that had a max resolution of 1024 x 768 (720p) about a year ago, and they ran $850 or so.

A quick check shows that for $10,000 one can get to 1920x1080 (1080p)..

Is this accurate.. or is there some way that under $1000 projectors can have a laptop hook up to them and not have to down size the display settings to project?

If so, any thoughts on what example models of projectors would have this capability?

Thanks in advance..

I think Optoma has a couple different models out there that are 1400x1050 with fairly high lumen's . I have seen one of them at a local retailer for under $1K but I am uncertain how much the other model costs ;) . These are older business class units , as in been around for a couple years so they do not have comparable specs to many newer units .

Best of Luck ,
- Jason

You might look into some 1280x768 units like the Optoma 1691

Thanks for the input so far..

I guess what i'm really aiming at, is .. are there any projectors that can accept say a 1600x1050 resolution, but the native resolution on the projector is 1024x768, so the projector "down sizes/scales" the laptop signal, so that the user on the laptop doesnt have to lower their resolution?

Yes many of the business class PJ's will accept higher resolutions and scale to their native resolution . I know there are many out there that will accept 1600 x 1200 even though they are 1024x768 / XGA native . Try Projector Central and look at their spec pages , you can start here :

http://www.projectorcentral.com/conference-video-projectors.htm

- Jason

The Optoma EP1691 is 1280x768 native and can accept up to 1440x900 - @$900
The Benq SP830 is 1280x768 native and can accept up to 1920x1080 - @1400

Thanks for the input so far..

I guess what i'm really aiming at, is .. are there any projectors that can accept say a 1600x1050 resolution, but the native resolution on the projector is 1024x768, so the projector "down sizes/scales" the laptop signal, so that the user on the laptop doesnt have to lower their resolution?

Epson Powerlite 83
http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/consumer/consDetail.jsp?BV_UseBVCookie=yes&oid=63074999

we have about a dozen of them out on our campus and they work great with laptops, both Windows and Mac.
MSRP $899