4:3 ratio or 16:9 (1 Viewer)

[Joseph Giacomo]

I am looking at the Screenplay 4805 right now but I was curious to how much picture quality is sacraficed if I was to go with lets say a BenQ 6200 or similiar model where it is a native 4:3 and switch it to widescreen mode?? Will there be a large difference? Thanks all!

 

[Mike Wladyka]

even in 16:9 mode the 6200 will have more resolution than the 4805. the 6200 will have 576 horizontal lines while the 4805 will only have 480 horizontal, so there will be no loss in quality there, of course you can argue that for DVD the 4805 might be better because of 1:1 mapping. The 6200 would be better for HDTV if you plan on watching that, due to the extra resolution. the 4805, i think has an HT color wheel (RGBRGB), where as the 6200 has a business wheel (RGBW). An HT wheel is supposed to have better blacks and better color saturation. Although i think the colors on my 6200 are very good. I have never seen the 4805, so i can't comment between the two. The one thing i don't like about the 6200 is the light spill, which you will get when using a 4:3 pj in 16:9 mode, but it is only a mild annoyance to me.

 

[SamP]

What exactly is "light spill"?
Thanks

 

[Mike Wladyka]

light spill happens because when using a 4:3 chip in 16:9 mode, the top and bottom are made into black bars. In 16:9, even though the little mirrors on the chip are turned off, there is enough light bouncing around inside where the chip sits, as well as the mirrors only being able to move 10 or 12 degrees, to reflect off the mirrors and be projected onto the screen. so, seeing as light in constantly shined on to the entire 4:3 chip, and the mirrors essentially can't be completely shut off some light is reflected making the top and bottom black bars.

i hope that makes sense, it is early in the morning

 

[ChrisWiggles]

In this regards, sure, there are always elevated blacks with digital projectors at this point. If you throw up a full-black screen, it's obvious to see that there is significant light leaking through the projector and the screen will be gray always, never completely black like a CRT projector. So your bars will be light up slightly.

Light spill is also the "spill" of light from one area of the screen that is lit up, to another that shouldn't be, and is mainly a function of the optics in the projector etc. The room is probably the biggest source of the loss of ANSI contrast with light spilling back onto the screen from objects in the room, which is why an all velvet black room is the best room to view in, because it minimizes the washout of the screen from spill in the room.

 

[SamP]

thanks for the replies...

 

[alan halvorson]

I favor 4:3 projectors; The compromise forced by a 16:9 projector when displaying full screen sources is unacceptable to me.

There is a way to have your cake and eat it too, but it's an expensive solution with some hassle to it. Get an anamorphic lens! This is an aftermarket lens that sits in front of the projector lens. It allows use of all the pixels in both 4:3 and 16:9 modes. You set your dvd player to 16:9 but the projector to 4:3. The lens does the squeeze instead of the projector. When the source is 4:3, the lens is shuttled aside. The setup and the shuttling is the hassle. An anamorphic lens can cost $1,000-$2,000. Here is a link to one of the companies that produces them.

Probably not a solution for you right now, but it's something to think about in the future.