[Stallion]

OK,


Fairly new to the world of DLP's. I have done some research and

am interested in purchasing an LT240 sometime in the near future.

Obviously I need to actually see one in order to determine if I will

have any problems with Rainbows.


Based on the projection calculator tool on Projector Central I have

come up with the following rough numbers.


Distance to Screen 11 feet This is based on my room size.

Width of 4:3 7 feet

Height of 4:3 5 feet


Now most of the time I will be viewing 4:3 material, basically

I would like to build a flight simulator and use the Projector

rather than a 21" monitor.


Now I will also use it to view DVDs.


Questions:


1) Since the throw length will not change I am assuming that

the 16:9 image will retain the 7 foot width but will lose some

of its height based on the 1.7777 ratio of a 16:9 image.

Is this correct??


2) I have heard that there is pixel lose when projecting a 16:9

image on a 4:3 projector. Does that mean that I am actually going

to lose some of the DVD material?


3) Should I buy a 4:3 based screen or a 16:9 based screen?



Thanks in advance......................

 

[Glenn Refling]

Quote:

1) Since the throw length will not change I am assuming that the 16:9 image will retain the 7 foot width but will lose some of its height based on the 1.7777 ratio of a 16:9 image. Is this correct??

Yes, it will be the same width, just not as tall.

Quote:

2) I have heard that there is pixel lose when projecting a 16:9 image on a 4:3 projector. Does that mean that I am actually going to lose some of the DVD material?

You will only use part of your 4:3 panel to project the 16:9 image, just like you will only project onto a part of your 4:3 screen. In your case the image will be 3.9 feet high on your screen. You won't lose any of the DVD image, it is already in 16:9 for a 16:9 film.

Quote:

3) Should I buy a 4:3 based screen or a 16:9 based screen?

I think for a 4:3 projector you should buy a 4:3 screen. If you get an electric screen you can stop it at the various aspect ratios. For example when I use my 4:3 screen for a 16:9 image I only lower it 4 1/2 feet and shift the NEC HT1000 image up to match the screen.

 

[Stallion]

Glenn,


Thanks for the information.


"In your case the image will be 3.9 feet high on your screen. You won't lose any of the DVD image, it is already in 16:9 for a 16:9 film. "


This is the answer I was hoping and expecting. I guess I don't understand

what all the heartache is concerning native 4:3 or 16:9 projectors.

In my case I will have a 7 foot wide by 4 foot high dvd image with no loss

of quality. To me that is plenty of image compared to a 32" TV.


Thanks for your help............

 

[Glenn Refling]

The issue for some is that you aren't using the full panel so you aren't using as many pixels to form the overall image using a 4:3 pj as compared to a native 16:9 pj. This means you can't necessarilty resolve as much detail. What this means to the viewer at a normal viewing distance has always been the question for me. I like what I see on my HT1000 and for the price I'm more than satisfied to waste some pixels. . .


Now you could, of course, add an anamorphic lens to the 4:3 PJ and effectively turn it into a 16:9 native pj.

 

[Josh Z]

Quote:

Originally posted by Stallion This is the answer I was hoping and expecting. I guess I don't understand what all the heartache is concerning native 4:3 or 16:9 projectors.

With a 16:9 projector, you will produce a higher resolution image from a 16:9 video signal. In this case, you are using all of the projector's available pixels to create the widescreen image.


By using only the 16:9 portion of a 4:3 projector's pixel array, you are not losing any video image but what you see will be at a slightly lower resolution. Some of the pixels are being wasted creating the black bars above and below the movie image.


The vice versa is also true, that a 4:3 projector gives you a higher resolution 4:3 image than a 16:9 projector. You should figure out what type of content you watch more often and pick your projector based on that.

 

[Stallion]

Guys thank you for the great information. Since I will be using

my PC as a DVD player is there a software program which can

replace the anamorphic lens solution of displaying 16:9 on a 4:3 PJ?

 

[Josh Z]

Quote:

Originally posted by Stallion Guys thank you for the great information. Since I will be using my PC as a DVD player is there a software program which can replace the anamorphic lens solution of displaying 16:9 on a 4:3 PJ?

A software solution? No, the pixel grid is fixed in place.


Since the projector is a higher resolution than DVDs anyway and all DVDs must be scaled up to its resolution, you can still set your DVD player for 16:9 anamorphic mode and benefit from the advantages of that. There is a 'widescreen' mode on the LT-240 that keeps the anamorphic picture in the correct aspect ratio while displaying all of the available signal from the disc. However, the projector itself still has pixels that it is not using.


A 16:9 image on the LT-240 has a resolution equivalent to about 576p. This looks damn good and you will not be complaining.

 

[Stallion]

Sounds fantastic to me......Thanks Josh