480i / 480p / 576p / 720p / 1080i / 1080p Differences on 4:3 Projector (1 Viewer)

I just purchased a 4:3 XGA 720p projector and RF electric 120" screen figuring I could just shrink the screen back to 16:9 by using the remote when I needed to. After a little research, thinking and testing, I have noticed that the HD signals look better then DVD and Digital cable - but not as good as my 57" HD Rear Projection TV. If I am correct with my calculations, this would be why:

WIDESCREEN MODES (*Support by 720p 4:3 projector)
480i - 852x480 - 408,960 pixels - 12.24 Million Pixels per second *
480p - 852x480 - 408,960 pixels - 24.48 Million Pixels per second *
576p - 1024x576 - 589,824 pixels - 35.38 Million Pixels per second *
720p - 1280x720 - 921,600 pixels - 55.29 Million Pixels per second
1080i - 1920x1080 - 2,073,600 pixels - 62.2 Million Pixels per second
1080p - 1920x1080 - 2,073,600 pixels - 124.4 Million Pixels per second

My projector is only able to work with 576p when fed widescreen 720p and 1080i content, so i am basically sacrificing 35-45% of the video quality of all widescreen HD signals.

POOP! I guess that is the #1 reason to get a 16:9 screen & projector vs. 4:3. I got the 4:3 because it would be for mixed use, DVD, HD-DVD, Digital Cable, HD-Cable, HTPC, XBOX360, etc.

You can buy a lens that snaps on the front of the projector causing the projected picture to be 16:9 when the projector is using all of its 1024x768 pixels on its 4:3 innards.

That sounds like an awful idea to me :frowning: I can't even figure out what that would accomplish.

Actually, I took a few more video sources from other parts of the house and tried different things out using my PC, laptop, 2 different HD receivers, etc. and noticed there was a vast difference between all of them. I'm thinking the projector is actually better at scaling 16:9 720p back to 16:9 576p then my computers or cable boxes are.

What are you using for your HD signal?

If you're not worried about counting pixels, how does the picture look? I'm perfectly happy with HD signals in my Incofus X1.

Woah, HD signals on an Infocus X1 must fall back to 480p! That is even crazier! Your HD channels must look almost the same as your SD digital cable and DVD's.

I'm probalby going to just stick with what I have for now and then grab a 1280x720 native projector later on.

No. On the X1, the HD picture looks dramatically better than SD which is barely watchable, and noticably better than DVD.

There's a lot more to projected image quality than counting pixels.

Thanks for the information on the Anomorphic Lens.

While your Infocus X1 may look decent with HD content, "Counting Pixels" does actually help out. The 1024x768 Native InFocus X3 will show HD content clearer then your 800x600 Native InFocus X1. And stepping up to a 1280x768 Native projector will once again step the clarity up to the next level. While your HD 480P 16:9 or HD 576P 4:3 signals will look better then SD 480i or Analog cable, they will not look nearly as good as a 16:9 720P signal served from a 1280x768 chip.

Undoubtably.

I'm perfectly happy with HD signals in my Incofus X1. It does not leave me wanting on a 96" 4:3 screen (about 70" 16:9) for any signal, and HD looks great. Yes, other higher resolution projectors would have a better image, but I'm perfectly happy with what I'm getting now and have no interest in upgrading, ever.

Try an HD signal into your new 720P projector and see what it looks like, you might be surprised. Unless you're more hung up on counting than watching.