great 720p vs an good 1080p projector

[dajaga]

ok guys, im just wondering whats your opinion on this.
i dont know much about front projection, i think im gonna hold out till a 3-d projections are available and more mainstream, but i was wondering what would you guys prefer a really good quality 720p for under 1000, or an ok 1080p for the same price

[Fors*]

I choose what I think is a great 720p projector. But it wasn't really because of 720p or 1080p that I chose it. It had a lot more to do with my room and my needs as far as screen size, throw distance, lumens, black levels, contrast, etc....price played into it too, but I have a 1080p TV and now a 720p projector and my eyes can only see a slight difference. But that is probably some kind of placebo effect, which I am fine with. I also invested in a 720p projector because of the price and the fact that I too will be looking into 3D projectors down the road in a few years when I am ready to upgrade....

[crazyBLUE]

there is some great 720p PJ's . As fors said he can barely tell the difference between 720P & 1080P . I have been told by A Mod here that the human eye cannot tell the difference .

These are screen shots off my 6 year old 720P taken this last year

[Disky76]

I have a 720p projector that I am quite happy with - it works well but I am able to control the light totally as I have setup a dedicated theatre.

My screen size is 100" for 16:9 and 92" for 2.35:1 scope - however, I would imagine that if I chose to go much larger, then 1080p may become necessary to maintain the quality.

I would imagine that 1080p projectors would be for a large room and large screen.

All in all, I personally think 720p projectors work just fine for most home situations, provided that you can control the light and aren't looking to do too large of a screen or too long of a throw.

[Fors*]

Originally Posted by Disky76

I have a 720p projector that I am quite happy with - it works well but I am able to control the light totally as I have setup a dedicated theatre.

My screen size is 100" for 16:9 and 92" for 2.35:1 scope - however, I would imagine that if I chose to go much larger, then 1080p may become necessary to maintain the quality.

I would imagine that 1080p projectors would be for a large room and large screen.

All in all, I personally think 720p projectors work just fine for most home situations, provided that you can control the light and aren't looking to do too large of a screen or too long of a throw.

This is exactly what I have as well.....an average sized throw with an average sized screen with total light control (my HT is in my basement.) When you have control of these factors, 720p projectors will look very good and become an attractive option. Like everyone here, you need to work with the limitations of your room. Good luck!

[killat0n]

Originally Posted by crazyBLUE

I have been told by A Mod here that the human eye cannot tell the difference .

Whoever told you that is 100% wrong.

I have a 1080p projector and a close friend of mine who's running a 720p projector. He is constantly wanting to watch movies at my place because he says the there is just so much more detail he doesn't see with his. And I completely agree. I've seen his setup countless times and the difference is huge. 1080p is twice the amount of pixels compared to 720p no matter how you look at it. And when you're talking screen sizes of 100 inches and up, the difference becomes very apparent.

Originally Posted by Disky76

All in all, I personally think 720p projectors work just fine for most home situations, provided that you can control the light and aren't looking to do too large of a screen or too long of a throw.

I also agree with this. Depending on your budget and available room, light control, etc etc. 720p projectors can definitely do the job.


For fun, here's a picture I took of my screen and 1080p projector.

[brokenthumb]

Just this last week I went from a 720p projector to a 1080p projector. I have a 96" 2.35:1 CIH setup, my 1.85:1 image is around 80".

Sitting back 9 1/2 feet from the screen the 80" image looks about the same to my eyes. There is more detail but it doesn't jump out at you.

After zooming to the 96" 2.35:1 image from 9 1/2 feet there is a huge difference. I no longer have any hint of a screendoor effect and the image is full of little details.
I watched I, Robot and Cars last weekend and noticed all kinds of little things that I never seen before.
(I removed the DIY Anamorphic Lens b/c the zoom on this projector looks way better than going through the prisms)

The last thing I'm loving is the 1080p @ 24fps! I never realized how smooth the credits were supposed to roll and the pans are much smoother than before also.

[Beta Man]

Originally Posted by crazyBLUE

I have been told by A Mod here that the human eye cannot tell the difference .
]

That's either taken WAAAAY out of some sort of context, or it's just flat-out-wrong.......

Either way, Resolution isn't the "Most" important factor in Picture-Quality, but for $1,000 a 1080p is in his budget, and you'd probably have to pay $3,000 or so to get a "Better" 720p unit...........

and as far as the "3-D Ready" stuff...... I don't know what that means..... but never have an urge for 3-D in my home EVER.

[DKHK]

Originally Posted by crazyBLUE

I have been told by A Mod here that the human eye cannot tell the difference .

Please note that the issue is not only related to whether human eyes can or cannot resolve the pixels. A more important artifact is the introduction of scaling problem, esp. when you're watching blu-ray (i.e. either the player or the TV/projector needs to scale down the 1080-lines image to an 720-lines image). Here is an interesting and useful reading (please take note of Part V of this article):

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volum...07-part-1.html

I have a 37" 768p LCD TV and a 1080p LCD projector - the difference is very noticeable. Seating at the same viewing distance (~9 feet) and feeding with the same 1080i HDTV signal, the picture projected by the 1080p projector (projecting on a 80" screen) is MUCH better than the one shown on the (comparatively tiny) 37" LCD TV.

[STARSCREAM]

1080p.

[D Rock]

I had a panasonic 720p projector that I bought solely because at the time it was $1,000 cheaper than a 1080p projector. I was very happy with the projector but I did upgrade to a panasonic 1080p projector a little over a year ago. As soon as I ordered the 1080p projector I had buyers remorse because every time I would watch a movie on my 720p I was so happy with it that I had a hard time believing the 1080p could possibly look better. I am glad to say once I received the 1080p and watched a movie on it I could tell a difference...maybe it was the 1080p versus the 720p resolution, maybe it was the internal components that made the picture sharper and the colors more vibrant or maybe a combination of both.

So in short, if you have a good 1080p projector you should notice a difference over a 720p projector but don't shy away from a 720p if thats what fits your budget. There is nothing like watching a movie or playing your 360/PS3 on a projector whether it's 720p or 1080p...

[BarkingGhost]

Originally Posted by crazyBLUE

there is some great 720p PJ's . As fors said he can barely tell the difference between 720P & 1080P . I have been told by A Mod here that the human eye cannot tell the difference .

It really depends. The human eye can resolve 1100 line pairs, but if you sit too far back then the distance threshold moves away from the screen and you lose resolution that you can resolve.

Conversely, if you sit too close not only can you make out the resolution, but you will start to see the pixel structure that you don't really want to see. To blindly say the human eye cannot tell the difference between 720 and 1080 lines is 100% USDA BS.

Here is a good rule of thumb ... if the display is 16:9 in aspect with 1080 progressive lines then the viewer with 20/20 vision has a distance threshold of 1.5X the screen's width.

Applying this to a real world example if the common 50" 16:9 display. The 50" is diagonal, and it works out to 43.6". So, if the viewer is 1.5 x 43.6" (5.45') from then they are in the sweet spot. If they were sitting farther then they will not resolve all of the resolution. If they sit close they will resolve all of the resolution and start to make out the pixels.

[Nathan Arizona]

I don't own a 1080p, but I can tell you about my experience with my 720p.

I bought the EPSON Powerlite 720 over a year ago and for the most part I have been very happy with it. This fit my budget of less than $1000 at the time -- it came with a mail in rebate of $100 and a free bulb ($250.00 value), so the buy was even better.

I researched it and it rated very high with great black values.

This being my first projector and first blu ray player I was very impressed with it; however, about 6 month after buying I became far more critical.

Firstly, I sit rather close to the 100” screen, about 8 feet away and yes I can see the pixel structure when watching -- it's not that distracting, but a 1080p would make this a non issue.

Secondly is the black level; this is a projector that rated very high with a very good black level but too me it is not dark enough -- I would say it's about 92% black -- I guess this is considered good as early LCD projectors looked gray.

I don't regret buying this projector, but I do know that I will be replacing it sooner than I would have liked -- I'll probably replace it in a year and half, just when the second bulb goes. Now I usually keep electronics way longer than 2.5 years; I still use a CRT TV from the mid 90s for everyday TV watching.

If you do buy a 720p you will eventually start thinking about how much better it would look in 1080p and you may be replacing it sooner than you hoped.

[DKHK]

Originally Posted by Nathan Arizona

If you do buy a 720p you will eventually start thinking about how much better it would look in 1080p and you may be replacing it sooner than you hoped.

Can't agree with it any more.

[Blaumann]

I'm still using my 720p DLP (Marantz VP12S4), which was one of the "better" 720p pj's back then. I bought it used for cheap. HD sources are two BD players, one HD DVD player and my htpc (with BD ROM).

I also have a 1080p Dell monitor connected to the htpc and the receiver, so i can also watch media in 1080p resolution. Though i can see a noticeable difference in resolution between the 720p pj and the 1080p monitor, the overall pq on the 720p pj setup it much better. The pj beats the monitor esp. regarding contrast, colors and overall non-digital like image. PQ is simply not only about resolution, and how high you rate resolution is subjective.

However, pj's have come a long way since the VP12S4 was released and the prices for great 1080p sets have also come down nicely. Right now i am thinking about either getting a new lamp for the Marantz or getting one of the "cheap" 1080p pj like a Panasonic 4000 as an interim, until the 3D stuff gets sorted out and is affordable. Depends on how the planned demo session with the current crop of 1080p pj's works out.

I probably wouldn't buy a 720p model at this time any more. As others said, you'll likely keep wondering about how much better a 1080p would be, until you finally buy one....

[HyperRealist]

Originally Posted by dajaga

ok guys, im just wondering whats your opinion on this.
i dont know much about front projection, i think im gonna hold out till a 3-d projections are available and more mainstream, but i was wondering what would you guys prefer a really good quality 720p for under 1000, or an ok 1080p for the same price

Get a Panasonic PT-AX200U until they get 3D worked out.
2000 lumens
lens shift
game mode
light harmonizer 2
2.0 X zoom
accepts 1080p/24

The compression into 720p sacrifices surprisingly little detail. Quite honestly, the image at first glace looks as if it were coming from a 1080p projector

But the typical consumer would have no problem believing the AX200U was a 1080p projector if they didn't know differently.

http://www.projectorcentral.com/pana..._projector.htm