HELP CLARIFYING PROJECTOR/VIDEOCARD RESOLUTION QUESTION!

[mgovernali]

Good day to all! Hey guys, I have been using multiple monitors for a couple of decades and just recently I switched to a projector (2nd and third coming soon). My question has to do with resolution settings.

Am I right to assume that if the projector can only output a max 720p there is no point in setting the video card at 1080p?

So it seems pretty obvious that - being the projector the last link in the chain, it dictates what the final resolution will be. But here are a couple of wildcards I am having a hard time understanding.

1) the above being true, then at what resolution should the sim (the source) be set at? In other words, if both the projector and the video card are set to 720, should the sim also be set at 1280X720? or should I set the sim as high as It goes (1920X1080) so that more pixels are sent to the video card?

2) this really puzzles me, if the projector can only send out a maximum (fixed actually) of 720p (vertical) pixels, then why does my windows desktop change to 1080 if I change the windows desktop resolution to 1080?

I think I am getting close but any clarification would be much appreciated.

Thank you everyone!!
Marco 

[Nat Crea]

In a nutshell...set the the desktop and flightsim to 720p.

Windows may let you set 1080p, but as you figured out, the projector
cannot output any more than 720p, so why put that extra strain on your video/cpu?

Nat

[HarryZ]

Out of curiosity, what kind of projector are you using?

[mgovernali]

Thank you guys! This helps me clarify what i already suspected.
The projector I am using temporarily is a dell S300 short throw 720p.
I am looking at buying a set of matching 1080s in the next near future.
thank you kindly. marco.

[HarryZ]

Good idea to get the 1080's next year.  Not a good idea to increase the resolution on a projector beyond its native level.

[navymustang]

Help me here folks - the projector appears as a monitor in the windows resolution dialogue box.  It's impossible to set the resolution above the native support level.  How are you thinking you could do that?

Old style monitors and projectors could be forced to do this.  But with the advent of EDID signals on both VGA and HDMI devices, you can't do that anymore.

Please correct me if I am wrong 

[HarryZ]

When changing the screen resolution(Windows 7) your change window will show the name or model of your monitor or projector in the "Display" box.  Two factors allow what resolution you can choose...the GPU which will show what resolutions are possible with the card (the more elaborate the card, the greater and/or higher the choice) and the capability of the monitor/projector. 

If you try and choose a resolution from the GPU that the monitor/projector isn't capable of handling, Windows will scream at  you and simply not allow it.  Projectors (depending on the quality) will allow resolutions higher than native. For example, My BenQ MW 814STs have a native res of 1280x800.  They will accept 1960 from the GPU but the resulting higher resolution image suffers distortion due to the way projectors try and handle a higher than native res.  It does this differently than a monitor and I've been told not good to do.  I've tried it and the information is correct and not a good idea.

My next projectors will be 1080s but even then, all projectors are not created equally and the resulting images for a curved screen projection can be a problem.  Just ask Nat as he more than anyone knows what works and what doesn't.

[mgovernali]

I have done extensive research on the topic.
It seems that it is never a good idea to use anything other than the projector's native resolution. Yes it will handle a number of other resolutions, but that only means that you are forcing the projector to either "compress" or expand whatever (different) resolution you feed it into - again - into its native resolution. This results in distorted and blurry picture most of the time. Hence, it is best to use "native" resolution all across the board - from GPU to windows to projector. In short, the projector represents the size of the "hose" and ultimate output, pushing more "water" (pixels) into it than it can handle - only makes the video card work harder for nothing.
Thank you.

[Flying_Fox]

Yes, that's correct - you should use only native projector resolution in order to obtain the best image quality out of it. I did some tests with other resolutions just out of interest when I was setting up my visual system - they all showed significant loss of clarity.