Non-masked 4:3 on 16:9 screen?

I'm a newbie to front projection that is about to make the leap ASAP. This thread has triggered a series of questions I'd like help with before buying equipment that will pass the WAF test:


1. Do I really need a 16x9 screen for showing widescreen DVDs? I'll be getting an XGA projector (NEC LT-156 [1200 lumens] or Panasonic PT-L711XU [1600 lumens, 400:1 contrast and 4000 hours on the lamp in Save mode]. Both projectors supports 16x9. Don't they just show the 16x9 inside the 1024x768 resolution?


2. I'm going to need a motorized screen that "disappears" for the WAF. But it seems that masking is a good thing, especially because the WAF hates the black bars above and below letterboxed video. How can I do this short of going to the expense of the Stewart electric masking solution?


3. Do I need the Stewart microperf screen if my left and right speakers are maybe a couple of feet behind the screen in order to avoid the screen blocking the sound? I may be able to put the center speaker on the ceiling just in front of the screen.


4. If I go with a microperf screen, how far back will I have to sit in order to avoid seeing the holes?


5. Since I won't be able to control the ambient light very well and that I'll be going with a reasonably bright LCD projector, am I better off with a screen like the Grayhawk rather than a StudioTek 130?


Thanks any help you can provide. http://www.avsforum.com/ubb/confused.gif

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No. But just think about how much viewing area you are going to loose when you watch a 2.35:1 movie. You'd be surprised at how many movies are 2.35:1. If movie watching via DVD is even remotely important, I would get a 16x9 screen.

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Yes, so with an anamorphic disc you'll be using 1024x576.


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Sounds like your sold on Stewart, that's good. Get the snapper screen with the Al frame. This way you can make fixed panels covered with light absorbing material for side bars (4x3) and top bottom bars (2.35:1). I use velcro to attach the top/bottom bars and this way I adjust them so I can watch 2001 (2.2:1) and Ben-Hur (2.76:1).

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I have my right left outside the screen, but I can assure you that if it was behind the screen I would not be able to hear it. So you'll need an acoutically transparent screen.


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I you have lots of lumens (which you should) and poor ambient light control then the Grayhawk is the way to go.


Good Luck


John Moschella





[This message has been edited by John Moschella (edited 06-28-2001).]

WRT my question about the overscan... never mind.


While researching another topic with an archive search, I ran across a thread that mentions the lens cover masking trick ("cut a hole in the cap"). So yeah, it's like I thought. You just mask this at the projector if you find it annoying.


I started doing photography for a living 30 years ago, and then moved into computer graphics. It's nice to know that the knowledge I picked up while fiddling with old Kodak slide projectors isn’t completely wasted in the digital millennium. http://www.avsforum.com/ubb/smile.gif


BTW, I asked this same question yesterday while talking to a DWIN Transvision sales person in a hi-fi/video store located in a supposedly high-tech area (Seattle). He had no idea if there was anything that could be done about the overscan light bleed.


<warning, small-scale rant coming here>


It's no wonder that people end up doing their initial research in local brick and mortar stores, and then end up buying online. I try to support the local businesses in the small town I live in. But I don't have much sympathy for the HT dealers in big city markets like Seattle, if they can't bother to educate themselves about a $10,000+ product they're trying to sell. These guys just don't get it. I might have paid a ton of money for a custom turn-key installation, just for the convenience factor. But not from someone who doesn't understand the hardware!

Thanks everyone for the replies, that helps! I test-drove a few projector setups at local dealers yesterday, and I think I could live with a non-masked screen.


However I did notice something else that bothered me. I didn't mind the not-completely-black edges next to 4:3 video, or letterbox masking in 16:9. What bothered me was the overscan or light bleed that fell completely off the 16:9 screen and lit up (at very low levels) the room below the screen. I was told this is due to the chip itself (in the DLP projectors I saw) being a 4:3 format. Is there any way to mask this excess light at the projector... maybe with a cardboard mask at the lens, or something?


Does an "anamorphic lens" at the projector fix this? I don't know anything about these (next research project!).


Will the new 16:9 chip DLP projectors not have this problem?


To Honcho..

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I'm not an expert, but I'll repeat some advice I've heard here and elsewhere. You may want to avoid a microperf screen since you're using a solid state projector. Apparently you can get a sort of interference pattern between the perforations and the pixels. Even if that doesn't happen, the whole idea of using a perforated screen makes me nervous. A dealer I spoke to yesterday had a good idea though -- he recommended ordering a standard screen with an extra micro-perforated black area above the screen. Mount your center channels speaker so it fires through the black area, instead of the screen. This might not work for everyone, but I thought it was an interesting idea.