resolution and best input for lcd panel???

[leeran]

Hi,
I was a frequent lurker on this and the greenspan forum last fall and decided to go with an OHP/lec panel for viewing. I just stopped back in and am amazed at the progress that has been made!

I have a question for those of you going the panel/ohp route. I am using a Dukane 4000 lumen projector with a proxima panel projected on a plastex screen. I have two proxima panels, one that is 800x600 (model 846+) and the other which is 1024x768 (model 920). I am also using a sima color corrector to get rid of the macrovision problem.

I could theoretically input the video from dvd in several ways and I'm not sure what would give me the best quality viewing.

I have a dvd player with progressive scan so I could use the dvd player hooked up to the s-video input of the panel. I don't think I can take advantage of the progressive scan feature of my dvd player but if I'm wrong please let me know!

Alternatively I could play the dvds on my computer and output the video through either the s-video port or through the monitor port.

Any ideas on which option would result in the highest quality picture?

Also, has anybody else tried out both a 600x800 and 1024x768 panel? I am not really seeing the difference I expected.

Any information would be appreciated. I will post in the panels section with my setup and try to contribute in any way I can!

Thanks,
Lee

 

[woneill]

leeran,

You will see the best results from your panel if you drive it from your pc. There are other discussions about this, but basically, for film material, the pc decoders decode the raw mpeg2 video stream into its true progressive form and scale it properly.

The end result is FAR superior than an NTSC signal that has been de-interlaced and scaled.

Bill.

 

[Nexzus]

Of course, the only problem (or not) with that approach is that you need to have a computer in the same room as the projector.

 

[uvodee]

woneill

Woneill

this is the first time i am fully agreeing with some ones answer on this forum!

i don't know if i should be happy or at rest

 

[Schmanthony]

I've looked into this extensively for the non-PC solution. Progressive scan line doublers are too expensive in my opinion, the cheapest one being the DVDO iScan Plus which consistently sells on Ebay for over $275.

For panels with a resolution higher than 640x480, the DVDO (and some questionable international market DVD players that output straight to VGA) only put out 480 lines, usually, so the benefits of progressive scan might be negligible over a line doubler that outputs at the native resolution for your panel.

I've opted for the TV-4000 from avtoolbox ($129) since it outputs at 640x480, 800x600, and 1024x768 (selectable), and I've opted to avoid progressive scan entirely for my DIY theater project.