I'm confused about Projector resolution. I'm seeing many that say 16:9, HD capable, and the resolution is 1024x576 or 1280x720. My HDTV displays 1080i. Will using a 1280x720 convirt it to 1080i and how will the HD signals look? How can you get a HD signal with the 1024x576 when you are dealing with 1080i or 720p.

I'm sure i'm all mixed up but knew a few of the folks on this forum could come to the rescue.

thanks.

I have an Infocus X1 projector. It is a "one quarter" HD projector. It resizes the HD signal (and does a great job of HDTV). More info is in the FAQ .... http://members.shaw.ca/technut/x1faq/ Kevin

I'm still confused. The link you have included shows this Projector at a resolution for 800x600 and I forget what it is for 16x9 ration, but it's 800x450.

So again, how does this relate to HDTV when it's supposed to be around 1920x1080 (lesser expensive HDTVs aren't quite 1920, but I can't remember what it is? Are these two totally different resolutions? Am I comparing apples to oranges or is a projector such as the InFocus X1 not really give you HD quality?

HD resolution is considered to be 720 or 1080 lines of resolution. Any display that is less than 720 lines should not be called HD. Any resolution signal can be up or down converted to any other resolution. I can convert a 1080i HD signal to 480i on my STB if I want to. Or vice versa. May look like crap but it works. 16:9 is just the ratio - doesn't guarantee HD.

All displays have one or more native scan rates. The native scan rate is the one that requires no processing by the display because it already matches. This is how you bypass the internal scaler. This will always be the best image.

To make life convenient all displays also have an internal scaler so you can see the scan rates that do not match your display. These will look the worst. So far the best results are obtained by having the image scaled externally and you feed the display only the native scan rate.

The numbers 1080I and 720P indicate vertical resolution which is not the hard part. The horizontal resolution is the difficult number hence 1920 or 1280 for the HD scan rates of 1920X1080I or 1280X720P

Most CRT RPTV are 1080I native, can do 900-1400 lines and these are recommended for videophile applications. In general 1920X1080 does not exist unless you are in the $10K+ market. 1280X720 is available in fixed pixel displays such as plasma, LCoS, LCD and DLP.

Any other scan rate will require conversion and those displays are called enhanced definition.

Richard F. Fisher
Mastertech Repair Corporation, Lawrenceville, GA
770-513-3987 E-Mail - help@mastertechtv.com
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