OK, I have ordered the Pro Lens Kit. Now I need to decide on an LCD monitor. I was going to go after a 17" 1280x1024 pixel monitor because all the 19" monitors are also 1280x1024 pixels so I would have no better resolution just more light--and from everything I read on the forum, light really doesn't seem to be a problem.

So, I started to calculate the size box I would need, wow, about 4 feet long. I looked at the dimensions of the new pro fresnels and they are very close to 17"x16". So will a 20.1" LCD work with the lens set. The 20.1" LCD is 1600x1200 pixels (0.255mm pixel pitch) so the LCD pixel area is 16.1"x12.1" The height of the fresnels is plenty to allow for keystone adjustment. Will there be a problem with edge brightness or focus?

I can buy a new Dell UltraSharp 2001FP unit for $720.00, it has a spec'd contrast ratio of 400:1. Response time, rise or fall, not given - makes me wonder. It has 4 video input ports total: Connector Type: 1 x 15-pin D-sub, 1 x 24-pin Digital DVI-D, 1 x S-Video, 1 x Composite Video. That was the first unit I looked at.

So, is there any reason, I shouldn't try this?

In the meantime, the garage conversion to a media room proceeds. Is it time for me to start a PLOG for the whole project and not just the projector? Or should I have a plog for the media room/audio and a separate one for the projector?...or only do the projector?

I dunno if it'll fit, but you got VGA, DVI and the analog inputs so from that standpoint it's right on!

Found some reviews on the web. The response time is spec'd at 16 msec. Quite fast. (I'm referring to the Dell monitor.) Now I am really hoping that the optics will work with this.

Should work fine.

the dell 2100fp is quite a nice monitor. i purchased two awhile ago. it has an LG
panel inside, true 24 bit with a very very fast response time. it doesn't have the fine
dot pitch of the SGI, slightly fuzzy in comparison, but i don't think it would matter
for projection much. the great thing is the rca, svideo, inputs work well. the internal
scaling does a very good job. i just don't have the heart to pry open my case just
yet to see if it has cable issues. if it doesn't, that monitor would be the way to go
at 1600x1200. it's a bargin at the low dell prices. the 400.1 cr is a low dell spec. the
mgf spec is higher. all the best, tony

Personnally I think this reolution is overkill. Best price/resolution ratio is actually 1280x1024 on a 17'' LCD.

Why would you want to have a larger image than a 140'' ?

erm, i use pc's a heck of a lot (hi my names james, i'm a geek) and personally find it a squeeze in anything less than 1600x1200, at work i've got duel montors of 1024x768 each, at home i've got a 16x12 and a 1280x1024 stuck together but often if am doing a lot of windows stuff i'll jack the main screen up to 2048, its all about having achers of desktop space to put things on rather than having them all stacked up. However for a projector this is probably not as important but still i allways like to go for the highest res poss, regardless of actuall physical screen size.

hi cbr-man, i don't think it is even close to overkill, the higher the res the better.
1600 pixels spread out over an 8' wide screen is very crude compared to the image
you get when using your computer monitor 2' away.

i also use two 1600x1200 monitors side by side. also these monitors are only
about 95 dpi quite crude for detail work, double that density would be nice.
so if you wanted to match the image quality you see on your screen 2' away, you
would need an lcd with many times the pixel count of 1600. line art, cad
drawings, photoshop work all look pretty bad when blown up large. if anything,
it would be nice if more mfg's made higher dpi density monitors for consumer market.
heck, i have tried my sgi 1600 dpi as a projector on a 5' wide screen for my desktop,
doesn't compare to triple 20" monitors. what i would like right now is a single 60" screen
at 200 dots per inch, thats 12,000 pixels LOL it is not always about size, but the quality.
i'm starting to appreciate the big jump in quality by running smaller screens say 5' wide
even with my 1600dpi lcd panel. it never get better than the original monitor, just much
much worse as you blow it up made into a projector.