Yes, it is the fun that
projector manufacturers and
monitor manufacturers don't see eye to eye.
Of course, a direct view
monitor is physically different than a device projecting a very
image from a postage stamp sized chip and both the manufacturing and applications associated with each are significant factors. For example, a
monitor operated in portrait mode is much more common than a
projector used in portrait mode. And resolutions such as 1920x1080 and 1600x1200 are more difficult and/or more expensive to
address when dealing with physically smaller devices. I have also found that the 4:3 (1.33:1) format of
NTSC video and the 11" x 8-1/2" (1:1.29) and 17" x 8-1/2" (1:2) format of standard paper sizes have been major factors in the resolutions and formats offered for projectors and monitors.
LCD and plasma TVs along with the
convergence of entertainment and information displays have definitely blurred that traditional division.
1400x1050 was always an odd resolution to me, a 4:3 native format that is 1400x787.5 for 16:9 format images and 1400x875 for 16:10 format images. It was driven by the computer industry, especially laptops, and I never understood why
projector manufacturers so widely adopted it other than perhaps being readily available in
LCD,
DLP and LCoS forms at a good price. I also never understood 1280x1024 SXGA with its 5:4 format, although it at least directly related to 1280x720 (720p HD) and doubling the 640x480 resolution of
VGA, or the progression to 1400x1050 SXGA+ with the format then changing to 4:3 and not matching any other standard resolution either horizontally or vertically. I think both, especially SXGA+, were somewhat a result of a 'more is better' mentality and the production capabilities of the times they were popular.
We do have to
face the reality that the consumer market drives many things related to video displays and manufacturers there are always looking to create a market for the latest and greatest and that market drives the prices. To them SXGA+ probably filled a niche for greater 'HD' resolutions while also supporting 4:3 content until higher res displays and/or widescreen formats became more
practical and/or more common. At one
point they could 'upsell' 1400x1050 over 1024x768
VGA, then later 'upsell' you again to 1600x1200, 1920x1080, 1920x1200,
etc. Now that the higher res and widescreen formats are popular, the demand for resolutions like 1400x1050 has dropped, thus the per
unit cost to produce and support them went up making them less attractive to sell or manufacture.