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do I need blue-ray and full HD tv

post #1 of 8
4/16/09 at 11:00am
Thread Starter 
HI,

I read somewhere that the best distance for watching TV is 3-4 diagonals

My living room have approximately 85 inches watching distance. so if I want 3-4 diagonals my TV should be 21-29 inches.
First of all TV sets in this diagonal range are mostly HD-ready and not FULL HD.

But do I rely need FULL HD resolution for 21-29 inch TV if I don't rely seek perfection.

Secondly...Would blue-ray give much better picture quality than let's say upscaling DVD unit on 21-29 inch TV.

And finally I want opinion on what will happen to DVD in let's say 5-10 year time. will it be complicitly pushed out of the market by blue-ray discs or will the titles still be available on DVDs.

THX very much
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post #2 of 8
4/16/09 at 3:33pm

Re: do I need blue-ray and full HD tv

With a small set like that, Blu-ray is a total waste of money. A standard DVD player is all you need.
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post #3 of 8
4/16/09 at 4:26pm

Re: do I need blue-ray and full HD tv

Quote:
Originally Posted by iiggoorr
HI,

I read somewhere that the best distance for watching TV is 3-4 diagonals

That rule may have been OK for old-fashioned standard TV. For HDTV you should go much bigger, 2-2.5x at most. For 85" viewing distance I would get 40-42" set. 21-29" is way too small, that's more for like computer monitor viewing from 3 feet.

Blu-ray/1080p would look a lot better at the larger size. For the tiny size it wouldn't matter.

Quote:
And finally I want opinion on what will happen to DVD in let's say 5-10 year time. will it be complicitly pushed out of the market by blue-ray discs or will the titles still be available on DVDs
IMO, 5 years DVD will still be here. 10 years they may both be dead or near death (killed by internet).
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post #4 of 8
4/16/09 at 4:37pm

Re: do I need blue-ray and full HD tv

I would say the viewing distance needs to be twice the diagonal measurement of the screen, not three to four times. If you are viewing from 85 inches, you can easily use a 40" - 46" and could most likely run up to 50" if you have the space for it.

In screen sizes like that, you should see a marked improvement switching to Blu-Ray with a HDTV. If you are not wanting to go full 1080p, you could do very well with a 720p flat panel tv such as a Panasonic plasma, or a good LCD. If you can find one, you might even go DLP but they are getting harder to find.

As far as upconverting, if you use a flat panel tv it will automatically upconvert the 480p DVD to it's (the tv's) native resolution, be it 720 or 1080. In such a case, using an upconverting DVD player or a Blu-Ray player for upconverting is redundant and unnecessary. Remember, the DVD will not be in high definition, as it does have it's technical limitations.

Aside from the better picture you will get with Blu-Ray and a good HDTV, there are also the upgraded audio benefits. However I will not go into them, Igor, since that was not part of your original question.
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post #5 of 8
4/16/09 at 7:56pm

Re: do I need blue-ray and full HD tv

Quote:
TV sets in this diagonal range are mostly HD-ready and not FULL HD

I agree with everyone that you should be in the 40-47 range. But just for the record, HD-ready is fully HD, just without a tuner. I'm surprised you're seeing this phrasing anymore.
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post #6 of 8
4/21/09 at 12:27pm

Re: do I need blue-ray and full HD tv

The answer is YES, you will benefit from a blu-ray player, but no you wont benefit from 1080P.

Blu-Rays make the most of your PQ potential. Blu-Ray picture has optimal use of color contrasts.

Full HD (1080P) has more to do with resolution. I like the rule of 2 mentioned earlier. To benefit from 1080P on a 32" monitor, you should be sitting within 64" (5'4") of your set.

this article explains the relationship between resolution and viewing distance
1080p vs. 720p: How does this affect me?
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post #7 of 8
4/28/09 at 5:56am

Re: do I need blue-ray and full HD tv

I really, really hate the fact that the silly marketing term "FULL HD" has taken over. 1080i is "FULL HD" . . . 720p is "FULL HD" . . . they are both listed in the HDTV spec. Matter of fact, the only HD offered over the air is 1080i or 720p, and on a 1080p capable set, there is no difference between a 1080i and 1080p source, as long as the deinterlacer is half-decent.

Not to say that a 1080p set doesn't have advantages, it certainly does (at closer voiewing distances with larger screens, see above). But the use of a misleading term like "FULL HD", as if everything else is "HALF HD" really burns me up.
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post #8 of 8
4/28/09 at 9:47am

Re: do I need blue-ray and full HD tv

You also did not mention a budget and what other equipment you have. If you are just going to be watching TV and an occasional movie – using the TV speakers for sound – then you would probably be better off with a cheap DVD player. If you are going to be going for a full surround system and do a lot of critical viewing (and price does not matter) – then go with the blue ray player.
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