Video Asylum

Posted by John C. - Aussie (B) on January 05, 2003 at 18:53:21

In Reply to: Questions about front projectors and widescreen posted by MannyE on January 05, 2003 at 14:40:04:

<< SO....to get to my question. Are there any FPs that are made specifically for 16:9 viewing? Or do they use 4:3 elements and "turn off" the pixels (or whatever...there are so many new technologies, I can't keep up and still hold down a job) in order to get the correct ratio? Is uneven wear an issue with LCD or DLP projectors? >>

I think all current projectors have 16:9 as "full screen" and require the appropriate screen.

I did run into trouble only projecting at 4:3 (full height, less width) when the (Barco 808S) CRT projector was new with lines visible when going back to 16:9. I guess the LCD and DLP projectors are similar and need careful handling when first being burnt in. The problem here eventually settled down and there is no sign now. I use as wide a picture as possible whenever possible and 4:3 broadcasts/DVDs are usually shown as something like 4.5:3.

It is possible to program the Barco to up to 8 different screen sizes on the one PAL input and 8 more on the one NTSC input so there is enough scope to handle 16:9, 4:3, 1.85:1, 2.35:1 and mutations like the 4.5:1 and others we have to cope for subtitles on foreign movies which are either originally 4:3 or 16:9 but the second line of the subtitles are put below the pic. A fiddlers dream but a nightmare for most!

I'm unfamiliar with Sony units so do not know what memory capacity for screen sizes they have.

Hope this helps

John

Peace at AA