ok. my buddy picked up a used viewsonic pj350 projector, and it looks awesome. we have it displaying at 110" diagonal. the problem is, we set it to display 16x9, however, it still projects light (not too bright but noticable in the dark for sure) in the 4x3 square. it puts the picture out at 16x9 widescreen, but how do we get rid of the extra light? any suggestions?

another thing, when we connect with a DVI cable for HDTV, the image is oversized and the right side is being cut off. how do we fix this??? Thanks...


one last question. i am looking for a home theater projector for myself. i need some suggestions on what to get, and what will be best? i think 1024x768 native DLP is probably best, but any suggestions on brand and model woudl be appreciated!!!

It is called masking, however, horizontal masking is more difficult than masking the sides. You can use curtains or some other DIY method. For example, if you have a 16:9 screen AND projector, when you watch 4:3 material you just draw in the curtains on the sides to blacken the light your talking about.

The overscan problem is probably related to the projector not being a native 720p or higher unit. If he had a 16:9 projector, he would have less issues.

Spend some time at Projector Central DOT COM and you'll find all your answers. If HD is something your interested in, then I would get a 1280 x 720 unit. DLP is not always the best.

that projector is a native 4:3 image, so you will not be able to get rid of the extra light, my projector is also a native 4:3 and when in 16:9 mode i get the extra light also..thhere is nothing you can do abouut that.. the only thing you may be able to do is when you buy your projector, and you want to have 16:9 then make sure you get a projector with a native 16:9 image.

hope this helps.

ok. so long as the projector i buy is native 16x9 i will NOT get that extra light on the top and bottom? it will fit a 16x9 screen PERFECTLY???

With a 16:9 projector and a 16:9 screen you will have the following:

4:3 material, bars on the sides and most likely light spill, but you can mask it off.

HD broadcasts which is 16:9 (1.78 aspect ratio) perfect fit on the top and sides.

DVD movies 1.85, very close to 1.78 above, you won't noticed the bars on top/bottom as the overscan in the projector/tv will take care of it.

2.35 Cinemascope movies (and other aspect ratio's above 1.85) will have black bars on the top and bottom, and most likely you will see some light spill, if that is what your talking about.

Bottom Line, your always going to have black bars for the wider movies like Star Wars, etc.. with a 16:9 screen and even worse with a 4:3 screen. You'll have less headaches if you match the screen to the projector.

More or less, yes. A native 16x9 resolution means the light passes through an array of 16x9 LCDs (R, G, and B). There's no extra space above or below that area for the light to bleed through. Depending on where the projector is in relation to the screen, and how well you've adjusted the image geometry, you can completely fill a 16x9 screen, leaving no black bars on the top, bottom, or sides -- AS LONG AS you're watching a movie with a 16x9 aspect ratio.

Remember that not all movies are 16x9. Some are 1.85:1. Some are 2.35:1. Each of these is wider than 16x9 (which reduces to 1.78:1), so watching these types of films will result in thin black bars on the top and bottom of the screen.

So yeah, what sirquack said....

Actually there is another option, a "Constant Height" setup using a 2.35 screen so all material uses the full height all the time. However, I'm not even going to try to explain that to Jinx.

I think the only solution is to build four home theaters. One for 4:3 material, one for 16x9, one for 1.85:1, and 1 for 2.35:1. To save money, you'd need to use a conveyer belt system to automatically shuttle your Axioms from room to room...

ok. so i should not even consider any projector that can do 4:3..only ones that are native 16:9 right?

You need to ask yourself how you plan to use the projector. If it is for games only or to watch standard television broadcasts, then 4:3 would be fine.

Personally, all of my DVD's are widescreen in 1.85 to 2.35 or more aspect ratio. Plus, I watch a lot of local HD broadcasts(16:9), so it would not make sense to go with 4:3.

If you want black bars to be at a minimum, then 16:9 would be best. Keep in mind though, that if you watch a standard 4:3 tv show or dvd on a 16:9 screen/projector, you'll get bars on the sides.