speaking of HD ... resolution question
 

So we've got the inFocus 4805 projector which is a 480p 16:9 projector. Obviously, it makes DVDs look fantastic. (Although miniDV footage looks worse on the big screen lol). However, I've also been feeding it HDTV channels of course, and amazingly, it somehow DOES look better than DVD. How can this be? I'm assuming it's that HDTV has lower compression than DVD, and so even though the final resolution my eyes see is the same, it just SEEMS better due to that lesser compression? Agreed? Makes me wonder what a true HD projector would look like!! :)

What resolutions are the HD programs you're watching with it? Do you have the INHD channels or Discovery HD? 90% of the programming there is in 1080i. Try those for comparison sake if you haven't already.

I just last weekend ran Episode III from my DVD player at 480p and from HBO HD at 1080i simultaneously on my XBR Bravia LCD TV and I could not tell the difference.

JV

yeah i have INHD and DiscHD .... all are amazing

i'm sure you couldn't tell the difference because the physical size of your screen was small.

imagine, however, a 92" screen ... a difference SHOULD be quite obvious ... i (sorta!) hope!

DVD's are in native 480i resolution (interlaced) so it has to be upconverted by either your DVD player (if you have a progressive scan DVD) or by your projector. The process of deinterlacing and recoded the DVD contents into a progressive 480p format is not a perfect - the poorer the orginal content, the worse the output. Home videos burned on DVD at 480i come out looking very bad in the upconversion process. By contrast, inHD and DiscHD are transmitted in native 1080i - no upconversion is necessary.

Next best step - Blu-Ray or HD-DVD.

I never said how big the screen was:confused:

Regardless, I can usually tell the difference, especially when standing close to the screen.

I'm sure you know this already, but if your source is cable via a converter box, you can usually play around with the resolution settings output in the setup menu.

JV

true, sorry.... i just figured an LCD screen would likely be much smaller than the 50-60" at which point 480i/p resolutions start showing their limitations.

And no i'm not sure what you mean re: the converter box? You mean the cable box has its own settings?

Yeah, most cable boxes can be set up for widescreen or letterbox, with varying resolution (480standard, 720p, 1080i, etc.) for widescreen. Check with your local cable company, as I'm not sure if this is a feature for only HD converters.

Cox cable here gives us Scientific Atlanta boxes and I can set up to view/convert any resolution out there with the cable box setup menu.

JV

I just replaced my Sanyo Z2 projector with a Samsung DLP projector. Best upgrade I have made...and to boot, I have one of the new Toshiba HD DVD players. Spectacular. Mindblowing. Much better than HD channels due to better compression algorithyms.

I am waiting for 1080p DLP projectors and Larger LCD TVs become cheap. TI makes DLP chips in 720p nad 1080p, only higher-end Samsung DLP TV have 1080p chips in it. Unlike what happened to Beta and VHS 20 years ago, I think Blue-ray takes it all thanks to the backing of our favorite porn companies...

My Sony,NoBaloney 60" SXRD LCoS looks outstanding, when the
feed via ComCrap is 1080 and "good". It's a true 1080 I believe,
but no Techie here...course it's "resting" for the season down in
the FLA Starter Shack, while we watch our 57" 4 yr old Toshiba proj.
TV, Std Def from DISH, up here on the mtn. :confused:

The selling price on the Sony 60" SXRD has never really come down
from the low 4gs since their intro...I suspect they are selling everyone
they make. Nice pic though, in good to exc feed. Otherwise, it's just a
nice big thin proj TV.