Quote:
car_rod wrote:
OK, it seems this HT200DM makes a "intelligent letterboxing", but this is still letterboxing: the image height is bigger for 4/3 sources than for 16/9 sources, bright output is higher for 4/3 sources than for 16/9, that's why the HT200DM can't be considered as a "true" 16/9. It does just a nice step ahead to be a good "16/9 compatible" projector. |
I hate to keep beating this horse, but we should at least understand how the HT200DM works, if we're going to discuss it. The image height is not bigger for 4:3 sources. Most HT200DM owners will keep the projector in 16:9 (848 x 480) mode all the time. There is no reason to use the 800 x 600 mode, especially since the overall performance is worse (lower mirror refresh rate). In 16:9 mode, 4:3 video is shown in the center of the 16:9 panel with black bars on the sides. And of course the image is not brighter for 4:3 in this mode. In this mode, the projector acts exactly like any other true 16:9 projector.
Quote:
car_rod wrote:
This 848x600 TI chip, an ucommon resolution, is a strange tech solution to me. Why didn't TI simply used the more common 1024x768 resolution? Making it a "16/9 compatible" chip is much more easy -which is 1024x576 resolution, so no added "48" pixels- and more compliant with PAL media which has 576 lines (in fact, a perfect match). Or, why didn't TI proposed a true 848x480 chip (or more exactly 854x480?), allowing thus -hopefully- a cheaper solution for HT enthousiast? |
Seleco's 848 x 480 mod of the TI 800 x 600 chip is aimed at showing DVD's with optimum results and no scaling artifacts. It may seem like a strange tech solution to you, but to me it makes perfect sense. Aside from aspect ratio, refresh rates are another reason for the 848 x 480 chip modification. TI's DLP chips sometimes show image artifacts when they're pushed hard at full resolution, which lowers the refresh rate of the mirrors. The Seleco HT250 is known to have this problem:
http://www.avsforum.com/ubb/Forum10/HTML/007076.html
The HT200DM's new 848 x 480 mode isn't just about getting 16:9 aspect ratio, it's about bumping up the refresh rate for better performance.
If you want to watch HDTV, you get a high res projector and work around the problems with refresh rates and DVD scaling. If you mainly want to watch DVD's, then I think there is an argument for the lower-res, direct wire approach. There is room in the market for both approaches.
Sure, it might be better to have a chip with only 848 x 480 pixels, and TI probably has a new "DVD DLP" chip like this in the pipeline. We're still in the early days of digital displays, and we're stuck with chips originally developed for computer and NTSC aspect ratios, while we wait for the home theater 16:9 display chips to arrive.
Quote:
DavidW wrote:
No flames but any way you look at this with a logical outlook the HT200DM can never be considered a native 16/9 projector. |
Okay, I agree we probably shouldn't call this a "native 16:9 projector", and I'll retract my statement in the first post above. But we'll have to agree to disagree about calling it a "16:9 projector".
http://www.avsforum.com/ubb/smile.gif
Quote:
DavidW wrote:
If it is then "why" do they not call the HT250 (1024x768) a native 16/9 ?? It too has a native 1024x576 16/9 mode where it turns off the mirrors outside of the picture. |
Seleco doesn't call any of their projectors "native 16:9". They say the HT200DM has a "16:9 resolution mode", which is accurate. We're getting hung up on the word "native" here.
Okay, I've taken up enough bandwidth and I'll drop the subject. Everyone can make up their own minds about what this projector is.
http://www.avsforum.com/ubb/smile.gif
[This message has been edited by foldedpath (edited 08-07-2001).]