Helpful chart for choosing TV size/resolution

[BACsader]

Originally Posted by forumid

I was going to post this same question but hadn't had a chance to search the forums to see if it was asked and answered yet. Now that I see it posted, I will jump in (not to thread-jack but to ask more of the same).

BTBucks "screen door effect" comment is the type of feedback I'd like to see. I too have a 720p screen and just by looking at the numbers, I know a 1080p screen will look crisper and sharper. However, what I want to know is what is the difference in the real world? How much sharper is it really? Are people bleeding from the eyes it is so much sharper than a 720p picture?

FendersRule comment also made me think. I don't have a PS3 but from what I understand, HD broadcast channels do not broadcast at 1080p either. All are either 720p or 1080i (which my screen can also handle). So is the purpose of getting a 1080p screen is to scale up the 720p to 1080p and de-interlace the 1080i or just for the benefit of blu-rays and and up-converted DVD's?

I look at the 720p and 1080p screens playing next to each other at the local best buy or circuit city and they just don't look like a difference worth shelling out another 700 to 1500 or so from my pocket.

By the way, I am not trying to dampen anyone's spirit on 1080p. It is definitely better, I know that. I just want to know what the specific differences are that people notice from one to the other that I don't know about or understand. Thanks.

First off, to get 1080p does not cost 700-1500 dollars more nowadays. Maybe $200-300. The deciding reason for me to get the 1080p and not the 720p of my TV was the contrast ratio, which was 20,000:1 opposed to the 15,000:1 in the 720p model. It is a nice feeling when you want to show people Blu-ray, and they are able to walk right up to the TV and be impressed.

[Blu Man]

I have a 720p projector. But 1080p is better.

[jcd29]

I'm getting a 40". I usually watch at either 6-10 feet away from the TV. Will this be okay?

Lots of blu-rays and games coming, but I also watch a lot of SD at night (and it seems you have to sit way far to appreciate SD)

[forumid]

Originally Posted by BACsader

First off, to get 1080p does not cost 700-1500 dollars more nowadays.

It does if you already have a 720p capable TV and you are getting a new one that is 1080p capable.

[forumid]

I came here an HDTV, Audio/Video, Blu-ray player virgin just over a week ago and now I feel like a gang hoe that's been passed around from member to member to be schooled in the ways of HD.

(That analogy sounded funny in my head but now that I look at it, it just looks disturbing. Like in those Hertz commercials when they visualized a crazy idea they came up with ...)

I came in with an attitude (not really but it sounds better that way), looking for an easy answer and instead have gotten some great info and feedback.

Anyway, the calculator that dadkins posted up gave me the convincing data the anal side of my brain was looking for. Blauman also made a couple of key "duh, how come you didn't of that Dr. Obvious" statements I should have been able to think of were I not brain dead too.

Could I do better than my 720p? Of course I can technically speaking. Will my eyes notice a difference based on the seating sweet spot of my viewing universe and content being fed into it? Probably not.

As far as my world is concerned, the 720p, 1080i and 1080p question has been answered. The next TV waits until the prices on 42+" 1080p screens drop a couple of hundred more ... or I get tired of explaining why I didn't buy one. Thanks.

[BACsader]

Originally Posted by forumid

It does if you already have a 720p capable TV and you are getting a new one that is 1080p capable.

I stand corrected.

However, he was saying that the difference when buying a new TV between the two resolutions was that much.

[forumid]

Originally Posted by BACsader

I stand corrected.

However, he was saying that the difference when buying a new TV between the two resolutions was that much.

Well, I could have been more specific about where my $$ figure came from as I knew what he meant and what I meant but I did not express what I meant explicitly. However, that requires thinking which I have shown myself not to be fond of.