Let's Talk Home Theater Projectors and Resolution

When shopping for a home theater projector, resolution may be the most important spec to understand.

What is Resolution?

Simply defined, resolution refers to the number of lines of image displayed on the screen. The greater the resolution, the greater the picture quality.

"Fixed" Resolution

Projectors usually come with fixed resolutions, meaning regardless of the quality of the signal they receive, they can only output in one resolution. Here's an example: a XGA (1024 x 768) projector that receives an HD (1920 x 1080) signal must shrink the information so it outputs in the 1024 x 768 format.

Today's home theater projectors come in different fixed resolutions including XGA (1024 x 768), WXGA (1280 x 800), HD (1920 x 1080) and, every once in a while, 4K (4096 x 2160). HD is the most popular format.