I am looking to build a 720p projector, I like the look of the 14.1" TFT from Geeks.com, unfortunately it is 1280x800, thus a pretty nice 10% stretch will happen on true 16:9 content, and I want to be able to play game systems and possibly DVD players on this without problems.

I notice the very nice transcoder plans that are available, I like to think that it is possible to get a box that will allow me to put 1280x720 into it from Y/Pr/Pb or RGB/VGA and give me 1280x800 (or 1280x1024, should I decide to use my 17" monitor), with all the extra lines being blank.

It seems such a simple thing, yet everyone has dropped the ball, I am looking keenly at the ($300 ), 10.6" panels, but that would be stretching my budget, and if it stretches my image too, then forget it.

The MST controller seems to have a scale setting, but I can't get any news on whether it will give me the 1:1 pixel scaling I want.

I am a hard-core tinkerer, not an electrical engineer, so please chime in with your ideas.

My plan requires a transcoder circuit from Y/Pr/Pb to VGA, and then a device to grab the signal coming in inject extra top and bottom lines of resolution into it without affecting the video. I need to do this because LCD manufacturers continue to scale all incoming video to fill the screen, whether that is a good idea or not.

Is there a processor that can handle this sort of thing? Either a micro-controller or a video chip of some sort?

Ideally this box should incorporate a line-doubler for Composite and S-Video, which I think the transcoder chip available might already do. Even nicer would be a mode to add vertical dead columns of pixels to 4:3 content with a line doubler to effect Standard definition content viewing on a higher res panel.

Of course if I am just being crazy here let me know, also if there is already such a box, I would love to get one, currently $180 is within the budget.

Note that I do not want a scaling box, I want 720p to come in and then 1280x800 or 1280x1024 to leave, with letter-boxing making up the blank pixels and maintaining the aspect ratio and pixel-for-pixel resolution.

Also nice would be a doubling/scaling mode on the S-Video and Composite input, just in case I needed to use them.

Bumping this because im quite interested to hear any answers thrown out here...

Anyone?

Sorry, the only thing I have found is the Geffen VGA -2-dvi models, they offer RGB/YPrPb/YCrCb to VGA/DVI

If you get the proper model it offers scaling and aspect. Of course it is on the other side of $200 and doesn't d0 S-Video or composite.

But the menu offers many options of input and output, and all three scaling modes of note: 1:1 (unscaled), Stretched w/aspect intact (black bars), stretched (aspect may be distorted).

I like the idea, unfortunately they offer no models that do S-Video to VGA, just the latest HDMI/Component box will include S-Video, and it is very expensive.