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[Dave London]

I'm installing rear projection da-lite plexi glass rp screens for a night club.  The source is music video.  I'm a video DJ and historically the source was 4:3, today its a mix of 4:3 and 16:9 format.  Am I better using 4:3 screens and accepting the empty stripe above and below the image of 16:9 source or should I use 16:9 screens.  If the latter does the 4:3 image fit inside the screen or does it truncate ?

[Collin Donohue]

Dave London wrote on Thu, 21 February 2008 17:22

If the latter does the 4:3 image fit inside the screen or does it truncate ?

It all depends on your source material.  If it's a 4:3 source but it's letterboxed content (16:9), you have two options.  You could stick with 4:3 or go with 16:9 and simply overshoot so that the black bars on the top and bottom aren't shown.  However, if you get 4:3 content on your 4:3 source, you'll be essentially cropping it.

If your source material is 16:9 and the content is 16:9, then I would think that any 4:3 content that's thrown in on it would be pillarboxed (black on sides) and the natural choice is 16:9.

But if it could go either way, I'd say go 16:9, simply for the "cool" factor.  Restaurants and bars don't have 4:3 TV's anymore, they have plasmas/LCDs.  Having a 16:9 RP only makes it that much cooler and bigger.  If you go with 4:3, not only are you looking old, you've also locked yourself out of the future (nearly current) standard of television/video production.

But in the end, it really does depend on what you're getting and what best suits THAT need.

[Brian K Tennyson, CTS-D]

Always 16:9.

A 4:3 image will fit just fine (full height) on a 16:9 screen but a 16:9 image will always have to be letterboxed on a 4:3 screen.

16:9 is now the standard.





Unless it 16:10 (which should really be 8:5) or SXGA which is 5:4, or slide format which is 1.25:1 unless its landscape. But hey at least we have settled on HDMI as the standard connector to end all connectors. Unless you need locking then display type.........

[Karl P(eterson)]

Brian Kent Tennyson wrote on Fri, 22 February 2008 10:23

But hey at least we have settled on HDMI as the standard connector to end all connectors. Unless you need locking then display type.........

Or unless you need a stable, working, format in which case you go with HDSDI........

Karl P

[Dave London]

My content is music video and its a mixed bag, even the new stuff is 50% 4:3 and the 16:9 content does seem to differ in shape.  When you say source you mean projector ? and content is the data file ?

[Collin Donohue]

When I say source I mean what the device is that is feeding the projector and by content I mean the videos themselves.

If it's a 50/50 mix, I'd say go with 16:9... as time goes by, the world's going to become more and more widescreen, and you would probably want to take a step forward instead of staying still at 4:3.

[Karl P(eterson)]

Collin Donohue wrote on Mon, 25 February 2008 13:32

as time goes by, the world's going to become more and more widescreen

And then some stupid company is going to start the super-scope fad and here we all go again.........


Karl P

[Dave London]

When I connect a NEC WT projector to my laptop video DJ software I get the following.  
The laptop shows a 4:3 control screen.  
The 4:3 content fits perfectly in the control screen.  On the projector screen, the image is shown as normal 4:3
the 16:9 content shows as the same 'width' a the 4:3 content but a smaller 'height' ie letterboxed with horizontal black stripes top and bottom.
my problem is that I do ant to buy 16:9 rear proj screen to look modern BUT the 4:3 content will be cropped and I will loose top and bottom. what I want is for the 4:3 content to fit 'inside' the 16:9 screen with black stripes vertical and left and right.
I consulted the messgae boards of my software "Virtual DJ" and was told that the native software wil lnot do what I want.  There is a plug in called ScrrenStretcher but some say there is a degradation in quality.  The best solution seems to be a sony dsc 1024 but its expensive at $6k.
could anyone offer other ideas or confirm what I state here is correct ?

[Dave London]

I'm a video DJ, my video content is sometimes 4:3, sometimes 16:9  .  I want to use 16:9 physical screens.  apparently in order to get my 4:3 content to fit inside the 16:9 screen ( with vertical black stripes left and right) i need to use a sony dsc 1024 .  Are there other alternatives to this.  Its not cheap for me.

[Dave London]

it appears my 'source' ie the laptop software, is 4:3, the content is both 4:3 and 16:9.  this is a problem, the 16:9 fits inside the 4:3 frame, I want it the other way around where the 4:3 fits inside the 16:9 frame - ideas welcome