Long Narrow room.. 4:3 screen width of room.. why should i.,.. (1 Viewer)

[Jimi C]

I have a long Narrow room, currently i have a 4:3 projector and screen which nearly covers the entire wall. I watch probably 50/50 4:3/widescreen material. ...

Im telling you this because i plan to upgrade my projector in the near future and want to find out if there is any reason why i should consider a 16:9 projector given these circumstances. (with a 4:3 projector i am not losing any size when watching 16:9 material, with a 16:9 pj i would be losing alot of size with 4:3 material)

get it? let me know if ive lost you yet...

 

[Jason Charlton]

It depends on your point of view, really. When I watch 16:9 material on a 4:3 screen, I feel I am sacrificing a significant amount of "size" because in order to fit the full widescreen image into the 4:3 screen, it has to get smaller vertically, thus resulting in black bars, which I consider "wasted space".

It's an interesting argument, actually. I think the years and years of watching letterbox movies on 4:3 screens has given most of the population the perspective that 4:3 is "bigger" since it filled the whole screen. I've always believed the opposite - that widescreen material expanded the screen BEYOND the confines of the 4:3 box, and is therefore always "bigger" than 4:3 material.

Personally, I also prefer the feeling that watching widescreen movies is a "bigger" event than watching "Seinfeld" reruns - hence my display system is biased towards widescreen material.

There are also arguments (that I'm sure you've heard ad nauseum) about how 16:9 is the wave of the future, and 4:3 programming will only diminish over time. You may find it difficult in the coming years to even find a 4:3 projector.

Personally, I wouldn't consider anything but 16:9.

-Jason

 

[Dan Hitchman]

Get yourself the Panny AE700 and a new widescreen screen.

For the money (about $2,000) it's hard to beat... until the D5 LCD chips come out next year at up to 1920x1080p resolution. However, they may be pricey.

I'd love to see HD2+ 720p DLP projectors with the newer 7 segment color wheel drop in price significantly with all this talk of 1920x1080p chips arriving next year, but with TI's strange DMD chip pricing strategy I don't see it happening soon.

Dan

 

[Jimi C]

I just want to clarify, I do not have the space to get a 16:9 screen that is any wider than my current 4:3 screen which spans from wall to wall.

I would really hate to have to get rid of this screen. I got a great deal on it.. $250 for a 84" motorized Draper w/remote. I have it installed so that it drops right in front of my entertainment center and my television.

 

[Ian-Fl]

I don't understand getting a widescreen projector if you watch a 50% mix. That would mean that if you watch 4:3 material you'd have to watch it within the 16:9 screen. A smaller picture than before. Unless of coarse your 4:3 material is cable? Then the picture would look better.
Maybe with a 800 x 600 fullscreen projector in widescreen you'd loose some resolution than what a widescreen projector would have to offer.
If you're going for a higher resolution projector?
http://www.projectorcentral.com/format_resolution.htm

 

[Jimi C]

My current projector is only 640x480 so i definatly want something with better resolution, better black levels and a short throw lens.

That NEC LT240K looks like it would be perfect.. does anyone have experience with NEC projectors?