Business & Home Theater Projector Primer: Native Resolution & Aspect Ratio

Published January 29, 2016

You probably know something about screen resolution and aspect ratio from buying your computer, laptop or tablet. It’s not that much different for home theater and business projectors.

Native resolution is the actual number of pixels in the display. Pixels are the key to image quality. The higher the numbers, the higher the detail. But more isn’t necessarily better. Here’s a quick overview of native resolutions found in projectors. Keep in mind that higher resolution units may carry a higher price.

• SVGA (800 x 600): Good choice for cost-conscious buyers, especially those using the projector with older computers. It’s adequate for plain text and simple graphics, like a basic slide presentation or digital signage application.

• XGA (1024 x 768): Ideal for users of native XGA laptops. Now the budget standard, an XGA projector ensures you replicate the small screen experience on the bigger screen. It’s sufficient for text and most simple graphics. 

• WXGA (1280 x 800): Recommended for use with midrange wide-screen laptops with same resolution. Appropriate for wide-screen high-definition text, sophisticated graphics and 720p images and video. 

• SXGA+ (1400 x 1050): Perfect for high-detail content like photography and data graphics. This popular resolution is available in budget and high-end configurations.

• UXGA (1600 x 1200): Best for high-resolution workstation applications with lots of information or detail, and for users who need to support a lot of different computers and content sources.

• WUXGA (1920 x 1200): Suitable for buyers with no budget. This wide-screen format natively displays both WUXGA and 1080p HD signals, and comes at a higher price point.

 

Aspect ratio illustrates the relationship between the width and height of your projection surface and your source content. It’s important to match your screen's aspect ratio with your projector’s so you don’t display wide-screen content in a standard format, which distorts the images.

• 4:3 (standard resolution) is similar to a square. Older computers and analog (VCR) video sources use this aspect ratio, as do SVGA and XGA projectors.

• 16:9 is a more rectangular format that’s great for high-definition content, like Blu-ray discs or input from 1080p/Full HD devices. 

• 16:10 is recommended for projecting from newer wide-screen laptops.

Here are some recommendations for various scenarios:

• Home Theater. High-quality content requires high-quality projection. Choose a high-definition, high-resolution projector like a top-of-the-line 1080p or WUXGA unit with HDMI output. These models deliver the clearest and sharpest picture quality and are the best choice for displaying content from Blu-ray, upscaling DVD or 1080p devices. WUXGA (1920 x 1200) is the best true wide-screen resolution currently available, and is excellent for everything from data and sophisticated graphics to 1080p HD images and video. Explore home theater projectors. 

• Small Office and Conference Room. Any of the formats can be used for business use. Consider the visual quality of the content you project most, and the native resolution and aspect ratio of the devices you connect to. Then select a projector with the dimensions that optimize your content and viewer experience. Explore business and mobile projectors.

• Gaming. Wide-screen projectors are the best choices for gaming, and for content you prefer to display in a wide aspect ratio. Explore WXGA and WUXGA projectors.

Learn more in the Staples Business & Home Theater Projector Buyer’s Guide.