What is the 'Native resolution' of a projector, and why do many advertise higher resolutions than the naitive?

In the title, it advertises 1080p resolution, however, if you scroll down, you'll see in the description:

Resolution: 800*480RGB 
Support Resolution: 1280x 1080p

The top line describes the Native resolution. Why does the native resolution differ from the supported resolution? when I input the 1280 x 1080, does the resolution turn to a true 1280 x 1080, or is it simply spoofing me? Are there any other performance quirks to turning the resolution up?

tuskiomi

Posted 2017-07-20T17:25:39.237

Reputation: 897

$69.99 - you get what you pay for. – Eugen Rieck – 2017-07-20T17:33:33.470

@EugenRieck here's one that's 100$ more, that does the same thing, more or less, but has an 800p resolution instead https://www.amazon.com/CiBest-Efficiency-Multimedia-Entertainment-Smartphone/dp/B01N671TK4/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1500571016&sr=1-1&refinements=p_36%3A1253506011

– tuskiomi – 2017-07-20T17:35:59.177

Answers

Why does the native resolution differ from the supported resolution?

Because there is more than just one type of resolution. You're conflating the different types of resolutions.

The input (aka "support") resolution(s) indicate what the projector/display will accept. Naive users only look for the maximum input resolution, but you should check for support of every possible resoluion that you might use.

The native resolution is the actual number of pixels that the display can generate.
When the input resolution is larger, then the input has to be downscaled.
When the input resolution is smaller, then the input has to be upscaled.
When the input resolution matches the native resolution, no scaling is performed and you get an accurate 1:1 mapping.

You actually need to know all the specs, not just one number. The native resolution may be considered more important to picture quality, but the quality of the scalers and support for the input resolution(s) that you want to use are just as salient.

sawdust

Posted 2017-07-20T17:25:39.237

Reputation: 14 697

do the scaling qualities matter if its 1:1 input : native? – tuskiomi – 2017-07-20T19:22:55.090

1No scaling is involved at all when input matches the native resolution, so its quality is then not an issue. – sawdust – 2017-07-20T19:27:16.677

To the end user, there's really only one kind of resolution: the result that they see projected onto the screen or wall. Other "resolutions" should actually be called "supported inputs", because those are processed and handled as inputs rather than resolutions. ALL projectors do some sort of scaling or processing of that raw input - they need to at least adjust for the black levels, and adjustment is required for any changes to the hue, saturation, color balance, or any other settings the user has made. This kind of misleading advertising is far less common with TVs, for good reason. – user3685427 – 2017-11-25T14:44:14.943

@user3685427 "To the end user, there's really only one kind of resolution.." -- That kind of user is called naive. Madison Ave. is well aware that most consumers want just one attribute/number to use for comparing products, e.g. "resolution" or screen size, to determine which is "better". "ALL projectors do some sort of scaling or processing..." -- You're conflating two distinct operations. I have HD CRT projects that do not perform any scaling. – sawdust – 2017-11-25T23:27:41.397

Why does the native resolution differ from the supported resolution?

There are different reasons why a company does this. Probably to reduce the costs. Answering this question is a matter of opinion and that is considered off-topic here on SuperUser.

when I input the 1280 x 1080, does the resolution turn to a true 1280 x 1080, or is it simply spoofing me?

When you use a 1080p resolution, the image will display every 2nd line and every second column. It will use the 800x480 resolution, but display content with a higher resolution. So you will see pixels 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, ... etc. but not 2, 4, 6, 8, ... etc.

For presentations, this usually is not a big problem. For movies it isn't either. For small text, its going to be a problem.

LPChip

Posted 2017-07-20T17:25:39.237

Reputation: 42 190

You can mirror output from a 1280x1080p display so you can work in the higher resolution while the projector puts out a reduced resolution version of what the presenter is seeing rather than having to reduce both screens to the projector's native resolution.

Ryan Grange

Posted 2017-07-20T17:25:39.237

Reputation: 56