Projector Warning

[picopir8]

I just wanted to post a warning to people considering getting a projector for their HT setup.  It seems like many stores are advertising the highest supported resolution instead of the native resolution.  I know a few people who purchased SVGA and WVGA projectors thinking that they were HD quality.  In fact many of these projectors will display somewhere between 450 and 576 lines of resolution.  XGA is also only about 576 lines in 16x9.  In order to fully display a 720p signal you need to have a native WXGA or SXGA projector.

I personally went with an XGA projector because it was close enough to HD for my liking and was considerably cheeper than getting a native WXGA/SXGA projector (at least when I purchased it 2 years ago).  I was aware of this tradeoff when I made my purchase.  With the growing popularity of projectors, stores are muddying the watter and I think many people believe they are buying a higher resolution proctor than they are actually getting.   So if you want a projector, read the specs carefully.  Also look up any projector at //www.projectorcentral.com before you buy.

I can tell you from from first hand experience that SVGA and many WVGA projectors fall way short of HD quality.  XGA is close and most of my friends who have HD sets cant tell the difference, though I do notice that its not quite as crisp.  WXGA and SXGA generally look beautify but those projectors are still pricey especially if you want one with a bright bulb.

[heyitsmike]

While some of what you are saying is true in specifications, picture quality and image does not always suffer.   I have a Dell 2200mp with a native resolution at 800x600.  Let me tell you, the image blows away most of the expensive tv's at the stores!  This article (from the same site you look at) gives a good explanation of this very issue: http://www.projectorcentral.com/true_hdtv.htm.

I agree that it is not "true HDTV" due to scaling but it DOES display HD signals and very well at that.  I am not saying that all projectors display it well, even some that have higher native resolutions don't do a good job, but there are planty of lower end projectors that show HDTV very well.  

Sorry, I just wanted to add to your comments because I think having a projector in your home is by far one of the coolest and most fun things to have.  And people can get themselves a very nice setup for a lot cheaper than one might think.  My projector is less than $800 new on Ebay and other sites.  I would encourage anyone to do the research on the projector they are looking at and read the reviews.  Don't be misled by specs in either direction.