Hi all, I'm currently in the research and design phase of my projector project, and I dont want to make any purchases till I am 100 percent confident that I know what I will need.

Goals:
-My Projector will be replacing my 32" CRT Tube TV that is on it's way to the big sales floor in the sky. As such the Projector will be my primary source for DVD viewing, Digital Television, and Videogaming (LOTS of videogaming).

-I definitely want my projector to be able to display 720p and 1080i hi-definition signals if possible.

-I have a relatively new PC that can be upgraded to an acceptable dedicated HTPC

-I intend for my Projector to take up an approximately 6ft diagonal space on the wall. The width of the room is approximately 12 feet

I've done some preliminary research and already I'm overwhelmed. Here are some of the questions I've come up with so far:

-Is it true that 17 inches is the smallest LCD that is capable of producing 1080i or 720p?

-What is this scaling procedure I am hearing about for 15" models? will it produce an image quality comprable to that of a "True" 720 signal on a 17 inch LCD?

-How difficult is it to adjust the plans of the basic 15" Projector to accomodate a 17" LCD?
I am currently considering the Samsung 712N 17 inch flat panel monitor. is anyone familiar with this model who can advocate for or against this model.

Thanks in advance to any who can assist me in sorting this mess out

Best,
TimeDivided

For HDTV there are basicly two choices 17" LCD 1280x1024 (will do 720p native, 1080i will need to be scaled down to 720p) or go with the WUXGA group buy that Minoten does for a laptop LCD panel and controller that does 1080i/1080p native (1920x1200 (1080i is only 1920x1080) but costs $715. 17" LCD can be gotten for right about $200.

Some of the 15" (1024x768) monitors will accept 720p type signals and scale them down. Is it as good as true 720p, no. Is it good , yes. 15" panels are getting harder to find and you will be happier with true 720p support so I'd suggest 17". 17" is the standard so you can get some pretty good deals these days. If you have the money to spare the WUXGA panel is hard to beat but I think the majority of HDTV content will be 720p for the next few years. 1080i's interlacing and lower frame rate will always limit its ability to show sports and fast movie action, it really needs to become 1080p before the extra pixels will pay off, the PS3 is supposed to do 1080p but there isn't a standard for it yet.

As far a projector placement a 17" would need to be 5.5 feet from the screen with the standard triplet and 8.5 feet for the PRO. As your room is 12 feet and a PRO PJ would need to be 3+ feet long this should fit well.

All the distances are detirmined by the optics so all the length stuff stays the same the box just needs to be about and inch taller and an inch wider to fit the 17".

712N is highly rated, I use one on my computer, its fine but not the best that I've seen and it doesn't support DVI which may help get a better image especially when hooked to a HTPC.

Thanks for the response, that clears up a lot of things for me




Then I think I'll definitely go with 720p for now. Theoretically speaking, I could always upgrade to a WUXGA or 1080p once the prices/availability make them affordable and practical



How feasible is it to mount one of these things on the ceiling? My primary couch is right at the back wall, so it's either that or turn the projector into some sort of fashionable looking coffee table.



So I could still purchase the premade kits available on LL for the 15 inch project, and all that would change is the dimensions of my box?



Do you know of any superior lcd's to the 712N that you would reccomend at the 17 inch size that accomodate DVI input? My absolute price cap on the lcd is 300, though I would prefer to go considerably lower if at all possible. However I do not want to sacrifice quality for a few bucks.

Thanks in advance for all the assistance
TimeDivided

Search the forums there are plent of ceiling mounted projectors, the only issue is keystoning to remove the angle of the projection that makes you image trapazoidal. Keystoneing works upto about 10 degrees, a few have got it to work at upto 15 degrees. Hanging from the ceiling so the center of the lens is inline with the center of the screen is the best as you loose some image quality to the keystoning but that isn't an option for everyone.

As far as the premade kits I'm not sure if you are talking about the box or the lenses. The PRO lens kit will work fine, the fresnels in the standard kit are only large enough to cover a 15" but you can get them elsewhere.

As I said I have a 712N for a desktop monitor and purchased a Benq FP791 off ebay for the PJ, the benq looks much better to me and offers some other cool freatures but I don't think Benq makes it anymore, the other 15"/17" Benq's were popular but then a few people have been complaining about them as they need the circuit boards grounded so they have fallen out of favour somewhat. The Dell FP1702 (03,04) are popular and offer high contrast ratios, the newer Samsungs look good as well as the LG and Hyndai (pretty much anything from Korea). You should be able to find a 17" for right about $200, maybe less, so that shouldn't be a problem.

Thanks again for all the help, I really appreciate it. I think now I can start investing in some parts and get this project on the road!

Muchas Gracias
TimeDivided