WXGA vs XGA

<p>I will be projecting photos displayed in lightroom on my macbook pro. Will I notice a significant sifference in IQ of a wxga projector vs and xga projector? I am looking at Epson EX 7200 (WXGA, 5.1 lbs) vs Powerlite 1751W (XGA, 3.7lbs)<br>

I have to carry the projector and the laptop across the world, and would rather go a for a lighter system for same cost. If WXGA offers a significant improvement then I will spend the extra money.</p>

<p>According to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphic_display_resolutions#WXGA_.281280.C3.97768.29">this article at Wikipedia</a>, Both are spec'd at 768 pixels high (4x3 aspect ratio), but the XGA is 1024 pixels wide, and the WXGA is 1280 (5x3 aspect ratio). The "W" is for widescreen. If you want to project the photos widescreen, get the WXGA.</p>

<p>But the more important number to note is the actual pixel dimensions, which may be slightly different than what is above. WXGA has several variant sizes, as there is no clear standard.</p>

<p>In any case, what you would likely want to do for straight projection (you won't be zooming in on the images), would be to optimize the photos for the size of the projection device. I've done this for various things in Aperture, creating different versions that I crop for different aspect ratios (HDTV, photo frame, desktop background for different size monitors, etc.). Then I'll export them to that particular pixel size rather than depend upon a conversion I have no control over in the display device.</p>

<p>If you did plan to zoom in on the images, you might want to think about creating another version, also optimized for the device that focuses on the portion of the frame you want to look at in more detail.</p>

<p>Optimizing the pictures before you send them to the projector will likely have a far greater effect on the IQ of the pictures than the display device.</p>