[Mark]

I'd like to know if for Home theater application SVGA native dlp projector are enough?

Is there a big improvement in image quality using an XGA model. The primary and most projected signal would be the S-Video of my DVD. Is SVGA becoming obsolete, should i spend more now to have a useful projector in the future ?


Sorry for the many questions and thanks a lot !!!!!!! )


Bye



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Mark

 

[DanHouck]

Some will say you just need enough pixels to match the output of DVD, some will say you can't have too many (D-ILA). In theory, the latter is correct because it makes the projector do a better job with higher res sources like HDTV.


AND if the scaling is good, a projector with more pixels will produce a really smooth picture from a lower res source like DVD. Scaling is nothing more than taking a lower res source and electronically "filling it in" to use the additional pixels available with a higher res projector. If it's done wrong, you get jaggies, artifacts and all manner of things which are the bane of this group.


Personally, I think anything less than XGA needs to be bought cheap because its days are numbered. But you'll get some dissenting views I am certain.


Dan

 

[rlsmith]

I generally don't see a lot of difference between SVGA and XGA on DVD source material, provided you are watching from a reasonable distance so that the pixel structure is not visible, and provided you have reasonable deinterlacing and scaling in the signal path.


For HDTV material, I see a big difference. [My own opinion is that I am only interested in HDTV at this point, having become addicted to it.]


There is an article on http://www.projectorcentral.com

about this issue. I disagree somewhat with the conclusion but it has reasonable information.


I would call it this way: if you are getting a real bargain on an SVGA machine, and want to use it for DVD material exclusively (no HDTV), then it is OK; otherwise go XGA.


My current expectation is that SVGA machines sell used for around $1000. (VGA machines sell for around $500, and there are some decent buys BTW.) The Infocus 425z is now selling new on Ebay for around $1500. It is still manufactured, but I think it is on its way out as a current model. The Infocus 340 can be bought new for around $2000 and is an excellent SVGA machine.

 

[hsitz]

Quote:

Originally posted by Mark: I'd like to know if for Home theater application SVGA native dlp projector are enough? Is there a big improvement in image quality using an XGA model. The primary and most projected signal would be the S-Video of my DVD. Is SVGA becoming obsolete, should i spend more now to have a useful projector in the future ?

On DVD material there's not going to be much of a difference between an SVGA and an XGA machine. In fact, some people prefer the SVGA Davis 450 to XGA DLP's because it suffers less from the "crawlie" problem that seems to afflict most DLP's to some degree or another. (Search archive for posts on "crawlies" if you're interested in wading through this controversial subject.)


BUT, if you're interested in feeding your projector with s-video coming directly from your DVD player that brings up a much more important consideration: How good is the scaling (and line doubling, if your DVD player is interlaced) of the projector?


The internal scaling and line doubling of most projectors discussed on this forum (even including those designed for HT) is often pretty bad. That's why people use external scalers or an HTPC to scale the signal up to the native resolution of whatever projector they're using. If you feed a signal directly from DVD player s-video to the projector then you're getting to rely on the projector's internal circuitry to scale the signal and you're going to see more artifacts introduced.


So if you're dead set on driving your projector with s-video from you DVD player, the main question isn't: Is SVGA or XGA what I want? Rather, it should be: Which projectors (SVGA or XGA) are good at processing an s-video signal from my DVD player.


Some projectors can be ruled out right of the bat on this one (e.g., the SVGA Davis 450 has a notoriously bad internal scaler, though it looks great when used with an external scaler). You may want to check out the XGA Infocus 350 or SVGA Infocus 340. I believe both of them are supposed to have very good internal scalers. If those are the two best options, then you can reconsider your question of SVGA vs. XGA. But just remember that the most important consideration for you will be to restrict your search to projectors that scale well, then, and only then, should you consider the question of SVGA vs. XGA.


Unless, that is, you want to go the HTPC (or external scaler) route, which I and many others would recommend. -- Herb