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Old 05-14-2009, 12:47 PM   #1
Glelas Glelas is offline
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Default Is this statement true?

My coworker made another statement this morning and I was wondering if it has any validity.

"At normal seating/viewing distance the average person cannot see the difference between 720p and 1080p."

Any truth to this?
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Old 05-14-2009, 12:49 PM   #2
Another_Dude Another_Dude is offline
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What is "normal" seating distance and what size display are we talking about?
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Old 05-14-2009, 12:52 PM   #3
K_Williamson42 K_Williamson42 is offline
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Go to your local electronics store, lots of places around here do a side by side setup so you can see the difference between the 2, its definitely worth spending a little extra cash and getting a 1080p....its a night and day picture difference!
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Old 05-14-2009, 12:54 PM   #4
Beta Man Beta Man is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Another_Dude View Post
What is "normal" seating distance and what size display are we talking about?
yes.... It's like asking "If two cars leave, one from point A, one from point B, which one will get to point C first"

There is so much other information that is needed to answer that..... (speed, car/fuel/stops/where point A,B,C are etc )

But in many cases... people can tell the difference.....
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Old 05-14-2009, 12:55 PM   #5
koontz1973 koontz1973 is offline
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You friend makes me and wants his . He needs some serious glasses.

Look on the home page and read the report on I tunes V.s. Blu. People CAN tell the difference at a normal viewing distance on a normal size TV.
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Old 05-14-2009, 01:01 PM   #6
StimpsonJCat StimpsonJCat is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Another_Dude View Post
What is "normal" seating distance and what size display are we talking about?
+1

The size of the display is a huge factor in this.
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Old 05-14-2009, 01:03 PM   #7
pEgLeG pEgLeG is offline
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I have a friend that claims to not be able to see the difference. To me it's night and day, and he supposedly has 20/20 vision (though mine is 20/10), I'm not sure if he really can't see the difference, or if he just says that because he doesn't want to fork over the extra cash for better picture over a bigger screen size.
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Old 05-14-2009, 01:03 PM   #8
xtop xtop is offline
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didn't you already try one of these type of threads?

seems like you're just trying to get a rise out of people
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Old 05-14-2009, 01:11 PM   #9
Glelas Glelas is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by xtop View Post
didn't you already try one of these type of threads?

seems like you're just trying to get a rise out of people
Seriously I am not.

He is adamant when he makes these claims. And I want as many views as possible. This is the best place to get it.

Also, I will try and see what he meant by "normal viewing distance."
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Old 05-14-2009, 01:40 PM   #10
Beta Man Beta Man is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Glelas View Post
Seriously I am not.

He is adamant when he makes these claims. And I want as many views as possible. This is the best place to get it.

Also, I will try and see what he meant by "normal viewing distance."
Cut and paste from the thread I have a link to..... and send him an email..... this will be some precautionary fodder for you

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=93817



edit:

[Show spoiler] Does this guy bag groceries at the place you work
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Old 05-14-2009, 02:12 PM   #11
kpkelley kpkelley is offline
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At least in this study people could tell the difference between 720P Itunes downloads versus 1080P Blu-ray movies.
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Old 05-14-2009, 02:16 PM   #12
andyman1970 andyman1970 is offline
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Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Glelas View Post
My coworker made another statement this morning and I was wondering if it has any validity.

"At normal seating/viewing distance the average person cannot see the difference between 720p and 1080p."

Any truth to this?
It's only true if you're setting 10+ feet away and the screen is under 50 inches. Anything larger you will certainly see the difference.
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Old 05-14-2009, 02:19 PM   #13
connect42 connect42 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by xtop View Post
didn't you already try one of these type of threads?

seems like you're just trying to get a rise out of people
Before we get into a "this thread sucks" fight ... if you don't like this thread then simply don't take the time to post in it.

Also, the others are right. It depends on where you are sitting, how biig the screen is, are you wearing glasses, do you need lasik, etc.

Last edited by connect42; 05-14-2009 at 02:22 PM.
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Old 05-14-2009, 02:22 PM   #14
bajor27 bajor27 is offline
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obviously there isn't anything completely official, but I've always been under the impression that 'normal viewing distance' was 1.5x the screen width for HD televisions.

I would assume that's what he meant, but obviously the screen size will have a huge role in whether people can tell the difference or not, with it being easier to tell, the larger the screen gets
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Old 05-14-2009, 08:42 PM   #15
allknowingavpro allknowingavpro is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Glelas View Post
My coworker made another statement this morning and I was wondering if it has any validity.

"At normal seating/viewing distance the average person cannot see the difference between 720p and 1080p."

Any truth to this?
Let's take this a step further, what is "normal viewing/seating distance"? If you want to get metaphysical about the topic, what is normal for 1 individual may not be normal for another. It comes down to personal preference.

Last edited by Beta Man; 05-14-2009 at 11:39 PM. Reason: rude
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Old 05-14-2009, 11:39 PM   #16
Beta Man Beta Man is offline
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You know it's going to get "Live" in here when we get Metaphysical

either way, OP.... Google can probably answer all of these questions ..... but a quick search on this forum will probably answer them much more accurately.
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Old 05-15-2009, 12:03 AM   #17
Rblu-Dblu Rblu-Dblu is offline
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You cant tell a difference if youre talking about a 10" screen from normal distance. I can tell a difference in the picture quality between my 1080p tv and my 1080i tv.
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Old 05-15-2009, 12:05 AM   #18
Clark Kent Clark Kent is offline
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If you move far enough back from the display, any resolution can look the same. 1080p and 480p are barely indistinguishable...at a viewing distance of twenty feet or more. While the standard recommended viewing distance is 1.5 screen-widths, THX recommends a little closer like 1.0 screen-widths for optimal viewing of 1080p sources.
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Old 05-15-2009, 12:16 AM   #19
BluLobsta BluLobsta is offline
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I also have a co-worker who says she can't see the difference between Blu-Ray and DVD Sometimes it's all a matter of perspective. I can DEFINITELY tell the difference big-time. If it looks better to you, that's all that matters, and then you can justify spending obscenely large amounts of money on it (like I do)
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Old 05-15-2009, 12:45 AM   #20
werewuf werewuf is offline
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It also depends on the TV. I have a Kuro 768p that will kill most 1080P LCD tv's. I have a Samsung 46 650 and my wife prefers the Kuro, so there is more criteria to consider than just numbers.

From Cnet:
9. Side by side, how do 720p and 1080p TVs match up in head-to-head tests?

We spend a lot of time looking at a variety of source material on a variety of TVs in our video lab here at CNET's offices in New York. When I wrote my original article over three years ago, many 1080p TVs weren't as sharp as they claimed to be on paper. By that, I mean a lot of older 1080p sets couldn't necessarily display all 2 million-plus pixels in the real world--technically, speaking, they couldn't "resolve" every line of a 1080i or 1080p test pattern.

That's changed in the last few years. Virtually all 1080p sets are now capable of fully resolving 1080i and 1080p material, though not every 1080p TV is created equal. As our resident video guru, Senior Editor David Katzmaier explains in his HDTV resolutions feature, Blu-ray serves up another video format, 1080p/24, and not every TV properly displays 1080p/24. The 24 refers to the true frame rate of film-based content, and displaying it in its native format is supposed to give you a picture exactly as the director intended you to see it (for a full explanation, click here).

Whether you're dealing with 1080p/24 or standard 1080p/60, doesn't alter our overall views about 1080p TVs. We still believe that when you're dealing with TVs 50 inches and smaller, the added resolution has only a very minor impact on picture quality. In our tests, we put 720p (or 768p) sets next to 1080p sets, then feed them both the same source material, whether it's 1080i or 1080p, from the highest-quality Blu-ray player. We typically watch both sets for a while, with eyes darting back and forth between the two, looking for differences in the most-detailed sections, such as hair, textures of fabric, and grassy plains. Bottom line: It's almost always very difficult to see any difference--especially from farther than 8 feet away on a 50-inch TV.

I said so much in a 2006 column I wrote called "The case against 1080p," but some readers knocked us for not looking at high-end TVs in our tests. But the fact is, resolution is resolution, and whether you're looking at a Sony or a Westinghouse, 1080p resolution--which relates to picture sharpness--is the same and is a separate issue from black levels and color accuracy.

Katzmaier stands by his previous analysis: The extra sharpness afforded by the 1080p televisions he's seen is noticeable only when watching 1080i or 1080p sources on a larger screens, say 55 inches and bigger, or with projectors that display a wall-size picture. Katzmaier also says that the main real-world advantage of 1080p is not the extra sharpness you'll be seeing, but instead, the smaller, more densely packed pixels. In other words, you can sit closer to a 1080p television and not notice any pixel structure, such as stair-stepping along diagonal lines, or the screen-door effect (where you can actually see the space between the pixels). This advantage applies regardless of the quality of the source.

Link:
http://reviews.cnet.com/720p-vs-1080p-hdtv/
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