720p vs 1080i/1080p

Re: 720p vs 1080i/1080p

HI,

Actually seating distance has a lot to do with whether it makes sense to go for the extra dough for 1080p. However, at this point I would probably opt for the higher resolution to be future proof.

Re: 720p vs 1080i/1080p

I went with the Panasonic TH-50PX75U as the difference in price between it and the 1080p model was about $800. And I didn't see that big of a difference in overall picture from a 1080p source to justify the extra expense. Besides this was just to tide me over for a couple of years when I will be getting an OLED anyway.

Re: 720p vs 1080i/1080p

You know, it's sad to see so many people giving poor advice here. Yes 1080p is better, but that doesn't mean you'll see the difference. No, buying 1080p will not "futureproof" your set (unless you're planning to move into a smaller apartment in the near future, forcing you to sit a lot closer than you currently are). Also, making a decision soley from what you're seeing in a store is generally a bad idea. For one thing, you're probably going to stand a lot closer to the TV in the store than you will sit watching it at home, but there's plenty of other reasons to do further research, too.

It's also good to see sensible advice based on real experience from the mods. Thanks for that.

Re: 720p vs 1080i/1080p

Also, remember, there are good 1080p sets out there, and poorly implemented 1080p sets out there. Just because it's 1080p doesn't automatically mean it's going to look good, it's just going to have less of the screen-door effect depending on how close you stand/sit to the TV set. The more important factors, contrast level, color fidelity, sharpness, brightness all contribute to how good the actual picture looks on the TV set, and you have to do your own research and go stare at the different models and select one to buy based on what's most important to you.

Some folks automatically look only at 1080p models because they feel compelled to mate it to their new Blu-ray player, and that's not a bad strategy in terms of warding off possible buyer's remorse for going with a 720p model, just know that you'll most likely be paying a 25%-50% price premium for the 1080p models that look very good, while lesser 1080p models skimp on the video quality to hit that lower price point to lure prospective buyers looking at 1080p models, and those buyers are settling for less video quality for more resolution that may or may not even be appreciable depending on how close/far they sit to the TV set.

Also, unless you exclusively watch HD DVDs or Blu-rays on your TV set, 1080p isn't going to all that useful on HD content provided by Cable or Satellite or OTA reception, since it'll mostly be 1080i or 720p. Most of today's TVs have good enough de-interlacers to produce consistently good video playback of 1080i content. I tend to watch more programming from TV/Cable/OTA on my TV than HDM. Others will have different viewing habits (mainly DVDs and HDM), and that focus will more likely lead them to go for the 1080p models, and that's okay, too.

As a side-effect of getting older (vision-wise), I'm more into "seeing is believing", and try not to let the numbers solely guide a purchase decision. Given the same budget, I won't remove from consideration a 720p model with very good picture quality over a 1080p model with lesser picture quality, or smaller screen size.

Re: 720p vs 1080i/1080p

This area is subjective. You can crunch the numbers over and over again and it comes down to one simple issue, what it looks like to you. 1080i, 1080p, 720i, 720p I think the difference between 1080i and 720i might be noticeable. But the same numbers between interlaced and progressive well that's a different story especially in HD. Now I just stepped in to real HD, (not scaled to 1080i) but if I had a choice between 1080i or 1080p, I would have to say let me see the comparison. I agree the the difference is probably so small, you may not see the difference. But you determine what looks best for you.
I'll tell you, here is probably one of the best sites to get information you need to help you make a sound decision, but sometimes number crunchers stick by their responses because of the simple saying "numbers don't lie". Yes we know progressive is better than interlaced but at the levels of 1080i, would you see the differerence and the only one who can answer that question is you. It will be hard for any one to do a side by side comparison because the stores are not set upt that way, but if something grabs you follow it.

As I have been recently asking/investigating the same question as the OP, I just wanted to weigh-in as to how much I appreciated the discussion in this thread. 

I don't know if people's opinions or technology have changed much in the year+ since this discussion took place, but there are still some very good information, explanations and opinions within. 

Thank you.

A full explanation on the TV purchase conundrum--including an extensive resolution of the 720p/1080i question.  Click on the diagram once and then again for full resolution.

Excellent flow chart!