SVGA, XGA, SXGA. What does resolution mean?

Projectors, LCD/Plasma panels are pixel based displays. This means that - unlike CRT displays - they have a native resolution. Whilst the vast majority of these displays are capable of scaling non-native resolutions that are fed to them, it is generally best if you use the projectors native resolution. The current standard for business presentations is "XGA" or 1024*768 (the number of columns * lines) with "WXGA" (WideXGA) starting to make inroads as pricing drop. WideXGA is useful from the point of view that most modern laptops use widescreen monitors so the aspect ratio of a WXGA projector will match that of the laptop.

For a full list of standard resolutions see "Resolution" in our glossary.