1080p worth it at 40 inches? (looking for a tv)

[raginranger]

Hello,

As part of my ongoing quest to help my Dad buy a good tv, I am once again requesting help from my fellow blu-ray.com members. He seems to be set on a 40 " LCD from either Sony or Samsung. Since some people on this site have expressed the opinion that the difference between 720p and 1080p is not important until you hit the 50 " range, I am posting this thread to ask what you all think about 40 " LCD's and if 1080p is necessary. It is quite a big price increase so if you all feel 720p is just as good at this size, then he could save some bucks and get both a 720p LCD and a blu-ray player also for about the same price as a 1080p. Also, if you feel both resolutions are more or less equal at this size, would it be better to get the Sony Bravia 40" 720p over the Samsung 1080p considering Sony has the best reputation for HDTV's?

Thanks in advance,

bryan

[coolmilo]

This is 2007 (almost 2008). You'd be crazy not to buy a 1080P 40" LCD as part of a new purchase. I have a 40" Sony XBR2 and I can really tell a difference between a 1080i or 720P signal and a 1080P signal. I would buy 1080P for anything over 37 inches.

I strongly recommend the Sony XBR4 40 in LCD. Your father will enjoy this purchase for years to come.

[raginranger]

Have you tried watching a blu-ray at 720p, and then shifting your settings to 1080p and judging the difference? I would be interested to hear your opinion in that regard. If you are saying that a blu-ray at 1080p is much better than a 720p Television program then it probably has alot to do with the bitrate as well as the resolution. I'm just asking for clarification purposes and just wondering if you've tested the difference much.

thanks

[mugen302005]

Originally Posted by coolmilo

This is 2007 (almost 2008). You'd be crazy not to buy a 1080P 40" LCD as part of a new purchase. I have a 40" Sony XBR2 and I can really tell a difference between a 1080i or 720P signal and a 1080P signal. I would buy 1080P for anything over 37 inches.

I strongly recommend the Sony XBR4 40 in LCD. Your father will enjoy this purchase for years to come.

In short, how are XBR2 AND XBR4 different? Is it just the price?

[bootman]

I have posted this link about a dozen times.

http://www.myhometheater.homestead.c...alculator.html

Short answer is at 40" you would have to sit no more than 5 feet away to see any 1080p benefit.

[Footloose301]

Originally Posted by mugen302005

In short, how are XBR2 AND XBR4 different? Is it just the price?

Its this years model.
1. Now has a flat black bezel
2. Now has 120hz frame rate, rather than 60
3. Now has HDMI v1.3

I think those are the biggest differences between them.

[Kaldaim]

"1080p worth it at 40 inches?"

Yes

This coming from a 40" 1080p Sony Bravia owner

[cawgijoe]

Get the 1080p so that you don't regret not doing so later. There is nothing wrong with a 720p set, but if you are going to get or eventually get a Blu-Ray player, you want to take full advantage of it's capabilities. Don't short-change yourself to save a few bucks.

[eat_me_cool]

You can but 19" PC monitors that are 1050 vertical. Obviously it depends on how close you sit to the screen.

[projectryan]

Originally Posted by Kaldaim

"1080p worth it at 40 inches?"

Yes

This coming from a 40" 1080p Sony Bravia owner

I would have to say Yes also.. i own KDL40V3000

[Go Blu]

The 40 inch Bravia looks amazing!
I almost bought one, then the wife said why not 46" Bravia.
I wasn't about to veto that.

[BLU STEAL]

720p to 1080p is a big difference. what most magazines talk about resolution at under 50inchs is the difference between 1080i and 1080p.

[raginranger]

I need to add that while he does plan to get a blu-ray player. He will mostly watch upscaled DVD's, and high-def tv programs. He will rent blus occassionally and buy some, but since he is 55, he has alot of roots in DVD and plans to watch his collection all over again on the new TV. With that said, does a DVD upscaled look a lot better at 1080p then 720p or is the difference small?

thanks

[jbuttler007]

Though the sony KDL-40xbr5 is available the price difference from the XBR4 is not justifiable. the 40 in the model name is the size. I had the KDL 46v3000 and returned it for the KDL 46XBR4 and immidiatly noticed a huge difference. I no shit strongly recommend this TV. don't go 40 inch. Do go XBR.

[Luis_A51]

Go with a 720p tv. Its not worth the extra money for a tv that size. A good 720p set should still be cheaper than a low-quality 1080p set in that size, and will provide better SD quality.

[hienesey]

Go with 720p if he isn't going to watch a lot of blu-ray's.

[DefTechPioElite]

its worth it! Even alot of TV is 1080i, a 720p set will downconvert! 1080p ftw

[burdenbrother]

I own a 40" Bravia that's 1080p and I must say that it is entirely worth it. Don't buy a 720p, you'll regret it down the line (as I did and than sold that set 9 months later for a 1080p set). The difference is definetely there.

[kknight]

I'll pick 40" 1080p over 720p anyday... Is it worth it? Hell YEAH!!!

[coolmilo]

Originally Posted by mugen302005

In short, how are XBR2 AND XBR4 different? Is it just the price?

Well the XBR2 is last years model. The XBR4 is a 120 Hz LCD where the XBR2 is 60 Hz. Also there are tons of other improvements such as HDMI 1.3 in the XBR4 LCD. It seems the price between the two models is about the same.

The XBR2 was very nice. It looks great displaying both 1080i DirecTV and with 1080P Blu-ray. The important thing to remember is 1080P was available. I say "was" because I upgraded to a 46" XBR4.

No matter what, I recommend buying a 1080P "any TV" because 1080P is future proof.

I have not tried downconverting Blu-ray to 720P or anything like that. I am only interested in the maximum resolution of what the set will display. I have a friend who is a certified television calibrator and having the LCD calibrated correctly helps immensely with the overall PQ.

Go 1080P