Yup...if your like 2-3 feet away...then MAYBE you would notice differences in SD vs. any form of Hi-Def....beyond that, on a CRT, odds are the diffferences will be slim between SD DVD and Hi-def DVD's.
I have an XBR960 (in addition to a front projector). This is truly a reference-quality monitor and I've seen several of them at video production houses around town (which is where I first saw one and knew I had to have it.)
All the chatter about screen size and NOT being able to garner the benefits of HD is a load of misinformation. On the Sony the difference between SD and HD is abundantly evident at any distance from 0-15 feet, easily. Both increased pixel and color resolution is plain to see.
THE XBR960, at best, can resolve 1440 x1000 thanks to it's super fine pitch tube
The xbr970 has no super fine pitch tube so it's resolution is much lower.
Hd-DVD would look better on the970 (compared) to sd-dvd say due to the abscence of mosquito noise, ringing etc, but it wouldn't be a night and day difference not by a long shot
Even with the LG slim-tune 30FS4D, which is not great as HDTVs go, the difference between broadcast HD and broadcast 16:9 SD is clear. It's an increased sensation of realism in the picture, an increase in clarity.
Incidentally, the shadowmask sampling in a tricolour kinescope is not absolute. In other words, if the electron beam is properly focussed, there can be contrast changes smaller than the size of a shadowmask element. They're not as strong, but the overall effect is of a shelf in response at the spatial frequency of the mask combined with a notch right around it, not a complete rolloff.
The XBR 960 is an AMAZING TV. I rememeber just a few years back when a 4x3 36" set was considered BIG. The 34" XBR for a WS image has more pic. real estate. And you don't have to be 3 feet away.
The impact of the effect is difficult to determine, theoretically, because the distance between the different colour grains is greater than the little area on which the effect is realized.
Nevertheless, it means that some of the higher resolution must be noticeable.
Okay, I'm in. I just bought the XBR970 for $948 at Best Buy. I'll live without flat panel and 1080P for awhile. I think it's going to seem kind of small compared to what's out there, but it's still a BIG upgrade from my two 27" TVs.