HD - 1080 or 720? (1 Viewer)

[First HT]

As a novice/casual viewer will the difference between 720 and 1080 really be THAT noticeable? Right now my biggest/best TV is a SD 36" CRT. I have friends who have the Panasonic PT-AX100 (last year's model I believe) and it looks great to me, so I'm considering the PT-AX200. Mostly I like the price, but will I be selling myself short by not opting for a model with 1080 resolution? Also, what about interlaced vs progressive? I understand the technical differece, but again, visually is it REALLY that noticeable? If the difference is only noticeable to scietific equipment in a laboratory, then I think I'm fine with whichever is least expensive. Don't mean to set off a heated debate here, just tring to figure out how big of a deal it is. Thanks!

 

[Brent Hutto]

For any given size screen it depends almost entirely on how close you're sitting and what you're watching. Comparing side-by-side 50" plasmas in the store, I found that at about 7-1/2 feet at certain moments I could detect more detail in a 1920x1080p display than in the 1366x768p right next to it. But just barely. Moving back to nine feet I couldn't see any difference but suspect you might be able to catch a glimpse on a well-calibrated TV in a dark room playing Blu-Ray content.

So my advice is if you're sitting more than 2-1/2 screen widths away from the screen (for example that's nine feet on a 50" TV) forget about it. The 720p will be indistinguishable unless you have a calibrated eyeball and great content to watch, and maybe even then. If you're up around 2 screen width or a little more there probably is a difference but you still won't see it on most material. And if you're sitting closer than two screen widths (screen width on a 50" widescreen is about 43-1/2 inches) away you probably ought to move back a bit!

 

[Brian D H]

Your observations and conclusions are spot on.

I sit 9 feet from a 50" display and bought a 720P for the exact same reasons.

Here's a chart that shows how it works based on 20/20 vision.

Chart: 1080P Does Matter - CarltonBale.com

 

[Marcprojo]

about to buy my first projector. Dilem: 720p or 1080p... My screen will have to be ~355cm Diagonal (180cm height - 300 cm weight).. And I would prefer the projected media be stretched to fill as much as possible my screeen wether it's 4:3 content or 16:9 content.... What would you do?? 1080p or 720p ?

 

[Jeff Gatie]

FIrst of all, I would never stretch 4:3 material to fill the screen.

Second, as was clearly stated above, the ability of the eye to resolve detail is directly related to the size of the screen vs. the distance from the screen. According to the chart above, at your screen size (~355 cm diagonal = ~142"), you would not see any benefits from 1080p until you sit 750cm (25 ft) from the screen, and will not get the full benefit of 1080p until you sit 450cm (15 ft) from the screen.

Bottom line, if you are sitting back any farther than 750cm, then 720p looks just like 1080p from a resolution standpoint. At that distance you are better off saving the difference in money, or getting a higher qualiy 720p for your dollar.

 

[Marcprojo]

Thanks for precision Jeff, Did you meant to say "I would not see any benefits from 720p unil [...], not 1080p?"

I will be sitting 16 feet from my screen. My conclusion, according to the chart above let me think I would see most benefits from a 1080p. Is that correct ?
I will

 

[Jeff Gatie]

No. i meant that the benefits of 1080p begin at 750cm and peak at 450cm. At 16ft, you would benefit greatly from 1080p and I personally would not buy a 720p.

 

[DaveF]

So if the typical person is buying a TV 55" or smaller and 10' or farther from it, the suggests the whole HD conversion is potentially a massive waste of time and money. It suggest for this case, that 1080p is unresolvable, and 720p TV is more than sufficient, and perhaps even normal SD is adequate.

I think the chart is a simple geometric calculation based on pixel size and basic angular visual resolution, but that's a pretty fair estimate.